The Massachusetts spy, and Worcester County advertiser. [volume] ([Worcester, Mass.]) 1825-1831, 1826-04-12


honorable gentleman.
In thn irst place, the power Of the Execu-
tive is not great, as the gentleman describes it.
but very small. The gentleman made it
equal TO that of the king OF Great Britain.
Sir, must say this seemed 10 me to be an
exaggeration too violent 10 be admitted, even
in the heat Of argument. shall not follow my
friend from Connecticut, (Mr. lngersolI,) in
he comparison of the powers of the king Of
England with those Of, the President, nor shall
trouble the committee b. referring to, the
chapters of the Federalist on this subject,
which, doubt not, are better known to the
gentleman from South Carolina than to me, in
which the same comparison is so forcibly pur-
sued. | will cOnfne myself TO the single point
of the tenure of the two officers; the Pres
ident of the United States being elected for
four years-the King of England being he
reditary and for life. In Consequence Of this
single difference OF tenure, the difference Of
influence between the two functionaries, land
it is question as TO infuence,) is positively
infinite 81 cannot use weaker term.
hesitate not to assert, that--if have learn-
ed any thing OF English history, il is this
that ii the Ning Of England were elective,
and for four years, there has not been a min
islry, since the time of the Cecils and the
Walsing hams, that could have sat on their
benches for four weeks. Sir, the President
has no power Of the nature to create ipfiu-
ence--he can do mex 10 nothing OF himself
in that way. The only power that he may
be said to have, which 10 absolute, ard this
is not of a nature TO confer personal influence,
is that OF negativing law passed by less
than two-thirds Of Congress. As to patron
age. he cannot appoint TO an Office of one
hundred dollars per annum, without the con-
sent Of thirteen sovereign States. He con-
not treat with foreign power to build light
house de- ISOLATE rock, without the raiifca-
ton Of sixteen independent States. There is
only one office, believe, to which he has the
power of appointment; aud have now, in.
my drawer, resolution to take from him that
! solitary piece of patronage: the Office of liz
brarian to Congress.
No, sir, the Executive is not strong. It
therefore needs no curious search after the
principle by which the strength of the Execu-
tive is to be reconciled with the liberty of the
people. The trainers of the Constitution went
on no such search for principle ofreconcil;a-
tion between the liberties OF the people and
the powers of government. They went on
far simpler and nopler principle-that of Civ
ing to the governors no power likely to be a.,
buscd, in The circumstances under which il is
given to them. They went rather on the prin-
cipls Of having no governors at all. ] thought
| it was very justly said on this floor, a few
weeks since, that we have no government,
there is nothing in this country which deserves
the name OF government; or, il there is any
government, it is here if there is any throne>
/ YOU, sir. are seated on it. The people are.
what they are often ironically called, the
| soVereigns.
The gentleman may tell me that, if this be.
| the case, our government does not differ from
the ancient demoe raciee. Widely, totally.
sir and let US consider how, for it is in this
that the great improvement o. the modern Do
litical system resides. The Improvement is.
that we have, and act upon, what they had
not, or in vGy imperfect degrees. and in very
limit ed measures, the idea of delegated pow
er. What is the nature Of delegated power
That the people VIII" delegate it, de .egate Just
as much as is safe in the hands OF man, as he
is, and this upon the terms of written &C M
pact, and for limited pt Rod. And shat we
BE- told that one of the repositories of this DEL
ega;ed power, on the terms Of a writer Conn
pact, ,or period of four years, has all The ex-
ecutive power Of the King OF England Who
makes war, who makes peace, who-issuss Or
ders in council with the force o; law? Who
governs half the world 10 the form OF color les,
privy council? Who grants pensions out OF the
droits OF the crown, over which Parliament has
no control? That king who can do no wrong :
| that king who never dies and who can rarse
the commoner to the pr erags by his severe ign
will. The single power OF pensionng, out of
fund over which Parliament has no control
the single power Of raising to the peer*ge-
exceeds all the power which, not the Presi-
dent alone, bur all the branches of THIS gov
eminent, united. possess, to corrupt the It'll
zens OF the country. And here permit NE 10
say, that if my recollection does no injustice
to the gentleman, he did injustice TO the Com
stitution, in quoting from it the sIet i6caiion
of the executive power. In the printed report
of his speech, the words are, "all Executive
power is given to the President" But the
words of the Constitution are, "he executive
power;" and, instead Of UNDERESTIMATE g, with
the honorable gentleman, all the power given
TO any executive of any country. this express
sion in the Constitution imports the executive
power which this written system gives to this
officer, called the President
| This ! conceive to be the theory of our lib-
| erty, as far as the power OF the Executive is
concerned; and this liberty is farther secured
by our statute of distributions, by our prolnbi-
tions Of nobility, by our absence of Standing
armies, and other republican institutions at
| war with those institutions in the old world,
which are the support OF their monarchies.-
| The gentleman's theory, on the other hand, is
very nearly the theory Of despotism. II the
gentleman from South Carolina should 60 to
an acute aud philosophical subject Of an abio-
lutte government, he would ind him 10 sste
the relation, in viii, h tie IN march stards 10
Ibis subject, in very ncary the SAME Term. in
which he has stated the relation lttwe n he
President and the people OF the UDitec States
the relation of almost ndo6ute power ex-
err ised on prin, iples Of beuevol.nce, 1--we AID
atenal feeling. He, too, would disc laim