The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1869-01-03
THE GATE CITY.

SUNDAY MORNING, JAN. 8.
rHn PARDouINo ROwER AGAIN.
Our cotemparary oracularly dissents from cur
suggestion Of the impolicy Of the pardonng
power being exclusively in the hands Of the
President. He says We don't adduce but one
reason Why the President should be diveated
oft. We rstort that our contemporary doesn't
even give one reason why he should not be
Invested oft. He says, indeed, that there
arc obvious reasons why the power should be
placed where it is;ihat Intelligent and reflect |
ing men will easily comprehend their force
That comprehension, it seems to us, would
have been facilitated had the Constitution
xivsn the grounds for its exercise. But he is
silent q TO this.
Our contemporary evidently kicks in bis
splurgy and random way, at our proposition,
without reflection, and without information.
For he says:
There 10 not Ne venture TO say, State Cor
sttution out VI the whole thirty seven in exist
=
pardonin4 power in the hands Of the Governor.
We doubs il 81 instsscs Of its being placed in
tho hands II he L1gisataFs, in any established
Government, has ever been known.
II our contemporary be right As to the
ststsnsnt il his first sentence here quoted,
BdlsiG il wrong; the latter says that in sew
eral States Of the Union, the pardoning pow
Or il lodged with the legislature and the exs
scntive jointly. And to his assertion in the
second sentence here quoted, We make only
this counter quotation from Blackstone
Commentaries. Blackstone says 1--WE may
observe that pardon by act Of Parliament is
more beneficial than by the King 8 charter.
But a. our cotemparary knows better
thsn Bowler, he probably knows better
than Blackstone. There il no doubt as to
the po6tiyeneas Of our contemporary knowl-
edge, however, much there may be 81 to its
accuracy. He las Jack Bunsby's oracnlar
wisdom, without Bunsby's modesty. 1t
would b difficult TO put into two sentences
more direct transformation than our cotem-
porary has managed to put into the two SEN
fences We have quoted. He is too, as incon-
sequental IN logic IS he is in
accurate in fact. Because, even if all the
world had hitherto placed the pardonlng
power exclusively in the executive, and it
were found to work mischief under our Gov
eminent, the pAst practice Of other Govern
msnts or even our own, doesn't bind us not
to insugurate new policy. Again We re-
capitulate the argument which our cotempo
raxy hasn't invalidated. ut is reasonable"
says Blackstone, "tbat he only who is injured
have the power Of forgiving." The people,
not the President are injured by treason and
other public ofenses therefore the people.
not the president, should have and exercise
the psrdoninE power. "Let the people do
this then by ballot" aays the Constitution
All right,we accept the conclusion of our logic
since onr contemporary stupidity insists upon it.
We say "stupidly," for his Argument here is
another specimen Of his inconsequential logic,
Congress, he says, 10 merely the representa-
tive Of the people, just Is the President Is
and that il We take the pardoning power
from the President on the ground of his being
the peoples representative, We must with.
hold it from Congress on the same grounds
Our contemporary had best learn the b o.
democratic government. A law in our gov
eminent is the formal expression Of the peo-
Piles will. They delegate to the legislature
the power to formally enac, the organic ex-
preston Of that will. They delegate to the
executive the power to put that will, after il
has bsen 80 appraised. into execution. That
10 the limit Of his power. Now, pardon 10 an
expression Of will. Treason has been COM
nitted; that is crime against the people
Will, or will not, they pardon it7 The decis-
ion is as much an act Of legislation a. the
decision Of whether they will or will not
punish it. But the power Of declaring as to
the punishment is vested in the legislature ::
90 should be t power to pardon. One lie
~ much the expression Of public will as the
other. After the will, either as to punish
msnt or pardon, has been enacted into law
by the legislative department of the govern
ment, then lot the executive execute that
will.
We don't care if the fathers Of the govern
ment did placs the pardoning power IN the
hands Of the President So vested it cons
tains the germ OF transcendent crime sgainst
liberty. So vested it is in direct antagonism
with the genius Of our free institutions.
Making the law is higher province than
merely executing the law. The legislative is
necessarily the highest department of gov
eminent. So even in monarchical England
itisa maxim that g Parliament is omnipo
tent" When the legislature, the proper
law.msking power, enacts a law, the people
have this safety, that no one legislature can
bind ito successors. If one legislature makes
law that il not the peoples will they can,
by the next legislature, undo it. The legis
lature, the supreme department Of the gov
eminent, cannot defeat the peoples will
But if the pardoning power is vested
exclusively and irresponsibly in the
President, that mere executor
Of law, becomes possessed of a law making
power that makes him supreme over the leg
islasivs department, sapreme over the people
themselves. Then the people may suffer.
wrong - in The late rebellion: they may, in
rspslling that wrong, and willing its suppress
sion, pour ont their blood like water and their
lives like holocaust and mortgage their la
Dor and their property for generations, and
carry the shadow Of death into every house.
hold and they may make law after law and
statute after ststute for the punishment of
the crime against them, and for the sake of
security IN the future. And then the Presi-
dent With his supreme prerogative Of pardon,
may come forward and rob the people of in
dsmnity for the past and security for the fu.
ture, he may make void their statute books, |
and defeat the the will OF every man, woman
and child in the land. For his act OF pardon
binds courts and congress, and his success
orr and people. A ukase of the Gar is not
mora inim IL n "a nonl1lar cnyernmont