The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1866-03-28
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 28, 1866.
The Second Veto:

THE refusal oil IreSluenJ JOHNSON 10 give
his consent to the Civil Rights bill will occa-
sion no surprise. 1t and the Freedmen's
Bureau bill were the twin children of Senator
TRUMBULLs brain, and when the Executive
saw flt to veto the one, consistency, if nothing
else, demanded that like fate should be
reserved for the other. While, therefore, the
first veto took the country by surprise, the
present has been considered foregone con-
Clusion for the past ten days. In exercising
bis constitutional prerogative, the President
has forwarded an elaborate message, in which
all the objections, legal and political, which
could be urged, are set forth in the strongest
light 1t is unnecessary to add that the
draught Of the document makes as strong a
case as that side would allow. If he fails to
convince the people it is because conviction is
impossible. Let us concisely review his argu-
ments - =
/. he deems the bill unnecessary. eff, as
is claimed by many, all persons who are
native-born are, by virtue of the Constitution,
citizens of the United States the passage of
the pending law cannot be necessary to make
them SUCH" If they are not thus citizens,
then why should they be declared such ?-for
all civil "rights are secured to all domiciled
aliens and foreigners, even before naturaliza-
tion, and the same enactments will give like
protection to those for whom this bill pre-
scribes special legislation"
2. The bill discriminates between the black
race and the intelligent foreigners, for while
the blacks are Immediately declared citizens,
the stranger has to reside amongst us five years
before he can acquire these rights.
8. Il invades the rights reserved by the
Constitution to the States, or rather it en-
croaches on powers which the States did not
delegate to the General Government. Thus
it forces upon Indiana and Illinois black resi-
dents, while the State laws forbid any colored
person to settle within the boundary of the
Commonwealth. eli Congress has the right
to decide who shall hold lands, who shall tes-
tify, then Congress can by law decide who
shall sit as jurors, or as judge, hold Office,
and finally vote in any State and Territory"
4. 1t provides for the punishment of State
officers, judges, marshals, and others, who
shall violate this law, even if they do so in
conformity with law passed by the Com
monwealth, and makes them amenable for
their action to other courts than those before
which the case would naturally come. "The
legislation thus proposed overrides the judi
cial power OF the State"
5. He objects to its provision dd Seridtim
He objects to the fact that the case under this
law would come before United States Court
He objects to the power given to the agents
of the Freedmen's Bureau, instead of to the
civil officers. He objects to the fees pre-
scribed as belonging to a commissioner, as
they tend to tempt him to make arrests to
gain the legal reward. In fact, he says, "to
me the details of the bill are fraught with
evil"
In concluding the lengthy document he
makes use of a sentence which will
crafty every loyal heart, and which, coming
as it does from one over whom the witches OF
the Democracy are holding a carnival because
of supposed conversion, will go far towards
discouraging their hopes. He says:-
"EnIertanIng these sentiments 1t only remains for
me to say that will cheerfully cooperate with Con-
promotion OF the civil rights OF the freedmen well
as those OF all other classes of persons throughout
the United States, by judicial process under equal
and impartial laws, in conformity with the proVI-
sions of the Federal Constitution. / now return the
bill to the Senate and regret thai in considering the
bills and JOINT resolutions, forty-two in number,
which have been thus far submitted for my approval
am compelled TO withhold my assent from q second
measure that has received the sanction OF both
Houses of Congress"
In order to convey an impression to our
readers OF the general reception with which
the message is met, we append the editorial
utterances of the leading journals OF our own
and sister cities.
The North american, in an able and .ex-
haustive article, from which we can only
make extracts, says:-
- "Ihe President is pursuing fixed line of policy
IN consonance with his reconstruction plan Ii does
not accord with our own views. nor with those OF
the great majority OF the Republican party vet we
can see that the President is sincere enough in his
conVlcllons, and that the doctrines ne now laws
down are those he has cherished the most OF his
HE, though we had hoped that the events of the
last five years had changed them some what StrIct
construction Is undoubtedly good thing IN its Wav
and we are not prepared to that after an era IN
been stretched and even exceeded, of necessltv in
almost every direction, 1t may not be imperatiyelv
required that we should bring back the affairs
of the national Government to the lepitimate
lines and bounds lald down by the Constitution
For this reason, among Others, we were induced Ia
rejoice that man ike ANDREW JOHNSON had sue,
ceeded to the PRESIDENTIAL Office. But 1t will be an
unhappy point of strict construction, indeed n
pushed to such an extreme as to deny to the Ma
liOna Congress the power to legisate for the pro.
lection OF the rights OF the four milhons Of enamel.
pated slaves in the South made free by our autho-
Iity, and now to be lett to the tender mereiea az
their late masters and 70 oppressive codes of State
laws, made for the express purpose of pre-
venting the negro from bettering his condition
IL is true that the President processes IN botl
his veto messages his readiness to protect thu
deserves credit. Had he pointed out any mOdl