The native American., 1838-06-09
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES.
FRIDAY, May 25, 1893.
INSULT TO CONGRESS.

iDAts S1'Aoy ~, iovcs
INSULT TO CONGRESS.
Debate continued ON The Presidents Message
regarding Papers, accompanied wih the
Libels from a political paper ,pon i,sdiuiauai
NJ character. ts
The next business coming up in order was
the following resolution, moved by Mr.. CAMBRE-
LENG this morning latter the receipt of the Mes
sage transmitting the explanatory letter Of Secre-
tary WooDBuRY:)
g Resolued, That the committee to which the
papers alluded to in the said Message have been
referred, be discharged from the consideration
thereof, and that they be Withdrawn from the
files, and returned to the President"
Mr.. HOFFMAN, who was now in his seat,
(not having reached the House at the time the
message read rose, and said that he under
stood that, during his absence, communication
had been received from the President Of the
United States having an important bearing on the
resolution he had offered. Il would be remcm-
bered by the House that, at the time he offered
the resolution, he had expressed the hope, nay,
the confident belief, that the President never
could have authorized the transmission to this
body Of documents so offensive in their character
as those to which the resolution referred; and it
now gave him cordial pleasure to say that, having
perused the communication at the Clerks table,
he was now enabled to say that the President
stood perfectly and completely exonerated from
all blame in the transaction. 1t was manifest
that the President had been imposed on by placing
too great confidence in his heads of Departments.
When he found what sort Of communications
had been sent to the House, he probably called
upon the Secretary Of the Treasury to furnish the
reasons why papers Of this character had been
made to accompany his message, and the House
had received communication from that officer,
which, while it completely cxonerated the Presi-
dent from all intention to insult the House by
transmitting such documents in reply TO its call,
left the whole blame on the head Of his Secretary.
The Secretary, it seemed, had reported to the
President that various communications on the
subject Of the importation Of paupers had for years
been received at the Department, some III writing,
others III print, and some by personal conversa-
ton. These papers had, without any critical ex-
animation, been ordered to be placed OH the files
of the Department., and from thence had been
transmitted to the House without being looked
into. But by whom had papers Of this character
been sent! What confidential friend of the Sc
cretary was it who had furnished him with ex-
tracts Of this kind, which could only furnish ali
ment to the most corrupt and morbid passions,
and which wcresfull, from one end to the other,
of the most libellons and rbald abuse on the cor
porate authoritiess0f great city, and on rcspec-
table and worthy men by name? How did il
happen that documents like these were ordered to
be placed on the files of one of the Departments
of this Government? Did this Secretary of the
Treasury mean TO make his Department dcposi-
tory Of all the revolving lbels daily poured forth
by the lowest presses Of party? We're produc-
tons like these placed there without being read!
Had they been read, or even glanced at, the
nature of their contents could not for moment
have been mistaken; and what right, then, had
the Secretary to direct such personal calumnies
to be put OIL the files ofthe Government!
But again: What had the President been re-
quested to send to the House? He had been
called upon to furnish it, not with matters Of loose
SUSPICION not with scurrilous extracts taken from
the newspapers, but with information, with au-
thentic facts, which should form basis for lcgis
lative action. Thus called upon, the President
very properly referred to the head Of the Depart
mcnt; and the Secretary was thus placed in So
lemn and responsible attitude. He was required
to perform a weighty and important duty to the
Representatives of the American People. And
what does he do! Without examination, and,
as it would appear, without reading or the slight
est inspections he transmits to the President, and
the President to the House, as foundation for
its action, extracts from the lowest party news
papers, filed with base and scurrilous abuse of
lnulVl(luatS. ur IL. callcu upon VIC ItouSc W
pause upon fact of this kind, and to consider
what degree of reliance could hereafter be placed
on official communications from Department.
When document came to the House bearing the
official stamp Of the head Of a Department, the
House had been in the habit Of receiving it as
entitled to consideration and worthy Of credit;
but what became of all such confidence if papers
were officially communicated without being read
or looked at, and without ascertaining the fact
that they impeached the personal character Of
members of the community as respectable, in all
points of view, as the honorable Secretary him
self; nay, without knowing whether they did not
contain a libel on members Of the House, and on
tho very member who had originated the call!
Ifa Secretary could transmit paper which I'M
peached, in the grossest manner, the chlo' ma
gistrate Of one Of our greatest cities, citizen who
had twice received the public testimonial OF .he
appreciation Of his fellow-citizens, and which
hcaped similar abuse on others OF the constituted
authorities of that city's municipal government,
because they were the friends Of an, honest and
disinterested party, (the Native Americana why
might it not have impeached the very member
who called for information? Mr.. III. rejoiced TO,