Richmond palladium. [volume] (Richmond, IA [i.e. Ind.]) 1839-1854, 1848-08-16

It Founders once opposed an appropriate
= tor paving Pennsylvania avenue. in Was!
ingion city. He said ..he had CAREFUL
: examined the Constitution. and he ha
. never found Pennsylvania avenue mention
: ed in I, once" suppose those who OF
a pose this appropriation might say that ii,
f Savannah river is not mentioned in d,
Constitution Yet the same centlema
? who urge this constitutional objection +
J appropriations of this character. find u,
> difficulty in urs ing the support Of meas
urcs. not only Of doubtful constitutions
authority. but in palpable violation Of tn,
spirit and letter Of that instrument. The,
can find in il no sanction for an improve
ment Of rivers and harbors, but they car
give it construction sufficiently broad tc
annex foreign country to our own. The,
can find no authority for the expenditure
OF money for the benefit Of our own PEG.
pie and the improvement Of our own
country, bit they find warrant sltiicicn,
10 wage war Of conquest IN foreign
land. and add whole provinces Of a neigh
boring kingdom to our own dominions.
This looks very much like ''straining at a
gnat while they swallow a camel"
But. Mr.. Speaker, it appears to me I'M
necessary to examine these questions at
this time. This appropriation. and all the
objections to II. have been considered and
decided by the House before the vote was
taken on the passage Of the bill. Why
should they be reconsidcred now! The
House has deliberately, and upon full con-
sideraton, decided that the appropriation
should remain in the till. Why, then.
should they change that determination.
and decide to strike it out! There is but
one argument used now against the APP
preparation. which was not used before the
vote was taken on the passage Of the bill.
and that is the argument SO strenuously
urged on yesterday by the gentleman from
Georgia and the gentleman from Virginia
that the President will veto the bill if il
is sent to him with this item contained in it,
We have lad, since the present Prcsi-
dent came into power. several instances of
the arbitrary exercise of the veto power.
but this is the first time that the friends of
the President have attempted to control the
action Of the House of Representatives
by holding out before it threats Of a Prcsi-
dental veto. 1t is bad enough ID have tic
wishes ofthe people thwarted, and the acts
passed by their Representatives nullitied
by an arbitrary Executive vote; but it is
worse. infinitely worse, to have the threats
of veto f1outed in our faces TO deter us
from passing bill which may not be agree
able to the President. Perhaps the gentle
man from North Carolina. instead Of re-
committing this bill Gas he has suysestcd)
TO a committee Of the whole House. should
move to commit il 10 select committee.
with instructions to proceed with it to the
white House." and request, in the name
OF the Representatives Of the people. that
his hiyhness, the President Of the United
States. will be graciously pleased to point
out such items in the bill as are not agree
able to his royal wishes; tina, the Repre-
sen,atives Of the people. his loving and
dutiful subjects. may strike them out. and
thus secure his appreciation. Such a
course. if not in conformity with our re-
publican institutions and the Democratic
notions of our fathers. who formed our
Government. would at lcas. be very fit
mode Of carving out the extreme scrviitv
to the President which many of his friends
here have manifested.
1t was the practice Of Oliver Cromwell.
Lord Protector of the Commonwealth Of
England. when the Parliament manifested
a disposition to pass laws which were not
agreeable to his wishes. TO summon them
before him in the painted Chamber
and there lecture them on their duties
Perhaps our Democratic President might
profit by this example. and thus coerce
refractory Congress into submission to his
wishes. Sould he do so. do not doubt
that he would find numerous supporters,
who would contend that such a course was
strictly Democratic.
But. sir, the Presidents frieiids will find
the threats of the Executive veto have no
terrors for this side Of the House. We
know not whether the item in this bill
objected to is agreeable to the President.
and we care not Amaiority Of the House
has decided that it is right. In making
this decision. they have acted upon their
own convictions Of the interests of the
country. II they should now recede from
this decision for fear of the veto or dis. I
pleasure Of the President, they would be
unworthy Of the seats they occupy; they
would he fit only to be the slaves of a
despot.
As the friends Of the President have
seen proper to introduce the subject of the
veto into this debate, and TO threaten us
with its exercise il. this case. | will avail
myself Of the opportunity to make some
general remarks on the manner in which
this power has been of late wears exercis-
ok. The extraordinary concentration Of
the powers of the Government in the hands
of the Executive. which, for several wears,
has been steadily progressing. is well cal
culated TO excite alarm. The .one-man
po,cer' has already become so great, that it
completely overshado~s all others. 1t is
rapidly growing up into a despotism. which
threatens to undermine the pillars of the
Republic. and change the character of the
Government. The advocates Of execu.
tive power and preroga,ive are as clamor-
Gus now as they were when these States
were colonies Of the British crown. The
arguments Of those who opposed the Re-
volutionary struggle of our Fathers. were
based upon the necessity of strengthen
ing the prerogative Of the monarch. and
OF supporting the dignity Of the crown."
They could not give their assent to the