Martinsburgh gazette. [volume] (Martinsburgh, Va. [W. Va.]) 1810-1825, 1825-01-20

and sufferings tor the welfare OF MS
country Why then deny confidence to tia I
man, who has been selected among millions as
peculiarly worthy of 1.-THE trust Why con slider
your dignity furnished by treating his claims
with deiicacy and disregard, whom ten millions
Of ireemen have chosen 10 the os;ensib!e re-
preventative Of their majesty and power' No.
the spprehensions which exis, in the legislative
bodies in this country. with regard to the exc.
cutive, are shallow and unfounded II is an
absurd relct Of that feeling. which, however
naturally it might influence our actions and sen
timents about the period Of our revolutionary
struggles -iime, wisdom, experience and a
knowledge Of the genus and bent Of he chsrac-
e. Of our people sh ould e-cl sre totally IN.
founded History and reflection must warn us
that If any danger to our liberty is to be appre-
hended, it must arise from some other qoatter
than the feeble patronage and iinpotent resour.
ces of the executive Tyranny has been an cd
tiiok among kings from Nlmrods time down.
The fears AID jealousy Of the people are yigi
lantlyN directed to that quarter. 1t is now be.
come almost too stale for repetition, and the
slightest alarm from that source in a country
ike ours. must hurl the projectors and their
s~econdarles to destruction, with a rapidity not
less great than that which the devoted victims
70 the French gul,io.ine experienced;
"Where heads fen headlong, woadtring why
they fell"
No. latter ages hare taught US The necessity Of
looking ca. for security against parliamentary en-
crOachments Without much pretensions to Pc
litical sagscity. or any very deep insight into
human affairs, we believe we may safely pre-
dict, that if america is erer to be ruined, it can
only be By the encroachment qfMe Legislature de-
bartment. But to proceed with the debase:
Mr.. BARTLETT said, that among the
considerations which are stated, in the
Message, to have induced the President
of the United States to call the atten-
ton of Congress to this subject, one was,
that the proposed Investigation would
operate as a salutary precedent for the
future. Now, MI. b. said, the Message
referred To matters of different kinds:
a part OF it, referred TO the private
claims ofthe president upon the govern
ment, and a part of it to his official trans
actions. The Message asks that the
accounts Of the President shall be trea-
ted and investigated in the same man
ner as the claims or accounts of any
other individual. To comply with the
investigation of the Message, in this res
pect, and to give full effectto the pre-
cedent to be established in this case, Mr.,
y. moved to refer so much Of the Mes
sage as refers to the private claims or
accounts of the President, to the COM
mittee of Claims, and, if this motion Suc-
ceeded, would o v to refer so much
of it as relates to the disbursements, by
the President, of Public Moneys, to such
other standing committee Of the House,
as might properly have cognizance Of
the matter. The reason for this course
was that the Committee of Claims, be-
sides being a di,igent committee, versed
in such matters. had also established
rules of decision ia regard to the prin-
cipals of claims, sc. which itcould read
lily apply in this case. Such a DISPOSE
ton of the message, also, would obviate
the imputation which whenever Justly
or unjustly. often attends the reports of
committees, of partiality in their
reports SC. by reason of which a report
from a select committee on this subject
wuuld be muchles effective, in regard
TO future legislation, than fit had been
made by a standing committee. He no.
ped, therefore, the same curse would
be taken in the present case as thought
were the case Of an individual.
Messrs, lngham, Brent, Mercer, McLane.
Mccoy, Bartlett and Liyermore followed in de-
Mr.. HAMILTON, Of S. Carolina, said,
that he though that it was not an unim-
portant portion of the inquiery before
the House, in reference to the direc-
ton which it was proper TO give the
message Of the President, TO ascertain
what had been its usual practice, in ST.
milar cases; and, whilst he cordially
subscribed to the republican doctrine
ofthe gentleman from New Hampshire,
that the chief magistrate of this nation
was entitled 10 no higher privileges of
Justice than the humblest man in our
country, he would undertake to say.
that, in the present instance, it was
merely attempted to give to this officer
the same measur OF justice and conf
ty which was usually accorded to a pri-
yate claimant under similat circumsfan-