, 1872-05-16
Shameful Neglect Some.
where.
The Olympia Courier says

The Olympia Courier says:
At the last session of the Legislature
twelve memorials were adopted address,
ed to Congress and several of the De-
partments. 1t is the dnty of the Secre-
tary of the Territory to forward certified
copies of those Memorials to the Dele
gate, to enable him to present them to
Congress and the Departments. We
are informed by Mr.. Garfelde that he
has not received single Memorial from
the Secretary, and is Lot even aware of
the number or nature OF the Memorials
which were adopted. We will await an
explanation from Secretary Clements be-
fore commenting on this subject.
1t is not the duty of the Secretary of
the Territory to forward certified copies
ofsany proceeding of the Legislature to
the Delegate, unless specially directed
30 to do by the Legislative Assembly,
The Delegate has no supervisory direc-
ton of the Executive Department of the
Territory and not necessarily any direct
correspondence with it. He has a right
to demand information from that De-
partment the same as any other citizen !;
no more, no less. 1t is the duty of the
Secretary to transmit to the proper De-
partment at Washington certified copies
of all the official proceedings of the Ex-
ecutive and legislative branches of the
Territorial Government; and it is the
duty of the Delegate to keep himself in
formed through the proper official me-
dunn of all such acts and doings. If he
fails to do this, he wilfully and knowing
ly neglects the most important of his
official trusts.
1t is not intimated that Secretary Gle.
ments has failed to make his official re-
ports to the proper Department; only
that the Delegate has not been person
ally served with certified copies; and this
is offered as an excuse for the utter ne
glect by the Delegate of important pub
lie interests of which he could not have
been ignorant and the responsibility for
this neglect is attempted to be foisted
upon an innocent officer by nisrepre-
senting his official duties. If the Sec
retary had been specially directed by the
Legislature to serve the Delegate with a
certified copy of the Memorials spoken
of, he would have been derilect in duty
not to have complied with the request,
but it would not have excused the Dele
gate for his neglect in not looking for
these documents at the Departments to
which every Delegate and Member of
Congress has access, and bringing them
to tie notice of Congress. which has a
supervisory control over all acts of Ter
Titorial Legislatures.
If the Delegate had devoted to the in
terests of his constituents small modi-
cum of the time and pains he has given
to the attempt to procure the removal of
the Secretary on personal grounds sole
", the interests of the public would have
been much better served and his deter
mination to prostitute official influence
to personal ends would have been less
manifest.
The pretext that Mr.. Garfield ''is not
even aware of the number or nature OF
the Memorials which we're adopted" is
one of those transparent evasions of the
truth for which our Delegate has made
himself notorious. The Memorial by
the Legislature praying Congress to cede
the mud flats of Duwamish bay to the
CITY of Seattle, is one in which the peo-
ple of this city felt deep interest; Mr..
Garfelde was here when that memorial
passed the Legislative Assembly, he was
spoken to ON the subject; he has been
repeatedly written to upon the matter
since, and yet it has never been called
nm in Congress. where there could be no
reasonable objection to its passage If
urged by the Delegate. And yet it is
stated by his authority, that che is not
even aware of the number or nature OF
the Memorials which were adopted. -
A criminal at the bar could with equal
propriety plead that he had never been
served with certified copy Of the law
which he had violated. The conclusion
IS irristable that Mr.. Garfelde is hold
ing these measures in allegiance for the
purpose of compelling the support OF
Interested parties in the coming election
as a condition to their passage; and COM
mon honesty constrains Us to denounce
it as most dishonorable device on the
part of any man holding public trust.
WARS NAME.-The Olympia Tran
script honors itself by raising at its edi-
terial head the names of Horace Greeley
and Gratz Brown for President and
Vice President. In the latter it has
made the small mistake of dropping the
first initial letter of his name. showing
that the editor did not know the name