Madison Whig advocate., 1839-05-11

the best commentary | now can max
upon the history and proceedings of tina
committee.
Here Mr.. Wise read that part of hi
report which showed that the committee
was not organized until the 2lst of Jan
uary; that the resolution of the commit
tee was broad enough to embrace ever,
species of legitimate inquiry; that ther
were many subjects of inquiry near a
hand which the committee could pursue
that they took up four of them and adopt
ed four resolutions: 1st, As to patTOHag 2
TO the public press; Cd, As to appointment
without consent and adrice Of the Senate
Sd, As to contingent expenses of Depart
ments; 4th, As to Sinecures; that thes,
resolutions were all amended by tn,
Presidents own friends by inserting the
words ''without authority of laJe;;" tha
they were adopted on the 23d of Janu
airy, 1887, and he, as chairman. was or
| dered to communicate them to the Presi
dent and Heads of Departments, anC
that he did communicate them on the
cath of January, in a respectful note
That on Friday, the 9th of January
| Mr.. Wise was called on, together with
Mr.. Bell and others, by Mr.. Mann, Of
New York, to answer the question: do
y0U, Of your 13cn kR0Uledge, knOlc of ana
act By either Of the AeadS Of the Erecutirt
Departments, uhich IS either corrupt or q
UioIati0n of their offciai duties?" That
he (Mr. Wise) was proceeding to answer
this question, when the private Secrc-
tary of the President entered the com
mittee room, and presented the commit
tee the following letter in reply to his
of the 24th, communicating the rcsolu-
tions Of the committee:
'WAsHINGTON, CITY, Jan. 26, 1887
E'SIR: | received, on the evening OF
the Oath inst, your letter, covering a
copy of certain resolutions purporting
to have been adopted by a committee OF
the House of Representatives, Of which
you are chairman, and request that YOU
will lay before that committee this, my
reply, which hasten to make.
''It appears, by the published proceed
ings Of the House of Representatives
that the committee Of which you are
chairman, was appointed on your mo-
YOU.
and finally adopted by the House, raised
a direct issue with that part of my an
nual message in which | held the follow
ing language: Before concluding this
paper, think it due to the various Exc
cutlve Departments TO bear testimony of
their prosperous condition, and to the
ability and integrity with which they
have been conducted 1t has been my
aim TO enforce, in all of them, a vigilant
and faithful discharge of the public bu-
slness; and 1t is gratifying to me to be
Ieve that there IS no just cause of com
plant, from any quarter, at the manne-
in which they have fulfilled the object of
their creation Your resolution is in
the following words: 'RcsoLrcd, That
so much of the 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 dis
charge 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 objects Of their
creation be referred to u select commit
power to send for persons ard papers.
and with instructions to inquire into the
of the various Executive De-
partments, the ability and integrity with
which they have been conducted, into the
manner in which the public business has
been discharged in all of them, and into
all causes of complaint, from any quar-
ter, at the manner in which said Depart
ments, or their bureaus or offices, or any
of their officers or agents, of every des-
cription whatever, directly or Indirectly
with them in any manner.
or unofficially, in duties pertain
ing 10 the public interest, have fulfilled
Or failed TO accomplish the objects ofl
their creation. or have violated their du-
ties, or have injured and impaired the
public service and interest; and that said
in its inquiries, NAV refer to
such periods of time as to them NAV
seem expedient and proper" 1t also ap-
pears from the published proceedings ofl
the House, that this resolution was ac-
and supported by speech oil
length, in which YOU pre-
ferred many severe but vague charges
IF corruption and abuse lii the Executive !
The resolutions adopted |
Dy the commi tee, as we'll as that adopted |
1y the House itself, must be taken in
with your Introductory speech |
which gives a character TO the whole |
When thus regarded, it IS !
obvious that, by the resolution of the |
House. an issue is made with the Presi- |
lent of the United States; as he had all |
eyed, in his annual message, that the
leads of the Executive Departments had
performed their official duties with abb |
ity and integrity. In your speech you
lenied this; you charged them with
manifold corruptions and abuses of trust,
IS you had done in former speeches, TO
which you referred; and you demanded
IN investigation through the medium of
committee Certain other members of
Congress, as appears by the published
iebates, united with you IN these accu-
'ations; and for the purpose Of ascer-
aiming their truth or falsehood. the com
nittee you demanded was ordered to be |
-aiSed and Won were DIaced at its head |