The Washington union. [volume] (City of Washington [D.C.]) 1857-1859, 1858-04-13
APPROPRIATION BILLS.


APPROPRIATION BILLS
Appropriation bills are Designed to provide the
for carrying into effect the objects of existing
laws They contain legislation they are
based on existing legislation. If they legislate at
ALL they exceed the proper objects of appropriation
bills.
properly framed appropriation bill can scarcely
present any other question to the legislator than
question Of cxpcdcncy. II it should imbody new
legislation and raise questions of principle to that
extent exceeds its legitimate object
The form of an appropriation bill is always under
the control Of the majority of the Legislative body
Every Legislative body il usually divided into two
opposing parties, the other of which is usual
~ majority. This majority only act efficiently
in calculating the purposes for which it is organ
lied by acting in harmonious concert great meas
ures Of policy Appropriation bills are among these
measures Of policy, and the majority is held respon-
sible to the country for their prompt and proper
passage. The form Of appropriation bills, and the
items embraced in them, always under the
control Of the majority Of the legislative body
They are .overhauled, clause by clause, each of
which may be stricken out If, therefore, the
majority allow them to be matrred and brought
to the point of final passage in Objectionable
form, then 10 it Responsible to the country for tho
fact. The alternative then presented is between
bill Objectionable in its form or in some Of its fea-
lures and no bill at all between carrying into ex
ecution existing laws and neglectng that duty be-
tween neglecting to make proper and necessary ap-
proprations and making along with these, others
which may be deemed by some improper and mex
pedient
The deficiency bill which passed the House the
other day is said to have been bill of that sort 1t
is not for to analyzc it. and to say which provs-
ions Of it ought to have been preserved and which,
If any, ought to have been eliminated from it. That
was tho duty Of the majority party of the House
and the fact that the bill was allowed to come up on
its final passage by that majority carried to the coun
try the presumption that it was bill which ought
to have been passed by that majority, and which the
majority party in the House ought to have concurred
and co-operated in supporting. If it was wrong in
any Of its features it ought to have been put right
in advance, and the democratic people of the coun-
try ought to have been saved the modification of
seeing measure, of which the democratic party in
the House had CONTROL first defeated by the black
republican party to show their power over it. and
then allowed to pass by that party as means of
showing the dorision in which they held the ma
jority and ito measures.
It is said that many of the ablest, best and
stannchest Of tho democratic members of tho House
voted against the bill both tho votes that were la
ken upon it. Grant the fact Our complaint has been,
~
the fact that great democratic measures like this arc
habi.nally allowed to come to vote in the House
under circumstances which make them dependent
upon black-republican favor for their passage The
blackrepubcans voted first ono way ana then the
other, in order, among other things, to show their
power over the legislation of the House and their
contempt for the imbecility Of the majority.
We told Of the gable of mschef-makers
who allege that ''reading men out Of the
party q phrase that never did have any mean
ing, and never have any meaning, long as POI
litica parties voluntary organizations, incompe-
tent to delegate the power Of climbing and loosing'
to priest or press Our complaint is not against in
dividuals, but it is against the impotency Of the
democratic party to carry its measures it is against
the fact that its habituay fail by detach
ments Of forces filing off and voting with the enemy
We have nothing to do with the motives of members
or with their individual views; we deal with the re-
suit; complaint is aganst the fact of the impo-
tency Of the democratic organization to effect the
ends which the democratic people of the country
pect at its hands This fact is the subject of
monstrance, and against this fact will cry aloud
and continually cry.