The daily Madisonian. [volume] (Washington City [i.e. Washington, D.C.]) 1841-1845, 1842-07-06

OF SOUTH CAROLINA,
ON THE VETO MESSAGE, JULY /.


at the warmth displayed by the gentleman troa
Massachusetts, Mr.. Saiionstail,) whose age and la
tents entitled his opinions To very serious considers
ton, especially standing he did al the head Of
most important committee, on Manufactures whose
interests 5 deeply affected by the Veto befor,
the House he had spoken of the effects OF the Vet,
as shaking the country to its very foundations. Thu
gentleman from New York Mr.. GSnger) had follow.
ed IN The debate, and said, let the country reel and
toteT as II might, that they must stand firm and IN
shaken let desolaiion sweep the land and the,
would who could stand It best. Mr.. X. had been
more astonshed at tins. He referred also 10 the
marks OF Mr.. Lane yesterday who, he said, had gone
further, and Swallowed forth hat be the policy
OF the dominant pa ty in this House, aud said that
because the President had vetoed this bill, be would
not vote 10 give the Government means to GOO but
because that patty were thwarted by the President
the Government was to be brought TO a stand.
Mr.. X. said was IN this aspect that the question
involved IN this subject not the temporary ques
uon OF the tariff for month, or even the question
OF the distribution act OF the tarih act OF 1883 m
portant that might be. II was tar more important
II was a question Of revolution--a question whether
this Government to be brought TO stand by the
dominant party here, and whether new and untrled
expedient Of changing aboIishng the Consti uton
not by the ordinary forms but by Unconstitutional
ton on the part OF this body, was TO be entered
he wanted TO show that the present of things
was not justified
What had the President donei MIR. K referred to
the President with reference to bills which have pass
ed both Houses OF Congress, aud are sent TO him,
provJing that II he approve he shall sign them, but
II not he shall return them with his objections &c.
here was nothing here said 10 the motive which
should actuate the President Ii he did approve
a blk from any cause whatever, he was bound to
tuinH. Mr.. then read from the Federalist COM
menlary on the Veto power, and said it covered the
very case before them; and If written by Mr. Tyler
himself as bis own commentary on the Constr luton
f.ini p.nt htHa hn.n haiti AHfltrt and
plain. The Presiden had done his duty laid down
IN The Constitution, and thai all.
Mr. K conended that this policy of abolishIng the
Veto power in the Constitution fatal 10 the Con
siitution itself The principle which they opposed
the Veto was contrary TO all the principles OF the
Constitution. What was the Constitution but a
combination Of Vetoes Instead Of there being but
one Veto in il there fifty. The idea of the
Impotence OF popular will most allacious and not
in accordance with the Consii ution. The legislative
power checked in various ways by vetoes: this
House was checked 10y the Senate by the Veto of
the Executive, by the lmltatios of the Constitution.
The Generei Government was checked there were
checks and vetoe' all round, guarding the Constu-
ton, and the Constitution itself was nothing but
bundle of grants of power and bundle of vetoes-
That was the principle of all free Governments-of
every Consti ution that mad been would
be. The element Of omnipotence 10 all Cavern
ments: In a monarchy It existed in one individual
In an aris.ocracy In few and in democracy in the
WI bout being restrained at every turn the Veto
power Of the Executive were annihated the next
step would be TO abolish the Senate The sane prin
clple would apply: Il said we must not be
ruled by one man, and it would then be said abolish
the Sena,e--we must not be ruled by the aristo-
cracy.
lie had heard the other day, when the Senate had
exercised power perfectly constitutional, lesson
OF popular supremacy preached here by the gentle
man from Massachusetts, (Mr. Adams.) Gentlemen
" hRnu To nnfr IN oil IN
House yet these advocates of popular rights were
those who oppressed the people-woud not al
low their representatives this floor to speak unless
under conditions made by the dominant party on this
floor under the power of the gag. They were going
forward to the dissolution of the whole fabric of Go
vernment when they assailed this Veto power the
principle set up here by gentlemen, stigmasing it as
a tyranny not to be submitted to.
Was the Veto of the President tyranny if it
checked the tyranny of the majority this foor If
we had no Veto, he would like to ask them Of what
avail the representation of the South would be this
hoor' Would their representation here, with all the
eloquence of an angel, be able to prevail on those
who were binding the chains of taxation on them to
relax them9 The great object of the Constitution,
on the one hand, to limit the powers Of this Go
vernment to those interests viii h were common and
general to all, and on the other hand 10 take away
from this Government the power those interests
which were peculiar and sectional The Constitu-
ton full Of limitations the Executive, this
House, on the States, on the Senate. Check after
check, Veto after Veto imposed; and when the
great party in this country triumphed in this war
against the Veto, they triumph the principles
of the Constitution. 1t was of the principles of
free Government. If q free Government was an
easy thing-if it was not most difficult for human in
genuity and patriotism to establish, why it that
we stood alone among the nations of the earth in the
exercise of their nestimable rights and privileges
and why was il that we stood, far as our liberty
was concerned, proudly pre-eminent above the
worldi
The great principle of democratic free government
was, that the people should rule themselves 1t
not that party, not that a section, that inte
rest should predominant; it was not that the manu-
featuring interest that any sectional interest should
prevail, but the principle of protection to all equal
rights to all, favoritism to and, in accomplish
ing this object, it absolutely necessary that each
and all the sections and interests in the community
should be protected. They had known, if the Bible
had not said it, that the heart deceitful above all
things. Neither one man nor any set of men c, uld
be trusted with unchecked, unlimited power it would
be abused. All sections and interests should be pro-
tected by putting prohibitions all around and that
was the way in which the people could rule. Sup
pose the majority here passed law was that suff-
cient! The Senate had to pass it and was the Con-
stitution satisfied with that? No. it had elected
man 10 guard and protect the rights OF the People
and the Constitution, who had to say whether the
law should go into effect not and, theoretically
speaking, that was the most popular power of the
three. In this House there various interests,
peculiarly represented that rendered this House not
the imparta representative of the peoples the Senate
the representative of the States but the Presi-
dent stood more peculiarly the representative of the
people than any of the three and the Constitl-
ton provided that no law should pass but with the
assent of the people Of the whole country and it
only in that way that the people governed themselves
Strike from this Constitution any one of these checks
and it would de troy the principles of the Constitu-
ton. The President could not originate any mea-
sure all that he could do to supend it and the
danger was not from the Executive, not from the
checks and vetoes in the Constitution, but ID that pow
er which rendered these vetoes and checks necessary
Now, when the majority had passed measure after
measure to carry out their own unrghteous policy,
and had been defeated in consequence of their own
positions, in consequence of the weakness among
theIn they turned md and said Pawer xue