Herald of the times. [volume] (Newport, R.I.) 1830-1846, 1837-02-09
TIE PRESIDENTS LETTER TO
THE COMMITTEE.
WASHINGTON, Jan. 26, le

oT.--i TeCeNeu on tue evening VI tne ~ftb
instant, your letter covering a copy of certain
resolutions, purportng to have been adopted
by committee of the House of Representa-
tives, OF which you are chairman, and request
that you will lay before that committee this,
my reply, which hasten to make.
1t appears by the published proceedings Of
the House of Representatives, that the com
mitec of which you are chairman, was ap-
pointed on your melton. The resolution Of
iered by you, and finally adopted by the
House, raised direct issue with that part OF
my annual message, IN which ] held the fol-
lowing language: "Before concluding this
paper, | think it due to tho various executive
departments to bear testimony to the pros
porous condition, and 10 the ability and in
tegrity with which they have been conducted.
1t has been my tim to enforce in all Of them
"A vigilant and faithful discharge of the public
business. and il is gratifying to me to believe,
that there is no just cause OF complaint, from
any quarter, at the manner in which they
have fulfilled the object Of their creation"
Your resolutions j. in the following words:
I-"Resolved, That so much ofthe Presidents
Message as relates to the condition OF the
various executive departments, the ability
and integrity with which they have been
conducted, the vigilant and faithful discharge
of the public business in all of them, and the
causes Of complaint from any quarter, at the
manner in which they have fulfilled the OBJ
ects Of their creation, be referred to select
committee to consist of nine members, with
power 10 send for persons and papers, and
with instructions to inquire into the condition
of the various executive departments, The
ability and integrity with which they have I
been conductcd-into the manner in which
the public business has been discharged in
all of-them, and into all causes of complaint
from any quarter, ct the manner in which said
departments or their bureaus or Offices or any
of their offices or agents of every description
whatever, directly or indirectly connected
with them in any manner officially or nnof-
fcally in duties pertaining TO the public in
terest, have fulfilled or failed to accomplish
the objects of their creation, or have violated
their duties, or have injured and impaired the
public service and interest; and that said
committee in its inquiries may refer to such
periods of time as to them may seem expe-
dent and proper"
1t also appears from the published proceed
ngs Of the House, that this resolution was
accompanied and supported by speech OF
considerable length, in which you preferred
many severe but vngue charges OF corruption
and abuse in the Executive Departments
The resolutions adopted by the committee,
as well as that adopted by the House itself,
must be taken in connection with your intro
ductory speech, which gives a character to
the whole proceeding. 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 Exc
I,I hll nf- 4
fetal duties with ability and integrity. In
your speech you denied this; you charged
them with manifold corrup,ions and abuses OF
trust, as you had done in former speeches to
which you referred-and you demanded an
investigation through the medium Of a COM
mttee. Certain other members ofthe House,
as appears by the published debates, united
with you in these accusations, and for the
purpose of ascertaining their truth or false
hood, the committee you demanded was or
dered to be raised, and you were placed at
his head. The first proceeding of the lnves-
tigation committee is to pass series OF re.
solutions, which, though amended In their
passage were, as understood, introduced by
you; calling on the President and the heads
OF the departments, not to answer to any
specific charge-not to give Information as
to any particular transaction, but assuming
that they have been guilty of the charges al
legged, calls upon them to furnish evidence
against themselves -...
After the reiterated charges you have
made, it was to have been expected that you
would have been prepared TO reduce them to
specifications, and that the committee would
then proceed to investigate the matters al
legged. But instead of this you resort to
generaliti6s even more vague than your orig
inal accusations, and in open violation OF the
constitution and Of that well established and
wise maxim, "that all men are presumed to
be innocent until proved guilty according to
the established rules Of law" You request
myself and the heads of the departments to
become our own accusers. And this call
purports to be founded on the authority Of
that body in which alone, by the constitution,
the power of impeaching us is vested. The
heads of departments may answer such re-
quest as they please provided they donot
withdraw their own time and that of the Off
GERS under their direction from the public
business to the injury thereof To that bnsl-
ness shall direct them 10 devote themselves,
in preference to any illegal and unconsttu-
'tlonal call for information, no matter from
what source 1t may come, or however anxious
they may be to meet it. For myself shall
repel all such attempts as an invasion of the
principles of Justice as well as of the consti-
tuition; and ] shall esteem it my sacred duty
to the people Of the United States to resist
them as would the establishment of Span
ish inqusitiop.
I IT, after all the severe accusations contain
ed in the various speeches Of yourself and
your associates. you are unwilling of your
own accord, TO bring specific charges, then
request your committee to call yourself and
associates, and every other member Of Con-
gross, who has made the general charge Of
corruption, to testify before God and our
country. whether you or they know Of any