Martinsburg gazette. [volume] (Martinsburg, Va. [W. Va.]) 1833-1855, 1834-04-24

Tue OOuSututiOus my PiSP
ed upon by the Senate, TO be within
the sphere Of its powers, he argues,
must tend to Legislative action, or, IN
its conclusion, must take the form OIL
some Executive or Legislative act
The Resolutions in question, he says,
were not legislative act nor did they
apply to any treaty or nomination be-
fore the Senate in its Executive capa-
CIV. Nor did they relate TO any OF
the cases in which the Senate might
lawfully act lin reference to ITS own
organization, &c. without the consent
of the other House.
They have, therefore, in his oPin-
ion, no warrant in the Constitution
They amount to an impeachment, if the
Senate had the power: but the House
only has power to impeach, and the
Senate only power TO try lmpeachments
when preferred by that body. The
|, Resolutions, the President says, en-
brace charges ofusurpation and viola
ton of the Constitution, impeachable
loffences, and declare the President to
be guilty of them; thus attempting to
exercise all the moral power of i'm.
parchment; without observing, in any
part ofthe proceedings the provisions
or requirements of the Constitution in
regard to impeachments. The Reso-
lutions, he further argues, PREJUDICE n
case in which the Senate might have
been called upon to act judicially, had
the House Of Representatives preferred
an impeachment against the President,
&c.
The whole proceeding, the President
declares, in very plain terms, to have
been an assumption, by the Senate, of
powers not conferred upon it by the
Constitution, and utterly incompatible
with that instrument, and with the
plainest dictates of equity and justice.
The President then goes on to OBJ.
ject to the uagueness OF the Resolution
censuring the conduct of the Execu-
tive. Though comprehensive enough,
he says it contains no certainty Of time
place, or circumstance, which induced
any one Senator to vote for it. Altho'
the Resolution, as originally moved,
specified certain particular acts nlleg.
ed to be contrary to the Constitution
and Laws, yet at the close of the de-
bate it was so modified as to particular.
ize nothing; a proceeding which the
General very pointedly condemns: for,
he adds, if the resolution had been put
to the vote in its original form, it is
presumed it would have received the
sanction of but few votes, since the
acts specified in it were clearly not
contrary to the Constitution, &c.
The Message then enters into an ella.
borate exposition of the views which
the President entertains Of the extent
of his own powers, reviewing the pro-
visions of the Constitution respecting
the power of appointing officers of
Government, & the construction which
they have received in practice. There
is no such thing as officers under the
control of Congress, it is argued, but
those which spring from the power con-
ierred upon each House by the Con-
stitution to chose its own officers. All
the other officers, except Judges and
the officers of Courts, are appointed by
the President, with or without the con-
sent Of the Senate, and subject to his
will and pleasure, through tn; power
of removal, he being responsible for
their good conduct, and for the due ex.
ecution Of the laws. The Treasury
Department, like others, is wholly Ex-
ecutive in its character, and likewise
in its responsibility. The custody of
the public money is one ofthe functions
Of that Department. For the discharge
of that function it is responsible, not to
Congress, but 10 the President. The
law establishing the Bank of the Unit
ed States did not, the Message argues,
change the relations of the President
and the Secretary Of the Treasury to
the public money: it did not release
the former from the duty of directing
where the public money should be kept
nor the latter from the Executive su.
P'iNio'b liIC &c
Of his duties: it merely superadded a
requisition that, when the President
should think fit to remove it from the
Bank of the United States, the reasons
for so doing should be laid before Con.
gress. So glazing had been the abus.
es ofthe Bank, so determined it ap.
peared to be to interfere in elections.
and to corrupt the press, &c. the Mes
sage says that the President had felt it
TO be his duty to interpose, to check
the Bank in its career, lessen its power
to do mischief, &c. and, in doing so, re-
move the disobedient Secretary who
refused to act in the case.
In such case as this the Senate
has no right, upon the general argu.
ment of the Message, to interfere. If
the Senate had right to interfere in
such a case, says the President, it had
right to make its interference effect.
ual. In such case some future Sen.
ate might, in order to make such inter.