Constitutional Whig. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1824-1832, 1830-05-28

opinion" If the last would provoke smile, this
would provoke q laugh Surrender to the President
the powerof removal and appointment, in the recess,
and ut his Will aud pleasure. and then correct his
abnsesby public opinion! Sir. can gentlemen be
rous in the? He has the right TO withhold the ev
dence on which he acts; he Is not obliged disclose
single reason, but public opinion is to judge him!
Yet all this while he is pcrvertng and corruptina.
"public oplniou" IL, can remove and appoint at
pleasure; he has the Crmy ut his heels; he has tie
navy at his back; he has the Treasury at his controls
dnrins four years he holds the purse and the sword
Is this ulR No; he hns more-she Post Office and The
Press He has sentinel at every Post Office; be
has a recruiting officer at every Press This then,
is the way to check abuscs During oil this period
OF four years official influence will be subdung our
liberties and Independence: the gangrene will have
been spreading, the leprosy will have become broad
and deep, and nothing but the in,erpostion of Hea
ven can save Us Did our civil fathers who gave us
tins Constitution, deem it possible that the time
wonld ever come, when any man should inraolne
that an Executive usurpa,ion for fou- wears copld
only be corrected at the end of the term. Yet
TINS IS the consolation which gentlemen would
edmlnIster when they seem to admit or cannot
deny, the abuses OF which we complain. Here
present. concisey and ut view, the only
remedies OF Executive usurpatlon-tegiSiation i'm
Pedchment, and public opinion-eacb or ali entirely
inadequate, utterly visionary This enables us to de-
hne term lately introduced into modern poti
cal code-''high responsibility" Now, as words are
only intended to convey ideas. it will be well to- as
certain the meaning of the term. The President can
remove from Office and appoint, in the recess and no
ore has right to inquire the cause and if he does,
the President is under no obligation to answer He
is resp nsibfe, but Obliged respond to uny cart
y tribunal which has any right ever to consider
of the response: and this is high responsibily."-
high responsibility" then, is lnques onable, I'M
limited, illi' bl,. discretion and ungaestonabe n
limited. ilmitable discretion is sovereign ciN and
sovereign Will is absolute REPRESENTATIVE .hrh
responsibility" is absolute lespotsm. Now, think,
Sir hat this IS reasoning syIiogstically, fair
conclusion from your premises. 1t hence follows
fairly If not i.resstibly that there no other check
upon this abuse of power but the Senate. Here the
people and the States 10 lcok, aad here they have
hitherto looked.
But SIR, each subordinate executive officer also, is
securely inrenched behind this high responsibility
AT the request ola friend who had been very uucer
Enormously removed from the Post Office wrote n
letter the Postmaster General to inquire the cause
OF ms removal. This new hedged, or rather unified
geo mead OF recently created Department did not
c2adescead to answer the inquiry of Senator, and
recered note from one OF his su6ordiaGtes which
was IN substance tEis--I am directed by the Post,
master General to inform you that YOU are not per
United 10 know SIR In the proud DAYS of the Re-
pubic, When ihe Senate was what it should be- the
Postmaster General would, for such reply, have
been summoned to the bar of this Senate to answer
for contempt. Blu. 1t would now have been mad
Ness 10 have proposed it. We are the humble sar
wants OF these petty tyrants. Phey oil act upon their
hgh responsibility You will not ALLOW US to ASK
Inc president why he Is doing this? and if YOU your
solves know the causes, you refuse to inform u.s. Can
be doubted that If you of the majority had satis
FACTORY reasons, you would not withhold them from
us. We invite you to JON in an inquiry of the
President, why this extraordinary course has been
pursued'-why this genera sweep has been made If
you Gno%, tell US; give Us the satisfactory ntorma-
tloh and there Is end to the call. II NAV hn
that You do know the Presidents reasons for
hls removals, and that they will not bear the Iinht-
HIS friends, sure, ha, not the moral or political
courage to avow, and Justify TO the World that is all
49,
system OF rewards and punshments; that honest and
independent officers must be hurled oct however faith
full to give place to psrtiZnns however worthlass-
But, sir Is 1t unchantable for say that these re-
movals are all par,izan, d personal affi.s Whence
yer thefe is or you think there is removal for good
cause. you are ready enough to Communicate n. Won
SEIZE On Ii With alacry and profer TO us With Sort
OF triumph But there is only now and then cite of
this descriptions most of the cases are vet involved in
the deepest mystery You know that nothing has
been gained but much lost by this relentless
ticn for, as general remark the officers removed
were Ionaby better than those who succeed
ed then. Now, if the President has removed han
dreds of faithful and capable officers for political o,in-
oS he has ranty abused his trust and violated the
Constitution If 1t Is not SO, give US the true consi
Lutlonal reason, and viii be satisfied BIT there
Is good ground to Suspect, that if the President had
any satisfactory reasons, his friends would never have
attempted to shield him by the sayisl doctrines we
have heard advanced | confess was thunderstruck
that old fashioned republicans, dyed in the WOOL
shouid attempt to enforce the principle of SOVEREIGN
will and unlimited confidence. If the doctrines in
,uleated by The Senator from Louisiana are sound,
here is not monarch in Europe more absolute than
he President of the United States If no ono
IAN inquire, no one Gun Judge; and if no one can
udge, how can 1t be determined that the Presi
lent has abused his powef' How the guilt be
oade manifest and the abuse corrected, when the
President has right to keep all his reasons and
motives forever locked up in his royal bosornP-
Sir, III the name of that liberty so dear 10 man. and
IN the presence ofmy country and my God | here on
Ter my most solemn protest against these doctrines rs
t only cr tyrants and slaves But the Senator from
would humble Us still further ghe pro-
dent may remove and appoint in the recess and de-
cline 10 nominate the officer thus appointed TO the
Senate at the next session, if The Senate rejects
lirn III either case as l understand, the temporary
Would not expire until the end of the Sen
ate session, and hereuPon the President NAV an
oont the officer again to ill the same vacancy nrain
ID the recess. If the President could bo
sustained In this construction by protested constu
al he could