A NAHON4L PAPER, PUBLISHER WEDNESDAYS AND SATURDAYS BY JOHN FENNO, No. 34, NORTH FIFTH.STREET, PHI LADE J. PHIA [No. 82 of Vol. IV.] CONGRESS. HOUSE of REPRESENTATIVES. FRIDAY, March I. in committee of the whole, Mr. Muhlenberg ' jn the chair, on the 3d, 4th, sth, 6th, 7th, and Bth resolutions, refpefting the olfitia! jarcduft of the Secretary of the Trealiiry, far which fee 6azette of Wedneldav h.ft. MR. B»Rn wp L ,i. BEFORE J proceed to discuss the j observations which yesterday fell -from the gentleman who introduced the resolutions now before us, I cannot ie frain from faying, that I am extiemely happy, that in palling through the medi um of that gentleman's examination, this fubjeft has changed its hue from the foul of peculation to the milder colouring (tain illegal exercise of discretion and a want of politeoefs in the Secretary of the Treafttry. 1 fed happy hecaufe I always am so when any man chaTged with guilt can acquit himfelf; and the mote so now, when a man in a high responsible office, and high in the estimation of his countrymen, can reduce a charge from a .quality calculated to have excited an alarm even in Pandemonium to such a shape as I fancy will scarce f-rve to fatisfy the un common curiosity which it appears to have excited. As I have never been in the ha bit of taking notes, I (hall depend upon memory in answering the gentleman from Virginia ; although I imagine as that gen tleman usually (ticks very close in his point, whatever it may be, that in pursu ing his charges I (hall substantially an swer his arguments. In commenting up on the two tirlt resolutions to which I am by order confined, I (hall consider in the firft inltance, what regards the tight of drawing monsy into tilia country—the j gentleman appears not to have confidcred the law properly, for tkere cannot be a doubt that the President had a right to make what arrangements he pleated in order to attain what he might consider a proper modification of the debt due by thp United States abroad ; he might have borrowed the money here or have paid here; he might have borrowed the mo ney in England, or wherever he thought lit. I will a(k the gentleman by what pre cise authority he borrowed the money in Amlterdamand Antwerp, and paid it in Paris ; certainly by none, but that discre tion which has been depended upon to modify the debt in the manner most pro ductive to the interest of the United States, I take it then for granted, Mr. Chairman, that th; right of the President to draw the money bqrro\ved here, or to fend it any where must be conceded : The question will then arise, whether the Se cretary of the treasury had a right to do this cir no, and whether thU-iias not been done without, nay, againlt the in(l ructions of the President. I really consider this 83 one of the mod extraordinary cases that I have ever known exhibited. Let us cpniidev its form, a highly important wuftof no ltffer import than the discreti onary use of 14,000,000 of dollars is pla ced in the President of the United States. jl,e by a general commifiion and by spe cial instructions, deputes his power to the Secretary of the treasury, dating that he is to conform to tbefe and whatever in tuitions he might from time to time give him. Let any man seriously examine thelis powers, and 1 am of opinion that the Secretary under these had aright todraip if he thought proper, unless inttrinfted to the contrary : For the President conveys a cempleat power to modify the debt,pro vided that it (hall be with all convenient dispatch applied to pay the principal and interest <3ue to France } for where the payments are to be made are certainly left to the Secretary. If this has not been exercised advantageously thib is another circumltance which the gentleman him felf has not questioned. But fays the get»- tleman, the Secretary under these instruc tions had no special authority to draw, notwithftciriding which he began to draw ip 1790* 1"d has continued to diaw ax Wednesday, March 15, 1793. different times into the cnor moui sum of 3,000,000 of drtllats, and therefore he mntt have <J<*ne this without, nay, again ft the inilm&ions of the Pieil detK> who it is presumed having' delegat ed this great trufthas newer for three years inquired into the performance of it. j Can this be the inference of common ienfe—can this ixe the inference of the ex perience which we have had of the Presi dent, one of the prominent features of whose character always has been an induf iry to wvelligate particulars, as remarka ble as his sagacity :o frame generals. If then tnfttafticms,have not been given or have been exceeded, was it neceifcfy for 11s to come in aid of the Prefideut, he who by ow law has the power which we our tetoes cannot exercise of removing any of the executive officers at pleasure ; it cer tainly cannot be neceffaty, for as this offi cer continues to ast, wa must conclude, that he has either a£ted by iriiuuiflioHs, or in. fiich manner as to have given fatis faition to his principal without them.