St. Charles City Republican intelligencer. [volume] (St. Charles City [Charles City], Iowa) 1857-1861, 1860-04-19
Congress and the President.


Congress and the Chief Executive
of the Nation are now fully at log
gerheads. 1t no longer remains a
question for friendly intervention or
arbitration, which is greater of the
two-the House of Representatives
or Mr.. Buchanan. The Judiciary Com
mittee authorized Mr.. Hickman, Chair
man of the Committee, to report adj
verscly to the position taken by Mr..
Buchanan in his protest, touching the
right of Congress to investigate, by
preliminary proceedings, the acts of
the President or any subordinate Off
Ger of the Government, prior to the
filings of any charge against them.
What the express grounds taken by
the Committee are, of course we shall
be unable to tell until the report is
drawn and submitted to the House.
The Committee made short work of it,
and so will Mr.. Hickman on his part.
We may judge to some extent OF
the nature of the report of the Com
mittee from the propositions set down
for their consideration by the Prcsi.
dent.
His first protest is against the exer
else of accusatory powers by Con
gress, except in case of impeachment
where the charge has been fully made
by parties other than Congress, and
duly considered by the House. II
this case he admits the right of the
House to accuse even the President
and bring him to his trial in the Sen
ate but he claims that that body has
no right to institute charge itself
and proceed to the investigation of it
The Committee must, therefore, have
: overruled this point.
r His next point is, that the House
has only power to proceed in such cases
as remedial action. This the Com
=. mittce must also override.
His next proposition is in this Ian
/ guage Except in this single case
mpcachment) the Constitution has
invested the House of Representatives
with no power, no jurisdiction, no SUI
premacy whatever over the President"
The Committee does not seem to en-
terrain the same view of the impor-
lance of the President as he does
himself. They seem to have much
more elevated opinion of their own
body than Of the Executive.
, His next proposition is cminently
} flattering to himself. 1t is:
Indeed he the Prcsident) is the only iii
rect representative on earth of the people o
I all and each of the sovereign States To then
and to them alone is he responsible while act
f ing within the sphere Of his constitutions
duty
, Here again the judiciary Committee
disagree with His Excellency. They
have instructed Mr.. Hickman-who
by the way does not love the Presi,
dent particularly-to say to the House
that in their opinion Mr. Buchanan is
to some degree responsible to them
especially as they have good grounds
f for the belief that he has ovcrsteppet
, the bounds of his constitutional duty
The Committee evidently believe tina,
, although, according to Mr.. Buchanan
, "his office is the most dignified in the
world" and that "no one, except the
people, have right to inquire into his
action" that they represent the people,
and in that capacity they call upon
him to answer the charges against
him, and claim an unlimited right to
investigate.
They do not deny any of the other
privileges claimed by the President
, nor do they seem at all deferred from
the performance of what they deem t.
be their duties by his declaration that
he "will defend them (what he claims
TO be his rights and prerogatives) to
the last extremity" What this last
cxtremity"is we are not told, but it
probably relates to the decision of the
Supreme Court upon the constitutional
rights and prerogatives of the Presi-
dent. The result of an appeal to the
Supreme Court is inevitable. 1t is in
: the Presidents control There is no
doubt that an expression of legal opin-
ion by Mr. Buchanan, upon point
touching his rights, would be equiva-
lent to decision by the Supreme
Court. But it is equally certain that
the House, with all due respect
to the President, will proceed with
the Investigations they have Inaugural
ted, in any contingency.
| PROCEEDINGS OF THE COMMITTEE.
There are facts connected with the
proceedings of the Committee which
have not yet been made public. The
Committee agreed, soon after it COM
mcnced its sessions, that inasmuch as
the evidence would probably reflect
dishonorably upon the President, be-
fore the evidence should be closed, or
report made upon it, transcript of
all the testimony should be submitted
to Mr.. Buchanan, that he might have
the opportunity to take such action
upon it or make such explanation as