The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1886-02-19
Under the Guise of Report from the Judi
ciary COmmittee-The Democrats Ask
Time to Prepare Minority Report.
Precedents Showing that 1t Has Been
Customary to Furnish Information.
A Strong Argument in Support of the Repub-
lican Position-The House Passes the Bill
for Relief of Fitz John Porter.
THE SENATE.
Senator Edmuuds Presents His Report on
the Privileges of the Senate.

HE SENATE
Senator Edmunds Presents His Report on
the Privileges of the Senate.
WAsHINGToN, Feb. 18.-When reports of COM
mittees were announced to be in order, Mr..
Edmunds rose and said:
Mr. President, am instructed by the COM
mittec on the judiciary, to whom was referred
the letter of the Attorney general, with au thor
ity to report with open doors, to make report,
with sundry resolutions, which / ask may be
placed on the calendar"
The President pro tempore-Does the Senator
desire to have them readl
Mr. Edmunds-No, sir; but the Senator from
Alabama mr. PuqhI desires to make remark.
Mr.. Pugh from the minority Of the committee
on the judiciary)-As to the report just made,
desire to state that they knew nothing of the
contents of the report until it was read to the
committee this morning. The minority desire
to prepare report in which they will present
their views. and to enable them to do so. they
desire until Monday week in which to prepare
the report, and to have it understood that the
majority report and the resolutions accompany
ing it will not be called uD for consideration until
we get leave to file the minority report. The
time given US to do so Is not to extend beyond
next Monday week.
Mr.. Dawes-Can we not have the resolutions
reada
Chief Clerk johnson read the resolutions, which
are as follows:
Resolved That the foregoing report of the connnit
tee on the Judiciary be agreed to and adopted.
Resolved That the Senate hereby expresses its
demnaton of the refusal of the Attorney general
der whatever influence to send to the Senate copies
OF papers called for by its resolution of the 25h Of
January and set forth in the reports of the commit
tee the Judiciary in violation of his official duty
and subversive of the fundamental principles Of the
government and of good administration thereof.
Resolved That it is, under these circumstances,
the duty of the Senate to refuse its advice and
sent to proposed removals of officers the documents
and papers III reference to the supposed official
personal misconduct of whom withheld by the
ecutive, any head of department, when deemed
necessary by the Senate and called for in considering
the matter.
Resolved That the provision of Section 1854 of the
Revised Statutes, declaring That persons honorably
discharged from the military naval service by
son of disability resulting from wounds sickness
incurred in the line of duty shall be preferred for ap
pointrnents to civil Offices provided that they are
found to possess the business capacity necessary for
the proper discharge of the duties of such Office, y
ought to be faithfully and fully put in execution and
soldier whose fathfuness competency and character
above reproach and to give the place TO another
the spirit of the law and of the practical gratitude the
people and government of the United States owe to
the defenders OF constitutional liberty and the nteg
Tity of the government.
All of which is respectfully submitted.
GEO. +. EDMUNDs, JOHN j. INGALLS,,
SAars 3 MSnoAs WlsoA SEohaE WM M Ev1nas + hoAR
Mr. Butler-Is there report accompanying
these resolutions2
The President pro tempore-Yes.
Mr. Butler-Is it to be printed9
Mr. Edmunds-Certain.y, it will be printed
under the rules / ask that the report of the
committee, as we'll as the resolutions, be printed
in the Record also.
The President pro tempore-If there is no OBJ
lection that order will be made.
The report accompanying the resolutions re-
cites the fact and circumstances of the removal
of Dustin and the appointment of his successor
as United States attorney for the Southern dis
trict of Alabama It declares that it has been
the uniform practice of the judiciary committee,
since the passage OF the tenure of-ofice aet to
call upon the heads of 9epartmentfor all papers
and information" in the possession of the depart
ment touching the conduct and administration
of the officer proposed to be removed, and the
character and conduct of the person proposed to
be appointed This has been done with the
unanimous approval of all the members although
the composition of the committee has been, dur
ing the period, sometimes of one political char
acter and sometimes of another. In no
instance, until this time, has the
committee met with any delay OF
denial in respect to furnishing such papers and
information with a single exception, and In
which exception the delay and suggested denial
lasted only for two or three days. The report
quotes the resolution adopted by the Senate call
ing upon the Attorney general for papers In the
aforementioned case. and his reply thereto,
and continues:
''This letter although in response to the di-
rection Of the Senate that copies OF any paper
bearing on the subject within a given period Of
time be transmitted, assumes that the Attorney
general of the United States is the servant of
the President. and is to give or withhold copies
of documents in his Office according to the will 3
of the executive, and not otherwise. The COM
mittee Is unable to discover, either in the orig
inal of an act OF 1889 creating the Office Of Ator
ney-general, or in the act of 1870 creating the
Department of Justice, any provision which
makes the Attorney general of the United States
in any sense the servant of or controlled by the
executive in the performance of the duties i'm
puted to him by the law or the nature of his
Office The executive is bound by the Constitu-
tion and by his oath to take care that the laws
be faithfully executed, and he is himself as
much bound by the regulations of law as
the humbiest officer in the service of the United
States, and he cannot have authority to under
take to faithfully execute the laws, whether ap-
piled to his own special functions or those OF the
departments created by Law, otherwise than by
causing. far as he lawfully may. and by law i
full means the heads of departments and other
officers of the United States to perform the du-
ties which the law, and not his will. has imputed
to them. The important question is, whether IL
is within the constitutional competence OF either
house of Congress to have access to the official
papers and documents in the various public Of
Aces of the United States created by laws en-
acted by themselves. 1t may be fully admitted
that, except in respect of the Department of the
Treasury, there is no statute which commands
the head of any department 70 transmit to
either house of Congress. on its demand, any in*
formation whatever concerning tha administers
ton of his department.; but the committee be-
lieves 1t TO be clear that from the very nature
of the powers intrusted by the Constitution TO
the two houses of Congress, il Is necessary in
cident that either house may have al ali tiraes