The southern press. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1850-1852, 1852-03-26

noe b~coWss Ascsssnsy fss th~ y~ss~st Goa
gresa 10 ccsrecs ~ essw ~ tbs tast fo~Ts~~~
To oar mind thh ststs ef tscts W extraordinary.
aud demands ca responding Asssss Of sofshnt
on the part Of ns0bcss 81 Congress
We do NOT near 10 W. understood A. 'st'-
mstine thsa there mas been any assavptessass
Of The public money wh.ch hss psodse~d tss al
IeQcd deficiency, OF that tss~ fscta. ws~a d~vsa'
oped, may not Mhox that tho dshssecy exght W
b. supplied What mean n. that ~h~n ih~
Executive has made his cstsnsies. and s~sssst-
| tsd them 10 Congress, tes the sensAl Aypsepsss-
ton, and when Congress hes refs~cd 10 avpsc
pirate the amount estimAtsd by thrSs snsissss 81
dollars, IL the Executive gees on 10 ~sp~ad &c
cordng To his estimate. and sot according 10 tbs
actual appropriations. be SHOULD be prepared ~sss
most satisfactory reasons for disssgssdsag tbs
law Of Congress, and following hss own d'.ese-
ton. The Executive may be- able ~ give such
reasons; but unless he can. we are enable 10
see upon what JustiiabIe principle Congress can
sanction such nm assumption. That our position
may be more clearly understood. va take case
for illustration The Executive calls Tor i've
millions Of dollars for the quaSssrnsster's dc
partment; this il bis estimate Tor the year
Congress deems this amount too large and only
appropriates three millions. Nov, II the Exc
cutive goes on and expends Ave millions, we
| say that II Is done in violation Of iaw; and II
| the Executive asks the next Congress ~ ssne-
ton the excessive expenditure, il should be done
only upon the most conclusive reasons When
Congress appropriates a specific sum to snssssn
a specific branch Of the government, the Execu-
tive has no authority for uanscending the limit
fixed by Congress. TO do SO is TO violate the
law and no violation Of law by the Executive
ought to be sanctioned, except under the pres
sure of absolute necessity. What we maintain,
therefore, il, TINT the present deficiency bill pre-
sents case in which the Executive should be
held to a rigid accountability. Why has more
money been expended than was appropriated by
Congress Why were not the expenditures made
according to the scale indicated by the Congress.
siona appropriations What was the controlling
necessity to justify the Executive in setting
his discretion above the law! How has the
money been expended! These are questions
| which necessarily arise in the case, and unless
they are satisfactorily met and answered, a most
dangerous precedent will be set; the result of
| which will be that the Executive estimates, aud
not the Congressional appropriations, win be-
come the law of the land. We deem il proper
to repeat that we do not make these remarks for
the purpose of intimating any opinion M to the
propriety of passing the deficiency bill, but with
the sole view of showing how important il is
that those who are notified that they will be
held responsible for the expenditures according
to the appropriations by Congress, may see the
necessity of looking closely into this dangerous
innovation upon the proper practice OF the gov
eminent. If the Executive can have def
cheney bills passed whenever he chooses thus
| to have excuses of expenditure sanctioned.
the responsibility should rest distinctly and
| sngy upon those who make the estimates,
and not upon those who appropriate according
to the estimates In other words, upon this
new doctrine the business of making appro,
priations by Congress will become a mere for
NAL proceeding, having no responsibility at
tached to it. his, surely, is not in accordance
with the true spirit of our institutions, and it is
an innovation which should be promptly met by
the most rigid investigation into the necessity
| for the present deficiency bill. We do not be-
leve that the public mind will be satisfied that
| this government is economically administered
with an annual expenditure of over fifty mil
| lion of dollars, until the subject shall be thor
oughly sifted and there can be no better time
to begin this investigation than is presented
upon this Executive application for the passage
of the deficiency bill before Congress"
Now, did anybody ever see such coocation
of defences, palliations and excuses! Why
when Gen. JACKSON emoved the deposites, or
rather changed the place of making them in flu
ture, he did not rely on excuses, and palaions
and expediences. He relied on what he con.
sidered his constitutional power. But if u
President can viol ate the law and rely on rea-
sons and arguments, he is the legislative as well
as the Executive power Why suppose the ap-
preparations were inadequate, he is not response
| Bile.
The excuse given in this case, in our opinion,
aggravates the offence The President locates
the different divisions of the army where he
pleases, and then if the law does not provide
for that arrangement, he ,oiN. And he pleads
as his reason for violating the law his desire to
supply the soldiers where he placed them. He
enlists the feelings of the army on his side in
violation of the law. Why this is LOUIS NAPo
Icons policy. And if this is tolerated, how long
will it be before we shall have n coup de etata
Is not Congress competent to determine how
much the people shall be taxed for the defence
of our frontier and of the Mexcans And when
seven or eight millions are voted for the army,
can the President vote three or four millions
more If Congress refuses to ratify it, and pro.
coed to impeach the President, what so natural
as for him to appeal to the army against the fac
tious majority in Congress, and with the army
and the treasury on his side, and his own polit
ical party, what is the result
And now what is the cause of this enormous
expenditure! Why, it appears from Mr.. Cor
MANS speech, that the army is so stationed as
to require, in one case, more than thousand
men to accomplish the transportation of provi
sions for about three thousand In the vast
wilds and deserts of the new territory, a corrupt
Executive can squander countless millions on
partizan contractors, and employees. The army
has played altogether too conspicuous part in
these territories since the war; We have seen
successful attempt made by an officer of the
army to precipitate State into the Union at the
hazard of disruption. We have seen similar