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ordinary and daily Business is employed in recording the Letters received from the American Ministers abroad. In this Work considerable Progress has been made—We find already recorded one vol. containing the Letters of Mr. Dana during his mission to Russia, commencing 18th February 1780 and ending 17th December 1783 of Mr. H. Laurens commencing 24th January 1780 and ending 30th April 1784, and of Mr. John Laurens during his special mission to Versailles, commencing 3rd January 1781 and ending 6th September following. Five vols containing the letters of Mr. Adams commencing 23rd December 1777 and brought up to 10th April 1787, the 6th vol is now in hand. Two vols containing the Letters from Mr. Jay commencing the 20th December 1779 and ending 25th July, 1784. The Letters from Mr. Deane commencing 17th September 1776 and ending 17th March 1782 are recorded, and those from Mr. Arthur Lee commencing 13th February 1776 and brought up to 13th February 1778 are now in hand.

Those from Dr. Franklin, Mr. Jefferson the first joint Commissioners the joint commissioners for negociating a Treaty of Peace, and those for negociating Treaties of Commerce, Mr. William Lee, Mr. Dumas and others are numerous, and are yet to be recorded.

The Letter Book of the late Committee for foreign Affairs composed of sheets stitched together and much.

torn, has been fairly copied in a bound Book and indexed. The Books used for these Records are of demy Paper, and each vol contains from 5 to 6 Quires of Paper, being all of a size, except the two Vols. of the Secretary's Reports which are somewhat less.

There is an index to the Paper Cases, and to the Boxes in each case, and to the Papers in each box. In these cases and boxes are filed the original Letters and Papers belonging to the office. The office is constantly open from 9 in the morning to 6 o'clock in the Evening, and either his Deputy or one of the Clerks remains in the office while the others are absent at Dinner.

The report concludes, "and upon the whole they find neatness, method and perspicacity throughout the Department."

Such was the condition of the Department of Foreign Affairs when the Government took its new form under the Constitution. Livingston

and Jay had been the only Secretaries.

Department of State MS. archives.

II.

FORMATION OF THE DEPARTMENT OF STATE.

HE first Congress under the Constitution

THE

obtained a quorum in both branches early in April, 1789. After Washington had been declared elected President and John Adams VicePresident, the question of providing the proper executive machinery for the Government was taken up, and among the first Departments brought under consideration was that of Foreign Affairs. The plan of operating the old Department developed by Livingston and Jay was good, as far as it went. The trouble lay in the insufficient authority vested in the department and the insufficient authority of the old Congress itself. In providing for the new Department the design at first was for a foreign office, completely separated from the conduct of do

mestic affairs, and the bill introduced in the House June 2 was framed accordingly. One clause of this bill, to the effect that the Secretary for Foreign Affairs should be "removable from office by the President of the United States," gave rise to debate, which continued a week.

William Smith, of South Carolina, said:

Either that the constitution has given the President the power of removal, and therefore it is nugatory to make the declaration here; or it has not given the power to him, and therefore it is improper to make an attempt to confer it upon him.

It was contended that the power of appointment carried with it the power of removal; but an appointment required the advice and consent of the Senate-did not a removal also require it? Boudinot, of New Jersey, said:

If the President complains to the Senate of the misconduct of an officer, and desires their advice and consent to the removal, what are the Senate to do? Most certainly they will inquire if the complaint is well founded. To do

this they must call the officer before them to answer. Who, then, are the parties? The Supreme Executive against his assistant; and the Senate to sit as judges to determine whether sufficient cause of removal exists. Does not this set the Senate over the head of the President? But suppose they shall decide in favor of the officer, what a situation is the President then in, surrounded by officers with whom he can have no confidence.

He thought the President had the right of removal, but that, as some doubt respecting the construction of the Constitution had arisen, the clause ought to remain in the bill. Madison also supported this view, and the bill, containing in the second section an expression of the right of removal, passed the House by a vote of twenty-nine to twenty-two June 27. As it went to the Senate it read as follows:

Be it enacted by the Congress of the United States that there shall be an executive department to be denominated the department of Foreign affairs: and that there shall be a principal officer therein, to be called the Secretary for the department of foreign affairs, who shall perform and ex

*Annals of Congress, I, 417 et seq.

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