Lynchburg Virginian. [volume] (Lynchburg [Va.]) 1829-185?, 1835-03-16

- aa' uia national honor consist1 In intem,o.
ialc l'hsaase} In menace No Rut Lo ,,afi,
e" ahGty gentlemen IN what il did consi.,
1'nal haaor consisted, first IN doing ns,,co T., ,e,
'''Ne 10 the humblcst and the weakest nc rho ~
fo"ei,ui and exalted secondly, in eyactin, i,s
- was NOT true OF sllor, that the bette,
- u II was ulscreton 1t WIS neither true of hon
"'o' 'I'n vmor, IN Its highest exercise. thai
ei'het rejected discretion Valor did no, rc,,1.a
S'e.' s''"cN even uhJustIy that you should rush
" oe Uah'2ltG IN the dl3t: nor honor ,b,t ,,
should discard all care of otber ,nd h;..,a..' ~
fs's whsn the satisfaction of a ;us, 81 49,,
""pheld. But III what was his idea tina, Tho a.
| ,''"e' hen'r vas put al hazard, in taet rounded2
'''" H' such thought orcnf in mere roofter AZ
l''Ha"' qua settlement Of money claims twas
'"onaeu IN the notion that the French C,lyernooni
'o' - 'Ae@ i"bA with us. Now, unpopular as /,
M be, aud as he knew it 10 be. he should nevcr
'he'esS aihrm that as yet such was not the fact
however polite might be such an accusation Ue
Affirmed hat the Government of France had M, ~
olated It's pledged faith in refusing n annroo,i,,a
ne money necessary TO carry our treaty with tha,
rover INTO ELECT Let HIM put "a case for illuslra
aon. suppose, under our own Constitution. which
e"'ieIred Inc treaty-matng power on the President
ana the Senate jointly, that tho President alone.
without consulting the Senate at all should take II
Ton. Could that nation Justly charge ours with n
breach Of the public faith should the Houses Of
Congress afterwards refuse 10 do the things stipu
lated IN the treaty
The French constitution dill indeed confer unon
thc Executive branch Of the French Government
thc power to make Gel tain class OF eaties bur
~'sa we'll known rule of construction, hat when
certain powers were alinnaGvclY, anl IN express
terms conferred by an article Of organic law, all
ather powers lnculcd in the same cate ,erv but not
expressed remained with the granting party. name,
ly, with the People This rule was so pelf.cplv
we'd understood and admitted, that when certain
powers were omitted in the constitution either of
France or of ths country, they mus, be held to be
reserved, and as etfecually denied as # they had
been n terms excluded Now whit did our own
constitution say lie wished the House to mark
this with care. IL contained such limited grant
as was male in that OF France with respect TO
treaties; its language was positive and unqualified
IN the gran, of the trea'y-makins power. But
what had been the uniform construction put upon i,
by the party long denounced as the republican patty
IN this courtry2 What hid they declared over and
over osain, ard pat upon record tbs republican
doctrlne Was II not this I That when a treaty
had been concluded by The Executive On the exer-
else OF AN UNRESTRICTED power on behalf Of the Uni
ted States, and Il required for its 1i men he ap-
preparation OF money such treaty, however rati.
ned, however constutonsliy made, was neycrhe.
less nchoac and incomplete until Congress should
have resolved to comply with It's stipuatons 4
w no did not know that this was our own doctrine
| respecting oar own rcaties2 Bat, throwing the
Consilnu aside, MIR. A. contend led tha' were
The Constitution silent, snch power must reside
IN Congress IN the nature of things. 1t was inner
ent IN that part of the Government which repre.
scented more Immediately the popular action. lie
challenged contradiction when he assorted That IN
no case Of popular Government, the representative
body, the exponent of the action guaranteed 10 the
people, had been Invested of such power
Suppose, then, that or situa ioa in respect to
t'ance had been reversed suppose that we were
called upon 10 pay am indemnify to the French peo-
pie. Suppose the Ftcneh Government should come
70 the House, and present treaty 81 ;nel and for
mally ratified by The President, and the House
should deelTlno that the sum WIS too great OF
lhnl nothing was due, and should refuse to appro-
pirate the money, would not gentIemen be astonish.
ed iha because Of such constitutional act by that
House Of Congress, the French should complain
that the faith of the nation had been violated
Mr.. a. insisted that had we no conditional pro-
VISION whatever, 50 Ear respects granting away
The Peoples money, the Executive could not, in
ice Governments have the exclusive control. No:
t VIZ tl tllc tpIuc INC lSeNCS must enter INTO
the bargain. ilumbe as lie was his consent as
Representative Of a portion of the American PEG.
pie must first be- asked before single dollar could
be ken out of the Treasury and sent to u foreign
nation. Was 1t possible that he could be c He'd
upon to yibdtcatc, at this late DAY, doctrine So
long established and so often confirmed I.et that
doctrine be denied let the safeguards which the
Constitution had thrown around the treasure Of the
nation be removed, and what would he tho conse-
quance No matter how the tax-Iaying branch OF
the Government might pile np money exceed from
he sweat and toll of the People, The Executive
might shovel it off as fast, aud faster than they
could accumulate it. They, who were the Peoples
representatives, their guardians their trustees,
must stand by with folded hands, and could not
raisc finger, nor interpose demonstrating word,
to sop the expenditure For one, he hal rather
that these five Millions or five hundred millions,
were sacrificed, than That such a dogma should
once be established and submitted 10, pant Of
our system Of public administration. But did not
the assertion that France had broken faith with us,
90 in effect, the whole length of such doctrine
The Executive branch of the French Government
had manifested the utmost zeal and anxiety TO have
the treaty executed The only cause of delay was
the dcliberaton of the Chambers. Mr.. A. was
as onisked to hear the repro chtu language which
had been heaped upon the Executive Orgaa OF that
Government by the honorable gentleman from Mas
sachusetts in that House, and at such a moment
Even had the rcprsachcs been merlted, which he
believed them not to be- he would no mole have
though, of rcsor,ing at such time TO reproachcs,
than TO reprlsals
MIR. A. here said that he had been informed,
within a few moments, that advIces had Just been
received going 10 strengthen the belief thu the IS