Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1886-03-10

mission, MT. kdmunds continued. ana al
lar az we yet know, faithfully periorminy
" duties, on the i7th day al iuIy. issS
the president " the United states under
authority dissection 1868. Revise 4 Statu, a.
suspended this gentleman ana The snma
cay pursuant 10 the same statute. dosip.
mated John ID. Burnett Of Alabama 10 per.
form the duties Of the suspended oflloer
Inc senate met ON the frst Monday In
December and on the lsth oi that month
the president sent IN the nomination Of
Burnett. Mr.. Edmunds then proceeded
TO the case IN question, that of'thc attor.
ney Tor the district Of Alabama. He rend the
iuf1n OF the order OF tho suspension of
MIR. Dustin and oi the designation Of MIR.
Burnett to succeed MIR. Dustin. lie also
read the resolution OF the senate calling
lor the paperSon flerclatng TO the min.
lstratlun OF the Office by Mr.. Dustin and
we letter OF the attorncy-gcne al stating
that the refusal was by direction OF Tho
president. llo maintained that the act OF
the president did not remove MIR. Dustin.
nat simply withheld from him the duties
ana Vm0lumcnts OF the Office pend
ing decision Of the senate,
that when the nomination OF
burnett was sent 20 the senate, Dustin
was the United States attorney for Ala.
Dana aud the proposition was that he
should DO removed. Edmnnda commended
That, had the senate been Jury, IL would
nave been It's duty to ind out how Dustin
had administered his Office, ed.
innnds said that In spite OF the mis-.
statements In the public press and by the
president aud by the minority OF
the Judiciary committee, tho case
az " stands Is that the president
has asked the senate TO consent
TO the removal Of Mr.. Dustin and the up.
polntment OF Mr. Burnett. Besides, IL
was not for the president TO determine
what papers were relevant. That was
discretionary with the senate, MIR. Ed
munds did not think the warmest adj.
ministration men would say IL was any
part Of the duty Of the president or the
mead OF department 10 deter
mine whether Official information
In the department which was re-
quircd by either houses Of congress
was 10 bo furnished or withheld accord
ing to tho opinion OF the officer called on,
that 1t would or would not bc useful TO
them In their deliberations. The papprs
called for In this case were papers illod
IN the department, and the law made the
Encouragement and not the president
the custodian OF these papers. and re.
quired him 10 preserve them. Every pa.
per addressed to the officer exercising The
Official function Of suspension upon that
topic must be an official paper
No matter how false II may DO II did
not belong TO the man, whether president
or attorney-general, hut to the officer in
his character AZ an officer. The attorney.
general gave no hint that any part OF the
papers called for were private or un.
official or even confidential. Public
papers, official papers, were called for,
and such papers only were spoken
OF in the response, but the
papers were refused because they
would not only give the facts,
but would enable us to understand the
reason oi the president for exercising his
Official act Therefore the proposition
was that the senate being called ON in the
exercise of It's jurisdiction TO Judge OF
the official conduct OF MIR. Dustin, the
president having already been called on
within his jurisdiction TO pronounce
Judgment on similar question about the
same man, could not have the papers, be.
cause II II did they would disclose the
grounds on which the president
acted. II that, said Mr.. Edmunds,
Is not proposition wnlch would stnggor
the credullty and amaze the understand
Ing ofany Intelligent man In a govern
ment OF law or In a government OF reason,
am quite unable 10 understand what
would be. All the operations Of the
Mr. Edmunds continued,
were executive, aud had II come to this
that because the president was the chief
executive olllceT OF the government con-
gress could know nothing as TO the facts
and circumstances relating TO the eXecu-
tlon Of the laws, because II they did they
might be able 10 comprehend the motives
or reasons OF the president In
out the lawsi Why, such state
ment was shockingl Yet that was the
logic of this whole thing. The iurisdlc-
tlOn OF congress was infinitely broader
than that OF the president. lie was
the executive power. Congress made the
laws, and within the constitution com
mands him 10 give congress information
on "the state of the Unlon," IL says "hc
shall do it, That had reference to the
universal power OF knowledge Of the two
houses of congress in respect
to every operation OF the government
aud every one of It's officers.
That is the state Of the Union. The state
OF tho Union IL made up OF every drop 10
the bucket, OF the execution of every law
and the performance OF every officer I'M.
der the law There was no one thing, no
one subject, that represented the estate
OF The union.n II was the condition Of
the government and every part OF II
Not only It's legislative parts, about
which the president could communicate
DO information without impertincncc, for
the constitution had declared that the
two houses were 70 regulate them
selves; hut he was to give
10 congress and was positively com
mauded 10 do 30, from time to time,
on the state Of the Union.
that because congress was entitled 10
have it every time they called for II. He
violated positive command Of the con.
stltuilon when on constitutional cali In
the regular way he omitted 70 do TO-.
That was the reason why, since the be-
OF tho government, when either
house IN seeking for Information sup
posed that there might be question as
10 the propricty Of an undue disclosure
OF some confidential fact which they were
.....lttn,l "a In,t,, q oeual1u left n Ia tho