The Charlotte journal. [volume] (Charlotte, N.C.) 1835-1851, 1841-10-28

policy would rarely be carried BY major
iiy so largo as two thirds Of each house,
And We, m these il may be just as impor
iani tia, the public will should be carried
out, as IN cases OF less doubt and difficulty.
Il may be. also, that president may oP
pose the passage of laws oil The plalnesi aud
most pressing necessity. And i he should
do so, it would certainly give him most i'm.
proper power over the people, 10 enable
him to prevent the most necessary iegisla
ton, with onls one third Of each houses
congress IN has favor. There is SOM
thing homogeneous in this uuion Of legIsla
tive and executive powers in the same man.
Perhaps il is proper that there should be q
power somewhere, 10 check hasiy and III
considered legislator. end that power may
be as well entrusted to the president as %
any other authority. Ba. 1t is not aecessa
~ that il should be great enough 10 prevent
all legislation, nor TO control 10 any respect
the free exercise Of the Legislative will
Il would be quite enough fer the security
Of the rights Of the executive, and quite
enough to ensure temperate and wise legis
latjou, TO authorize the president merely 10
send back to the legislature ior reconsider
alton any law which be dlsapproyed. By
thus all5rding TO that body time aud oppor
uuity for reflection, with all the additional
lights which the president himself could
throw upon the SUBJECT, We should have
every reasonable security for The due exer-
case Of the legislative wisdom, and fair
expression OF the public viii. BUl if, after
all this, the legislature, 10 both lis branches,
should sin adhere 10 their opinion, the the
DRY and the sound practice Of al our insti
,ullons require that their decision should
be binding and i1aI.
"The re eligibility Of the president, from
term to term IS the necessary source Of
uumberless abuses. The fact that the
same president may be elected, net for c
second term only, but Tor a third, or fourth
or twentieth, will ere long suggest to him the
most cofrup,ing uses Of bis powers, in order
TO secure tina. object. Al prcseui Their, Is no
danger Of this. Presidents are now made,
not By the free sufliages Of tie people, bUl
Gy patty management, and there are al
ways more lhaa one in the successful par
ty, who are looking to their own turn in the
presidential ollice. l,ls too early yet for
a monopoly Of lha, high honor bul the time
will come, when tie actual incumbent will
ind means 10 buy OF opposition, aud TO en-
sure continuance in Office, by prosIltuiing
The trusts which belong TO it. This IS SO
obviously within lbe natural course OF
things, that il may well excite our surprise
that tia convention should have left the
eas .ber,y wholly unguarded, at so as
saiabla point. II is surely plain die
tate Of wisdom, aud necessary provision
IN every free government, that there should
be some definite limitto the duration Of exec
uiiye power, 10 The same hands. We cannot
hope 10 be free from the coFrup,iops which
result from an abuse of presidential power
and patronage, Until that officer shall be
eligible olily for one terR--a long term If
you please--and until be shall be rendered
more easily and directly responsible TO the
power which appoints him."