Martinsburg gazette. [volume] (Martinsburg, Va. [W. Va.]) 1833-1855, 1834-09-11

repeat, VIZ thst the general course Of the Tx
ecutive has been LIST TO derogatc from the pow
! eFs of Congress and the common Gcvernnocn,
and this on pretence Of State right 2dly, in re
/ iation TO the general affairs Of the Governmer
! to take 10 himself the lions part. The earl
papers OF the administration prove this TO be III
ease the veto messages, sc. all 60 10 curtai
the powers Of Congress. In this latter particula
the President has pursued a course different fror
any Of his predecessors, from the time OF Wash
iagton until the present moment. The power
negatiying the laws Is a power which does exis
in the Executive, but which is only to be exer
eised ON extraordinary occasions. If we 20 bae
tortbe trainers Of the Constitution, we shall fin
that the chief object of the veto was to secure III
Executive from any encroachment on the part c
the legislative department Of the Government
il was TO protect the President and his own rights
but il was never intended that the veto shoul,
admit the Executive 10 a full participation in thu
ordinary business Of the legislature, aud witt
power 10 put end 70 the proceedings of botl
Houses Of Congress. This would be an absolut,
power for what President with a party at hi,
heels, would be unable to obtain one third Of the
legislative branches, and one third would be suf
fccnt for his purpose-tO enable him 10 ARE
the progress oflegislation. This veto power ha,
been so frequently employed of late, as to ex.
coed in the occasions Of its exercise the whole
previous history Of the Government. MIR. w
here alluded 70 the other (the negative) power
ing the expression of his assent or dissent from
bills until the time for acting on them had passed
There had been but one instance, Mr. w
said, of this negative description Of veto during
the last session, and that was in the case of the
bills for cleansing the navigation of the Hudson
and the Wabash rivers; of these two bills, one
had been taken and the other left ;" but he had
never been able 10 ascertain the reason for the
preference evinced, excepting, indeed, that the
waters Of the Hudson were a little salt, while
those Of the Wabash were entirely fresh. But
the most remarkable instance of actual Executive
encroachment was to BIO found in the power
claimed by the President Of removal from office
The Constitution said nothing about removal
from Office. 1t was true, that at an early period
of the Government, it had been decided that the
President might make u vacancy in case OF an
absolute necessity, but so far was the Executive
from having the power Of dismissing an officer al
his will and pleasure, that Mr.. Madison, one Of
the most able expoundcrs of the Constitution,
had eclarcd that any President who should re-
move a worthy man from office, upon mere party
motives, would DO liable TO impeachment Nc
ccssity, absoate necessity alone, Gas IN the case
Of insanity, sc. on the part OF an ineumbent,)
could Justify the exercise Of the power Of reno
val ON the part of the President of the United
States. But what did they now sces An ex-
traordinary power made an ordinary power
They saw the "extreme medicine of the Const-
tuition made daily bread" Yes, it did seem to
be the ''daily bread" of the Administration to
remove from office competent and worthy men,
and to fill vacancies with friends and creatures
Of their own.
This system was commenced even before the
present individual who filled the Executive chair
had taken the oath of Office. During She last
year Of the Administration Of Mr.. Adams, when
offices became vacant, the friends OF Andrew
jackson, constituting at that time n majority in
the Senate decided by the vote, that those Off
ces should remain open until his election had ia
ken place. and they could be filled by indiyidu-
ais of his nomination. This was done, add Judg
es Of the Supreme and District Courts, hiarshals,
District Attorneys, sc. were all left to the
choice of the new President, who possessed in
this way not only the patronage of The Govern
meat for his own term, but that of the last car
of his predecessor. twas this power OF reno
val, without any other preteXt but that OF party
will and pleasure, that was changing the whole
character of our Government. There were hon
est men in the Senate who said the thing could
not be altered who asked what could they do p
We told them that we could reject nominate 0ns.
We knew that we must make stand somewhere,
and we made it here, and continue to occupy the
ground we then took till this day. The Senate
was not, however, strong enough at that time :
the President had come into office backed with
prosperity, and we were borne
down, out voted, and overwhelmed; men who
thought well at that time did not dare we'll. The
power of removal, then, connected with the veto
power was the first step IN the march oil Execu-
tive encroachment next, in September last, came
the still more alarming (and more unfortunate,
because more alarming act OF the removal OF the
deposits. The law said that the public money
should be placed in the United States Bank, and
rave TO the Secretary alone the power OF reno
val in cases and for reasons connected with the
public interest. The Hoase OF Representatives
had voted that the deposits were sale, that they
should remain in the Bank and there they did
-, Of the next session, when,
by an act said to be his, boasted OF as his, and de-
ciarcd bv himself 10 be his, the public treasures
were by the President taken out oil the custody
of the law and placed in banks chosen by him"
self and his Secretary. And now II ls pretend
ed that this is all question between the Bank
md thc Executive between the Executive as the
source of all good, and the Bank as the source OF
all evil The Bank happened to be the subject
upon which Executive power was exercised; 1t,
therefore, necessarily came into the argument
but il was not the rights of the Bank, the inter
ests of the Bank, nor the liberty of the Bank,
that constitutes the question before the country
t.. real question at issue was the liberties OF the
people If the people, by the voice OF their rep
resentativcs, could not say where their money
was safe, and where it should be kept, they had
no control over il; if they could not choose one
place, they could not chose another. If the peo-
pie were 10 choose place at all, he (Mr. Web
ster) supposed they might choose their own
nIoce although il was certain that the Bank, by
having valuable consideration, had entitled IT.
self to hold the public money, and that any in
frinrement on the rights of the Bank in this par
ticular. would be a violation of contract which
ought not to be concurred in until after the fullest
legal investigation That man, too, greatly mis-
took the people of the United States ana OF MAS
sochnsetts. who supposed that question OF right
was 10 be decided by the degree of favor with
which they regarded the party claiming that
right. They, Of the Senate, had not connected
the favor Of the Bank with this question; they
aid not defend the Bank the Bank might have
acted right, or it might have acted wrong II th'
ITO be concluded.)
From, the Nov hurvpOrt Herald, Aug. p, 1881