Lewistown gazette. [volume] (Lewistown, Pa.) 1843-1944, 1857-12-17

which shall have passed the House Of Repre-
sentativea and the Senate shall, before 1t be-
comes law" be approved and signed by the
President; and, if not approved, .he shall
return it with his ehiections to the house In
which it originated" In order to perform
this high and responsible duty, sufficient time
must be allowed the President to read and
examine every bill presented to him tor ap-
proyal. Unless this be afforded, the consti-
tuition becomes a dead letter in this particu-
lar and even worse, it becomes means oil
deception. Our constituents, seeing the Pres.
idents approval and signature attached to
each act of Congress, are induced TO believe
that he has actually performed this duty,
when, in truth, nothing is, in many cases,
more unfounded.
From the practice of Congress, such an ex
animation of each bill as the constitution re-
quires, has been rendered impossible. The
most important business of each session is
generally crowded into its last hours, and the
alternative presented to the President is eth
er to violate the constitutional duty which he
owes to the people, and approve bills which,
for want of time, it is impossible he should
have examined, or, by his refusal to do this,
subject the country and individuals to great
loss and inconvenience.
Besides, a practice has grown up OF late
years to legislate in appropriation oliis. az
the last hours of the session, on new ana I'm
portant subjects. This practice constralns
the President either to suffer measures to be-
come laws which he does not approve, or to
incur the risk of stopping the wheels OF the
government by yetoing an appropriation bill
which | have not examined, and it will be a
case of extreme and most urgent necessity
which shall ever induce me to depart from
this rule. / therefore respectfully, but ear
nestly, recommend that the two houses would
allow the President at least two days previous
to the adjournment of each session within
which no new bill shall be presented to him
for approval. Under the existing joint rule
one day is allowed but this rule has been
hitherto Sc constantly suspended in practice,
that important bills continue to be presented
to him up till the very last moments Of the
session. In large majority of cases no great
public Inconvenience can arise from the want
of time to examine their provisions, because
the constitution has declared that if bill be
presented to the President within the last ten
days of the session he is not required to re-
turn it either with an approval or with a veto,
In which case it shall not be a law" 1t
may then lie over, and be taken up and passed
ut the next session. Great inconvenience
would only be experienced in regard to ap-
preparation bffis but fortunately, under the
late excellent law allowing salary, instead
of per diem, to members of Congress, the
expense and inconvenience Of called session
will be greatly reduced
cannot conclude without commencing to
your favorable consideration the interests of
the people of this District. Without rep
resentative on the floor of Congress, they
have for this very reason peculiar claims upon
our just tegard. To this know, from my
long acquaintance with them. they are emf
neutly entitled. JAMES BUCHANAN.
WASHINGTON, Dec. 8, 1857.