National gazette. — Philadelphia [Pa.], 1793-03-20 00:00:00, page 4

; '....us wnJcr •»! e fir ft sSk, a:u! t!»c otbi r
I r on* « under f-V fccnvd. Eat r.ri
ll.'.'i" ab tl;,i:r. Ifu solicitous as to he
willing it t::ou!d constitute an emb ttraff
nu : t."
" I ii Jl'nc a mi' i: n and a half of this fun
c: . " p'tyvtnt to Frattcc under the c!irtdli->ll
i I M . Short, our ch r;;e dt-a affaires at
that court, whose orders foi that purpose
you will ple.tfe to follow."
1 lie afpi.it here prtlented by a compa
-1 lon of the f. ve a! documents \Vns lir.gu
lar and remark ible, I hi; fubotdinate of
jeer appeared in direst opjM/fition to the
chief n.agiftrate. The agent was seen o
verrtding by his own orders, the orders ol
bis principal. The language of the Pre
fident was—!'y virtue of the power veil
ed in me by law, I d- (line the mon y tc
be borrowed to the discharge of the inttal
merits and intcrefl of the foteign dtbt.—
The language of the Secretary was—]
deflinc a pari of the monev oniy to th it
purpose, and a psrt to be brought to the
U. S. for other pnrpofes. He left every
member to make his own reft cfi ions oi
thia view of the fubjeft. He would on!)
ob( rve in general, that it demor, lira ted till
truth . fferud in the proportion, that the
.Secretary bud violate • both the law o
August /t, and the inftru&ions o
the Prtfident relating to it.
He then proceeded to a more diftinfi
view of the two points particularly liatec
ill the resolution.
'I he firll was "that a ce:tain portior
of Ihe principal borrowed under the ail
of August 4th, 1790, bad been applied cc
the p yrnent of the interest falling due or
that principal." As the fact would lit t
be preluined, be denied, he forebore ti
quote that part of the documents whicl
admitted aud authenticated it. He won't
however premi e, to any observations or
it, a cursory view cf the nature of appro
pi iations.
It was unncceffaiy to repeat the em
plistic remarks on thi fubj ft which bar
fallen f nm the mem'ier from Pennfylva
nia ("-Ir. lindley.) It was fufficieutly
undeftood, he concluded, tint appropria
lions of money were of .1 hijjh and sacred
character ; that they were the great bid
wark \vh ch our constitution had careful y
and j'raloufly eftablilhed againll executive
uirpationi. lie meant onl t:> take no
ti.eof the different pl.ms into which ap
j.roprialioiu might be moulded and q!
the particular operation which ought to be
given to them.
One of the plans was that of appro
priating fpecified funds to Ipccifir 1 ob
lefts, i i which the supposed certainty ol
the funds w.s adjlifted to the supposed
iiliportance of the object
'i'he o her plan formed all the bran
ch.':; of icvenue into an aggregate fund,
on which the several objects (hould have a
| riot ity of claim, accordirg to their su
periority of importance.
It was evident, that in both these ca
fes, the legiflaturc alone possessed the
competent authority. The exc ufive right
i f that department of t e government
to ni ke the proper regulations, was the
bails ol the utility and effieaiy of appro
priations.
There was a third qucftion incident to
the dcitrine of appropriation , viz whe
ther, under fpecilic ppropriationi, such
as had been adopted by Cougrefs, the ex
e utive authority could, without f >ecial
p r.niffion of the law, apply the excess of
one fund'to the aid of a deficient one ;or
borrow from one fund for the object of an
o'her. On this question there initilit per
haps be a difference of opinion. He would
only remark, that admitting such a discre
tion to be implied in the tfuft of executing
the ans it would flillbe requili'e that the
due fanftaon of the executive fliould be
given, that a regular account fhoul.l be
kep: between the different funds, and that
all advances from one to the other, fliould
be re:i!.:ccd as foc.n .is poflil.le. I his vva-.
