The Madisonian. [volume] (Washington City [i.e. Washington, D.C.]) 1837-1845, 1839-02-14


has been lost, or why should be conducted only 6y
those interested in restoring IT, what has 10 DO
with restoring il at all. il is difficult 20 conceive
But if the recovery Of this money 10 the on'y' %
even the principal object, why trouble Us WIN TINS ~
yeslgaton1 Why have committee OF this House .
do, whai, after all could not possibly DO wen "n
are all the ordinary instruments Of Executive PJ I'M -;
its law officers Of various classes IT'S eonis' W." $50
process its udqes counsel sheTiis, bailiiis ooep,
| ! go, s ghecs,y With it's bills Of discovery and
relief s searching ntenogsories and oalhs OF parties,
can do more to detect and deiss' itauu uan any COM
m,tee of this House. albeit authorized 10 send LOT
on anil napers in few weeks for investigation. IL
does appear 10 that nothing more nugaory
,h.n this whole proceeding considered in the light IN
I which the gentleman seems exclusively to view il.
| Then, sir, as 10 the argument that, because the
friends OF the Administration more Interested In
The recovery Of the money than the rest Of as, We
| should commit the management Of this inquiry TO
them, II is in The first place, founded upon graui
ious assumption, and is, moreover, most illogical
conclusion, even from a false premise. deny that
any party in this House is really more interested
Than another in restoring so considerable sum 10
the common treasury OF the country. am sure Il
wonld be boon for which both Charleston and
Pensacola would be most grateful 10 you, il IL were
laid out in those places IN the establishments
speaking Of few days ago. But, even conceding
what Is thus taken Tor granted, The reasoning of the
gentleman from Maryland is surely most extraordi-
nary Says The gentleman The friends of the Ad-
miniStration in this House should be employed in re-
covering the money Wbya Because the Admins
tration lost il This House by its committee is TO
recover what was lost through The carelesSness
unskilliulness OF the head Of The Treasury; and
that it seems is 10 exonerae that officer from every
imputation Of neglect of duty Was there ever a
stranger confusion OF ideas 7 Why, what sort Of
connexion Is there between the recovery OF the
ney by the Legislature and the loss OF it by the Exc
cutpe; and how the merits Of our committee 10
be imputed, by this most anomalous relation back 10
him, who, for the purposes OF This argument, must
be presumed 10 have incurred just cenSure for a
mr. mi la mi And
above all, what satisfaction would il be to The
try, justly alarmed at peculations and abuses
precedent=d and enormous, naturally expecting OF
this House that il should take measures at once 10
visit with lis vindctye justice those who have been,
directly or indirectly, engaged in them, and TO pre-
vent, as far possible, the recurrence of them in
fu,ure-What satisfaction would il be 10 the AmeIi-
can Peopleto hear that having recovered their pro-
perry we had agreed 10 stop The prosecution and
hush up the whole matterl And is this The only
gument which the friends Of the Administration
have to urge why they should have the control,
through the Speakers appointment, Of this extraor-
binary inquiry Even so, sir.
| But the gentleman from Maryland, (Mr, Thomas,)
apologlzng for +" the pressure" under which he was
obliged to speak, added few observations to those
which have just examined. BY his first argument he
admitted that the friends Of the Administration
responsible for the safe-keepng Of the money and it
was because they responsible, tina. he thought
them entitled to majority in the cohshlttee As the
" friends of the Administration however, could
be responsible through the Administration ITSELF to
which the custody of the money was exclusively con-
fded, the gentleman, very naturally, into another
| argument show that the Executive not, in fact
| TO be blamed for the offences of Swartwout How
these two positions to be reconcled, whether
they be reconciled at all, is business Of mine
certain it is, however. that the gentleman FROM Mary
land thought perfectly consistent in himself first to
claim privilege for the friends of the Administration,
the ground Of their being answerahc for the
quences OF this ENLIGHTENMENT, and then TO deny that
any blame, whatever, attached could attach TO the
Administration ITSELF for the IMMUNITY with which these
peculaons carried on FOR years together And,
Why Because, forsoolh many Wings and many Con-
servatves thought the innocent until he found
to be guilty and 1t could even be proved by credible
witnesses that he had presided over public meet
ings held by citizens Of New York belonging to one or
other Of those parties Why, sir, this is really
much public officer, repeatedly appointed to of
the most important trusts the country and acqupg
himself Of its duty, the public led TO believe,
by his continuance office, with perfect fidelity, is
treated BY the community in which he lives, with the
spect dueto his high station, ard this makes them
much responsible for what he does the Government,
whose confidence in him II that enabled him to de-
ceve that community. The merchants OF New York,
who had nothing TO do with his accounts, who had no
means of knowing what was his official conduct, who
took 1t for granted good easy men, that the agents Of
the people here at Washington, when they told them all
well, knew what they said to be true. they were
bound to know II believed SwaItwout defaulter And
therefore, it not for them nor for u.s. ask those
very agents why they made or countenallced these
false reports. by which have all been mscd much
to our cost The gentleman went to adduce other
proofs Of the high credit which Swartwou enloyed and
hen suddenly taking turn to his argument, stated by
'av Of excupang the Administration, that many
Of its friends used their influence with the Senate,
when the second appointment OF this IN
der consideration in 1884, to have him rejected
The present Preslden, Of the United States is ex-
pressy named among those who endeavored to prevent
O CHI |
wish TO say nothing unnecessarily unknd Of that heroic
Old man, now retired forever from the stage Of public
life Tie certainly erred in making this nomination
but why did his friends go him with their oblec-
tons TO II, instead Of whispering suspicious into the
of the Senate! The difference between the pow
er tina. appoints and the power that confirms or rejects
is that the action Of the ormerl perfectly untrammel-
ed whereas II Is incumbent upon the latter show
some reason for its dissent Had the Senate rejected
| SwaItwout upon vague rumors who doubts but their
conduct-especaly at that particular Inncture-woud
have been denounced as facous and arbitrary That
the friends Of the Administration, therefore, endeavored
| to prevent the confirming OF a nomination, Of which
they seem TO have taken measures to prevent the
making, more exonerates them from all responsibility
for IT, than it proves that the Senate much
blame for it the Executive But, If this whole argu-
ment fails to prove what the gentleman desires make
out there IS at least one purpose which IT, does very ef
tectualy answer II shows that every possible circum-
stance combined to point Swartwout out to his official
supcrors object Of most vgllant snspicion it
shows concusively that they connot plead surprise or
ignorance; .s,iI further nfames all the Prescriptions
arising out OF the other circumstances OF the case and
Justfes this House, trumphanty, in its visible deerm-
ration to give to this whole subject severe and
searching examination through committee of its own
choosing
One word sir, as to the proposal to vote rira ro1c
understand gentlemen 10 insist upon This deviation
from the express rules of the House, on grounds
most offensive 10 its dignity. They treat us as it.
instead OF an assembly Of gentlemen, representatives
OF great nation, we were gang of crouching
slaves, urged tothe performance of our duties only
by The lash, and Skulking, whenever we find an op-
! poHunity, from The eye Of our masters. Sir there
tcas time when such insnuations now become so
familiar TO Us as TO be words Of course would
have kindled a flame OF generous indinnalinn In The