Burlington free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1827-1865, 1836-02-05


,ute bv no means, the most dangerous part
of the proposed Authority because, under
this authority, his power to raise ana EN-.
ploy land forces was equally absolute and
uncontrolled. lie might levy troops, eln.
bodv new army, call out the militia in
numbers to suit his own discretion, and
employ them as he saw fit.
Now. sir, does our legislation, under our
constitution, furnish any precedent Tor all
this
Wemake appropriations for the army,
! and we understand what we are dong, be
cause it is 1.-THE army" that is to say, the
army established by law. We make ap
propriations for the navy; they too, are Tor
''thc navy" as provided for and established
bv law. We make appropriation tor forti
ficn,ions, but we say what tor,fications;
and we assign to each its intended amount
of The whole sum. This is The usual course
of CONGRESS on such subjects: aud why
should il be departed from, Are we ready
to saw that the power of fixing the places
for new fortlicatons and the sum allotted
TO each-lhe power of ordering new ships
TO be bcllt and fixing the number OF such
new ships the power Of laying out money
to raise men for the army: IN short every
power, great and small, respecting the mil
|tarv aud naval service, shall be vested in
the President, without specification Of OBJ
iect or purpose, or the entire oyciplon of
the exercise of judgment on the part of
congress- For one am moi prepared. -
The honorable member fromOhio near me,
has said that if The enemy had been on our
shores, he would not have agreed TO this
I ! hn
now before US and the guns of the enemy
were batterng agrn,t the Capital, would
not agree to it.
The people Of this country have an in
teres', property, an inheritance it this in
strumcnt, against winch the value offortv
capitals do not weigh the twentieth part OF
one poor scruple. There can never be any
necessity for such proceedings but feigned
and ia Ise necessity, a mele IDLE and hollow
! pretence of nccessry; least Of all can it be
! said that such necessity actually existed on
| the 81 Of March. There was no enemy on
our shores there were 70 guns pointed
against the capital; we we're in TO war,
nor was there reaonabIe probability that
we should have war, unless we made it
| ourselves.
/
relations is It not prepostertns to say, that
! It was necessary for congress to adopt this
measure and yet not necessary for the Pres
! 'dent to recommend it Why should we
| thus run in advance of all on. own duties
and leave the Pres;den, completely shielded
| from his just responsibility Why should
there be nothing but grant and trost anC
Confidence on our SIDE, and nothing bu'
discretion and power on his ?
Sir, if there b. any philosophy in history
if human blood still runs in hrnan veins
if man still conforms to the identity of his
nature, the institutions which secure con
slltutinDal liberty can never stand long
against this excessive personal contileRc"
against tins devotion to men--it utter dis
regard of principle and experience. whcI
seems 10 me to be- strongly characteristic
OF our times. This vote came TO Us sir
from the popular branch Of the Legislature;
and that such a vote should come from .Dci
branch of the Legislature, was along i
the circumstances which excited 10 ne the
greatest surprise and the deepest cncern.
Certainty, sir, certainly | was not, N that
account, the more inclined 10 concr 1t
was nn argument with me that OF herseem-
ed to be rushing. with such needless head
long trust. snch lmprtuo>,y of confidence.
; into the arms Of executive power. held
back The stronger, and would hold buk the
, longer. see. or think see, it is either
, a true vision ofthe future, revealed " the
history of the past. or, if it be on fusion
. IT is an Illusion which appears to men al
, the brightness and sunlight of broaduoon
that 1t Is in tins career of personal conf
II all hon to irop l. .
ship, marked every furlong, b. the frar.
menls of other free governments. tht our
own system is making progress to its close
f A personal popularity, honorabiy cirned
at first by military Achievements, and sus.
tanned now BY party, by patronage, ard by
| enthusiasm which looks for no III. beca USE
. it means no i'll itself, seems to render mer
wiling TO CRAFTY power, even before it.
demands are made. and to surIeit executive
discretion, even in anticipation of It's own
appetite. Sir. # on the Sd of March last
II had been the purpose Of both Houses o.
Congress to create military dictator, what
formula had been better suited to their
purpose than this vote of the House II
is true we might have given more money
# we had had it to give. We might
have emptied the treasury; but as to The
form OF the gift, we could not have be,tered
1t. Rome has no better models. When
we give our moneytor any military purpose
WtateUer, what remains to be done ? Ii we
leave 1t with one man to decide, not only
whether the military means Of St-sGTy
shall be used at all, but how they shall he
used. and to what extent they shall b. en-
ployed, what remains either for congress
or tor the people but to cit stun, anS see
| how Ibis dlciatorlaI power will be eXer-
| cised' On the 81 of March, sir, had
not iorgotten-lt was impossible that !
81. ould forget, the recomme ndatlon IN the
mes sage, at the opening of that session
that power should be vested in the Presl-
dent to issue letters Of marque and rsprsai
against France, at his discretion, in the
recess of congress. Happily this power
was not gra nled but suppose it had been,
what would Fave been the true condition
or thiS ,oynrn, neDt Whv sir mi. con.