Vermont watchman and State journal. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1836-1883, 1848-08-10


sion experienced among us from democracy,
the genius Of the people is in favor of it,
and the genius of the people must be con-
suited. He could not but consider the fed
eral system as in effect dissolved by the ap.
pointment Of this Constitution to devise a
better one. And do gentlemen look forward
to the dangerous interval between the ex-
tinction of an old, and the establishment of
new government, and to the scenes of
confusion which may ensue2 He hoped
that nothing like monarchy would ever be
attempted in this country. A hatred to its
expressions had carried the people through
the late revolution Will it not be enough
to enable the executive to suspend offensive
laws, till they shall be coolly revised, aud
the objections to them overruled by a great
er majority than was required in the first in
stance! He never could agsee to give up
all the rights of the people to single mag
istrate. If more than one had been fixed
on, greater powers might have been intrus-
ted to the executive. He hoped this attempt
to give such powers would have its weight
hereafter, as an argument for increasing the
number of the executive"
Aiter this, DR.. Franklin again spoke a.
ganst the veto power, treating this question
as if it it involved that of monarchy or re-
publlcanism and one passage of his speech
contains prophecy SO remarkable that
must read it to the Senate:
"The first man put at the helm (of state)
will be a good one Nobody knows what
sort may come afterwards. The executive
will always be increasing here, as elsewhere,
TILL III ENDS IN A MONARCHY"
Thus, then, it appears that the opinion OF
six out of nine who participated in the de-
bate, was that an absolute and unqualified
veto would introduce great monarchial fea-
ture into our institutions; in other words,
that the Executive would be converted into
a monarch by its adoption. This was the
opinion Of Franklin, of Mason, of Sherman,
of Bedford, of all except the ultra Federal
lists of the day. Now, where ARE WEI What
is the party which now maintains this ultra
veto power2 The party that arrogates to
itself the name of Democratic That is the
party which places in the foreground of its
political platform, the doctrine of the abso-
lutte and unqualified exercise of the veto
power That is the party which sustained
the absolute and unqualified veto OH the
land bill in 1888. That bill to distribute
the nett proceeds of all the public lands a.
mong the States, which passed both Houses
in March, 1888, was bill which would
have given the people of each State in the
Union the means Of educating all their chill
dren without taxation, and Of improving
their harbors and rivers. These funds have
been since wasted upon land-jobbers and
party favorites, on Government contractors
aud office holders, aud not dollar of all
these unnumbered millions has been given
to those who owned them, as rghtfully as
any man on earth ever owned his own house.
BY an absolute veto" p0cket veto"-a
vile trick and fraud upon the people and
their Representatives this bill was defeated
after the Representatives of the nation had
passed it by yeas 95, nays 40-more than
two-thirds The bill passed within the last
ten days of the session, as three-fourths of
all the laws of Congress always have and
always will pass. Experience shows US that
the labors of Congress are consummated
within the last ten days of each session, and
that bills which have been discussed or ma
tured for months are generally signed at the
close of the session. If, therefore the Pres
ident can, for the want of ten days, within
which the Constitution allows him TO retain
a bill for his signature, withhold his sane
ton and refuse to return the bill, he can de-
feat it, although two-tbirds Of each branch
should be disposed to pass it as the Consti-
tuition authorizes them to do. The Senate,
as well as the House, in March, 1888, stood
ready to annul the veto on the land BILL
The Senators from North aud South Caro-
lima, MR. Mangum and Mr.. Cahoun,) as
well AS myself, were present at the time in
the Senate, and we are all here now to at
test this to be true. The President obtained
secret information of the spirit of the Sem
ate against his veto power, and pocketed the
bill, in defiance of the whole spirit of the
Constitution. This was gross case of the
exercise of the absolute and unqualified ve-
to, which has never been condemned, but
always approved, by your pseudo Democra-
virtually annul the whole power Of Congress.
The qualified rule or power of revision re-
cognized by the Constitution, subject to the
will of two-thirds Of each branch of Con-
gress, has been exercised in the cases of the
bill to pay the interest due the States for ex-
pendltures in the last war, the various bills
for improvement of rivers and harbors, the
bill to recharter the Bank, the bill to equal
lze the sessions of Congress, the French
spoliaton bill, and in SO many other cases
that il is difficult to enumcrate them. These
vetoes have been sustained by Executive in-
fluence. Congress has fallen beneath the
Executive arm, strengthened as that is, and
always will be, by venal and subservient
press and the ready aid of the Post Office
Department, with hundred thousand office
holders, many of whom will always /" crook
the pregnant hinges of the knee where thrift
may follow iawning." This whole veto
power, as thus exercised, is now sustained
by the Baltimore platform, and promptly a
doPted by General Cass, in his acceptance
of the Baltimore nomination. 1t is part Of
his established creed
On the other hand, how stands the man
we support on this great and vital subject
He denounces the kingly Power-the power
for the existence of which Stuart and
Bourbon lost their heads-and confines the
veto to the cases in which the fathers of the
Republic intended it to be exercised He
treats il as "high conservative power"-
So did they. They declared by their expo
sition in the Federalist," that its chief OBJ
;act was 90 IN enable the Executive IN defend