equally necessary to the prefcrvation of or
der in the public si iance», and to a proper
refpedt for the authority of the laws
In Ihe present cafe it did riot appear
that the monies taken at different tune
from th< loans defignaied by the Prefideiil,
and thereby placed u der the appropr a
tion of the ast of August 4th, , 790, to tin
foreign had ever been replaced. Ii
did not appear that any such lepiacemvnt
was regularly planned or provided fur —
It was particular y worthy of obfeivation,
moreover, that the only use within tin
United States for which any loan in En
10 ie c< nld be afligned, was that of th'
linking fund ; that the trullees of this sunn
had never been even informed of the
that if all the nonius drawn !;nd been cur
to the finking fund, the limited sum
of i,OCO,COO of dollars would have tbeeu
exceeded; and that the fta'tments and ac
counts lisd in fait I.•■en f» w.ii :<j t'p, a
mentioned by tl e secretary, that not a
lingle dollar of the money laid out in pur
chafiug the public debt, had been charged
on loam drawn into the United Stales ;
a'tho' such wr.s the only purpose to which
they were lega'ly applies! 1., and f:ich thi
principal reason assigned for making the
drafts
He did not go into a particular proof
that the sum drawn into the United States,
after fubtradting the whole sum placed to
a fore gn account, exceeded the sum ot
2,000.c00 ofdollais, because the fadt had
been conceded on the oth.r fide particu
larly by the llatement of t' e member from
Connecticut, (Mr. Hillhoufe.)
hus it p: eared clearly, in confi»ma
tion ot the fir 11 point, that the application
of a certain portion of the principal bor
rowed in Europe, t> the payment of the
interest was not a mere tianfpofition of
moni s, to prevent the fending them back
wards or farwaids. Ncr an advance of mo
ney from one overflowing fund in favor of
a deficient one, but an absolute diversion
of appropriated money ; a d conlequt ntly
a violation of the law making the appro
priation.
The second point in the resolution r< la
ted to the drawing of monies into the Uni
ted States without the inftrudtion of the
President.
This point bad been fully efiablifhed by
the documents and explanations a plied to
'hefirfl. They had done more: ey
ad demi nftrated that the inltrudtiona of
the Prefident,which dedicated the loans, to
be made under hiscommifli mi, o a foreign
object, were an express prohibiti no drat»
f r any domestic object, It was f fiicient
herefore to n fer to the inflrudt ons of the
President, and to the contradictory (leps
t&ken by the Secretary.
Two attempts have been made to elude
the force of hefe official proofs
Ihe firll app aled to the President's
Tpeech at the opening of the session in
1790 ; to the report ol the Secretary made
n consequence of it to the H< life ; and to
he supplementary ast ofCongreft pafTetl in
ionformity to the r port.
I :a.l the circumflances involved in thi
ranfedtion been attended to by those wo
eemed to rely on it, Mr. Madison w .•
jerfuaded that a reference to it would ne.
rer have been made by gmtlem n on th :t
ide. As they had thought fit, however,
o draw arguments from that fourcv, it w s
iroper to give an answer to them : and
he be it answer would be a naked (latent nt
)f fadts
The infirudtions of the President to the
Secretary were given, as has been seen, on
he 28th of August 1790. The letter <if
he Secretary contravening this inftrudtion,
rvas dated, as has also been seen, on the
ame 2lith day ofAuguft, 1 790.
I'he adtual drawing of hi Is by the Se
■retarv commenced on the ijtu of De
.ember 1790.
The law now pleaded in jollification of
he conduct of the Secretary pasTed on the
jd of March 179 1.
There are titer f'dts material to a cor
edt and full view of the hulinefs.
I he speech of the Prefi I nt was deliver
don the Bth of D cember 1790. It
>riefly informed the House that " a loan
>fth ee millions of fl lins, towards which
ome proviiional meaftires had previotifly
aken place, had been completed in Hoi
and," and '• that the Secretary of the
frcafury hail his diredtlon to communicate
uch further part iculars as might be re
juilite for more precise information "
The consequent report of the Secretary
■ecommending the provilion in the supple
•nentary adt, was not received till the 25th
jf February 1 79 t, fix days only before the
:onllitutional diflblution of the House,
In the interval between the speech of
the President and the Secretary's report,
lie had proceeded to draw bills to tile a
mount of 793,392 florins.
His report, nt witliftan ling what has
been fa'd of it, contained not a word fr. m
which it could be known th t a single (1 >-
rn had bee 1 adtually drawn over to the
United .'•tales.
The other attempt to elude the evidence
before the committee recoiled w-th equal
force on the gentlemen who had hazarded
it. In the report lately made by the lYii!-
lees of the finking fund, i a (latenicnt laid
before th.m by the Secretary, in which i; j
'* noted, "11.r.t the acceptance of the'oaii
of three n.ilJions of florins, and the app ica
tion of one third of if to the purpose of
that fund w s under the consideration of
lie Prelident."
