Page:The Supreme Court in United States History vol 1.djvu/264

236 as to the commissions. It appeared from affidavits that Madison had refused to answer Marbury's inquiry whether his commission was signed and sealed; and when demand was made for the delivery of the commission, Madison had referred to the Chief Clerk Wagner, who answered that the commissions were not then in the office, but had been delivered to Attorney-General Lincoln. At the hearing in Court, Wagner and another clerk declined to respond to questions, on the ground that they ought not to disclose official information, but the Court ordered them to be sworn and their answers taken down in writing. The Attorney-General who was summoned as a witness also objected to testifying, and asked that the questions be put in writing so that he might have time to determine whether he would answer them, since, as he said, he felt himself delicately situated between his duty to the Court and the duty he owed an Executive department. To this plea, the Court replied "that if Mr. Lincoln wished time to consider what answers he should make, they would give him time, but they had no doubt he ought to answer." This singular episode was vividly described in the newspapers as follows: "Mr. Lincoln submitted . . . that if the Court should think it proper the questions might be committed to writing and time allowed him to weigh the obligations between which he was placed; his duty to the government through the office of State, and his duty to the Court and the laws. Should there any militancy arise between the two duties, it required some consideration before he should decide between the difficulties. That if the Court should, upon the question being submitted in writing, determine that he was bound to answer them, another difficulty would suggest itself upon the principles