— Really, Mr. Chairman, I cannot fcilt be lieve that if suspicion had not led thE'gen tleman from Virginia astray, ths ufijal correftnffs of his underltartding would have prevented him from pursuing such an ignifs futuus 33 this. Thus Sir I think I have ftiewn that the President of the United States certainly had the authority to draw the furos t>m rowed here, and that both under his co>m miffion and his inftru&ions given, and in evitably implied, the Secretary had also this power, to do this. I (hall therefore now proceed to a more special confidera tioo of the firtt charge, that the Secreta ry has violated the law in applying a por tion of the principal borrowed to the pay ment oF the TnterelE railing due upon that principal, which was not authoiifed by law. Before I proceed, Mr. Chairman, I would wish to remark, that whilll I consi der no principle in legislation more cor re&, than that no money (hall be drawn from the Treasury but under appropria tions by law ; yet I consider both as itn pra&ible and mischievous the doctrine, that the money arising from a special tax (hall in no instance be used for any other than that special purpose for which the the Aims vaifed ought rather to be <;onii deted as an aggregate fund applicable to aggregate purposes, and indeed if a rigid adherence 10 the precise letter of the law is neceflary there. has been no occasion to go abroad to feerch for violations; for our government at home has been able to atS only by this violation. Itis wcllknown that the duties of impost and tonnage are appropriated si.-si to produce the sum of 600,000 dollars for the civil lift, then to pay the interest of the foreign debt and so pn ; so that by q. rigid observance of this law the secretary must have firft colle&ed the 600,000 into the public coffers and then a sum fufficient to pay the interest of the foreign debt, a process which only requires Hating to ihew its absurdity and which must neverthelef9 have been connec ted with a minute conltruAion of the law. Indeed, Mr. Chairman, if theadls of com mon life bear any analogy with public management, which I believe, what could be considered as being more extraordina ry than that an individual (hould appro priate the proceeds of one farm to pur chase bread, of another drink, and to de clare in the face of contingencies, that happen what may, he would llarve (hould the breed crop fail, rather than use the surplus of that appropriated to purchase drink, for its purchase. But to return, what is this charge, a sum of money was due abroad for the interest of 1791 and 1792, to be paid out of the domeltic re venues of 179 1 and 1792; the United States had an offer to make a payment in part of what was due France, for which money had been borrowed and wa9 alrea dy on hand abroad, in a supply of provi sions from here to the Island of St. Do mingo, tbefrcretary therefore, aod doubt 325 l(:f» with the corffent orfthe Prefjdetit, in stead of transmitting either bills or money from this country to Fiance, 111 order to pay the interest due there, and bringing the money borrowed to pay the French debt into this country, in order to f jnifh supplies for St. Doming®, has committed the great crime of diredting the money borrowed and already upon the spot to be applied to the payment of the interest due, a-.d h.13 taken the sams applicable to the payments of that interest which was al ready here and made u£e of it to pay the debt due to France in the produce of the United States. So that although appa rently a portion of the principal bojrow ei bus been applied to pay an interest due, yet in reality its capacity to be thus used arose from its constituting in thiu country an equivalent fuin applicable, and which ha» been applied to pay off the princrpal of the French debt, the object fur which the money vva.s furrowed. Let candour iuyeftigate this tranfaftion and fare I am its deductions will be direAiy the contra ry of a charge of crimination, I (hall con clude with cbferving, that I (hould have proceeded to examine the other reloluti ons which I conlider cs weak as those I have made fhorl comments upon, were I not retrained by the rules of the houfc. But this I will venture to fay, that they will be proved unfounded in their investi gation, and will merit the witty obfetva tipft of a celebrated wi iter, that though ihcy rose like a rocket, they will fall like the stick. Mr. Findley next rose and exprefled l/imfclf nearly at, follows: Mr. Chairman, being strongly impref ;cd with the importance of oiw time which is now lo near an end, though I had the fcOnunr of fcumidiug thtr rcfeintic»»j-1- took no part in the debates of yelterday ; nor will I now detain you with replies to many of the arguments which have been offered againll the resolution now under dUctiflior). Upon one argument, frequently intro ducetl by the gentleman lad up, viz. the greatness of the Secretary's ehara&er, See. I will only make a Tingle remark ; there ia no chara&cr officially known in the ex ecutive departments of this government who merits pre-eminence, or to whom a degree of greatness can be aferibed, but in proportion to his prompt execution of the laws and the attention with which he dilcharges the duties of his office. From this rule the President himfelf is not ex empted, much less a subordinate Secreta , rjr» B'hofe appointment is. during pleasure, and the duties assigned him of a changea ble and temporary nature. But