The Madisonian. [volume] (Washington City [i.e. Washington, D.C.]) 1837-1845, 1841-10-12

with his reasons ..,
The gentleman from Pennsylvania, however, treated
these "Tyiers looh these scrupulous hePueheah az
siractioniss, with much hberality and ysiaeu ~
at least perfect freedom. He released them rom ',e
obligation Of conscience and inc Ssc;s;ons
bring them into the GLORIOUS liberty OF the ueo'1
az a majority But NV colleague Mr. Bolts earneu
this doctrine much further. confess ne was ho.'
and original quite So this point. lie iaia oown
he nyo9osition broadly thai the President Is sioorH
ha;r ~ pripafs opinion and official too, 10 the
J..;s;on n ne Supreme Court Of the United States,
,.nder he previous lar He says that the president
.has no rieht Of thought on the question Of const'u
,onalty This doctrine is no less extraordinary thah
!; .Ja hce az the Constitution. My colleague was
I'D into this gross absurdy by falling simply 70 JUS
tinpuish between the oath TO "erecule INC gD'ce y
President &c, prescribed by article ID secuoh is'
of the Constitution and the duty imposed py aucie
III section 3D. that she shall take care that the laws
he faithfully executed" BY failing, too, TO discrim
nate between faithfully erecuting laws already passed
and sanctioning laws proposed to HIM merely ior ms
approval Now, the "otiice OF President OF ,ne op.
ted States requires under section TN OF article ISL
that, when bill "shaH haze passed me House q re
personalities and the Senate" it shall before be-
comes a law, be presented to the Presiden. OF .ne
United States If he approve ne shaH sign y, put
MT he shall return IT, with his objections, 10 that
House in which il shall have originated" &c. But
when once law BY section Sd, article I'd, 1t needs
not his approval is beyond his dsapproval and .he
shall take care that il be faithfully executed Ihe
Constitution is plain in It's distinction between the
passage OF law and the erecution of law In the
one case il he approve he shall sign il, and not he
shall return it. He is not left the option even OF
transcending the ten days, to allow II to become
law by the lapse Of the time limited for the return OF
bill He must exercise his Judgment or how can ne
aapprope or "disapprore" the passage OF lawi But
he must execute law already passed. whether he ap-
prove for in that case, It IS not MS province
10 Judge, either for approval or disapproval. II was
under these plain distinctions, undoubtedly, that MI
Jefferson sig ned bill for branch bank at New Or
leans There the act in the nature of an act to
execute an already existing law. u was to extend
the benefits Of the Bank OF the United States, al.
ready in being, to portion OF the people who were
entitled equally to them; and when, too as have
shown he could not do less than faithfully execute
an existing law, Of the validity Of which il was not
his province to Judge OF like nature was his aP-
prova of law TO punish the forgery and counterfeit
ing OF the notes Of the Bank. And as TO MIR. Gala
tins report made days only before he went out OF
office il is sufficient TO say that the Secretary OF the
Treasury then as he is now, legislative oihcer,
who reported TO Congress and not to the President,
and over whom he could take no control,
without being guilty of usurpaton and tyranny.
Certain is that these distinctions are canon'zed IN
the Republican faith No decision OF majority OF
Congress, of majority of the court, under prloT
law now expired can be considered as binding upon
the President his oath to support the Constitution
and his judgment that any law which you may pro-
pose for his sanction is unconstitutional would not
presume, if knew them, to quote his opinions now;
but do know what his opinion was in 1919 and that
discussing FIRST as to the unconstltutionality VI
Bank, in his Judgment and, secondly, as to the
binding obligation Of law charering such an institu-
ton His views on both Complementary EN-
braced in single sentence;
"HousE OF Representative Feb. Is, 1919.
.''In Committee of the Whole the resolution sub
mitted by Mr. johnson of Virginia being under
slider alton
"Iaesoired That the Committee the Judiciary
be instructed to report bill to repeal the act entitled
AN act to incorporate the subscribers to the Bank of
the United States, passed April TO- 1916;
"Mr. Tyler said The question whether 1t be prop
or to direct scire iacias against the Bank divides IT.
self into two heads Of inquiry. First, whether the
charter has been violated as to enure forfeitnrei
And if So is it expedien to exact the foelturel The
decision of the first would preclude me from an in
curry into the second. For sir nasmuch beliepe
The creation Of this corporation TO be unconstitutional
cannot lrthout roidtion Of my oath, hesitate to re-
pair the breach thus made in The Constitution, 1hen an
opportunity presents Itself Of doing so iohou riota-
fing The public faith" "But believing, also that it is
<1pedient 10 put dopn, and other gentlemen feeling
themselves at liberty to follow up that inquiry, pro-
pose TO express to you my views on that subject
His last words were, in that speech:
"Let my fate be what it may, have discharged my
duty, and am regardless Of consequences"
Mr.. Sergeant, we are told, followed him. and must
have heard what he said And this opinion he has
changed recanted as far as know or have ever
heard.
Here Mr.. WISE was cut off by the hour rule and
what follows is what he Mould have said, had he been
permitted to proceed
The veto power, | should think, could not be held
by of these opinions, unchanged to be mere
ministerial act, Erecuire act only involy
ing power function of judgment no assent or
dissent of the mind or conscience of one acting under
oath support the Constitution, and bound impe
rativeIy to approre or disapprore proposed law.
observe that the power inserted the 7th
ton of the LIST article of the Constitution, which pre-
scrbes the Legislative powers, and long antecedent
in that instrument to the I'd article which prescrbes
/" the Erecutue power" Whether it be legislative or
Executive though in its nature involves quoad the
constutonality expedency either OF law, Duty
To approve disapprove, and free and full right of
judgment and discretion in the President That right
of Judgment in any official action, is gone
from him as the proposed measure becomes
law. And the very purpose Of the veto power is to
protect the Constitution from invasion against
jority. Why should majority, then, be set up to
override the President, even ifthere was majority
But we are told that this hill does respect the
sttutona scrupes Of that portion of the Republicans
of the Wing party who deny the power of Congress
TO incorporate National Bank. We are told that il
contains compromised A compromised What is
that Something which always dread something
which usually abstracts half from the right the
wrong with the reserved privilege To the stronger side
To keep the faith at that rate Of advantage
Ii is something which ] never advised client to
ccde TO unless he had bad cause to have which,
however bad submitted arbitrators to be sure
10 get right in which he had interest split into
the difference in his favor II always at least
that something is yielded on both sides, Now, pray
tell me- how can constitutional poicer-which exists
don't exist at abe divided into parts, and partly
yielded and partly denied 1t is entirety2 1t
lists or don't exist How can 1.-THE mere naked ques-
ton of power-be yielded in part and not yielded in
the whole can't and never could solve that ques-
ton, Before you divide OF part any thing, you
must admit that thing TO exist. Well how is il with
this 10th rule Of the bill
" 10. The directors of said corporation shall estab
lish one competent Office OF discount and deposit in
any State in which two thousand shares shall have
been subscribed may be held, whenever upon ap.
plcation of the Legislature of such State, Congress