Carroll free press. [volume] (Carrollton [Ohio]) 1834-1861, 1841-11-26

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glslallve and Executive power, thus
rendered impossible. Practically, there.
lore, for the People, and especially
their iTncilonarres, 10 deny, disturb, or
Impugn principles thus constitutonally
established, strikes mo as ol evil exam
pie, il ol.or direct revolutionary ten.
dencV, except, indeed, in the case of a
Judicial decision enlargng power and
against liberty; and any dangerous er.
ror Of this sort can be always easily
corrected (and should only be corrected)
by an amendment of the Constitution. in
one of the modes prescribed by that in.
s'rument itseIf-the organic law Of the
States and the Peop'e. Msconstruc-
tons of law, other than he Constitution,
are yet more readily corrected by amen.
dalory or decara,ory acts Of Congress.
The ETeCutipe Veto This, by the
trainers of The Constitution, could only
have been designed. | To enable the
President TO defend his own rightful
powers against usurpa,ions on the part
oT Congress; 2. To enable him to forbid
other Legislative rnfraclions Of the Con.
sttuion; and, 3. To guard the country
against other acts Of hasty or violent
legislation.
1t is hardly possible TO conceive case
under the first or second of these heads
against which the Judiciary-lhe bal
ance wheel Of The system-docs not af-
ford, of itself, all the security that the
People can require.
But, without the protection oreither
the Bench or the Veto, woald the Exc
culive Department (become so super
judicial of late years. he too weak to
tuItl' the strictly executive functions for
which it was particularly creared2 Or.
rather, would not that department still
be The most powerful Tor evil in the
Government
The President is, under the checks Of
the Constitution and law, righlIuIly in
vested with the power Of the sword, an /
he has again and again had that Of the
purse also The Houses Of Congress,
it is true, lay taxes, fix imposts, aud re.
gulate the sales Of the public domain /;
but it is he (through his agenls) who
handles the proceeds. From 1888 to
1886, to say nothing Of the present. he
alone nominated and dismissed all the
agents who Kept, as we'll as those who
collected, distributed, and disbursed The
public revenue. The apo,hegm, Make
us yOur erecutor, ire care not wi0 are
yoar legislators, has CrightruI applica
lion to such small agents and the i'm
mense treasure that passes annually
through their hands!
The rapid increase and spread Of po
pulaiion; the growth OF national wealth
the amount Of revenue collected and
dlsbursed; tho new relations (by the ex
tension OF comma rce) with foreign coun
tries; tho additional appointments al
home aud abroad; the number and value
Of contracts all constantly and n0ces
sarlIy on the increase; general decay
in morals, perhaps as great in Congress
as elsewhere; the habit that we have
seen prevail during several Presden;ia
terms, Of filing public offices with little
or no regard TO moral staCding, have
taken together, already opened to the
head Of the Government elements o
power and corruption which it was i'm
possible for the trainers and adopters o
the Constitution TO foresee or conceive
Who, at that distant day, for example
ever dreamed of the spectacle which
has recently disgusted every honest ci
tIzen, Of post masters, mail contractors
mail agents, and census takers, covering
the land with Government pamph,e
handbilIs, and extra gazettes, suhicirn
Of ready to sap the morals, public AM
private, Of an entire generation ?--of tht
custom house mercenaries in the arg,
cities, living on the Public, negleclin!
every duty for party meetings and III,
polls, and rendering to power the mos
hribe worthy services? = Of District AT
'orneys and Collectors, rambling mis-
sionaries, defending every abuse Of oil
fce-theIr own the most indecent
order TO maintain power in the hand
Of their patron9 All who have rAhecI
ed on the foregoing facts must be read
to affirm that EreCutiDe patronage aha
increased, is increasing, and ought 10 b
diminished"
! hope, then, by an carly nmendmer
of the Constitution, to see a reducto
Of the Presidents veto. The regulalio
! of patronage woa'd properly follow.
There can be no good reason why th
: veto should not be owe rcome by bar
, majority in each House Of Congress {
. all the members elected TO it-say, fo
! the benefit Of reflection, at the end {
J.. ten days from the return Of The bill. -
= An amendment to this effect would sti
= leave Inc President, he general repre-
sentative Of every Stoio and distric
| armed with the votes Of all the member