The Camden journal. [volume] (Camden, S.C.) 1836-1851, 1841-03-17

Treasury with the EXECUTIVE LGpdi ''"''
which has created such extensive alarm
To This danger to our Republican lnst'l"'
,;,,,s, and ,irat crcatel by the inhn3nc
qiven 10 tI.e Executive through The 'ns''"'
n,rp,ali,v OF tn Federal officers pro-
nose to- apply all the remedies VINE! '''',
he # nv cnmn,and. 1t was certainty "
orc,t error IL the fran,ers OF the C""''''
stu,ion. not to have made 'ne o"'''' a.
the head st the Treasury Department W "
,;re,y independent Of Il ExecnllVe. H lis
xbould -, least have been remoVaoie on'l
u,nn the dema nd of the popular branch
NJ The Legislature. Ihavc determined me-
YER to remove Secretary Of the Trea'u'
rv without communicating all the circnFn'
stances attending such removal TO D''n
Houses Of Congress. The influence "l
the Executive in controlling the freedom
Of the elective franchise through the me-
lium of the public officers canbe eiiec.oa''
" checked BY renewing the pr"hin,l!!::''' i,!:
published by Mr.. Jefferson, '"fo'"uI"s :
their interference in elections fulher 'na'
GIVING their own votes; and their own IN.
denendence secured by an assurance o.
perfect immunity. in exercising .n ,''' ,;S
cred privilege Of freemen uhder 'He "'''
i.,ss of ,beir own unbiased judgements -
Never with my consent. shall an otncer
or The neopIe, compensated for ms ser
vice. out of their pockets, become '''e 'n'
strument uf Executive will.
There is 10 part Of the means placed
IN the hands of the Executive "h'c"
might be used with greater effec'' 'or "nI
hailowed purposes, than the c"ntro' ol
the pubIic press. The maxim %nich our
.n.e.Inrs derived from the mother c"un-
,rv ,b,t ",he freedom Of the press is the
ares, ~ bulwark of civil and religious lIber-
sy" i. one of the most precious legacies
which they have left Us. we nave iearn'
ed, too, from our own as wen as '"e eA-
periencc of other countries, mat goiden
shackIes, by whomsoever or oy ""a.-
over pre.ence imposed, are as fatal II II
=. the iron bonds nf despotlsm. Inc
dresses in the necessary employment Of
Inc G,vernment should never be used "to
clear the guilty, or to varnish crimes: -
A decent and manly examination "i the
acts of the Government should oe h"'
only tolerated but ehcourascu'
Upon another occasion have given my
onipion, at some length, upon the i'm
prop: iely of Executive interference IN inc
legislation of Congress. That the arl'-
Gle in the Constitution makingit the duly
Of the President to Communicate ,hI"r-
nation, and authorizing him to rec"m-
mend measures, was not intended to make
him the source of legislation, and, in p*r-
ticular, that he should never be looked TO
for seiremes of finance. twould be very
strange, indeed, that the Constitution
should have strictly forbidden one branch
Of the Legislature from interfering IN the
originstion of such bills, and that it
should be considered proper that an alto
aether different department oi the TO-
vernment should be permitted to 40 So
Some Of our best political max'ms ana
opinions have been drawn from our parent
Isle. There e-otIIers however, which
cannot be introduced in our system witt
out singular incongruity, and the pro-
duc,ion of much mischief. And this l
conceive to be one. No matter in which
af the lluusps of Parliament a bill may o.
riginate, or by whom introduced, min-
ister, or member of the opposition, by
the fiction Of law. or rather of c"nstitu-
tional principle, the sovereign is supposed
to have prepared it agreeably to his will,
and then submitted it to Parliament for
their advice and consent. Now, the very
reverse is the case here, not only with
reglr rd 10 the principle, but the forms pre-
sc1ibed by the Constitution. The princl-
pie certainly assigns to the only body
constituted by the Constitution uhe lrgis-
lative body,) the power to make laws, and
the furms even direct that the enactment
should b. uscribed to them. The Senate,
IN relation Il; revenue bills, have the right
TO propose ameGt!mnts; and so has the
Executive, by the power given him 10 re-
turn them to the House "t representa-
tivcs, with his objections. ~ is IN MS
Hower, also, 70 propose amendments ~
the existing revenue laws, suggested oy
his observations upon their defective oi III
furious operation. But the delicate dut;
Of devising schemes Of revenue should
be left where the Constitution has placed
it-wi,h the immediate representatives of
the people. Fer similar reasons, the
mode Of keeping the public treasure
should be prescribed by them; and the
farther removed it may be from the con-