New Orleans Republican. [volume] (New Orleans, La) 1867-1878, 1876-05-03
PREsrDEur BUCHANAN INVESTIGATED.

| plants Of the outs against the ms, with
the protestations of innocence by the in
dienant incumbents, could be formulated
as any declaration or plea at law. The
accidental ascendency of the Democracy
in the House of Representatives has nat
urally inspired them with the hope of
getting hold of tho executive department,
with all its general and local patronage.
To effect this they leave the public
business in the furrow and set themselves
to find such charges against the Republic
can President and his Cabinet officers as
will convict them of corruption. They
then illogically expect that they will, as
informers, get not half the object recov-
cred by their testimony, but the whole.
The Democracy expects not merely to
fill those offices from which corrupt in
cumbents have been evicted, but also the
places of honest and competent officers
against whom no wrong has been i'm
puted or proved. This would be . pretty
heavy penalty upon the Republican party.
1t would be an enormous premium al
lowed party whose sole claim to con-
fdence consists in the fact that they have
had no opportunity to commit the ofenses
of which they manifest such virtuous
horror.
Our reason for suggesting that this pro-
cess of party attack and defense should
be reduced to forms, SO that the outs and
ms respectively would merely have to fill
the blanks in printed paper, is this: In
the year 1860 the Democracy had possess
sion of the executive and Judicial depart
ments and the Senate. The Republicans
obtained a majority in the House of Rep
resentatives. A committee of investiga-
ten was raised, at the head of which was
placed Mr.. Covode. He seems to have
been more famous in his day than any
Democratic inquester can be at this. The
report of his committee charges upon the
official Democracy Of the period the ut
most abuses, of corruption and neglect.
That report is still extant, and is in SUBJ
stance thicker than an ordinary family
quarto Bible.
The main attack of these reform Re
publicans was upon the Democratic Presi-
dent, Mr.. Buchanan. He was accused by
the Covode committee of having "used
corrupt means to accomplish certain pur
poses" Against this proceeding the
President entered his protest by formal
message. He charged that the proceed
ings of the House were
violative of the rights of coordinate
branch of the government, which, it on
forced, would establish q dangerous pre-
cedent. The House had acted, without
constitutional warrant, in q manner tending
to degrade the presidential Office, and rem.
der it unworthy of acceptance by an honor
able man.
He demanded the authority
To investigate the Presidents course as
to the LeeOnptOn constitution, to assail our
minister to Mexico. to pry into our foreign
relations, tOinvestigate removals from Office,
Notwithstanding the power of removal be-
longed to the President by the constitution,
and was so decided by the first Congress.
and has been ever since 80 exercised.
He also objected that the witnesses be-
fore the committee were Examined in
the most vindictive manner"
He complained that the first accusation
against him was published in New York
journal 1t was disproved by most re-
spectacle witnesses. Yet the telegraph
was 'tsilent as to the contradiction" He
also AYERS that ''only such dispatches
were published as would reflect on his
character"
The reader will especially note the
identity of this complaint with that which
might be made by President Grant at
present:
Members of the Cabinet and others were
summoned to discover, if possible, some |
thing to his discredit. Disappointed sppli- |
csnts TO-. office, becoming hostile to the ad-
ministration, appeared before the commit |
tee. The committee spread . drag net over |
the whole Union to catch disappointed men |
willing to malign his character. The tyrsn- |
nical Star Chamber was not woree than this. |
There had been nothing like it since the |
days of Robespierre.
He then concludes that should the pro-
ceedings of the Covode committee of in
vestigation be sanctioned by the House
The constitution will have been violated, |
the executive will be no longer an inde- |
pendent branch of the government, and the |
worst fears of the early patriots and states |
men will have been realized in the name of |
the Representatives of this great people. |
Standing on the ramparts of the constitu- |
ton, which these patriots and statesmen |
organized and established, he solemnly |
protests against these unconstitutional pro- |
ceedings.
Such is an abstract of the Democratic |
President Buchanan's remonstrance
against an examination alleged by him to
have been unconstitutional and unwar-
ranted by the facts.
Here is q recital of the charges against
Mr.. Buchanan:
He is charged distinctly and posi-
lively, and the charges are sustained
BY vOluminOus direct and indirect testi-
mony, with having, in the most shame
less manner, prostituted the sacred patron
age or appointing power of the executive
office to secure certain political ends, to
crafty his vindictive political animosities,
to Influence improperly and criminally the
legislation of the country, and to reward
unworthy favOrites, parasites and tools.
Jobs in the shape of contracts have been
dispensed by his direction to enrich par
tisans and to determine elections adversely
to the known wishes of the people. Labor
unrequired by the exigencies OF the public
service has been employed merely to secure
it's electoral influence. Public office has