Vermont watchman and State journal. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1836-1883, 1845-11-13
VETO MESSAGE.


the House of Representatives, in which it origina
ted. >.
rocted 70 be paid, is " for labor and expenses il
preparing digesed index Of all such portions o
the Revised Statutes passed in one thousand elgh
hundred and thirty nine, as have been altered o
repealed, and all public acts passed since such re
vision, with the public laws passed at the session
of the Legislature of this State, for one Thousand
eight hundred and forty four"
1t appears that the service in question was per
formed by Mr. Sampson under an appointment
made by the Governor in pursuance OF the follow
inc Resolution, adopted at the last session of the
General Assembly:
Resolved, by the Senate and House Of Repre-
sentatves, that the Governor be requested to APP
point some person to make digested index of al
such portions of the Revised Statutes, passed il
1889, have been repealed or altered and all pub
lie acts Of this State passed since said revision
with The public laws passed at the present session
Of this legislature, and cause the same to be pub.
lished, with the laws passed at this session. Pro
uided, the whole expense Of publishing, with com
png the same shall not exceed one hundred dol
lars,--and provided it shall not cause delay in
the publication Of the laws passed at the present
session, of more than ten days.
1t will be observed, on an inspection of the Res
oution, that the index to be published with the
laws Of The session Of 1874. 1t became the duty,
VI WI DdupSOu W luIulou lHuCAS III
season to be in the hands Of the person who had
contracted to print the laws, by the time he was, by
his contract, to have them ready for delivery
which Il appears was on the first Of December
AS the Governor was to cause the index to be
published, it was oil course, to be sent to HIM, when
completed, and that, for the obvious reason that
he would be held responsible las, by the ReSou-
tion it was evidently intended he should bel for
its correctness The General Assembly could not
have intended 10 impose on him the duty of pub
fishing any index which might be furnished him by
the person lac should appoint, because it would
have subjected him to the hazard of severe censure
for sending forth an erroneous or defective index,
besides suspending the public interest upon the
same hazard, The Legislature evidently intended
the double security of ordinary in making the
appointment, and the subsequent supervision Of the
Governor hmsef-else they would have provided
that the person appointed to prepare the index, and
not the Governor, should cause it to be published
But Notwithstanding this obvious and necessary
construction, Mr. Sampson took upon himself to
determine that, after making the appointment, had
nothing more to do with the matter; and that the
index not to be sent to me- but to the Secrela-
ry of State; and that he was bound to see that it
was published with the laws their publication be.
ing subject to Ills superintendent. He according
ly sent the index TO the Secretary; but not until
the 2Sth OF November, two days, only, before it
was to 90 into the hands of the printer for publca
ton. The Secretary, on the both, very properly
sent it TO me. On examining Il few pages found
several errors in the references TO the pamphlet
laws, published since the revison--the appropriate
references being 10 the years Of their passage and
the pages Of the pamphlets in which they were
publlshed-which, in numerous cases, were found
erroneous in one or both these particulars. Great
errors and deficiencies were also found in the de-
scrptlve part OF the index while to great number
Of Important unrepealed sections OF laws there was
a rptprpnCp Whatpvpr )f cnctions
ced, have found more than thirty on recent ex-
ANIMATION OF about one half the index. 4
The errors to which have referred, were speci-
fed in paper accompanying my communication
on this subject, TO the Senate, on the 3D. instant
with which also sent the Index itself with a re-
quest that it might be preserved in the archives of
that body, approximate evidence of nv fidelity to
panying explanation were referred to the Commit
tee Of Claims of the Senate, before whom [ was
requested to APPEAR and by whom it was admitted
that my specification of errors was correct and that
the index, as it came to my hands, was not SUCH as
should have been published
did not publish the Index; and but for the pre-
vious preparation of another without my authority
which at that iuncture decided to accept, none
would have been published.
But it has been commended, that the index should
have been returned TO Mr.. Sampson for correction
and that because it was not he is entitled to COM
pensation for making it, though it fatally de-
fective. To this position will devote moments
attention.
Upon examining the index on the 29h of No
vember-the day that received i'll not only saw
thai could not order lis publication, but that if
should return it, could not trust to any corrections
which Mr.. Sampson might make, without subse-
quent inspection OF 1t, since very gross errors had
escaped him Iii copy prepared with apparent care,
Tor the press. And besides, as he had denied my
lnbf Of uias,, ,,,t bo I Ill
doubt whether he would submit the index to me !
after he should have attempted to correct it. The
proper corrections would moreover, have involved
The necessity OF re-construcng and drafting it,
which, it was apparent, could not be effected, and
The whole submitted to me, and necessary time al
lowed me for its re-examination, before the expra-
ion OF the ten days when the printing of it should
pc completed-much less that all this could have
been done within the twenty four hours which only
remained between my examination Of 1t, and the
first of December. Indeed it could not have even
reached Mr.. Sampson-his residence then being at
NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS. seventy miles distant from me
until the first Of December,--th day when it
should have been IN the hands Of the printer at Bur
lington In condition to be published.
did not therefore return it to him; and am
unable TO see upon what principle my omission to
DO 1t can lay foundation for a claim on his part.
Tor compensation. 1t is evident that my return of
It could not have resulted in its publication with
The laws, Which, before it could have reached the
hands OF the printer, would have been completed,
and IN the process OF delivery to the Sherifis for
and Of course, that even if corrected,
1t could not have been made available to the State
IN the way contemplated in the Resolution under |
which 1t was prepared namely, its publication with
The laws of the last session.
The truth is, it was the duty of Mr.. Sampson to
prepare an inder-not defective one, but an inder
q 10 be publiShed--in such season that it might
haan f,la in tha han sort h.
first of December. Having failed to do this, he |
ailed to do the duty which, by accepting the APP
pointment, he contracted to perform. And having |
thus falled am unable to see on what principle |
applicable to the ordinary affairs of life he can be
entitled to compensation ;-how, indeed, he is more
entitled to 1t than one would be who having en-
gagged to furnish an article of manufacture by
given time, furnished defective one, unadapted to
the purposes of its construction.
But Mr. Sampson claims that, having performed
labor, under an Executive appointment, il is hard
for him to lose it, and that he needs compensation