Portland gazette and Maine advertiser., 1810-06-04
Letters upon French Influence.
NUMBER III.
To tie PeohLe of the United States.

To tie PEOPLE Of the United States.
THE constitution makes it the duty of
the President, g From time to time TO give
to the Congress information of the state of
the Union, and recommend to their consider
alton such measures, as he shall Judge nee
essary and expedent." This duty Mr..
Jefferson was not very much in the habit of
performing. Or rather, like Mr.. Erskine,
he departed from the LETTER of his in
structOns," to execute what he chose to
deem their sFIRrr. The gun-boat system,
and the project of paying money to France,
as the price of peace, under the pretence of
purchasing Florida from Spain, were prom
inent instances of this policy. His conduct,
in both those cases, will be reviewed at
large, and with original illustrations, in flu
ture numbers. A better service to the in
terests Of political truth, and of course to
those OF the /" GOOD OLD UNITED
STATES" can hardly be rendered. The
review viii involve complete defence of
the " republican minority" or democratic
scceders from French policy, and will be
followed by their acquittM of the charge,
that their conduct resulted from impure
motives, and was the consequence of dis
appointment.
The power TO give information 10 Con-
gress, could not have been intended to
mean the same as TO withhold information
from the People. This construction would
evidently be contrary to the acknowledged
theory of the constitution. 1t can never be
too much insisted on, by real republicans,
that the constitution is the act of We the
People" and that "to secure the blessings
oF lee Il
forms the summit of the climax descriptive
of The objects for which the constitution
was ordained and established The politi-
cal system of our country was not calcula-
ted, by It's authors, for the meridian of re-
gi0n ruled bya dark divan." 1t was meant
! for realm Of light and lustre. 1t was ne
yer intended that The President should be
secluded in a Seraglio, or shut up with
Cardinals in conclave.' 1t was not con-
tempiated that weak, nerveless, but in
triguIng President, or AIRY other President,
with small majority of obsequlous parti-
zans in the Legislature, should STROUD that
venerable body in darkness, and force the
minority TO debate and act, week after
week. and almost month after month, ex-
oluded from the light of popular ccmmuRi-
cation, and almost from the light Of heaven.
The trainers Of the constitution, clearly, did
not contemplate any such thing as the COM
mun:cation of secret information from the
President to Congress, or they would have
provided tor the exercise OF a power which
they could deem no less important than
that given to the two Houses of Congress
to keep a secret Journal
But the President, together with the SEN
ate, is vested with the power of making
treaties. Treaties require secresy. Yet
the President has NO power to oblige even
the Senate 10 consider his communications
as confidential. That body must exercise
its own judgment in such case And the
majority has no other .,ht to close the
mouths Of the minority than what results
from the authority given nv the constitution
to both Houses to 9 publish journal, &c.
celb'inS such parts as may IN their jRdyBtent
rel Hi,e seresp.'' Still member OF tie mr.
nority ought not, in any common case, Ia
publish any part of,he proceedings contrary
to the will Of the majority, Mr.. Mason was
censured for publishing the British treaty.
even by some OF bis own party. But how
Tar do the rights OF the President, in conse.
quence "a the treaty making power, 20 to
seal the lips of the members of the House
OF Representatives Can he communicate
svhat papers he Pleases to that body and,
by nod from his political Olympus, impose
upon that body the degrading necessity OF
nelng silent as TO their contents, at his own
discretion Is the injunction to produce a
concea.meRt Cf the substance Ok The form