Montgomery County sentinel. [volume] (Rockville, Md.) 1855-1974, 1859-03-11
Senator PearCe and the Post-oGioe
Appropriation Biil.

Appropriation BiH.
The following extract from the speech
of Senator PEARcn, on Friday last just
before the adjournment of Congress,
shows the position occupied by the Sen
ator toward the Postoficc Appropriation
Bill
Mr.. PEAKcE i desire to say that |
yielded to this report with very great re-
luctance that if the report had aban-
doncd the constitutional rights of the
Senate, as to which / have no more
doubt than | have of the simplest and
most universally admitted proposition, |
would not only not have consented to
that report, but | never would have con-
schtcd to any report which contained
such an abandonment of constitutional
power. | would rather have seen the
Postofhce Department of the Govern
mcnt stricken out of existence at once
and forever. But, sir, we have not re-
nounccd any such right, and the consti-
tutional authority of tho Senate to add
amendments increasing the rates of post.
age was strongly and urgently, l think
triumphantly, indicated in the commit
tee.
But this was the question presented to
US. 1t was shown to us to be practically
impossible that any other measure could
receive the sanction Of the two Houses
Of Congress in the remaining minutes of
the session. Of that we were Just as
we'll satisfied as we can be of any fact that
has not yet come to pass since the rules
OF the House put it in the power of any
one member to prolong the consideration
of that bill Or any other beyond the hour
Of adjournment; aud we were assured
that such would be the result if we pre-
scented any other Then VIC had to CON
slider whether we would break up a great,
important, and most useful public estab-
llshmcnt, aud be subject to the necessity
Of converting in the summer, or oblige
the President, lnasmuch as no means are
provided after the first of July for carry
ing on the operations Of the postoffice.
(not even its own revenues, unless we
pass this bill;) to stop all the business of
that department, and leave the country
unproyidod with any of those facilities so
important to commerce and many other
interests and which other considerations
have made SO valuable aud necessary in
other respects to the great body Of the
people.
| yielded, therefore, to sort of ne
ecssity, being unwilling, by my refusal
to unite in this report, to produce this
result; preferring to give the opportuni-
ty to the Senate to determine for itself
whether it would make the one sacrifice
or the other.
! admit also, Mr.. President that had
doubts whether the committee were not
transeending their power in agreeing to
this report, the authority conferred upon
them being to consider the resolution OF
the House, which was so objectionable
to the Senate; whether we could right
fully present or recommend The passage
of new bill seemed to be somewhat
doubtful in a parliamentary view. Still.
as we had no precedent showing that this
was not permitted to us, | thought we
might be excused, in the exigcncv of the
circumstances, in stretching our power
to the utmost limit | do not know what
the Senate will do with this bill. OF
conrse ! should prefer its passage to its
defeat. | would much rather have had
another proposition which was submitted
in committee, which might equally, in
deed, have occasioned the defeat of the
bill proposed by that plan, but would
have thrown the responsibility more pal
pably and directly upon the House of
Representatives. Even now, if the bin
fails, | think that the House will not
escape its just responsibility; but it
would have been moro palpable and OBJ.
yious if the other proposition, which was
not accepted by the committee, had been
adopted will not occupy further time
on the subject, except to say that if the
Post-office appropriations be not now
made, we must, in going back to the
original cause, trace it to the refusal of
the House of Representatives either to
accept or reject the amendments which
the Senate, in the unquestionable exer-
else Of its constitutional powers, never
for many years denied by either House
or by the commentators on the Constitu
ton, but practically acquiosced in on va.
rious occasions, had thought proper to
make to the original bill from the House.
a,sa