The New York herald., 1879-03-06
stopping the Supplies rs = Means OF
Coercion.

baters in the late Congress that the with
holding of the regular annual appropria-
tions is constitutional means Of forcing
the passage or the repeal of laws is almost
too absurd for serious discussion but the
recent action of Congress compels the press
to discuss it and the country to judge OF it.
The real point of controversy is not what
either house OF Congress may possibly do
but what it may rightfully do. The obllga-
ton of official oaths is to be taken for
granted. If Congress neglects to do any
thing which the oaths of the members re-
quire them to do. or does anything which
their oaths should restrain them from doing,
there may be no practical redress short OF
the next elections but the violation OF
duty is so plain and so fragrant MS to admit
of neither excuse nor extenuation. Besides
the obligation of their oaths the members
ore bound by the principles of morals and
by the sentiment Of honor which ought to
be recognized by all men in responsible
public stations Before going into the
general discussion Of the right of either
house or of both houses to block the wheels
of government by Withholding necessary
supplies we wish to detain attention mo-
ment on one or two points of plain consti-
tutional obligation.
Can either house of Congress excusably
neglect to do anything which the constitu-
ton imperatively commands2 Let us illus
trate by specific instances. The constitu-
ton declares, for example. that the Presi-
dent shall sat stated times" receive for his
services q compensation which shall neither
be increased nor diminished during the
period for which he shall have been elected.
The law fixing the compensation Of the
President, as it stands in the Revised
Statutes, is in these words:-'The Presi-
dent shall receive in full for his services
during the term for which he shall have
been elected the sum of fifty thousand dol
lars year, to be paid monthly" 1t was
necessary for the statute to prescribe
the frequency Of payments, in order to
comply with the constitutional require
ment that the President shall receive his
pay sat stated times" The law regulating
the Presidents salary must necessarily be
fixed before the beginning of his term, and
it is beyond the power of Congress to
change it during the period for which he
was elected. The duty of providing for its
payment in the regular annual appropria-
tion is as clear and unquestionable as any
duty which the constitution imposes upon
Congress. The monthly payment of the
Presidents salary is as yet provided for
only until the expiration Of the present fs-
cal year, on the 3Oth Of June. The compen-
sation which will be due him on the 1st Of
August cannot be paid without the passage
of one OF the defeated appropriation bills.
If Congress should refuse to pass that bill
at the extra session it would violate one Of
the plainest provisions of the constitution
which all the members are sworn to sup
| port.
similar case, which affects a greater number
of persons. There are sixty-elght federal
| judges-namely, nine Justices Of the Su-
preme Court, nine Circuit Judges and fifty
District Judges The mandate of the con-
stitution respecting their salaries is strict
and absolute. 1t is in these imperative
words: s:-"The judges both of the Supreme
during good behavior, and shall. at stated
times, receive for their services COM
pensation which shall not be dimin-
ished during their continuance in
office" The purpose of this important
provision is to secure the independence of
the judges by depriving Congress of all
power either to curtail their compensation
or to subject them to inconvenience by de-
ferring it's payment The constitution is
just as mandatory in requiring their sala-
ries to be paid sat stated times" as in for
bidding them to be diminished. We
accordingly find in every law ever passed
by Congress fixing the compensation of the
federal judges a regulation prescribing the
frequency of the payments. The Revised
Statutes require the Justices of the Supreme
Court to be paid monthly, and the judges
of the circuit courts and district courts
to be paid quarterly. This method
of payment having been fixed by general
statutes it is one Of the plainest duties Of
Congress to make the appropriations which
may be necessary for insuring punctuality
at the 'stated times prescribed by the con-
stitution. 1t does not, lie in the discretion
Of Congress to withhold such appropria-
tions. The constitution has taken away all
discretion on this subject by imposing an
| imperative command, which no member of
Congress can disregard without violating
his cath. If the necessary appropriation
bills should not be passed.at the extra ses-
sion the democratic members will have to
face an unpleasant responsibility.
| We come now to the question whether
blocking the wheels of the government by
withholding the supplies is a legitimate
method of forcing Legislation. 1t was de-
Tended by. Senator Thurman on the last
night of the session by analoRies drawn