Fio'n this fact it had been inferred, not
only t'.iat the Secretary had withheld no
proper information frum the trustees, bat
ihat the result of t!ie Prelident's delibcra
lions on the fubjeft had varied the purpose
fignified by his firll inflruftions to the Se
cretary.
k happened, however, mod unfortu
nately for the gentlemen who exulted in
thin argument, that they had entirely o
veilooked the dates of the two papers
The paper l iid before the trustees and al
ledgcd to liave explained the final pur,iofc
of the President, was dated on the ij h ol
Augull 1790. The paper relied on bv
the other tide, as the final, as well as the
moll forma) designation of the will of tht
President, was dated the 28th of Augull
179 a. The gentlemen, therefore, inllead
ot the inference they hadmade, fh.valJ
hsve reversed their premises, and joined
with their opponents in concluding thai
tin President was led, by a consideration ol
the fuljeft, not to do what the Secretar
in his rote to the truilecs, fee:red to anti
cipate, but what had been evinced by the
Prcfidrnt's own ast of pollerior date.
he second point, then, as will as the
fi;(l, refls 011 the moll solid proofs tak.r:
from a collective view of authentic docu
mcuts.
Much has been said on the nectfTiy o
I mctimes depar ing from the ftriftnefs ol
leg I appropi ia ions, as a p!. a for any free
dorm that may have been tak n with them
bv the Sen tary. He would not deny
that there might be emergencies 11 tht
course of hnman affair , of lo extraordina
ry and p effing a nature, as to a solve (I<«
txe utive fr m an infl»xible Conformity tc
the injunctions of the law It was, never
thclifs, as eflVntial to rememl er, as it wai
obvious to remark, that in all such cases,
thenccifii'y should be palp.bit ; that Ihe
execut ve fanftion (hould flow from the
fnpreme foutce, and tlut the firll oppor
tunity should be foized for communicating
to the legifl.itlire the meafares pursued.
wth the re Tons explaining the neceflily
of them. Th s early communication »-ai
equ il v enforce ! by pi udence ami by duty.
It was the liefl evidence of the motives foi
affu ning the xt'aordinary power ; i' wai
arefpect manif-llly due to the legiflatm
authority ; and it was more particularly
in 'ifpei.fible, as that alone would enablt
the legislature, by a provident amendment
ol the law, to acconwiodaie it lo like e
mergencies in future.
In the proceedings f.dli g under tht
pref nt enquiry, no neei Iliry appeared sot
he liberties which had been taken, th.
money appropr ated in Europe being inort
wanted there than ;t home. It appeared
that the inilruftions of the supreme exe
cutive, inllead of warranting tliofe liber
'its, had precluded them. Nor had tht
prope explanations been disclosed in dut
time to the legillature.
To phrc the fubjeft in a more dilinft
poiiit of view, it was proper to advert tc
lie preeife authorities and duties o» the
Secretary as his ollice ia defined by the
ast ellablilhing a treasury department.—
For this purpose Mr. M. read the second
feftion of that ast, wh eh is in the woidi
following—" That it (hall he the duty ol
the eeretary of the Treasury to digell or
prepare plans for the improvement and
management of the revenue, and for Ihe
fuppo t of public credit ; to prepare and
report estimates of the public revenue and
the public expenditures ; to superintend
the revenue ; to decide on the forms of
keepi g and lining accounts, an I making
returns, and to grant under the limitat ons
herein ellablilhtd, or to be hereafter pro
vided, all warrants for moil es to be issued
from the treasury, in pursuance of appro,
priations by law ; to execute luch fe viccs
relative to the sale of the lands belonging
to the United tates as may be by law
required of him ; to make uport and give
ins rmation to either branch of the legif
l.i urc, in person or in writing (as he may
be required) lefpefting ;1 1l mr.tcrs refer
red to him by the Senate an I Ho.ife ot
Reprefentativea, or which (hall appertain
to his ollice ; and }> t nera liy to pt. Ilorni all
such lervi. es relative to the finance., as lie
(halt b diiefted to perforin."
This cllablifhment of the office, cvi 'ent
ly had 110 reference btyon the cafe of fu
pt lintending the regular and ordinary col
li ftion of the revenue, and granting war-
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