CONGRESS, UNITED STATES. 



171 





these several places, away from the capital, numerous 



-M.IIIS to civil officers of the Government, OK- 

 f>iuaturrt to foreign consuls, letters of credence, two 

 letters to sovereigns, and thirty-seven pardons. 



PRESIDENT JOHN Q. ADAMS 



was absent from the capital, during his presidential 

 term t t'.-ur years, two hundred and twenty-two days. 



During such absence he performed official and 

 public nets, signing and issuing commissions, ex- 

 equaturs, pardons, proclamations, etc. 



Ki'terrinij to his absence in Augustand September, 

 1827, Mr. Adams, in his " Memoirs," vol. viii., p. 75, 

 says: " I loft with him (the chief clerk) some blank 

 signatures to be used when necessary for proclama- 

 tions, remission of penalties, and commissions of 

 consuls, taking of him a receipt for the number and 

 kind of blanks left with him, with directions to re- 

 turn me, when I came back, all the signed blanks 

 remaining unused, and to keep and give me an ac- 

 count of all those that shall have been disposed of. 

 This has boon my constant practice with respect to 

 signed blanks of this description. I do the same 

 with regard to patents and land-grants." 



PRESIDENT JACKSON 



was absent from the capital, during his presidential 

 service of eight years, five hundred and two days. 



He also performed executive duties and public acts 

 while absent. 



He appears to have signed and issued, while ab- 

 sent from the capital, very many public papers, em- 

 bracing commissions, letters of credence, exequaturs, 

 pardons, and among them four executive proclama- 

 tions. 



On the 26th of June, 1833, he addressed a letter 

 from Boston to Mr. Duane, Secretary of the Treasury, 

 giving his views at large on the removal of the " de- 

 posits" from the United States Bank and placing 

 them in the State banks, directing that the change 

 with all its arrangements should be, if possible, 

 completed by the 15th September following, and 

 recommending that Amos Kendall should be ap- 

 pointed an agent of the Treasury Department to 

 make the necessary arrangements with the State 

 banks. Soon after, September 23d, a paper signed 

 by the President, and purporting to have been read 

 to the cabinet, was published in the newspapers of 

 the day. Early in the next session of Congress a 

 resolution passed the Senate, inquiring of the Presi- 

 dent whether the paper was genuine or not, and if it 

 was published by his authority, and requesting that 

 a copy be laid before that body. 



The President replied, avowing the genuineness 

 of the paper, and that it was published by his au- 

 thority ; but declined to furnish a copy to the Sen- 

 ate on the ground that it was purely executive busi- 

 ness, and that the request of the Senate was an un- 

 due interference with the independence of the Ex- 

 ecutive, a coordinate branch of the Government. 



In January, 1837 (26th), he refused the privilege 

 to a committee, under a resolution of the House of 

 Representatives, to make a general investigation of 

 the Executive Departments without specific charges, 

 on the ground, among others, that the use of the 

 books, papers, etc., of the departments for such 

 purpose would interfere with the discharge of pub- 

 lic duties devolving upon the heads of the different 

 departments, and necessarily disarrange and retard 

 the public business. 



PRESIDENT VAN BUREN 



was absent from the capital, during his presidential 

 t mi. "iie hundred and thirty-one days. 

 _ He discharged executive duties and performed offi- 

 cial and public acts during these absence*. 



Among the papers signed by President Van Buren, 

 during his absence from the seat of Government, are 

 commissions, one of these being for a United States 

 ju Igc of a district court, pardons, etc. 



PRESIDENT TTLXB 



was absent from the capital, duritig his presidential 

 term, one hundred and sixty-three days, und per- 

 formed public acts and duties during such kbMOOM, 

 ni^niiiK public papers and documents to the number 

 ot twenty-eight, in which were included commis- 

 sions, exequaturs, letters of credence, pardons, and 

 one proclamation making public the Treaty of 1&42 

 between the United States and Ecuador. 



PRESIDENT POLK 



was absent from the capital, during his presidential 

 term, thirty-seven days, and appears to have nigued 

 but two official public papers during such absence. 



PRESIDENT TAYLOR 



was absent from the capital, during the time he 

 served as President, thirty-one days, and while ab- 

 sent signed two commissions, three " full powers," 

 two exequaturs, and the proclamation of August 11, 

 1849, relative to a threatened invasion of Cuba, or 

 some of the provinces of Mexico. 



PRESIDENT III. I. MI ii:;; 



was absent from the capital, during the time he 

 served as President, sixty days. During such ab- 

 sence he signed pardons, commissions, exequaturs, 

 etc. 



PRESIDENT PIERCE 



was absent from the capital in all. during his presi- 

 dential term, fifty-seven days. The several periods 

 of absence which make up this aggregate were each 

 brief, and it does not appear that during these ab- 

 sences the President signed any public official docu- 

 ments, except one pardon. 



PRESIDENT BUCHANAN 



was absent from the capital, during his presidential 

 term, fifty-seven days, and the official papers which 

 he ia shown to have signed during such absence are 

 three exequaturs and one letter of credence. 



In addition to the public documents and papers 

 executed by the several Presidents during their ab- 

 sences from the seat of Government, constant offi- 

 cial correspondence was maintained by each with 

 the heads of the different Executive Departments. 



Mr. Randall, of Pennsylvania, said: "As the 

 question involved in the original resolution and 

 in the communication just read would seem to 

 be a judicial one, as to the power of the Presi- 

 dent to shift for prolonged periods the place 

 where he administers the Government, I move 

 the message and accompanying document be 

 referred to the Judiciary Committee and or- 

 dered to be printed ; and on that motion I 

 demand the previous question." 



The previous question was seconded and the 

 main question ordered; and the motion was 

 agreed to. 



In the Senate, on March 14th, Mr. Wright, 

 of Iowa, said : " I move that the Senate pro- 

 ceed to the consideration of Senate bill fixing 

 the salary of the President of the United 

 States." 



The motion was agreed to ; and the Senate, 

 as in Committee of the Whole, proceeded to 

 consider the bill. It provides that from and 

 after the 4th of March, 1877, the salary of the 

 President of the United States shall be $25,000 

 per annum. 



The bill was reported to the Senate without 



