Weekly national intelligencer. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1841-1869, 1848-02-19

he may conquer
He in hopes some gentleman who was better able than
be was would take up the message Of the President and scru
nze its assertions and positions for could be done only
but 10 the end Of the session. AS his time rapidly
passing he would but notice other position of that
message He referred the committee to page 10, which
the statement that, after the adjournment Of the last
session Of Congresson the 3ls Of Marchthe President
issued order creating tariff for Mexico. Why the Pre-
sden had not submitted such plan Congress before its
he loss discover The President
however, poessed have guarded against making this tariff
burdensome on our soldiers and sailors who fight battles
He says:
Scare taken that the officers soldiers and sailors of
army and navy should be exempted from the operations of
the order and the merchandise imported upon which the
order operated must be consumed by Mexican citizens the
were effect the the public
of Mexico and the application of them
In directing this measure, the object compel the
enemy to contribute as far as practicable towards the expen
ses OF the war"
Being anxious to know OF this important plan than
the President communicates he turned the report Of the
Secretary Of War; who has this under his CONTROL and
on page 573 he found this passage
Whenever any goods imported by suffers and the du
ties paid by the required by these regulations, and
when the utler shall first TO the satisfaction OF the
mandant of the port that said suffer has actually sold any of
said identical goods imported by him. any officer, sol
der, sailor marine their actual individual and
that the duties actually paid said goods sold to
officer SOLDIER sailor marine, aforesaid, shall be
refunded to said suffers but before refundng the money
collected shall be the duty of the council of
which, under the direction Of the commandment OF the post
fixes the price Of suffers goods in determining the price of
any said goods sold aforesaid by the deduct the
duty paid from the price, with view avoid imposing any
Of the burdens The duties herein The
or navy the Union And all officers individual
oduced for their actual and equipments required
law, exempt from duty
When Mr. CRozIER first this resolution it appeared
to him that it would be difficult to reduce to practice,
the soldiers and sailors from paying this conrbu
ton sustain the and therefore, member of the
Committee on Expenditures of the War Department, he
addressed letter to the Secretary of War requesting him to
nal Il
under the 18th article Of instructions from the War Depart
To that letter the Secretary replied And how much
did the committee suppose had been returned to suffers Vera
Cruz Why, while the reported to have been col
leced to the 3st October S297 TO- the refund
ed the pitiful amount of S53.67.
And in his letter the Secretary told the committee he did
know whether that had been refunded to suffers
He says:
is not known whether Messrs. Robinson and Woodruff
Vera Cruz actual suffers the Sd regiment of Illinois
volunteers but appears from the return made that the
refunded TO them for goods sold that regiment is
babe they were"
Such the caution and exercised by the President
guard officers soldiers and sailors from contributing to
the military contributions imposed Mexico At Matamo-
and Sao did not appear that single dollar had been
refunded The whole amount refunded at Tampico barely
exceeded $1,000. few days ago gentleman from Mis-
sspp addressing the committee spoke of the tariff OF 1912
taxing the Shirts hats coats and other useful and necessary
articles of the farmer but here that the President
taxed the officers and soldiers and sailors while they
gagged in fighting the battles of their country.
He should pass to another message of the President OF
the United Saesthat in which he gave his refusal TO fur
nish the instructions with which Mr. Sdell Mexico,
for which this House, by resolution, had called And what
the Presidents for his refusal He said it
would be inconsistent with the public interests TO comply
Now, President in his (Mr Cs) opinion, had not
inch of ground stand upon for the justification of his
fusal What did Mr. Slide go Mexico for To settle
the boundary between the Nueces and the Rio Grande
tract of country which would TO possess.
And what else To obtain the pifu Of three millions
of dollars from Mexico that being the Of the claims
Of citizens against her. Well, was there any thing in
either of these matters of negotiation that required be kept
secret The territory itself worthless, that the three
millions the most important subject and what there
that that required much secrecy Nothing that he
could by any possibility Since that time, too rela
tons had changed Then in state OF peace, now
in a state Of Now negotiating at the
point of the bayonet and the mouth Of the then no
hostlities had been commenced.
What then, the for which the President Of the
United States kept from Congress the instructions given TO
Mr.. Sldel There nothing in the public interests that
could be nuousy affected by IT, Did the President send by
Mr.. Slide ultimatum and that the reason Why,
ulmaum sent by Mr.. Ts, and that had been fur
nished The President, by message received few days
since informed them that his umatum New Mexico and
Upper California Why then, he repeated, should the Pre-
dent keep secret the instructions given to Mr. Sdel when
he tells what the instructions given TO Mr.. Tns
The gentleman from Georgia, mr. STEPHESs who address
ed the committee this subject few days ago, appeared
him. had struck upon the correct conclusion That gentle
believed the President would furnish those instructions
courts not required to do IL not the public interest,"
then, that would be injured by compliance, but the cmna
ton Of the President would be the result That the only
rational conclusion which they could come in regard it for
il well known principle that when party had estmo
ny his power which he would not produce would be taken
operating against him, reasonable to suppose that
if il would go in his justification he would produce it. To
that conclusion they authorized in this case in
which the President refused to furnish the instructions given
to Mr. Sdell which could notify any possibility prove inu
rious to the public interests.
He astonhed few days since the ground taken by
the gentleman from South Carolina Mr. RaETT) this
subject That gentleman assumed the position that have
right call upon the President Of the United States for
information respecting these instructions any other sub
ect and that all could require the information the
state Of the Union which the President communicated in his
annual message. The gentleman from South Carolina
that conclusion because have enforce
right He had said Congress could not hang the President
for refusing information Because then they could not force
the laid down in those few pages
Of rules which the constitution conanedthey could not OBJ
tain the information they desired But there
thing due TO this House the ground Of comfy Was
there nothing due the House Of its position and
its authority the House Of Representatives Of the People
The gentleman from South Carolina said further, that
reflect that we the Representatives Of the Peo
pie the President also elected by the people II he (Mr
C) were disposed stick the letter of the constitution and
be hyperc,ica the gentleman from South Carona he
ed by the people but by electors whereas the members Of this
House chosen directly the people. II the belief Of
many Of the trainers Of the constitution that the electors should
a.