Richmond Indiana palladium. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1837-1839, 1837-07-08


Accompanying the report, which /, the or =
gan Of the committee, At that time preecnted was
q resolution condemnatory of one Of the secret q
and lawless acts done by the head Of the depart Il
was carried xaas;mossly in the Senatc-no one, a
however strong his party feeling, choosing stain
has own character with has support Of the act o
This, however, did silence the pensoned PRESS
or the clamors Of those who were battening on n
the spois. The investigation was continued and e
carried OUT committee Of the house joined in the r
inquiry, and fully corroborated all that had been
shown by that Of the Senate and then, and not d
till then, were the executive engines silenced, q
and their blood hounds called off from the chase IL
But how were those who had been detected and {
exposed in Official falschood- aiding his friends
and political retainers, and political partizans, to
peculatc upon the revenues Of the department;
and how were those, who themselves joined in the
peculation and shared the spoils, dealt with by
the head Of our free and Just republic ?-Barry,
allowed to retire upon a foreign mission; and O.
badiah b. Brown, convicted Of altering and falsi-
flying the books Of the departmcnt-wth 10000 /
dollars Of the public money in his hands unac
counted for-was allowed to resign:-and when,
at last, the general post Office was consumed, he
was made the keeper Of all the books and papers
that were saved from the flames.
Now, from the very face Of this narrative, plain
and simple-detailng events in their order, as
they occurred-can any one doubt, that the keen
sighted, intelligent leaders of the party in Wash
ington-those whom the President most counsel
led and most relied on-knew and approved what
: was done and doing in the general post Office!
Why, when all the cabinet was dismissed, for the
purpose Of making it a UNIT, was Mr.. Barry alone
8 excepted, unless 1T were to carry ON the scheme
! Of corruption which was begun, and was to be
persevercd in, without the fear Of scruples which
might arise in the mind Of a successor, and inter-
: fere with the system?-Why, when in either
: house Of congress, that department was especial
o ly challenged and accused by tho opposition-why
did not the executive himsclfcause its conduct and
condition to lie specially inquired into, and its
rors corrected? And how is it possible to believe
that We, of the opposition, to whom the doors Of
5, that department were, in great degree, closed,
It should discover and expose abuses unknown to
It those who were familiar in the department ~
l. they were ut their own fircsidese why at last,
&c when condemssng proof was adduccd against 1t,
did the executive, and his presses, and his minions
of all grades, sustain those who had betrayed their
public sy. "a sHa had N 4. And
O. why, at last, appoint to honorable Office the
n head of that department whom public opinion com
PEELED to retire from it for fragrant abuse Of his Of
Of fetal trust? The answer to all these inquire.
III is obvious it was part of the general system
IS the administration to conduct that department
because, by conducting they released it from
d. the restraint and obligation Of l0r-it becam,
I
to money to be dsbursed Jobs and costracts' wa
to increased; and the number Of men who could b.
III employed and Influenced was increased also
of The abuse, therefore, Of that department, was al
Of Executive measure, adopted for the purpose o
nd strengthening the Presidential arm.
a. The veto was another weapon used by tho pres
ident to place his power above all other powers
CHI the government, and to absorb them ALL ii
u.s. found it safeguard of executive rights placed ii
as the constitution to guard against Legislative en-
Icrr chvno nfs.- he ylSed IL. If
bic sovereign power all active legislationpow
nd er to permit or forbid 1.-THE of patrOnae
ids and influence which have already CONSIDERS
sufficient, almost all cases, to control,
gle not majority, at least oscthird Of branch
d. congress. When this number once sccuret
Ct no law could pass which was disPleasing to tn
president, for his VETO efficient arrest
in defeat it but, if the country called SO loudly
the measure, that even executive influence cou
hat not command third part of either house; if tn
ma majority of both branches were overwhelming,
icy to amount almost to unanimty, there still
or other resource-a choice fc1r could be obtaine
of who would devise pretexts for deldy:-thc mea
he'd demanded by the people, but obnoxious to Ii
to executive, would be postponed TO within ten day
emit Of the close OF the session. and instead OF return
de ing the bill, with rctO, his mode todcstro
adc by Withholding it. Such, for example, was Il
art case of the bill resembling the treasury circua
up which is fresh in the recollection of you all, al
which, with other acts, equally arbitrary, has i
my uiCtcu uupdIdlleieO INJURY anu SuHeFIug On o.
country.
vas The exercise of the veto, aided by the othe
the more important, because more efectual, exec
fla tive prerogative Of retaining bill passed by mo
ept than two-thirls Of both branches, and thus pr
om- venting the further action of congress upon
has, for the last eight years. made the president
the United States absolute in his power Of pverey
ing ing Legislation. No law could be passed, howe
sed much it might be demanded by the countr
hen if it did not suit his purposes and meet his concu
nilt renee As to active Legislation, this
md ed in another manner.
ads. The president was sworn to support the CO
nit sttut;on, and that the laws were faithful
nav executed BY virtue Of this cath of Office, and
he this constitutional Injunction, the late preside
,ate claimed the right to erpo3ad and cosstvsc d
in laws, and determine for himself their mcaniI
rds, and extent, and also their agreement with the
stitution. Although the judicial power is plac
on in other hands-tho0gh the supreme court Of 4
1T United States would be auseess toy, ifthis pow
Of Of construction vested in the president NJ
g in crtheless, he claimed and exercised it-and tn