The Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1837-1867, 1841-03-16

!, la' NOT nsonsibc OF the great difficulty that ey
lists in devsing proper plan for the sale,keeping
'and disbursement Of the public revenues: and l
know the Importance which has been attached by
men Of great abilities and patriotism, To the divorce
as it s called, of the Treasury from the banking
I institutions. II is not the divorce which is
| planned, but the unhallowed union Of the Treasury
with HE Executive Department which has Great.
ed such extensive alarm. To this danger to our
republican institutions, and hat created by ;he in;
hnence given 10 the Executive through the insru-
menia'i,y OF the federal officers, propose TO apply
all the remedies which may be at my command
Ii was cerianyn great in tho Trainers Of tho
! Constitution, not TO have made The officer ut the
head oftho Treasury Department entirely indepeu
dent ofthe Executive, lie should at least have
been removable only upon the demand OF the pop.
uar branch Of The legislature. have determined
never to remove Secretary Of the Trensury with.
ont communicating all the circumstances attending
such removal to both Houses of Congress. The in
uence Of the Executive IN controlling the freedom
Of The elective franchise through the medium of
the public officers can be cffeciually checked by
renewing the prohibition published by Mr. Jeffer,
son, forhiddiug their inter ference in elections fur
Their Than giving their own votes; and their own 10
dependence secured by an assurance ofperect inn
muniiy, in exercising this sacred privilege of free.
men under The Dictates of their unbiased judg
mons. Never, with my consent, shall officer
OF the people, compensated for his services ont of
their pockets, become the plant instrument Of Elk,
ecGlve will.
There is part of the means placed in the
hands Of the Executive, which might be used with
greater effect, for unhaliowcd purposes, than the
control of The public press. The maxim which our
ancestors derived from the mother country that
"the freedom Of tho press is the great buwark of
civil and religious liberty is one ofihe most pre-
| cous legacies which they have lefl u.s. We have
learned, TOO, from we'll the expert
ence of other countries, thai golden shackles, by
whomsocver, or by whatever pretence imposed, AFRO
as fatal TO it as the iron bonds Of despotsn The
presses in The necessary employment of the Gov
eminent SHOULD never be used 'io clear the guilty,
or vanish crimes" A decent and manly exam
iuann of The acts OF the Government should be not
only tolerated but encouraged.
Upon another occasion have given my opinion,
at some length, upon the impropriey of Execu-
tive interference in the Legislation Of Congress.
Tina, the article in the Constitution making ii the
duty of the President to communicate iniot nation,
and auihorZining him to recommend measures,
was not intended to make him the source of cglsa
ton, and in particular, that he should never be
looked TO for schemes of finance 1t would be
very strange indeed that the Constitution should
have strictly forbidden one branch Of the Legisa-
lure from interfering in the orisna,ion such bills,
and tIa, il should he considered proper that an alto
gether different department. of the Government
should be permitted TO do Some Of our best po
liical rnaxms and opinions have been drawn from
orr pa,en, Isle. There are others, however,
which cannot he introduced into system with
on, singular incongruy, and the production of
much mischief. And This I conceive TO be one.
No matter in which ofihe Houses Of Parliament q
bill NAV DE isinated, nor by whom introduced,
minister or member Of tho oppostion, by the
fiction o flaw, or rather of constitutional principle,
the sovereign is supposed TO have prepared il agree
ably to his will and then submitted il to Parlia.
ment for their advice aud consent.
Now, the very reverse is :he here, not only
W 18th regard TO the principle, brt the forms pre-.
scribcd by the Constitution. The principle certain
" assigns to the only body constituted by tho
Constitution Ohe legislative body) the power 10
make laws, aud the forms even direct that the en-
act,nent should be ascribcd to them.-The Senate,
in relation The revenue BILLS, have the right TO
propose amendments; & so has tho executive, by the
power given him 10 return to tho House of Repre-
senatives, with his objections. 1t is in his power,
also, to propose amendments in the existing revc-
defective and injlrous operation, But the deli.
cate duty OF devising schemes Of revenue should he
left here the Constitution has placed it-wiih tho
Immediate representative OF the People. For sim.
liar reasons the mode OF Keeping the public treas.
treasure should be prescribed 10y !hem; and tue
farler removed it may be from tho control OF 'he
Executive the more wholesome the arrangement,
and the more in accordance with republican rr.n.
cipic.
Connected with this subject is the character of
the currency. The idea Of making it exclusively
metallic, however we'll intended appears TO ME 10
be fraught with more fatal consequences, Than any
other scheme, having no relation 10 the personal
rights oftho citizen, that has been devised.
ir single scheme could produce the effect ofarrest
ing, at once tina, mutation of condition by which
thousands Of our most INDECENT fellow citizens, by
their industry and enterprise, raised to the pos
session of wealth, that is tho one Irthere is one
measure better calculated than another to produce
al, ooc, IA, cd hx trina