The Louisiana Democrat. [volume] (Alexandria, La.) 1845-1918, 1866-02-28
The Presidents Veto on the Freed
mems Bureau Bill.
WASHINGTON, FEBRUARY 20, 1866.


~ -. T. 30
WASHINGTON, FEBRUARY 20, 1866.
To the Senate of the United States:
l have examined with care the bill whic
originated in the Senate and has been pass
ed by both Houses Of Congress, to amen
nm actentitled Gan act to establish a burea
for the relief of freedmen and refugees, an
for other purposes Having with muc
regret come to the conclusion that it woul
be inconsistent with the public welfare t
give my approval to the measure, retur
the bill to the Senate with my objections t
its becoming law 7 ~ 81 I VT
Knight call to mind, in advance of thes
objections, that there is no immediate ne
cessity for the proposed measure.
The act to establish bureau for the re
lief of freedmen and refugees, which was ap
proved in the month of March last, has no
yet expired. 1t was thoughtto be stringen
enough for the purposes in view before i
ceases to have effect. Further experience
may assist to guide us to wise conclusion
aS to the policy to be adopted in time o
peace. 1haye, with Congress, the stronges
desire to secure to the freedmen the full en-
joyment Of their freedom and their prospect
~, and their entire independence and equal
ity in making contracts for their labor, but
the bill before US contains provisions which
in my opinion, are not warranted by the
Constitution, and are not well suited to &C
complish the end in view.
The bill proposes to establish, By author.
ityo Congress, military jurisdiction over
all parts of the United States containing
refugees and freedmen. 1t would, by its
very nature, apply with more force to those
parts of the United States in which the
freedmen most abound, and it expressly ex-
tends to the existing temporary jurisdiction
of the Freedmen's Bureau greatly enlarged
powers over those States in which the
ordinary course ofjudicial proceedings has
been interrupted by the rebellion. The
source from which the agents are to be Sc
lectedis from the army or from civil life ;
thecountry is to be divided into districts
and sub-districts, and the number of special
agents to be employed may be equal to the
number Of counties or parishes, in every
part of the United States where freedmen
and refugees are to be found, and the sub
jects over which this military jurisdiction is
to extend in every part of the United
States, includes all employees, agents and
officers of the Bureau in the exercise of the
duties imposed upon them by the bill in
eleven States. It is further to extend over
ali cases affecting freedmen and refugees
who may be Disseminated against by the
local laws, customs or prejudices. In these
eleven States the bill subjects any white
person who may be charged with depriving
o freedman Of any civil rights or immunities
belonging to white persons, to imprison-
ment or fne, or,both, without, however, de-
fning the civil rights which are thus to be
secured to the freedmen by military law
This military jurisdiction also extends to all
questions that may arise respecting con-
tracts. The agent who is thus to exercise
the Office Of a Military Judge, may be a
Stranger, entirely ignorant Of the laws, and
exposed to the errors Of Judgment to which
oil men are liable in the exercise of power
over which there is no legal supervision
BY 30 vast a number Of agents as is con-
templated by the bill, it must, by the very
nature of man, be attended by acts of cap
rice, injustice and passion. The trials hav-
ing their origin under this bill are to take
place without the intervention of jury,
and without any fixed rules of law or evil
dence. The rules on which offences are to
be heard and determined by the numerous
agents, are such rules and regulations as the
President, through the War Department
may prescribe. No previous presentment
is required, nor any indictment charging the
commission of crime against law, but trial
must proceed on the charges and specifca-
tons. The punishment will not be as the
law declares, but such as court-martial
may think proper, and from these arbitrary
tribunals there is no appeal, no writ oil
error, to any of the courts in which the
Constitution of the United States boasts
exclusively the judicial power of the coun-
try; while the territory and the class of &C
tons and offences that are made subject to
this measure are so extensive that the bill
itself, should it become a law, will have no
limitation in point of time, and will form
part Of the permanent legislation of the
country, cannot reconcile system of
military jurisdiction of this kind with the
words of the Constitution, which declares
that no person shall be held to answer for
acapital or otherwise infamous crime, unless
on presentment or indictment of a grand
jury, except in cases arising in the naval
or military forces or in the militia when |
in actual service in time Of war or public |
danger, and that in all criminal prosecutions
the accused shall enjoy the right to a |
speedy and public trial by an impartial jury
OF the State or District wherein the crime
shall have been committed The safeguards
which the wisdom and experience of ages,
chosen by our fathers to establish as secu.
rites for the protection of the innocent,
the punishment of the guilty and the equal
administration of justice are to be set aside,
and for the sake Of more vigorous interposi-
ton in behalf Of justice, we are to take the
risk Of the many acts ofinjustice that would
Of necessity follow from an almost countless
number of agents established in every par
ish or county, in nearly every one of the
States of the Union, over whose decision
there is to be no supervision or control by
the Federal Courts.
The power that would thus be placed in
the hands Of the President is such as. in {
times Of peace, certainly never ought to be
entrusted to any one man. II it be asked 6
whether the creation Of such a tribunal {
within q State is warranted as o measure of {