Richmond enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1815-1867, 1845-02-04

Ties have insisted on .lhe matchmaking power
itself. and asserting sort of concurrent Juris-
d,etiou in Congress orer the subject matter of
understanding policy the Umpire. OF choice,
even when the treaty power may be adequate
and inconiestable. rler 10 the reasons assigned
in the report Of the Committee on Foreign Ne
alions in The Senate upon the Treaty between
the United States and Prussia and the DINER
States OF the Germanc Confederation OF Customs
and Commerce, usually called THE ZoLLvEREIs
TREaTY-tor recommending lis rejection by the
Senate. It will be seen that that recommends
lion was made upon the single and distinctly
avowed principle, that the exercise CT the treaty
making power had encroached upon the r'shtui
legislation OF Congress! The COMMITTEE say:
"They propose 10 confne themselves to very
brief exhibition Of arother and a single ground
upon which, ,rithOu. reference 10 The particular
merits of The treaty, they advise against its rati-
ficaton"
"The Committee, then, are not preparedto sane,
ton so large an innovation upon ancient and
uniform practice, in respect Of the department Of
Gorcrnmeni by which duties on imposs shall be
imposed" &c, &c.
"They think TOO, as the general rule, that The
Representatives Of the People, sitting in their L.
gisiatirc capacity, with open DOORS under The eye
of the country, communicating freely with their
constituents NAV exercise this power more in
,elligently. more discretionary acquire more
accurate and more minute information, concern
ing The employmenls and the interests on which
this description of measures will press-and may
better discern what true policy prescrbes and re-
jects, than is within the competence OF the Exc
eutire Department of he Government
"T1 fDllor. not 10 lcad-to full, not 10 oraain
AZ I,, nj 1,lI
Compact ariM foreign nations the Legislature riA,
,chen ii has Jccm announced, upon the great sub
iects Of trade and revenue; not TO inlerpose with
controlling influence; not TO go forward with too
ambitious enterprise; these seem 10 the Commit
tee TO be the appropriate functions Of The E1eeu-
tire.
"Holding this to be the general rule upon The
subject, the Committee discern nothing in the cir
cumstanccs OF this case, nothing in the object 10
be attained, or in the difficulties in the way OF at
tanning it, which should induce departure from
the rule. u CongreShink The proposed arrangement
beneficial enc IT'S quite easg 10 pass tair rhich
shall impose The rates of duiies contemplated bu II,
10 take cteet rhen satisfactory Information IS con-
rcycd 10 The President, that tie stipulated eqnira-
icn!S arc PROPERTY secured. UPON THIS SINGLE
GROUND, THEN. THE COMMITTEE ADVISE THAT THE
TREATY De REJECTED"
Well, the recommendation found favor with
the Senate, and The treaty was rcJectcd By vote
OF % TO Is; every Democrat present but one vo-
ting in its favor, and every Wing present voting
against it.
We'll, WELL this will do the Wing Senators Of
the present Senate cannot at least gainsay it
Overwhelmingly So, gentlemen, you pre-
fer that all that can be done by "lhe Representa-
tves OF The People, sitting in their Legislature ca
pacity, riM open doors ami under The cue IF The
tountrH" &c, should be DONE Most happy 10
hear it. Go on, gentlemen All, yes: you think
that the Representatives thus situated, and by
communicating freely with their constituents
may exercise THIS PowER-more inteigenty-
more discretionary acquire more accurate and
more minute information" &c, &c.-"better dis
Germ what true policy prescribes and rejects, than
is within the competency Of the Executive Depart
ment of The Government.
Eth What is il Of Icrds the Committee
speak! How singularly fl! and appropriate is
al! they say 10 the position of Texas Not Sc
cret is there between the two Governments which
muiiles or enshrouds in mystery the purposes or
desires OF either. All is known, open, palpabe
as the day. II is at this time, the very case where
negotiations would be supertluous and Treaty
absurd Ii is the very c0sHs fo'ic,is of the Com
mittee-wherc the Representatives of the people,
sitting in their Legislature capacity" with "al The
appliancesto boot, enumerated BY the Committee,
"Mav Nuer discern rhat true policy prescriJcS or
rc1ccts, than is within The competence of the En-
ccuirc Department How felicitously appropri-
ate is all this TO our pending relations with the Re-
public Of Texas Surely, surely the author OF
this Report must have been most deeply imbued
with the sentiment OF MIR. Choatcs speech against
the Texan Treaty, in which he bestows 50 marked
preference for Legislature compactsof Onion over
ECccutire Treaties Tor Annexation. But Stay!-
Here are the Senales Journals-lll see. There!
I'm right 1t is So Ee was; he is so imbued,
Tor the author Of the Report is none other than
Mr.. Choafe himself!
But prcsto!-the next sentence Of the Report
goes "a stones throw" beyond This; ay, beyond
any thing that R0aaolph Of RoanOke has contend
ed for in these Epislles; FOR, il most grudginely
clips and narrows down ''the appropriate Efceu-
tire tunctions' TO these: "To FOLLOW, NOT TO
LEAD-ro FULFILL, NOT TO oRD.rS THE LAw-To
CARRY INTO EFFECT, DT NEGOTIATION And COMPACT
WITH FOREIGN GOVERNMENTS THE LEGISLATIVE
WILL WHEN 1T HAS BEEN ANNOUNCED" AT this
rate, the EIccui,rc can ORIGINATE NOTHING J
Not even the subject-malter Of a Ireaty-Nol
take The first step for the annexation Of Texas :
| Nor can he DO ANY THING in relation thereto, brl
"To CARRY INTO EFFECT THE LEGISLATIVE WILL
WHEN 1T mas BEEN ANNOUNCED" Have it So
then! But, while you do maintain these doc
trines let ONWARD be the word; and following in
| the broad wake of the House, lei us have and
know the "LEGisLAri7E WILL" explicitly, promptly
-ay NOW.
But invite very especial attention 10 the las,
clause of The last paragraph of The Report. So far
as Wing authority goes, it is decisive OF The po-
sition have heretofore maintained-that it is
within the competency Of Congress, by its iegisla
ton, 10 make eompaets with Foreign naIions-whe-
Their the subjccl-matler Of those compacts he, OF
be mol, within the competency OF the Treaty MAX.
ing power. concurrent jurisdiction is all
have needed 10 sustain my whole argument; but
il have failed in eslablishingin Congress an CT
elasirc jurisdiction over all compacts Of union is
my own iault-llats all.
RANDOLPH OF ROANOKE.