temporarily charged with, the affairs intrusted to them, I am impressed with the justice of such an allowance in the case of a citizen who happens to be abroad when first appointed, and that of a minister already in place, when the public interest requires his transfer, and, from the breaking up of his establishment and other circumstances connected with the change, he incurs expenses to which he would not otherwise have been subjected.

II.  Claims for outfits and salaries by charges d’affaires and secretaries of legation who have not been appointed by the President by and with the advice and consent of the Senate.

By the second section of the act of 1810 it is provided—­

That to entitle any charge d’affaires or secretary of any legation or embassy to any foreign country, or secretary of any minister plenipotentiary, to the compensation hereinbefore provided they shall respectively be appointed by the President of the United States, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate; but in the recess of the Senate the President is hereby authorized to make such appointments, which shall be submitted to the Senate at the next session thereafter for their advice and consent; and no compensation shall be allowed to any charge d’affaires or any of the secretaries hereinbefore described who shall not be appointed as aforesaid.

Notwithstanding the explicit language of this act, claims for outfits and salaries have been made—­and allowed at the Treasury—­by charges d’affaires and secretaries of legation who had not been appointed in the manner specified.  Among the accompanying documents will be found several claims of this description, of which a detailed statement is given in the letter of the Fifth Auditor.  The case of Mr. William B. Lawrence, late charge d’affaires at London, is of a still more peculiar character, in consequence of his having actually drawn his outfit and salary from the bankers employed by the Government, and from the length of time he officiated in that capacity.  Mr. Lawrence’s accounts were rendered to the late Administration, but not settled.  I have refused to sanction the allowance claimed, because the law does not authorize it, but have refrained from directing any proceedings to compel a reimbursement of the money thus, in my judgment, illegally received until an opportunity should be afforded to Congress to pass upon the equity of the claim.

Appropriations are annually and necessarily made “for the contingent expenses of all the missions abroad” and “for the contingent expenses of foreign intercourse,” and the expenditure of these funds intrusted to the discretion of the President.  It is out of those appropriations that allowances of this character have been claimed, and, it is presumed, made.  Deeming, however, that the discretion thus committed to the Executive does not extend to the allowance of charges prohibited by express law, I have felt it my duty to refer all existing claims to the action of Congress, and to submit to their consideration whether any alteration of the law in this respect is necessary.