Year: 1864

u
PARLIAMENTARY RELATIONS OF CABINET
ll, sH Q4s t OFFICERS. III MI.


It is known to most Of our readers that Mr.,
PEnDLEroN, Of Ohio, has reported from the Be-
lect Committee to which the subject was referred
abill providing that the Secretary of State, the
Secretary Of War, the Secretary Of the Treasury,
the Secretary Of the Navy, the Secretary Of the
Interior, the Attorney General, and the Post
master General shall be entitled to occupy seats
on the floor Of the House Of Representatives, with
the right to participate in debate upon matters
latng to the business of their respective Depart
ments under such rules as may be prescribed by
the House. The bill further provides that the
said Secretaries, the Attorney General, and Post
master General shall attend the sessions Of the
House Of Representatives immediateIyon the open
ing Of the sittings on Monday and Thursday Of
each week, to give information in reply to ques-
tions which may be propounded to them under the
rules Of the House .eshas


In order to carry out the intention Of the bill,
Mr. Pendleton reported an amendment to the rules,
as follows: br eaH -


"The Clerk Of the House shall keep notice book in
Wnlcn NE snail The request oil member,
resolution requiring information from any of the Execu
tive Departments or any question intended to be pro-
pounded to OF the Secretaries the Postmaster Gen
eral or the Attorney General relating to public sars
to the business pending before the House. together with
the name Of the member and Of the day when the
will be called up The member giving notice of such
luton question shall at the time give notice that
the will be called up Monday Thursday OF that
week. Of the succeeding week provided that
luton nor question shall be called within less than three
days after notice shal have heen given The Clerk shall
ma on ia m
the chief ocer of the proper Department copy Of the
resolution question, together with the Of the
member proposing the same, and of the day when will
come upeore the House for action Monday and Thurs
day Of each week before any other business shall be taken
up. Except by unanimous consent the resolutions and
questions shall be taken up the order in which they
have been entered on the notice book for that day. The
member oferpg the resolution may state succincty the
object and scope Of his resolution and the for de-
string the nformaton and the Secretary OF the proper
Department may reply giving the Information, the
why the same should be withheld and then without
further debate the House shall vote the resolution
ess II shall be withdraw. In putting any question to the
Secretaries, argument opinion to be offered,
any fact stated except far may be necessary to
plain such questions and in answering such questions the
Secretary shall not debate the matter to which the
refers state facts opinions other than those
sary to explain the answer


1t must be apparent to every mind that the
change proposed by this bill will promote the
publicity rankness and directness Of the relations





Departments of the Government. As these rela-
tons row exist, 1t is known that the projects Of bills
pertaining to the details Of the Executive Depart
ments commonly prepared in the bureaus ofthose
Departments, and thence transmitted to the sevc-
raj committees Of Congress respectively charged
with the maturing of Legislative measures. Con-
staut intercourse and communication thus neces-
sarily exist between the heads Of these Depart
ments and the chairmen or members OF the COM
mittees among whom the public business Of Con-
gress is distributed. We hope that the arrange
mcnts which it is proposed to make in the bill Of
Mr.. PENDLEToN will be sufficiently comprehensive
to embrace all this preliminary intercourse between
the executive and Legislative branches of the Go
vernment, and thus permit this intercourse to be
carried on with frankness and directness.


Under the existing system the initiative Of
legislative measures is kept in partial obscurity,
and it is only those who are familiar with the
secret history Of the inception and final passage Of
any bill that can properly apportion the degree
in which it has received shape from the Executive
department where it was originally drawn, and
from the Congress by which it was modified and
adopted.


And, moreover, if the relations between the
Executive and Legislative Departments were made
open and immediate in the manner we have indi-
Gated, it is to be hoped that both Houses Of Con-
gress would be spared the necessity of adopting
declaratory " resolutions in the way Of suggest
ing to the Executive branch Of the Government
the expedency or necessity of doing his or that.
Recently the Secretary of War was informed by .
vote of the House Of Representatives that greater
energy in the enlistment of negro troops in the
South would be very satisfactory to the present
House, suggestion which would have been
wholly needless if the Secretary of War had been
present to assure the Representatives Of the people
that he was enlisting" the negroes as fast as he
could got them to enlist, and in numbers only
limited by the proportion of ablc-bodicd slaves
who are found within our military lines at the
South.


THE DRAFT POSTPONED.