Richmond palladium. [volume] (Richmond, IA [i.e. Ind.]) 1839-1854, 1842-08-27

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The reasons assigned by the Pres dent for re
turning to the House Of Representatives,, with his
objections, the bill to provide revenue from i'm
ports, and to change and modify existing laws
imposing duties and for other purposes, are pre-
coded By a brief dissertation upon the painful
sensations which any indiridual invested with
the veto power mus, feel III exercising it upon
important acts Of the Legislature. The para :
graph Is worded with extreme caution, and with
obvious intent TO avoid the assertion, made in
such broad and unqualified terms IN the letter
read at the Pniladepha Indepe ndence day dinner
party, that Congress can enact no ia,c without tn
concurrence Of the Executive. There IS in this
paper a studous effort 10 en.s any fndlridudt
from the impo tation OF asserting the unqualified
independence Of The Executive upon the Legist
lure, and the impotence Of Congress 10 enact any
law without him. That assertion, made in go OK
plicit and unqualified terms, in the Phllade phia
letter, Is here virtually disclaimed aud disavowed
The exercise Of some independence OF judgment,
regard to all acts Of legislation, by any indl
viduaI invested with the veto power, is here
tailed and narrowed down to the privilege Of
not yielding his well-considered, most deeply fix
ed, and repeatedly declared opinions matter. Of
great public concernment. to those Of ordi
nate department, without requesting that depart
ment seriously TO re-exemne the isct Of their
difference. The coordinate department to the
legislature IS no longer the co ordinate branch of
the Legislature.
The power Of Congress to enact a law without
the CO operation of any individual Executive is
conceded, not merely by unavoidable inference,
for the closing paragraph of the message, recnr>
ring again to the same Troublesome Renaissance.
observes that. after all the etfec, of what he does
Is SUBSTANTIALLY to call on Congress to reconsider
the subject. IT, on such reconsideration ms nr
ity of iwo-thirds Of both Houses should be fhvo7
of this measure, il will become law notwiih-
standing his ni eciions. The truelsm of this re-
mark may perhaps be accounted for by the
mise tina, it was a new discovery, made sin &c the
writing Of the Philadr'pha dinner party letter;
and. he mo les presumption asscribed TO the Con
srirution that the Executive commit error
of opinion unless thirds of both branches Of
the Legislature are in conflict with HIM. is tenn
pered bv The amIhbe ass france that IN that event
he will cheerfuliy acqniesce 10 result which
would be precisely the same 'whe ether he should
acqnesce in 1t or not Iha "r..'~Jo Of this hy'
p,.,t,u,n, p,>rtI,u De es'Imaten
calrul alton of the chances that the contingency
which ii supposes is within the verge of possibiI-
ity.
The reasons assigned by the Presiden, for his
objections to this bill are furthe- preceded BY
narrative of his antecedent opinions and commu
cations the subject Of distributing the pro
coed. Of the sales Of the public lands. lie admits
tina, at the opening of the exua session he re-
commended such distribution, but he AYERS that
this recommendation expressly coupled with
the condition that the duties m imports should
not exceed the rate of2O per cent. provided b. the
compromise act OF 1888.
Who could imagine that after this most en-.
phatic coupling Of the revenue rom the duties Of
impost with revenue from the proceeds Of the
sales of the public lands, the flint and paramount
obec ton of the President tbs bill should be
that it uni,es two subj ects which so far from hav-
ing any affinity to one another, are wholly Incon.
gruous in their character-whicit two subjects are
ldentically the same with those which he had cou
pied together in bis recommendation to Congress
at the extra session? If there no affinity be-
tween the parties, ny did he joi, them toge her?
re the union was Legitimate ,wh. was the admin
isering priest of The unhallow edri,es? Ii is OBJ
iected to this bill that it both revenue and an
appropriation bill. What then? Is not the act Of
September 4, le4l, approved ard signed by the
President himself, both revense and an appro-
priaton bill? Does il not exactthat, in the went
OF an nsufficiency of impost duties not exceeding
twenty per cent. ad valorem, t. defrav the cur
rent expenses Of The government the proceeds of
the sales Of tho lands shall be Wied as part of
the same revenue, and aPpfoprlaed TO the same
purposes? The appropriation of the proceeds of
the sales Of the public lands to dBfray the ordina
ry expenditures Of the Gov is believ ed to
be a system of fiscal management. unwise, impo-
lite, ImprovIdent, and UNJUST and II is precisely
for tina, reason that the bill wbefore the House
provides that they shall not be appropriated -
The public lands are the noble and inappreciable
inheritance of the whole nation. The sale Of
them to individuals is not tax ,pon the purchas-
er. but exchange Of equivalents scarcely more
bur,hensome to the grantee thai If he should re-
ceve it as gratuitous dooatm.
To appropriate the proceeds # the sales to de-
fray the ordinary expenses Of the government is
to waste and destroy the properly. This property
10 held by Congress in trust. Mr.. Tyler speaks
Of the distribution as If il was giving array the
property. II is precisely the reverse. 1t is re-
storing it to the owner To appropriate the pro-
ceeds TO defray the current expenditures is to
give it up to diIapida,on and waste. 1t ia in POI
li,ical economy precisely The same if an indi-
vidua Iandhoider should sell off, year after year,
parcels of his estate, and consume iis proceeds in
the payment Of his household expenses. The frs,
principle Of political economy necessary for