Speech Of Mr Stewart Of Pennsylvania On The Three Million Appropriation Bill And The Mexican War

Author : Andrew Stewart
Publisher :
ISBN 13 : 9781331401704
Total Pages : 22 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (17 download)

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Download or read book Speech of Mr. Stewart of Pennsylvania, on the Three Million Appropriation Bill, and the Mexican War written by Andrew Stewart and published by . This book was released on 2015-07-14 with total page 22 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Excerpt from Speech of Mr. Stewart of Pennsylvania, on the Three Million Appropriation Bill, and the Mexican War: Delivered in the House of Representatives of the Feb, 13, 1847 The House being in Committee of the Whole on the state of the Union on the Three Million Appropriation bill - Mr. Stewart said he proposed, in the first place, to inquire briefly into the true purposes and objects of this bill; for it seemed to him that, in the course of the present debate, almost every thing else had been discussed but the bill itself. This bill grants the President what he demands, three millions of dollars to make a treaty with Mexico, and authorizes him to pay the money before the treaty is submitted to or approved by the Senate; and the Senate are thus required to ratify this treaty before they see it, or know what it is. Is it not in effect a ratification of the treaty beforehand? How can the Senate object to the treaty, no matter what is its character or provisions, after having authorized the payment of the three millions in advance? If they do, the money will be lost, and lost by their act, in authorizing its previous payment. He contended, therefore, that any treaty which the President might choose to make for the acquisition of Mexican territory, would in effect be at once binding upon this Government. Let this bill once be passed, and I say that neither this House, nor the Senate, can, with any consistency, object to the treaty. The appropriating power is the only control this House can exert over the Executive in the making and executing of treaties. This it is proposed to exercise beforehand, and thus surrender to the President the whole control of the treaty-making power. By this act we tie our hands and seal our lips. We have no right to object to any thing the President may do, and this is manifestly the object and design of this bill. In originating the present war without consulting Congress, then in session, the whole war power of this Government has been practically usurped by the President. He has carried it out in fact. He has made war while Congress was in session, without submitting the causes to their consideration, or asking or obtaining their concurrence. He did not ask us to declare war, but ordered the army to advance and bring on the war, and then called upon us to "recognise its existence," and appropriate money and men for its prosecution. Having thus seized upon the war-making power, he now wants us to surrender to him the treaty-making power also. As he began the war without the consent of Congress, so now he wants the means of making a peace without the aid or concurrence of either the House or the Senate. By this law we authorize him to pay Santa Anna, or any body else, three mil lions to purchase a peace, which he has failed to conquer. And, if the Senate shall refuse to ratify it, the three millions are gone! This bill empowers the President to make a treaty when, how, and with whom he pleases. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.