Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1842-09-09
PROTES ST OF TIL IL
PRESIDENT.
10 the House of Representatives

nv the Constitution of the United states
!, t. proyided. that "every bill which shall
have possed the House of Representatives
and the Senate, shall before II become Jaw,
I mo nresented TO the President Of the Onled
States if he approcc, he shall sign II ou'
r. not he shall return it, with his objections,
IN that House in which it shall have origiha-
tod Who shall enter the objections at large
} mo, the journal, and proceed to RECONSIDER
it,
In strict compliance with the positive OBJ
llicaton thus imposed upon me by the Con
stltu,ion. not having been able to BRING my
self to approve a bill which originated III 'ne
House of Representatives, entitled IAN act
10 proyide revenue from imposts, ana 10
change and modify existing laws imposing
dnties on imports, and for other purposes
I re,nrned the same 20 the House, with my
objections to It's becoming law. These
affections. which had entirely satisfied my
own mind of the great impolIcy, II not 'he
unconstitutionaity, of the measure, were
presented in the most respectful, and even
dcferentiaI terms. would not have been
so far forcetful Of what was due from one
department Of the Government to another,
.
official intercourse with the House, any Ian
ruape that could be, in the slightest degree,
offensive to those to whom 1t was addressed.
If, in assigning my objections to the Dill, L
had so far forgotten what was due to the
House of Representatives as TO impugn ITS
motives in passing the bill should owe,
not only to that House, but the country, my
most profound apology. Such departure
from propreiy is, however, not complained
of in any proceeding which the House has
adorted. II has, on the contrary, been eX-
pressIy made a subject of remark, and al
most of complaint that the language IN
which my dissent was couched was studious-
ly guarded and cautious.
Such being the character Of the official
communication III question, | confess | was
wholly unprcparcd for the course which has
been pursued in regard to it. In the exer-
else of the power TO regulate its own pro-
cecdngs, the House, for the first time, it is
believed, in the history of the Government,
thought proper TO refer the Message TO a Sc
lect Committee of its own body, for the pur-
pose las nv respect for the House would
have compelled me TO inier) of deliberately
weighing the objections urged against the
bill by the Executive, with a view to ITS own
judgement upon the question OF the final
adoption or rejection of the measure.
OF the temper and feelings in relation TO
myself Of some OF the members selected for
the performance Of this duty, | have moth
ing TO say. That was a matter entirely
within the discretion of the House Of Rep
resenta,ives But that Committee, taking
A n. z L.. -, H.
should have supposed had led TO its creation,
instead of combining itself to the objections
urged against the bill, availed itself OF the
occasion formally to arraIgn the motives OF
I the President for others of his acts since his
induction into office. In the absence of all
proof and, rs am bound to declare, against
all law or precedent in parliamentary pro-
ceedings, and at the same time, in manner
which II would be difficult to reconcile with
the comfy, hitherto sacredly observed in the
intercourse between independent and co-or-
dinate departments of the Government, 1t
/ has assailed my whole official conduct, with
out shadow of a preteXt Tor such assault,
and, stopping short of impeachment, has
charged me, nevertheless, with offences de-
clared to deserve impeachment Had the
extraordinary report which the Committee
| thus made to the House been permitted to
remain without the sanction of the latter,
should not have uttered regret or com
plant, upon the subject. But, unaccompa-
MED as il is by any particle of testimony to
support the charges il contains, without a
deliberate examination, almost without any
discussion, the House of Representatives
has been pleased to adopt it as its own, and,
/ thereby, TO become my accuser before the
country, and before the world. The high
character of such an accuser, the gravity of
the charges which have been made, and
the judgement pronounced against me, by
the adoption Of the Report upon distinct
and separate vote Of the House, leave me no
alternative but to enter my solemn protest
as a man, as an invasion of my constitution
al powers as Chief Magistrate of the Amer
lean People, and as violation in my per-
son, Of rights secured TO every citizen by
the laws and the Constitution has entrusted
TO the House of Representatives the sole
power of impeachment, Such impeachment
is required to be tried before the most au-
gust tribunal known to our institutions.
The Senate of the United States, COM
posed of the Representatives of the sove-
regnty of the States, is converted into a
hall of justice, and in order to insure the
strctest observance of the rules of evidence
and of legal procedure, the Chief Justice
OF the United States, the highest judicial
| functionary of the land, is required to pre-
side over its deliberations. In the presence
of such judiciary the voice of faction is
presumed to be silent, and the sentence Of
guilt or innocence is pronounced under the
most solemn sanctions of religion, of honor
and Of law. To such n tribunal does the