Weekly national intelligencer. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1841-1869, 1863-04-09
A CONSTITUTIONAL QUESTION.

General Orders have just been issued from the
War Department, under date of March 3lst, for
the purpose of more effecually preventing all CON-
mercial intercourse with insurrectionary States,
cept such as shall be authorized in pursuance Of
law, and of securing consistent, uniform, and eff
cent action in conducting such intercourse shall
be so authorized, and for the purpose of carrying
out the provisions Of an act of Congress entitled
An act to provide for the collection Of abandon
ed property and for the prevention of frauds in in
surrectonary States" approved March II, 1868.
This ast-named act has been officially published
byus having been transmitted for that purpose from
the Department of State. 1t will be observed that
it was approved by the President the l2h day
Of March, nine days after the term of the late
Congres had come to an end by constitutional imi
tation and after that body had adjourned sine die
We are not aware that the President of the Uni
ted States at any other period of our history has
supposed it competn mt for him to sign bills, and
thereby give them the force and effect of laws, af
ter the Congress by which they were passed had
been dissolved. But as the power has now been
exercised by Mr.. Lincoln, Eve presume after consul
tation with the Attorney General, the question Of
his right to efectuate legislation under such cir
cumstances becomes properly question Of consti-
tutona law, open to consideration and discussion.
And fortunately the question can be treated one
simply Of constitutional construction and interpre
tation for the particular which it concerns,
and in regard to which it is raised cannot arouse
any political passions such as sometimes disturb
the judgment of men in the decision of consttu-
tional questions The regulations made in pursu-
ance Ct this law approved on the 18th of March, are
mainly such, we understand, as might have been es-
tabshed under the general military authority Of
the President in the conduct Of the war, and are
therefore not likely to be called into controversy
ON the ground of their intrinsic expediency or
rightfuluess.
The clause of the Constitution which presoribes
the rules and limitations relating to the signing of
bills passed By Congress is as follows:
"Erery bill which shall have passed the House Of Rep
resentatves aud the Senate shall before IL become law
be presented to the President Of the United States IL he
approve be shall pgnit bntf not he sha return it, with
his obectons that House in which it shall have orig
mated who shall enter objections large their Jour
nal and proceed b. reconsider it. IT. after such reconsi
derap twothrds Of that House shall agree to pass the
BILL shall be cent together with the objections 70 the
and approved by twohirds Of that House IT shall be-
come law. Bat all ,uch the votes Of both Houses
shall be termned by yeas and nays and the names OF
the voting for and against the bill shall be entered
on the Journal Of each House respectively IL any bill
shall not be returned by the President within ten days
sundays excepted after u shall have been presented To
him, the same shall be law, in like VI he had
signed IT, unless the Congress by their adjournment pre-
vent lite return, in which IL shall not be law"