Evansville weekly journal. [volume] (Evansville, Ind.) 184?-18??, 1848-01-27
NO. 40

ceFe desire TO furnish any WHICH
may be in possession of the Executive Depart
ment, and whieheither House Of Congress may
at any time request, / regard it to be my con-
stitutional right and my solemn duty, under
the circumstances Of fhis case, to decline a
compliance with the request ofthe House con-
tanned in their resolutions.
JAMES K. POLK.
The correspondent of the Baltimore Ameri-
can furnishes the following sketch of the de-
bate which followed the reading OF the message:
The message being read, several motions
were made in reference toit.
Mr.. Truman Smith moved to refer it to the.
committee on Foreign Relations.
MIR. John Quincy Adams rose and addressed
the Speaker. Immediately the whole House
crowded around him in breathless attention.
He moved that the message be referred to a
select committee, of which he wished not to
be a member. and hoped a report would be
made which would show the Pre- sident that
he was bound to communicate information of
this public nature which the House of Repre-
sentatives had called for.
Mr.. Holmes, o fSouth Carolina, in a S train of
fervor, complimented the President upon his
frmness on this occasion. He hoped he would
III all his official acts; as he had done in this
act, take Washington for his guide.
Mr.. Schenck replied, and in indignant terms
asked if the President was to be the master of
the people and their R-epresentatives-to tell
them that although they had called upon him
for information 10 relation to some of his pub
lie acts. and he possessed it, yethcdeemed him.
self more capable than they to say whether it
ought 20 be made public, or not;-that he did
consider it inconsistent with the public in
terest to make it public, and therefore he should
not communicate it. He should keep it to
himself.
Mr.. Houston, of Alabama, next took the floor
and warmly defended the Presidentin the mat
ter, and replied to the remarks of Mr.. Schenck.
Mr.. Toombs, of Georgia. followed. and de-
clared in preference for the motion to refer the
message to a select committee.
The question was not whether the President
would be justified in certain cases in withhold
ing from Congress information in relation to
public affairs which might be called for, but
whether this was one of those cases.
Mr.. Charles ]. ~lngersoll (the Chairman of
the Committee on Rules, which reported the
new rule for a member to address the House if
he chose, from the Tribune or Clerks Desk-)
next rose to debate the question.
Some member suggesting that he should take
the Tribune. he did so, and read from the
Clerks desk. from Marshall's Life of Washing
t9pa authority HE1d fF9m L t5i q6s Course M-MSf Mr. Polk
hou CiCNtCu W pursuit III luS mdtleI, anu tielI
gave his views as corresponding with those of
the gentleman from Alabama (Mr. Houston)
who had proceeded him. He replied that TO
Mr.. Toombs and also to Mr.. Schenck, and clos
ed by moving to refer the message to the com
mittee of the whole house and make it the or
der of the day for Tuesday next.
MIR. Collamer, of Vermont next addressed the
House on the subject. He stated the magni-
tude OF the great question which the informa-
ton called for related to. The power to declare
war was vested in Congress. The President
had taken this power into bis own hands. The
House had called upon him for some important
information IN regard to the matter, and there
fore it was not one of those cases in which the
President could properly withhold the infor-
nation called for.
Mr.. Tompkins, of Mississippi, next obtained
the floor, but gave way for a motion to be
made.
The motion to refer the Message to the Com
mittee of the Whole and make it the special
order for Tuesday next, was putand carried.
Mr.. Tompkins has the floor on it, when it
comes up.
On motion the House adjourned.