The evening times. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1906-1914, 1911-12-26
TUESDAY, DEC. 20, 1911.
An EARLIER INSTANCE.

AN EARLIER INSTANCE.
Century before last the people OF
the United States confided the care of
their foreign relations to the presi-
dent and senate. AT irregular inter-
walls the house Of representatives feels
a violent desire to butt in. The latest
instance occurre last week. An
earlier instance occurred in 1895.
March .. that year, in the house of
the fourth congress-. Edward Living
ston of New York offered a resolution
running as follows:
Resolved. that the president Of
the United States be requested to lay
before this house a copy of the in>
structions to the minister of the Uni
ted States who negotiated the treaty
with the king Of Great Britain COM
municated in his message Of the first
of March together with the corre-
spondence and other documents rel
ative to the said treaty."
Five days later the author of the
resolution amended 1t by adding the
words, excepting such of said pa
pers as any existing negotiation may
render improper to be disclosed"
Uriah Tracy of Connecticut asked
why the papers We're called for. Liv-
ingston said they were wanted for
the houses information: they might
disclose grounds for an impeachment:
anyhow, the house vas the guardian
of the country's rights, and it was his
firm conviction that the house had
the power either to refuse its sanction
to the treaty or carry the treaty into
effect, at its own discretion. a long
debate followed. At its close the res
olution was adopted-yeas 81, nays
3s.
March 80. the president of the Uni
ted States-George Washington-sent
a special message to the house. He
had considered the resolution. he said.
with the utmost attention. He had
been unable to lose sight of the doc
trine avowed in the discussion. He was
ready to give either branch Of con
gress any information to which it was
entitled. His constant endeavor had
been and would be to work in har-
.mony with both of them. But he
was under an obligation to preserve.
protect and defend the constitution.
BY that instrument the people had
vested the theaty-making power in
the president and senate, for reasons
which he pointed out. The message
continued:
ITO admit. then, a right in the
house of representatives to demand
n to have as a matter of course all
the papers respecting a negotiation
with a foreign power would he to es-
tablish a dangerous precedent. .
AS. therefore. 1t Is perfectly clear to
my understandings that the assent Of
the house of representatives is not
e-Nofcessary to the validity Of a treaty;
y" kthe treaty with Great Britain ex-
''2Gnits in itself all the objects rcquir-
Nat; legislative provision, and on these
the papers called for can shed no
light; and as it is essential to the due
administration of the government that
the boundaries fixed by the constitu-
ton between the different depart
ments should be preserved just re-
gard to the constitution and to the
duty Of my office. under all the cir
cumstances of this case. forbid a COM
pliance with your request"
Another long debate followed. In
the course of 1t the Democrats Of that
day aired their opinions very freely;
so. for that matter, did the Federal
lists. Both the house and the coun-
try were pretty we'll stirred up. Thorn
as Jefferson was pretty we'll stirred
up. He held the British treaty in alb
horrence. In that am month Of
March, 1896. he wrote to Mr.. Madi-
son.. who then a member of the
house:
eff you representatives decide in
favor Of your right to refuse CO.
operation in any case Of treaty. I
should wonder on what occasion 1t is
to be used il not on one where the
rights. the interests. the honor and
faith of our nation are SO grossly sac
rifced: where n faction has entered
into a conspiracy with the enemies
of their country to chain down the
legislature Mt the feet of both; where
the whole mass OF your constituents
have condemned this work in the
most unequivocal manner. and are
looking to you as their last hope to
save them from the effects Of the
avarice that corruption Of the first
agent. the revolutionary Vaccinations
Of others, n the incomprehensible
acquiescence of the only honest man
(Washington) who has assented to II.
] wish hat his honesty and his po-
liticai errors may not furnish a second
occasion to declare: Curse on his
virtues, they have undonc his coun-
try"
The debate ran for weeks. Finally
the house asserted by party vote its
right to pass upon the carrying into
effect of treaties involving an expendi-
ture Of money or a regulation Of COM
lnerce. and TO call for information
without telling the executive for what
use the information was desired. But
1t did not get those papers from Presi-
dent George Washington, and 1t did
not nullify the treaty with Great
Britain. The butting in ended in
something remarkably like a backing
Out-Thomas II Benton to the con-
trary Notwithstanding.
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