Richmond enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1815-1867, 1841-12-07
p0IJTJ6-nI
loMfL.ErIEa H..
@ 0. +. %BUTJEeeHiag. Pos,l
STUyyEs September 10Th, lSii. ) ).

ser, Esq charge a .!V""" y
tn Haynanus Eel States at Tie hague.
The. In pursuance Of the design express
NV dealer Of the 10Th ult, | proceed TO no'ice .t
ed in mysions OF my assailants on the two remaining
animqierred to by them. r.a,d
cas- Opin;on on The refusa! Of the Bdnh q Me mu
mes TO comply mih the order 81 ne oeefted'g y 1m'
-.o,,;r,ng Il TO deiirer ocer the money, BOOKS, an" p".
1equ'I.ny b. - !, ne nau;ag agent, under the act Of June
I'll, 1882. !, ,he American mr..
t;cle . bu, the National Inteiligencer refers 70 y d : ~
which illustrates the maxim, 'thal power over : "a"
.nnnor, "a mower over has will, = and as proof OF my :"
fetal subserviency to The views OF fres'oe"'
.To sustain this in%yective, it makes a statement o! the
case. and gives an extract from my "p'h'oh' WIZ"
comments thereon, from a partIzan publication VI 'e
year 1885, as follows !, a., ,,,y os
the Bank of the U. S and its branches, to pay me pen.
s;ons. Where there was no branch oil th's pa'A' :"
selected a State bank as agent Tor paying pehs'ohS' =
where there was no State bank, Tue Secretary "a
was authorized 10 appoint the agent. Mr. LASS, Tue
Secretary of War, AFTER repeated previous efforts OF the
Administration to get possession OF the pension iuhus,
appointed pension agents IN cases IN wmon ~ -.
mower Of paving the pensions, or Designating aSent ~ y.
ib,, nurpose. belonged to the Bank OF the Us. mat
institution declined 10 comply with an Administration
mandate. commanding it 10 deliver up "'he oooRs' pa
ners. and funds IN its possession, relating 10 lae eAscu'
ton Of the Pension law OF June IN, 1917
President on the 4th Of February, 1864, sent u message
to lpnUreSS. IN the SpiI't ~ a. mo oSN
in relation TO the Bank of The L. 5, accompanied by
NH, Attorney. General Buffers opinion, IN favor OF
The rioht OF the Executive 10 override the law OF tue
land. In this opinion, on ihe WORDS 81 inc ,h'fo SEC
ton of,he law Of 1882, ordering the pay allowed oy
the law, so be paid to the officers, &c., at such places
and days rs the Secretary niay uiee''
argument IS raised; ::
GOA The power to appoint the place OF payment IS
unlimited, the Secretary may appoint . place al wh'ch
there is no bank or other pension agent: ID %hich case
49, .o.x- Or 1puotDg m Hygrs In nav must necessarily
exist. or the acknowledged power TO appoint a piaee oil
payment be defeated. In this class o'cases, the power
TO appoint a place Of payment IS Tins seen 10 'nciude'
as incidental to It, the power OF appointing an agent 10
paw. And if that power be possessed IN any one case,
it would seem To be possessed in every other; unless,
indeed, it can be held that the same word, IN TINS law,
means one thing in reference TO one place, and a totally
different thing in reference to annther-a construction
too re6aed to be readily adopted.
"On other OCCASIONS said a contemporary wr'ier,
othe Executive contended that the right to superlntend
and direct an agent, gives, as an incident, The power
10 remove him: now, the Executive claims tnat inc
power 10 appoint is / incident to the duty oil superinteno-
ence. Thus, If the Legislature give 10 Inc Executive
a supervisory or other connection with any SUBJECT, the
mower TO modify il, 10 do all and every thing IN and
about il, is imnie diaiely obtained as incidental AND
thus n right is SGT mp, not only to appoint and remove
tile officers established by the Constitution, or created
by law, but 10 create, direct, anu remove Objects i iHe
will ofthe Executive.
"The monstrosity of this principle b'comes obvious,
when We carry il into one of the most important de-
pa.tmen,s OF the Executive functIons-the Army. As
COMMANDMENT Chief, the President may lawfully &C.
signate the times aud places AT which the army may as
semble. But, SAYS the Attorney General, the power
10 designate the time tchea, and the place "htTe a thing
shall be done, includes the power of determining sho
and how many shall do it; therefore The President may
not only direct the troops, levied pursuant 10 law, 10
rendezvous, but may call forth us many soldiers and ofii.
GERS ms he may choose. With such n power and such
an Executive, our political liberties wouid soon be
numbered among The relics Of lost worlds.
mBu, the conclusions ofthe Attorney. General are not
less re voting to reason than his principles are 10 the
Constitution. The Secretary, he says may appoint u
place, at which there is no bank or other pension agent,
in which case the power 10 appoint an agent to pay
must necessarily exist. Now we do not see tins ne
cessity Of Executive assumption of power, when the
Legislature is half the year in session and may supply
the omission, real or supposed, IN any statutory provi-
sions.
"But let ms, for a single instant, admit the correct
ness Of the Secretary's deduction. That necessity ex-
tends only TO the case supposed, viz that IN winch
there is no bank or other pension agent-a case form
ing an exception 10 the general rule: and at course
proving the rule which Il, tha, where there is 4 bank
or other pension agent, the Secretary canno, appoint.
But the instant the exception is assumed, Il is convert.
cd into the rule, and the right claimed to appoint,
where, and because, the law has not dts!gnated an
agent, is tortured into a right 10 appoint agents IN all
places, and especially in fifteen places, where the law
had already established them.
:" he dlHuul dppEDpliuA'h " hS''h i'ui
millions, and we cannot doubt that the desire 10 obtain
the uncontrolled possession of these millions, and to
increase the number of dependents, was the motive OF
the Executive in d,verting them into the channels
through which they now pass. With The other tHa-
sures Of the nation, The pension millions were also OBJ
tanned, save the small sum which remains in the Banh,
subject to the disposition of Congress. II is proper,
though almos, needless 10 say, that the views OF The
Attorney General bad the entire concurrence of The
President.
"The writer would have written the concluding sem
tence Of the foregoing extract more exactly had he
said, the views of the President had The entire concur
renee Of the Attorney General
If it were necessary, on this occasion, 10 GO into a
full discussion on the merits Of this opinion, the state
men, Of the case made by the In,ellisencer would re.
ouire considerable correction, and the opinion, a docu-
nent Of some ten or twelve pages, should also be given
at length. But as The structures before Us are exclu-
siyely founded on the passage above quoted, a very few
remarks will, | think, be sufficient for my present pur.
poae.
First. The act of 1892, devolved on the Secretary, in
expire . terms. the power to appoint a place Of poyment.
! thought it plain, that If he should find It pr per to
appoint a place where there was no existing pension
p,,;,;,.l .,ro, ,,ll,n.a ~ 1877 , ks1 !