Herald of the times, and Rhode Islander. [volume] (Newport, R.I.) 1846-1849, 1846-09-10
THE REPUTATION VETO.
From the National Inlelligencer.I

cise) In The resort to the Veto power by the
Executive of the Uuited States, has grown too
frequent and Is IN It's latest ase, too lnloleraby
bad, for Us To pass over without mlnuler ca
animation than we could at the instant give II,
: the Presidents Message OF The sh OF Tins month,
returning to the Senate the bill, which had
passed both Houses of OugTess, providing Tor
ihc claims OF our clllzens who suffered by
! French SpolialonS prior 10 the year lSO, and
Offering the official reasons Tor neSaivmg
this long delayed act of justice.
h In tins Message the President assigns, IN o.
bedence to The Constitutional phrases, his "rea-
sons against the bill aud his objections To llN
| becoming "A law Now, are reasons ana OD-
lectIOnS such as those are, compliance win
the purpose of The Constitution, or are they on
" reasons IN name, for what Is IN point oil
fact an arbitrary, naked, cruel, and unjust eA
ertlOn of mere sovereign Will And, IN place
II of such might not the President have. Just aN
, decenlly as to the laws, more respectfully as To
his own reputation for skill 10 color bs ii aci,
spoke out IN the old words, aud SAID, for his sole
, reason, "Stot pro rattOne roiaHtaS
n For his first reason, ms leading objection, and,
as if 10 convict himself Of having no legitimate
grounds, for what he l. doing the President Is
at pains 10 state that The antiquity of the LOSSES,
90 he compensated by the bll) The multiplicity
! ofthe facts, the extended negotiations to which
d they gave rise, the bTlcl Time lett HIM 10 look
into the m.ri,S of the claims, aud the pressure
i upon him Of other duties p"rem has hdr,ng eL-
0mtntd The matter in HS detdlS. 10 quotc hiS
. precise words -
"In attempting to give the bin the careful ex-
animation it requires, difficulties presented
/ themselves in the outset, from The remolene>s OF
4 the period to which the claims belong, the com
plcaled nature OF the transactions IN which
they originated, aud the prolracied negotiations
j to which they led between France and the L.
States. The short time intervening between
] the passage OF the bill by Congress aud the ap-
preaching close Of their session, aS well aS lhe
. pressure of other official duties have not per.
mued me to extend my examination OF the sub
lecl into It's minute details. But, IN the con
sideralion that have been able to give to 1t, !
find objections Of grave character TO It's pro-
visions
II Now, Congress, upon full investigation,
had recognised the tIct of the claims, the
priacipie that arc were TO pay lhcm, and even
the general amOunt-abOut how much they were.
What then, ,rdS there To ascertain, except those
| very dctduS which the President IN effect ayows
! that he could not inform himself about The
principle and the fact OF debt being ascertain
ed what was left but To cavass and silt The de
tails that Is the validity and extent of each
particular claim belonging to TINS body OF claims
and making up, when joined to The rest, ITS gross
amount
\ "Details" then not principles, were the i'm
| pedlmcnts TO the Presidents signing tins bill
details into which he had not Iooked,-nay,
deals into which (hdd there been ever 50 much
time at his dl>poSal) he had no business to enter;
for he is not Judge nor commissioner to
/ pass upon the individual rights arising under a
= law of the land "Details - why, there were
none IN the bill Congress had not undertaken
. ludcIay to parcel out TO each claimant lc-
gal award for the exact amount due HIM on
4 proof TINT was 10 be left To commissioners, a
/ judicial function. Congress had only, after
. oil LEADING Ia, tlo
/ same result, satisfied itself that there dm exist
/ large and valid body of such claims ; that our
Government had, upon receipt Of ample conNld-
Grafton placed itself under obligations 10 salts
| fy them and had, with most tardy faith. al
last acknowledged the debt and provided sum
to cover IT. leaving, of course, to judicial dNtrl-
button the proportions IN which and The persons
to whom The money was to be paid. Does not
any one see then at a glance, that the EXccu-
lives talking about the "details IA a case like
'lhl>-thc HemS that are to be admitted IN favor
of this or that ndyldual-S, IN effect, htte bet
Ter than SAYING that he will not sign any law
that has dttatiS an u
II Mulludes of claims for individual losses, or
services, or supplies furnished come before
Congress. Il examines them in their principles,
proofs, amounts, through lis COMMITTEE and
Claims II these report iavOraby on them, they
are usually provided for by what are called
/ private bills which that now IN question really.
/ Is, only embracing many persons. The only
differences between such cases of single persons
and The present are IN JdCOr of the latlcL For
in the case of the single person, Congress aSCer.
talnS ludlcaly the whole matter, the amount To
be paid and leaves nothing To the surer inquiry
/ of tribunal but here the matter was lo be sub.
mIttcd To legal examination aud the clam IT.
self possessed this vast superiority over ordinary
private OncS-that II had been originally prefer.
red bv the nation itself, acting tor lt> cllIen>,
al, had.
thus vouchcd for its reality and lis extent but
had for very important consideration Ienuunc-
ed the claim against France, aud engaged by
treaty to pay ItN citizens the sum which 1t had
been demanding on their behalf The CLAIM,
then, having passed through an adverse cNaml-
nation much SCvercr than any that ordinary
private ones are subject TO- Is again To be revised
aS To payments under II, 10y judicial agents oi
some kind or other 80 that It's dignity IN far .
higher and lis merits much better a>ccrlalncd /
ihau can be those provided for 10y common pa Il
varc bills And now all This being ncunlc>lahly /.
So will any human being undertake To tell u>
hon upon has o,cn prmciP'eS, he PrSmem has
bccn dbc 10 Sigh any oRe pirate 6'H 81 NE "d"g
ihGt he has h,s WdT 0pprOrd Did hc examine .
all their "dclailSl" Had he "rmc' for Hcm - /.
Certainly not he dId not attempt, he dld not
desire to do, a> to them, that which the not hav-
lug the power to do a. TO thl>, Il alleged by hlm
aS a fatal objection" Why dld he not, then, /
send IN each instance such bills back with II
vcro, informing the House IN which they or
ginatcd that che had not time to look into the n
details of so many that the pressure oi other
business (warS, Sub.rca>urlc>, lrcc.trade aud
other occupatlonS) does not permit bun To III
dnlge IN humdrum Investigations, like thus, OF
mere wrong, or debts To our own citizens that
Congress has itself not examined the deals OF
these bills, but left that To- be- done by only
few committeeman aud. ~ short that he wont
sign any thing of which be- don't understand all
he details except such ~ arc lo carry his own
purposes into edcct-lhc Tauh bill, for exam.
pie. or the Mexican war bill N
But what Is the President IN The habit Of
such strict, such rigid investigation, before he /
acts ? let uS see hule
What Is the main thing We are about Just h
now ~ 4
why, To be sure, a war with MeNico.' N
And, pray, what are the grounds for that /
war; N
"Why one of them, aud conSpicuouSly pre-.
>cnled aS such IN the proclamation prepared for
Gen. Taylor that some OF our clulenS have jud
A. Il. a. al. 4