The tri-weekly standard. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1866-1868, 1867-10-12
EX-GOVERNOR BOUTWELL, ON THE POWER
AND DUTY OF THE PRESIDENT.

The following letter from ex-Gover-
nor Boutwell, is published in the Boston
AdUertiser: . ..-.r ..'-o
The criticism of your correspondent
&C. II. g." in the Adoeniser of this
morning, upon the remarks made by me
in July last on the veto message of the
President, would be timely and proper
if his views of the Constitution of the
United States were sustained by the
text of the instrument itself It is the
assumption of your correspondent that
it is the constitutional duty of the Presi-
dent to execute the laws. This is the
fundamental error of the article on
The Presidents Power" and the
source of the erroneous conclusions
reached by the writer. The Constitu-
tion says: "The executive power shall
be vested in President of the United
States of America" but the limits of
that power are to be found in the Con-
stitution What the Constitution au-
thorized the President to do, that he
can do; where the Constitution is silent,
he is powerless. He is but one magis-
trate, though the Chief Magistrate,
among many, in the Government ofthe
country. They all derive their authori-
ty, either directly or indirectly, from
the Constitution and the laws, and any
exercise Of yower not so derived,
whether exercised by the President, by
postmaster, or by tide-waiter, is a
usurpation and a crime The President
in his oath swears to " faithfully execute
the office of President of the United
States;" and the Constitution, in
enumerating his duties, says "he shall
take care that the laws be faithfully ex-
ecuted."
We see herein the extent and limits
of his duties and powers. He is "to
execute the office of President" and
take care; that the laws be faithfully
executed :" but by the Constitution he
is not authorized to execute a single
law. If in any case he possesses such
authority, it has been conferred by
statute. Under his oath, in executing
the office Of President, he is to take care
that the laws be faithfully executed
This he may do and must do in the
manner pointed out by law; and it is
clearly within the province of Congress
to assign to particular officers of the
Government the performance of specific
duties, unless the Constitution has
otherwise directed.
By the Constitution the President is
commander-in-chief of the army and
navy, but he must command in obedi-
ence to the constitutional authority of
Congress "to make rules for the gov
ernment OF the land and naval forces"
These rules may be as definite and min
ute as the Judgment of Congress NAV
dictate, and the President must obey
them and be guided by them. From
the foundation of the Government the
execution of the laws has been confded
to others than the President, and he
performs all his duty and exercises all
his constitutional power when he takes
care that the officers designated by the
law are competent and faithful.
Civil officers he may suspend for
crime or misconduct in Office; and of
fcers of the army and the navy he may
suspend; and then subject them to trial
by courts martial. In this way, he
takes care that the laws be faithfully
executed, and therein faithfully "exe-
cutes the office of President w.
Nor can the President disobey law
upon the ground that it is unconstitu
tional When a bill is submitted to the
President tor has approval, as every
bill must be submitted to him, he then
exercises under the Constitution, and
for the last time, his constitutional
prerogative of Judging whether the
proposed law is constitutional or not
1t he believes it TO be unconstitutional,
he returns it to Congress, with his OBJ
Jections thereto, and at that moment his
power over the subject is exhausted -
he I must wait for and obey the decision
OF Congress. o555 q re
Congress, notwithstanding the
residents - objection, believing the hill 4
10, 10 oe constitutional, shall pass the same I,
y two-thirds majority of feach House,