The Middlebury people's press. [volume] (Middlebury, Vt.) 1841-1843, 1841-11-02
His Ex'y S. Il. JENIsoN.
Z. JACKSON

FETo.-The following is an extract from
volume from the pen Of 5ir. UPshur, the pres
ent Secretary Of The Navy, entitled O. brief
Enquiry into The true nature D orr Federal Cor
eynmcnt." Let those pretenders tc democracy
who would destroy popular rights by royal-
..log the President. AMI the people whom they
would reduce to subjects, read it.
TIE EXTRACT.
"Anothcr striking impcrfeclion Of the Con
st.tuton,as respects tho Executive Department,
is found in the veto power The right to for
bid he peop'eto pass whatever laws they please
is The right TO prive them Of e'fgovcra'ae"i
l. is a power which can never be entrusted to
one man, or any number Of men, short OF the
necple themselves, without the certsin dcsiIc-
:on Of public liberty. Il is true that each de-
varimsrt Of the Government should be armed
h 4 certain power Of solf-protcct;on against
.s n',3 Of The other departments; aud the
->cl.jyc probably stands most in need OF such
-,;ion. But the veto power, as 1t stands
Constitution, goes far beyond THIS sub
,. II is in effect, power IN the Excel
sc =, ,9r35nert 10 forbid all action IN any
.arr. 7: IS true that, notwithstanding the We
70 CT the President, law may still be passed,
provided f,ro- thirds OF each House Of Congress
agree therein; but It is obvious that the cases
are very rare in which such concurrence could
be expected. II cases plain necessity or
policy the veto would not be applied; and
those Of doubtful necessity or policy would
rarely be carried by a majority so large as two
thirds CT each House. And vet IN these II
may lie Just as Important that the public wall
should be carried out as in cases Of less doub;
and difficulty. 1t may be, also, that Presi-
dent may oppose the passage Of laws of the
plainest ard most pressing necessity. And IL
he should do so, /; would certainly give him a
most improper power over the people, to enable
him to prevent the most necessary legislation,
with only one-thrd of each ! oIse Of Congress
in his favor. There is something incongruous
in this union of Legislative and Executive
powers in the same man. Perhaps it is pro-
per that there should be 4 power somewhere, to
check hasty and iil-considored legislation, and
that power may be as well entrusted 10 the
President rs to any other authority. But it is
not necessary that it should be great enough
TO prevent all legislation, nor TO control in any
respect the free exercise of the legislative will
1t would be quite enough for the security ol
the rights of the Executive, and quite enough
to ensure temperate and wise legislation, &c
authorize the President merely to send back
to the Legislature for reconsideration any law
which he disapproved. BY thus atIording 70
that body time and opportunity for reflection,
with all The additional lights which the Presi-
dent himself could throw upon the subject we
should have very reasonable security for the
due exercise of the legislative wisdom and a
fair expression of the public will. But if af-
ter all this, the Legislature, in both its branch.
es, should still adhere to their opinion, the the
CRY and the sourd practice of all our insttu-
tons require that their decision should be bin
ding and final.