Martinsburg gazette. [volume] (Martinsburg, Va. [W. Va.]) 1833-1855, 1834-01-23

did not bring his mind to the same con.
illusions with those of the logic of a
venerable old gentleman, inhabitinp a
white house not distant from the Capt..
tol; because his watch Here Mr.. C.
| held up his own. did not keep time
with that of the President. He was
dismissed under that detestable sys.
tenn of prescription, for opinions
sake, which has finally dared to in.
trude itself into the Halls of Con.
gress--a system under which three
unoffending clerks, the fathers of fam.
lilies, the husbands of wives, depend.
ent on them for support, without the
slightest imputation OF delinquency,
have been recently unceremoniously
discharged, and driven out to beggary,
by a man, himself the substitute of
meritorious officer who has not been
IN this city a period equal to one
monthly revolution of the moon, tell
our Secretary, (said Mr.. c. raising bis
voice. that if he touch single hair of
the head OF any one of the clerks of
the Senate, | am sure he is not dispos-
ed to do it, on account of his opinions,
political or religious, if no other mem.
Der of the Senate does it, | will instant.
ly submit a resolution for his own dis
missal. Loud applause in. The Gallery.
| The Secretary ought to have COM
municated all these things; he ought
to have stated that the Cabinet was d..
vlded two and two, and one of the
members, equally divided with himself
on the question, willing to be put into
either scale. He ought to have given
full account of this, the most impor.
tant act of Executive authority since
the origin of the Government; he
should have stated with what unsullied
honor his predecessor retired from
| office, and on what degraded condi-
tons he accepted his vacant place.
When a momentous proceeding like
this, varying the constitutional distribu.
ton of the powers Of the Legislative
and Executive departments, was re.
solved on, the ministers, against whose
advice it was determined, should have
resigned their stations. No Ministers
ofany monarch in Europe, under SINH.
lar circumstances, would have retain.
ed the seals of office. And if, as no.
body doubts, there is a cabal behind
the curtain, without character and
without responsibility, feeding the pas.
slons, stimulating the preiudices, and
moulding the actions of the incumbent
Of the Presidential office, it was an adj.
ditional reason for their designations.
There is not Maitre d'Hotel in Chris.
tendon who, if the solutions were put
into command in the parlor and dining
room, would not scorn to hold his
place and fling it up, in disgust, with
indignant pride!
shall examine the report before us,
list. As to the power of the Secretary
over the deposites; IDLY. His reasons
for the exercise of it, and, 3dly. The
manner Of its exercise.
/. The Secretary asserts that the
power of removal is Exclusively reserv.
ed to him, that it is absolute and I'm
conditional, so far as the interests of
the Bank are concerned; that it is not
restricted to any particular contingent
cles; that the reservation of the power
to the Secretary of the Treasury ex-
cluslvelyis part of the compact; that
he may exercise it, if the public conve-
nlence or interest would, in any degree,
be prompted; that this exclusive pow
or, thus reserved, is so absolute, that
the Secretary is not restrained. by the
considerations that the public deposites
in the Bank are perfectly safe; that
the Bank promptly meets all demands
upon it; and that it faithfully performs
all its duties: and that the power of
Congress, on the contrary, is so total
y excluded that it could not, without |
breach of the compact, order the de-
posites to be changed, even if Con
gress were satisfied that they. were not
safe, or should be convinced that the
interests of the people of the United
States imperiously demanded the re-
moval.
Such is the statement which the un-
assuming Secretary makes of his own
authority, He expands his own power
to the most extrayagant dimensions;
and he undertakest to circumscribe that
of Congress in the narrowest and most
restricted limits! Who would have ex-
pected that, after having so confidently |
maintained for himself such absolute,
exclusive, unqualified, and uncontroll-
able power, he would have let in any |
body else to share with him its exer-
else? Yet he says, GAS the Secretary |
"of the Treasury presides over one of
'the Erecutiue departments Of the Go.
"vernment, and has pocer over this
"subject forms a part of the Erecutiue