The daily union. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1845-1857, 1848-02-09
TIL E u MON.

cused for occupying small portion of time in anoth
er effort to sustain the which has been adopted by
the administration the subject which has brought up
the bill now before the committee.
II would seem, by reviewing the course pursued by
this body that the President furnish with all the
information he has upon all the subjects of legislation, be
fore we can be prepared to act any subject call
had been made the President for the correspondence
and Instructions belonging to the mission OF Mr. Sdell.
This information the President had refused oommuni
cate. And we had heard this of conduct de-
nounced as evinclng disposition to withhold nforma
ton under royal preSogave Nevertheless, since the
time OF this refusal, resolutions, embracing calls for
Executive information, had all been passed with the dis
cretionary clause for which the President commended
thus leaving him to adopt his own course
But MIR. L. would not occupy time unnecessarily He
desired 10 refer the committee to the opinions OF those
who' by Their experience and knowledge OF the subject
were entitled to consideration than he could pre-
tend to- lie would recu to the first case In the history
of county, when this question of Executive discre
ton raised and for this purpose he had made an
extract from notes oil consultations in Washlngons cab
net, by Mr. Jefferson, which he read as follows:
March 81 1872 "A meeting at the Presdent's Present.
Edmund Randolph The subject the resolution Of the
House of Representatives, OF March 27th appoint
expedition under Maj Cen ST. Clair with the power to
call for such persons papers, and records may be
Knox for the original letters, instructions, Nc The
President had called consult merely because was
the first example, and he wished that far should be-
precedent II should be rightly conducted lie nei-
Their acknowledged nor denied nor even doubted The pro
upon it, was acquainted with subjects OF this kind he
that they ought to be given up We were
pared, and wished time to think and e-JGssons
Cor, poi H., p. i6i.
held on the subject of which Mr. T. read, fol-
lows
i "AprH 2-Me again the Presidents the sub
ect. We had all considered and of the mind
first that the House inquest and therefore might in
Inquiries Secondly that might call for papers gem
orally Thirdly, that the Executive ought communicate
such papers the public good would permit and ought TO
refuse those the disclosure OF which would nnre the pub
! lic-consequenty were to exercise discretion"
1t had been said that the doctrine of the President
this subject a federal doctrine. But here we find
these men, the fathers of the republican party. were all
of mind this subject, and in perfect agreement
with the Presdent-saying she ought to refuse those
papersl the disclosure OF which would nlure the pub
1ic,"-ought o exercise discretion" AS far Mr. t.
had been able make research, this the first time
the subject discussed in this government He need
not take time to refer TO Washingtons message this
subject of the year, extract from which was
quoted in Mr. Folks message; but he would remark
that part of Washingons message disapproved by
the republican party of that day. led on by Mr. Giles and
Mr. Madison. With reference TO this message of Wash
ngtOn, Mr.. Madison the following language which,
however, fully sustains the reasoning in Mr.. Folks
| sage;
"In the House of Representatives., april 6, 1876.
Mr. MADISON. He thought it clear that the House
must have right in all cases, to ask for information which
might assist the deliberations subjects submitted to
them by the constitutions being responsible nevertheless,
for the propriety of the measure.
right under due responsibility, also, withhold norma-
ton when of nature that did not admit disclosure Of
i at the time And If the refusal OF the President had been
business within his department. and the contents of the
papers asked for required iathOugh he might have
greed the reiusal-he should have been iue disposed
| to criticise it,"
/ Again he says:
eff the executive conceive that, in relation to his
department papers could not be safely communicated he
might that ground refuse them because he the
competent, though responsible Judge within his de-
Payment I7ss and '"'"f''F' advertiser NAY
Here have the course of Washngton's administra-
ton, along with the opinions OF Mr.. Jefferson and MIR
Madison in addition to the authorities which have been
/ heretofore brought out in this discussion:
Mr. T. referred to case taken from MIR J. @. Adamss
administration, reading the resolution as proposed by
Mr. Webster, requesting of President Adams specific
kinds of information: first, the correspondence and
Panama. He compared this case with the call for the
correspondence relative TO the Slide mission, and
Marked that the doctrine of President Polk the doc
rne OF all parties which had been heretofore declared
also of all the elementary writers upon the subject
! Looking further into the subject OF the war, he
empated the amount of blood and treasure expended,
and asked if it could be now admitted that had pro-
ceeded thus far unsustaned by ustlce He thought if
we had really proceeded unusy we ought on the prin-
cple OF the good book, to which the gentleman from
! than merely to withdraw our troops.
MIR. T admitted, for arguments sake merely that the
declaration in the first war BILL namely that the war cx-
listed by the act of Mexico was false and that the
had been unnecessarily and unconsttutonaly begun
part and then, show ing that the object of the bill
|
had BEEN of the present administration, he could
not be induced to vote supplies to prosecute
sary and unconstitutional war; begun and carried on i'll
the spirit of unjustifable aggression.
He maintained that the House and the country were as
much bound to support this war now at the first, and
showed the fallacy of the pretence that gentlemen voted
for the first bill to Gen. Taylor from perious
position
On the subject OF boundary, he examined the ground Of
right by revolution, the part OF Texas When the de-
caraon Of her independence was made, the boundaries
of that State were, of course not weldemed But after
the battle of San Jacinto the claim up the Rio
Grande; while Mexico, on her part, had claimed the
whole of Texas. This was least, giving of notice
to Mexico AT the time of the armisce of sf3 II was
stipulated that the Mexicans 10 retire west OF the
Rio Grande and that the Texans to remain east OF
that river He quoted also from the proclamation OF
| 1914, by the Mexican General Wo warning all Texans
against coming within league of the left bank OF the
Rio Grande and thus showing that that river in this
sense recognised as boundary by Mexico herself"
Mr. T. showed that the people of Laredo, situated IN
the valley of the Rio Grande, had all along understood
and believed that they belonged TO the government OF
leader Canales in 1916; and further, that there
evidence of any concert amongst Mexicans residing on
this side of the against either the Texan authorities
| or the march of Gen Taylor A few tories had made
their demonstrations but there could be tories found IN
every revolutionary movement
Mr. T. went into this history further to show General
Tayors unqualified suggestion to occupy and defend our
territory to the bank OF the Rio Crande-reading and
commenting upon several Of his communications with
had every to believe that the inhabitants of the
Rio Grande favorable to government, and
contradictng the assumption of the opposition that ne
| had withdrawn his recommendation to occupy the Rio