Cheraw gazette. [volume] (Cheraw, S.C.) 1835-1838, 1837-02-21

Committee as well as by the House itself,
must be taken in connection with your
Introductory speech, which gives charac-
ter to the whole proceedings. When thus
regarded, it is obvious that, by the resolution
of the House, an issue is made with the
President of the United States; as he had
alleged, in his annual message, that the
heads Of the Executive Departments had
performed their official duties with ability
and integrity In your speech you denied
. this; YOU charged them with @anitold cor.
ruptions, aud abuse Of trus:, as YOU had
done in former speeches, to which you
referred and you demanded an invcstiga.
ton through the medium Of a committee.
Certain other members Of Congress. US
appears by the published debates, united
with YOU in these accusations; and for the
purpose of ascertaning their truth or false.
hood, the committee You demanded was
ordered to be raised. and YOU were placed
at its head. The first proceeding of the
investigating committee is to pass a series
of resolutions, which, though amended in
their passage. were, as understood, intro
duced by you, calling on the President and
the heads Of the departments-not 10 an.
swer TO any specific charge not to explain
any alleged abuse; not to give information
as to any particular transaction: but, as.
suming that they have been guilty Of the
charges alleged, calls upon them to furnish
evidence against themselves.
After the reiterated charges you have
made, It was 70 have been expected that
YOU would have been prepared to reduce
them 10 specifications, and that the com.
mittce would then proceed 10 investigate the
matters alleged. But instead of this you
resort 10 gcncrali:!es, even more vague
than Your original accusations, and in open
violation of the Constitution, and OF that
well established and wise maxim, that all
men arc presumed to be innocent until
proven guilty, according to the established
rules Of law" you request myself and the
heads OF the departments TO become our
own accusers, and TO furnish the evidence
to convict ourselves; and this call purports
to be founded on the authority of that body
in which alone, by the Constitution, the
power of impeachng us is vested! The
heads Of departments may answer such a
request as they please. provided they do not
Withdraw their own time, and that Of the
officers under their direction, from the pub.
lie business, TO the injury thereof. 10 that
business | shall direct them to devote them.
selves. in preference to any illegal and
unconstitutional calls fc. information, no
matter from what source it may come, or
however anxious they may be to meet it.
For myself shall repel a.. such attempts
as an invasion of the principles Of justice,
as we'll Us the Constitution and | shall es.
teen i: my sacred duty to the people of the
United States, to resist them as | would the
establishment of Spanish inqusiton.
IT, after all the severe accusations con.
tanned in the various speeches Of yourself
and your associates, YOU are unwilling of
YOUR own accord, 10 bring specific charges,
then request your committee to call YOUR
self and associates, and every other men,
Der of Congress who has made the general
charge of corruption, to testify before God
and our country, whether you or they know
of any specific corruption or abuse of trust
in the Executive Departments; and if so,
what it is.
If YOU are able to point to any case,
where there is the slightest reason to sus-
pect corruption or abuse Of trust, no alb
stacle which | Gun remove, shall be inter.
posed to prevent the fullest scrutiny by all
legal means. The offices Of all tho de.
par,mcnts will be open to you and every
proper facility furnished for this purpose.
hope, sir, we shall at last have your
charges, and that YOU will proceed to in.
vestigatc them, not like an inquisitor, but
in the accustomed mode. If you either
will not make specific accusations, or if,
when made, you attempt to establish them
by making frcemen their own accusers,
YOU will not expect me to countenance
your proceedings. In the short period
which remains Of my official duty, shall
endeavor, as | heretofore have endeavored,
to fulfil the obligations Of that oath Of office,
by which, engaged "to the best Of my
ability, to preserve, protect, and defend the
Constitution of the United States" and for
this, and other reasons of the most solemn
character, l shall on the one hand, cause
every facility, consistent with law and JUS
tice, 10 be given TO the investigation of
specific, tangible charges, and on the other,
shall repudiate all attempts to invade the
Just rights Of the Executive Departments,
and the individuals composing the same.
If, after all your clanlor, you will make no
specific charges, or bring no proof OF such
as shall be made, you and your associates
IL L. Al ,1oI po1rl0 nf tho