Los Angeles daily herald., 1886-03-02
THF PRESIDENT
Sends a Message to the
Senate Yesterday.
THE SENATE CRITICIZED.


He Declines TO Deliver the Papers.
om
Ihey are rri'".o' ho' o'ii
cial Papers.
soeeiat 10 me Herald bvthe Assocfated Pressl
m, e-,,-
WAshiSSroN' marc" 'he UNIV
ing is the message 10 the Senate oil tine
United States: "Ever since the begin.
n;no 90 ,ba nrasant soss;on of the Senate
q ,...aa. :.
the uinereht neaos Vi ai'i''e"'s ~
tached 10 the Executive branch OF the
government have been piled with vari-
o,s ,eouasts and demands from commit.
Tees oi 'ne oeha'e' ,io"' '''e"''e' y. s".
committees. and at last from the senate
itself, recurring the transmission OF the
rooso,s for the susnension of certain
~ - IT,.
oihciais ourihs 'h' ''
body, or for papers touching the con-
duct of such officials, or for all
.,,.r. ana documents relatino to sueh
p'P''
suspensions OF ior al 'no aoou'''en's ana
papers fled in such departments in re-
Iation to the management and conduct
OF offices bad by such suspended officials.
| Different terms from time to time were
adopted in making these requests and
demands. The order IN which they sue
ceeded each other and the tact that when
made by the Senate a RESOLUTION was
passed in Executive Session, have led to
the presumptive correctness OF which
will, / suppose, be candidly admitted
that from first to lastathe information
thus sought and the papers thus de-
manded for use by the Senate and It's
committees in considering the propriety
of the suspensions referred to. Though
these suspensions are my executive acts,
based on considerations addressed to me
alone and for which am alone wholly
| responsible, l have had no invitation
from the Senate TO state the position
which have felt constrained to assume in
relation to the same or to interpret
for myself my actions and motives
in the premises. In this condition OF az
fairs | have forborne addressing the
Senate upon the subject lest might be
accused OF thrusting myself unoidden
upon the attention OF that body; but
the report Of the Committee OF the
Judiciary OF the Senate lately presented
and published. which censures the At
torney-General OF the United States Tor
his refusal to transmit certain papers re-
lating to suspension from Office, and
which, also, If l correctly interpret 1t,
evinces a misapprehension OF the POSI-
tion OF the Executive upon the question
of such suspensions Will, l nope. JUSTIFY
this communication. The PRESIDENT re-
fers to the resolution OF the Senate Tor
the Dustin papers and the reply OF the
Attorney y-General thereto, and says
upon this resolution and answer therto
the issue is thus stated by the Commit
tee on Judiciary at the outset OF the re-
port. The important question then Is
whether it is within the constitutional
competence OF either house OF Congress
to have &C sess to official papers and doc
uments in various public places OF the
United States, created by laws enacted
by themselves. l do not suppose that
"the public Officers OF the United
States" are regulated or controlled In
their relations to either House OF Con-
gress by the fact that they were united
by laws enacted by themselves. IL
must be that these instrumentations were
created for the beneft OF the people and
to answer the general purposes OF the
government, under the constitution and
the laws, and thAs they are unencqm-
bered by any lien In favor oil either
branch OF Congress growing out OF
their constitution, and unembarrassed
by any obligation to the Senate as the
price of their creation. The complaint
of the committee that access to ofncial
papers in public ofhces IS def ied the sen
ate, is met by the statement that at no
time has it been the disposition or in-
tention of the President or any depart
ment of the Executive branch OF the
government to withhold from the Senate
official docrments or paper, hled IN
any Of the public oihces. Nhie
lie is by no means conceded
that the Senate has the right in
any case to review the act OF the Execu-
tive in removing or suspending public
officers upon official document or otner'
vie. 1t is considered that documents
and papers of that nature should, De-
cause they are official, be freely trans
mitted to the Senate upon Its demand,
trusting the use OF the same for proper
aud legal and legitimate purposes to the
good faith OF that body, and though no
such documents have been specihcaiiy de-
Inanded in any oil the numerous requests
and demands made upon the depart
ments, yet as often as they were
found In the public Offices they have
been furnished in answer to snch appli-
cation. The letter OF the Attorney
General in response to the resolutions
Of the Senate in the particular case men
toned in the committees report was
written at my suggestion and by my dic.
tation. There have been no offcial
papers or documents filed in his depart
ment relating to the case within the
period specified in the resolutions. The
letter was intended, by its description OF
the papers and documents remaining in
the custody OF the department, to con.
vey the idea that they were not
official. The Senate from the beginning
pointed to all letters and papers OF pri-
vate and unofficial nature as the objects
OF the speech. II they were to be
found in the departments, and provided
they had been presented to the Execu-
UNt VIII view VI ShNh NStNtt@S'cesSs
upon the question of suspension from
office. Against the transmission of such
papers and documents l have lnterposed
my advice aud directions. This has not
been done, as is suggested in the COM
mittee's report, upon the assumption on
nv part that the Attorney-Gen-
eral or any other head of depart
ment is the servant of the President,
and is to give or withhold copies of
documents in his office according to the
will Of the Executive and not otherwise,
but because | regard the papers and
documents withheld and addressed to
me or intended for my use and action
purely unofficial and private. and not
|infreanently confidential, and having
reference to the performance of duty
exclusively mine, ! consider in no prop
-. ,..,,aa NJ ,,,o,, tho ftIaa of fha DanarL.