Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1893-09-25
FIFTY-THIRD CONGRESS.
WASHINGTON. Sept. 25, 1898.
SENATE.

n ioSolutIOu WIS OlleTtu ny MI. L "a
fer and went over till tomorrow, call
ing for information as to the anticipa-
ton of interest on United States bonds.
The following resolution offered last
Saturday by Mr.. Stewart was laid be-
fore the Senate.
Resolved, That the independence of
the coordinate departments of the Gov
ernment-the legislative, the executive,
and the judicial-must be maintained,
and that the use of the power and in
iuence Of one department to control
the action of another is in violation of
the constitution and destructive of our
form ofgovernment.
Mr.. Stewart began with citation
from President Cleveland's speech last
Monday on the occasion of commemo-
rating the hundredth anniversary OF the
laying of the cornerstone Of the Capitol.
This speech had been made by presi-
dent having more than 100000 federal
offices to dispose of and with a veto
power which had been designed only
for extraordinary occasions, backed by
concentrated capital and encouraged
and fattered by venal press. He de-
scribed Mr.. Cleveland on that occasion
as turning his face towards the Senate
wing of the Capitol, and in angry and
menacing tones using the following Ian
guage:
"If the Representatives who have as
sembled to make laws for their fellow
countrymen forget the duty of broad
and disinterested patriotism, and legis-
late in prejudice and passion or in be-
half of sectional or selfish interests, the
time when the cornerstone of the Cap
itol was laid and the circumstances sur
rounding it will not be worthy of COM
memorating."
This declaration, Mr.. Stewart said,
had been cheered and encouraged by
thoughtless multitude, and construed
by yenal press as rebuke from the
President of the United States to the
Senate. The struggle for constitutional
liberty (he continued) of the Anglo
Saxon race which had been long, ardu-
Gus and attended with many sacrifices,
had lasted now for nearly a thousand
years. He went on to quote ut great
length from Macaulay's history Of Eng-
land as to the Parliamentary struggle
with the Stuart kings. Coming back
to the present time, Mr.. Stewart
charged that the President, in disregard
of his oath of Office to execute the laws,
had permitted the Secretary of the
Treasury to violate the law of January
II, 1890, which made the purchase of
II million ounces of silver bullion per
month mandatory. In proof of this
charge he presented letter from the
Secretary of the Treasury showing that
in the month of July last 6,06S, 900
ounces of silver bullion had been offer
ed and only 1885,, 61s ounces purchased;
and in August 4,7s3,OO0 ounces
offered and 1857 500 purchased. He
had not yet the statement for this
this month; but he understood that the
purchases were still less, although sill
yer bullion was offered far below the
cost of production. He could not con-
ceive how this could be justified in view
of the scarcity of GU rency which should
have been increased by the issue of
Treasury certificates for silver bullion.
He knew that an excuse was made that
silver bullion was not purchased be-
cause the holders asked more than the
market price; but he insisted that the
market price of property was that at
which the owner was willing to sell.
However much, he said, some Senators
might deprecate the law of July IA,
1s9O,-as King James had deprecated
the laws on the English statute book
all (both high and low had to obey the
law if civil liberty was to maintained
and if constitutional government was to
exist. He undertook to say that at no
time since the execution of Charles l.
mad any king or president, either in
or the United States, deiantly
statute which he himself
had declared mandatory or had allowed
his subordinates to disobey it. The
oath of Office commanded
him to see that the laws were faithfully
executed; but here was plain manda-
tory law that had been disregarded.
Was is not time, he asked, to sound
the alarm? If constitutional liberty
was ofany value it seemed to him that all |
friends and foes) should stand up and |
say to the President of the United |
States: "You have overstepped the
mark. We cannot afford to have the
laws of Congress disregarded."
Mr.. Mcpherson asked whether Mr..
Stewart held that price demanded by |
a seller fixed the market price.
Mr.. Stewart replied in the affirmative.
That is a very strange idea, said Mr..
Mcpherson. I always supposed that
Ia ~, rly at ,,o1ua ~ IN o,t;oia 800, H.