to come to the rtfo'ution before W»; the firit enquiries chat offer them fcives arc, whether the money in question was appropriated to special and diftindi puipofes? I>id the Secietaiy of the trea sury apply the money to other life* than the law dire died ? in answer to the firft it is only necessa ry to advert to the law authorising the loans. The law authorising the twelve million loan, appropriates whatever amount may be borrowed foMy to the payment of debts then due to France and Holland. The. law authorising the two- million loan directs the application thereof to the redemption of the domestic debt, in aid of about dollars arifiug from the reve nue previous to the firftof January. These appropriations were precise, dif tiniS ami unconditional, with refpedt to the ufeß no room was left for the exercise of discretion ; the will of ihs legiilature was- esprefs aud clearly defigtied, it left no rouin for evalion nor any excuft for miftakc ; nor did the President transfer to the Secretary any other authority or in duction than what the law exptefied. But the gentleman from South-Caro lina fay», that preemption is, thasttli the President did give other inftru&ions tha* lie ha* that in this cafe pcefumption (hould be admitted as coftclufivc testimony ; aud'that the Secre [Whole No. 404. tary nor the PreficJent are not obliged ti» communicate theinllrttclion or authorise* to 11s. The gentleman is » lawyer, I will ap peal to himfelf, I will appeal to ail the profeffi jHBI members on the floor, whe ther presumption can be admitted as proof where in the nature of the c»fe pofttive tsfiimony can be procured. Surely in courts of justice pufitire fef. timony is always required, and prefurap tive is rarely admitted ; but in this cafe the presumptive is by the gentleman set in oppofitiun to the positive. However this is not the cafe in fa£h The President did give cortimiffion and inftru&ions, and these arc fully communicated to us. If ha conceived irtt had no right to demand them, he would have told U9 so j if he had kept any part of them back, he would have informed us, and nffijxoed his reason» or doing so. I prefnme that the President has a&ed the part of a canrli i honest man $ the gentleman picfumes the revtfrfe, fuggt'ftion that this honfe, which has the exclusive right of originating the appro priation of money, has no tigh( to be in formed of th< application of it, is so no vel and extraordinary, so inconfrllent with propriety and good government, that it requires no reply. Did the Secretary apply the money borrowed in Europe agreeably to the le gal appropriations of the Prescient? No he did not, though some of the gentlemen do not acknowledge this ; yet the Secre tary has clearly acknowledged it himfeif, and has filled his reports with laboured and ingenious apologies for so doing ; he has fuggelled a variety of motives, and taken, infinite liberty to charm (is with the mighty public advantages re fulling from hie doing so. He acknow ledges having drawn to this country and applied in Europe to uses for which other monies were appropriated, jmillfons of dol lars ; out of this he has paid upwards of 400,000 dolls, of the French debt to St. Domingo. I did not complain of paying the interest due in Europe out of the mo ney obtained there : The gentlemen ap ply the force of their arguments with great attention to support or apologize: for this part of the Secretary's conduit, as if against this only the charge in the re folutton lay. But we do not object to ap plying that money- in Holland, which ought to have been brought here, if the money which according to the appropria tion should have gone to Holland had been put to the life here for which the o ther was intended, a simple eschange of money for the purpose of eonveniency Se (Bconomy ii properly one of these cases to which ministerial discretion may solely be extended ; but the qneftiort is, whether the money has been replaced. The amount of moiroy has not been applied-to the uses intended, confeqjiently the appropriation has been, disregarded. It is acknowfed'g. Ed that though there were upwards of 1,300,000 dolls, of the d'omeflic (inking fund, and upwards of 2,300,000 dbllan drawn from Europe, be-fides the monies applied to the relief of St. Domingo, and yet when these enquiries began, there was not 1,000,000 dollars applied to the re demption of the public debt, and even ytt the whole of the domestic appropriation has not been applied to the finking fund, notwithstanding that the public debt now is and has for sometime been under par. We have it on record, that the Secretary Bever informed the commissioners of draughts He made on Europe, although the fund was exclufivcly to be at their dif pofftt. However I will not detain the commit tee with minute ftntements, they are not neceflary ; the Secretaty has acknowledg ed that he drew more money from Eli-, rope than the l*w awthorifed him to do : that he was influenced todo so by motives not contemplated in the law, and had ei ther applied it or drawn it fiom Europe with the dtfign of applying it to uftj not authorised, and that be hasbroken in up on the fund appropriate u»-the dHcWjr* J
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