Staunton vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1860-1896, 1870-12-16

source of Generalization and corruption.
As general rule, no special act should be
passed upon any subject, the object of which
can be accomplished by general laws. To
determine, in part, the extent of the evil of
special legislation, so far as we are concern
ed, you have but to refer to the published
acts of your last session. Some of this
special legislation was absolutely necessary,
owing to the abnormal condition of our af-
fairs. But look at the number Of special
acts Of incorporation, including cities and
towns and the acts relating to or for the
benefit of private corporations alone. Com
pare the space which these acts occupy in
that volume with the total legislation of
the session and its cost and the result will
astonish you. AS yet there are very few OF
these acts, the object Of which might not
have been attained by general laws. Cen
eral laws for the organization of towns and
cities, and stock companies, for mining and
manufacturing, banking and insurance, and
all other kinds Of business for which stock
companies are organized, should be passed,
if those We have already are insufficient. I
am also in favor Of general free railroad
law. Wherever railroad, Or canal, or
transportation company. ia needed, and peo
pie can be found who will invest the neces
sary capital, let the enterprise be organized
and completed. No fears need be enter
tanned that we shall have too many Of eth
er. Our session laws for years past are
| filled with special charters MANY Of which
remain unused to this day, and, perhaps, in
many cases, were never intended to be used,
except for the purposes Of speculation Or
for the exclusion of others who might de-
sire to occupy the same field of operations.
l sincerely believe that the enactment OF
general laws Of the character named, and
the establishment Of an irreversible rule,
never to grant any special charters, would
not only annually save to the Common
wealth large sums of money, but would tend
very largely to the development Of our agri
cultural, mining and commercial resources.
PRESENTATION OF BILLS.
The late constitutional convention, in its
| profound wisdom, among sundry other in
novations heretofore unknown in the civil
polity of this State, imposed upon the Ex-
ecutlve the duty Of examining and approx
ing OR disappearing of every act passed by
the General Assembly This is technically
known as the veto power, and its exercise
by the Executive, at any time and under
any circumstances, is a duty of peculiar
delicacy and Importance Without here
discussing the wisdom or necessity of the
Judgement Of this power in the hands of
this Executive, | am free to say that, per-
sonally, l should rejoice to be relieved from
the labor and responsibility which it impo-
ses upon me 4; but while it remains one of
the constitutional obligations devolvsd upon
me, | shall fulfil it ia manner at least
satisfactory to my own conscience, and ben
eicial, trust to the Commonwealth It
is the sworn duty Of the Executive "to take
care that the laws be faithfully executed, y
and the like obligation rests upon him to
interpose his objections to the enactment OF
either hasty, corrupt or unconstitutional
laws. Fortunately it is a matter of pride
and profound congratulation that we have
little of the first, none of the second. and
an inconsiderabe amount OF the ,ast-men-
toned species of legislation. Questions as
to the meaning and true Interpretation oil
the constitution have arisen on which the
Legislature and the Executive have arrived
at different conclusions, but each being &C.
tuated by the sole motive and desire OIL
reaching the correct conclusion, there has
been little difficulty in harmonzng conflict
ing opinions.
[ have ever felt an anxious solicitude
that all your legislation should in every re-
spect conform not only to the letter but also
to the spirit of the constitution, for the
reason, among others, as heretofore express
ed to you, "that you are the first Legislature
convened under the present constitution
and that your construction of its provisions
will, ID the future, be regarded as of high
, authority, because contemporaneous with its
being put in force In arriving at nv
conclusions as to the consttutionality or
unconstitutionality of an act of the Legis-
lature, [ have invariably observed that rule
of construction which obtains in the courts
/! of law, viz: Every act of the Legislature
is presumed to be constitutional, and the
court must be entirely satisfied that it is in
conflict with the constitution before it will
pronounce it void. A mere doubt as to its
constitutionality is insufficient. Doubts must
resolve themselves into certainties, else the
law will be held constitutional.
While you have passed several bills, as to
the constitutionality Of which entertained
grave doubts, have never interposed obiec-
tions to their becoming laws based merely
upon doubts. When entirely satisfied, how
ever, that the provisions of bill were
clearly in conflict with the constitution, |
have never failed, and never shall fail, to
fulfil my constitutional obligation to arrest
its further progress. This is one of the
gravest and most important duties devolved
upon the Executive. In its exercise the
constitution manifestly contemplates that he
shall have full f7e days for the examination
and consideration of every bill passed by
| the Legislature. While this is neither ne
cessary nor practicable in all cases, yet oc-
casious do arise when five days even are
insufficient for the proper investigation
of questions involved in single bill, es-
pecially when the other official duties daily
encumbent upon the Executive are taken
into consideration. Scarcely bill has been
presented to me thus far, however, for the
consideration of which could devote sin
gle day. The usual custom has been to
present large number of bills together,
for the examination of all of which but FIVE
days were allowed. On the day of your
adjournment in July last, over seventy bills
were presented to me, some of them lengthy,
of the highest importance, and .voly-
ing the gravest questions of policy and
constitutional law. The entire legislation
of your October session was laid before me
during the last ten days, and the majority of