The daily union. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1845-1857, 1846-04-09

party, IL was courted and caTessed Il was haIter.J
and laudedi resolutions OF laudation passed n
republican meetings and conventions and il was La
to the time that Mr.. Tyler retired from office, or
| odium and contempt TO be heaped upon il.
| | wish TO be distinctly understood, Mr.. Speak.,
| | do not mean that my position should be mista.
ken. am not defender Of Mr. Tyler's admins.
| traton; | was net, TO any considerable, extent n,
admirer; | never was particularly its friend but
do say sir that the republican Of this country
owes much to that administration. There is NOT
/ republican within the sound of my voice who can
/ deny the fact; there Is not republican, SIR who
can say that but for Mr.. Tyler's administration YOU
would have had all the federal errors fixed upon
you, some of them for years. What would become
of my friends sub-trsasury bill, 10 which he is 40
much devoted, but for that administration SIR ia
contamination would have been delayed twenty
years. unless the questionable doctrine OF repeal bad
| been sanctioned by the republican party. But Mr.
| Tyler's administration, IL IL did no more -,
| Mr.. DRoMGooLE interpossd, and asked his
colleague to permit him, in all Kindness to make an
| inquiry. Was he to understand the gentleman 10
maintain that President Tyler was in favor Of The
| principle Of the independent treasury
| Mr.. BAYLY, maintain no such thing
l. Mr.. DRoMGooLE. Ifhe does, desire him to
conform that TO his Mr.. rs. "exchequer"
/ Mr.. BAYLY resuming. My friend does not un-
derstand my remarks. | do not say that Mr.. Ty-
Ter was in favor Of the sub-treasury; but say that,
by yetoing the bank, with charter of twenty
II
from the incubus ola national bank, with all iu cor.
| ruphons. After its harter, he would ask Of his
colleague, how he could have consummated his plan
ofdivorcing the government from the banking inst-
| tuons Of the country
| Had il not been for Mr.. Tyler's administration
that difficulty could not have been avoided. Not
only that but how was IL with the distribution pol
| icy' How was il with many other measures Of
the administration, which brought for it unmeasur-
ed applause from the republican party. Why, in
II F.l. It, Il.
| exception-the seSator from Missouri, Ibeleye--
honorable senator's Of the republican party, wed
with each other in heapng praise upon him.
regret therefore, If this assault was to be made
upon that administration, after il had gone out Of
power, after il had been sufficiently condemned, as
| seemed TO him-if such an attack to be made,
ne thought 1t should not have come from his honor
/ able colleague . '
One remark, now that he was upon the floor, in
reference to the resolution Of his honorable friend
from Pennsylvania, and he should not have troubled
i the House. had he not been called up by the re-
marks Of his colleague. He participated with the
gentleman from North Carolina in the difficulties in
| reference TO these resolutions He did not believe
this House had the right to call upon the President
OF the United States TO disclose the disposition which
| had been made OF the secret service fund H
| Mr.. c. J. INGERSoLL interposed and said he
called for the disclosure Of duty but he called for
/ the detection of abuse and neglect Of duty. And
let him add to the gentleman from Virginia that he
would be satisfied, IL he Mr. L. mistook not il he
suffered this inquiry to be contaminated, that one
OF the reasons why Mr.. Tyler discharged Mr.
WEBSTER, land he had infinite difficulty in getting
rid Of him. was this very service.
| Mr.. BAYLY resumng, said if the gentleman
would so modify his resolution as to give il pointed
reference to the corrupung use Of money or the use
| Of money for the corruption Of the press-if he
would so conhne his resolution as only to refer 10
the improper Of that service fund OF the
| United States-he did not know as he would object
| to il.
Mr.. INGERSoLL. That is all il is I'D
| Mr.. BAYLY But the resolution is too broad;
1t is drawn in too general terms; and the House has
no right to call upon the President unless the most
obvious and vital detriment to the public interests
has been, or is about to be affected by il, for any
| information to how the secret service fund
| has been expended. In this government, and in
other governments the secret service fund is con-
| ferred expressly for corruption. That 10 its do
sign. call things by their names; il il a mean u
| corruption, a mean of conducting negotiations
which the wants Of the Old World and, he might
| add, Of the New World, to some extent require; a
mean which the President must have for success
Why, very often you can only get important infor-
nation utby corruptionyou can only subsidze spies
but by money; and the only security the government
have in getting that information from individuals
is to give them certain grounds of belief that their
| transactions would be forever yelled from sight.
Let the mode in which this secret service fund il
expended be disclosed to the world, and you will
find no foreign minister hereafter; no government
agent successful in the Of it. He did not pre-
tend to know that any portion of il has thus been
used in this instance. But suppose portion Of this
secret service fund had been used in corrupung
some foreign subject you disclose the fact, and his
| head pays the forfeit and there stands the warning
to all others in all future time, and your govern.
| nent will never more be able to obtain informa-
| ton of this kind. He doubted exceedingly, il it
were put to him now to pass the law which was
passed almost coeva with the existence of this gov
eminent erecting the service fund he doubted
whether he shoald vote for it. His impression was
| he would not vote for it. Ii is following bad,
corrupt example of other governments, which was
thought necessary, but which he considered of ex.
ceedingly doubtful propriety He doubted whether
| republican government like ours, whose founda-
ton rests upon the virtue of its citizens whose duty
| 1t should be to set examples Of moral rectude and
elevated moral character, whcher-even at the sac
rfce of some facilities in conducting our foreign
lations-t ought ever to have instituted such fund.
But they have done it. II has been expended as
secret service fund; and it would be perfdious now
in this government; It would be breach Of faith 10
publish to the world abuses that have been made in
| that fund If it should turn out, as the gen.
| tleman from Pennsylvania supposed that Mr..
Webster had applied any portion of this fund TO
private USE to the corruption Of public editors he
(Mr b. should say it was a use of public fund
that never could have been anticipated by the gov
eminent when it established this fund, and the ex-
posture, in this instance, when it was impossible they
could reach all the alleged facts il they exist would
be but poor compensation for the injuries We
should do Did anybody believe that the thing could
occur hereafter-that important information Of this
kind could ever be obtaihedifthe security was taken
away, from those who gave il, that their names
weuld never be disc losed3 1910 1H5 ~ "a
Mr. lNGERSOLL again interposed, and (Nr. b.
yielding the foor,) said he did not understand that
this fund was ever applied to what the gentleman
called corruption. II was no such thing; Che gentle
man totally misconceived the matter. He (Mr. ~
had had considerable acquaintance with the secret
movements of this government under two or three
administrations. He did not know Of il; he did not
believe IT. he thought the gentleman had totally mis-
taken the matter, and his whole argument was based
mol only upon mistake but upon an imputation on
his own government which he could not set still and
| not deny. " .a ..a a.agas IE
Mr.: BAYLV (rsumine) admitted that he was
speaking on this subject without any special exam-
nation. He had not anticipated this debates he
couia not anticipate IT he had not examined the laws
this subject: therefore he d;d -, A..