Show HEARING RESUMED senator BIan chanTs able arguments larbre and interested crowds witness ahe lesal contest oyer the bounty case washington aug S the liea rinn in alic sugar bounty ler bowler was resumed abie morning another large interested crowd wae ent among fiteni many prominent men senator bianchard nian chard legan proceedings by speaking from a carefully prepared manuscript SENATOR senator blanchard 0 louisiana said aliat he and tho gentlemen associated biti would present alio article under three different heads they would contend first abat the comptroller ot the currency la without authority to question tho validity of an act of congress second that the appropriation called in question 13 0 constitutional warrant third be not constitutional tut ional strong equities existed justify ine congress Con gresa in making the appropriation and that congress lias equitable jurisdiction alio senator ead lie would add res himself inore particularly tp the first contention the claim in question that ot the oxnard company of nebraska was passed upon by tiro auditor or the treasury and allowed the amount duo to the comptroller of the treasury and eliat official who is required by law to also daei apon it appearing to have double as to his duty in atie premises suspended tho claim the doubts of the comptroller ariee as understand it said alio senator on iho ot alie law the act of e ia precise plain clear and mandatory the attitude of roller is one of apparent resistance to the execution 0 au act of congress questions 0 grave and serious importance an extraordinary tra is hero arc anted three gentlemen who aro of the united states actively participated in the passage 0 the bounty appropriation through the senate and two members of the house of lives n ho did the a in lit boda ure present at alii hearl nir for what pur pose to present before n official of the treasury department reasons u hy lie should exe ute tho law of I 1 pon what degenerate degen rate limes lave wo fallen that licali legislative officers of the government feel compelled in the discharge of their public duties to appear personally and urge that effect be given to ladof the land it would aeeti eliat their duties do not end with llie enactment of lla lute they must needs follow 4 into the executive branch and eoe its execution what is tie nature of office of comptroller what are ita di itic cun tho comptroller fuestion ou estion the validity of an act of 1 he anything more than an or ministerial officer must lie not execute jhb law as lie finde I 1 it alic comptroller of the treasury may refuse life sanction to the proper required to take hia money arop the treasury after its appropriation by no in bafo to president Jl approve an appropriation net as a ft hole or veto it a whole if cannot by the caneti aution approve certain items of appropriation pria tion in the bill and veto what doe not inert llie approval but not the comptroller ia cl by no eccli narrow limit an act of congress paid the senator approved by the president ie not guidance tor t lie treasury officials ie not a warrant for drawing money from the treasury until his own peculiar test of the is applied to it by the comptroller these pretensions of the comptroller aa mr called them he denied utterly alie act ot congress sir asserted constitutes utes alie comptroller an ministerial officer invested with no judicial duty whatever the most eliat cooki claimed for libin wag thai lip was ministerial officer nith nasi functions ohp law referred to he payment of money to alie sugar produce re upon the ascer of their in the manner provided by iho law it 1 a ministerial act 0 o bo performed oukei judicial function may bo exercised in the amount due upon alie 1 ol 01 fact 1 presented but once la decided every edep leading up to the payment of the money is a purely ministerial act sir bianchard nian chard alien proceeded to exi amino int llie character of the office of alie comptroller to see what purpose it in the administration of tho treasury department and he contended that alic person holding it was but an accounting officer he said shown that alie comptroller was to be considered a ministerial officer alone although lie performed certain quasi judicial functions proceeded to whether it was athin ohp comptrollers province t question the validity oi alie under considers con sidera tion after quoting nam croue authora au tich and citing that the very utmost that alio executive branch could do in lie any of inquiry into alie constitutionality of the law was to ask the opinion of the attorney general aut the act of congress constituted rue operative on fie comptroller until it wae declared by the judicial power void the question under consideration in this hearing mr pointed out wae once alie subject of an by the thirty sixth congress when a comptroller to a law oi that badr an eliat occasion the conclusion readied by ahn senate committed commit teo tha investigated the action of tho comp was that t was n matter of very brave inquiry to know allow far an executive elal or subordinate officer oi llie government can bo wr bitted to go behind alio law or I 1 the motives or actions of to find excused or tor alie 0 the law it thia be permitted without rebuke it would bo of the law |