The Lancaster gazette. [volume] (Lancaster, Ohio) 1863-1886, 1866-05-24
THE VETO.
rhe President's Message.

The following lS the PRESIDENT mes
sage vetoing the Colorado admission
bill: 'a.s '.Fs. .'.'
To the Senate of the United States:
I return to the Senate, in which
house it originated, the bill which has
passed both houses of Congress, entitl-
ed an act for the admission of the
State of Colorado into the Union, with
my objections to its becoming a law at
this time. 10. a,aHa rgIIJUu
First. From the best inior nation
which I have been able to obtain, do
not consider the establishment of q
State Government at present necessary
for the welfare ofthc people in Colora-
do. Under the existing territorial
government all the rights, privileges
and interests Of the citizens are pro
tected and secured. Tho qualified vo-
ters choose their own legislators and
their own local officers, and ono Rep
resentativc in Congress "a delegate of
their own selection. They make and
execute their own municipal laws, sub
ject only to revision by CONGRESSMAN
authority not likely to be exercised
unless in extreme cases.
The population is small, some osti
mating it SO low as q, 600, whilc'thcad-
vocates of the billreckon the number
.atfrom 35 1000 to 10000. The people
are principally recent settlers, many of
whom are understood to be ready for
removal to other mining distr lets be-
yond the limits of the territory, if cir
cumstances shall render them more in
viting. Such population cannot but
find relief from excessive taxation, if
the territorial system, which dcvolves
the expenses of the executive, lcgisla
tive and judicial departments upon the
: United States, is for tho present con-
tinucd. They cannot bat find the Sc
curity # person and property increas-
ed by their reliance upon the national
Executive power, for the maintenance
Of law and order against the disturb
ances necessarily incident to all newly
organized communities.
J.. Second. 1t is not satisfactorily cs-
'tablshed that a majority of the citi-
gems of Colorado desire or are prepared
for an exchange of Territorial for a
State government. In September, ga,
under the authority Of Congress, an
election was lawfully appointed and
held for the purpose of ascertaining
the views of the people upon this par
ticular question. Six thousand one
hundred and ninety.two votes were
cast, and of this number B, l52 was Civ
on against the proposed amendment.
= In September, 1865, without any le-
gal authority, the question was again
presented to tho people of the terrific
,ry with the view of obtaining u consi-
deration of the result of the election
I. held in compliance with the act of
Congress, approved March 2lst, 1864,
At this second election 5,905votes were
polled, and small majorityof l55 was
given in favor OF State organization.
b. 1t does not seem to me entirely safe
to permit this last mentioned result so
irregularly obtained, to outweigh the
one which had been. legally obtained
i in the first election. Regularity and
conformity to law are essential to the
preservation Of order and stable gov
ernment, and should, rs far as practi-
cable, always be observed inthe forma-
tion of new States.
3, Third. The admission of Colorado
at this time as a State into the
Union appears to me to be incompati-
Bile with the public interests Of the
country. While it is desirable that ter.
ritories, when sufficiently matured,
should be organized as States, yet tho
spirit of the Constitution seems to re.
quire that there should bean approx
nation towards equality among the
several States comprising the Union.
No State can have less or more than
two Senators in Congress The larg-
est State has a population of four mil
8 lions. Several other States have q
population exceeding two millions, and
many others have population 0ex-
ceeding one million. lfths bill should
become q law, the people of Colorado,
thirty thousand in number, would have
o in the House of Representatives one
member, while New York, with pop
ulation of four millions has but thirty
one "'.
S,aa Colorado would have in the electoral
college three votes while New York
would only have thirty::three. Colorado
would have in the Senate two votes
while New York would have no more /;
inequalities Of this character have al
ready occurred, but it is believed mono