New-York tribune., 1879-04-03
LEGISLATION UNDER FALSE PRETEyCE.


President Hayes ventures the sensible sug-
grstion that it may become the duty of the
Republicans in Congress to take a stand
AGAINST new legislation of any kind on appro-
pration bills and that whatever party has
the strength and the courage to insist that ap-
preparation bills hereafter shall contain moth
ing except appropriations will carry the COun-
try with it. Jobs which will not bear the
light and miscellaneous measures which can
not pass on their own merits, are tackled to
the supply bills and so forced through an un-
willing Congress, partly by a palpable fraud,
partly by a sort of political bulldozing. a
large proportion of the most scandalOus and
corrupt enactments which have ever dis
gTaced our national legislature, large share
of our extravaganza, our heavy taxation, our
Tccklessncss in finance, can only be eX-
planned by the growth of the mOnstrOus
abuse which enables cliques and rings to load
the appropriation bills with matters that have
no proper connection with them, and then es-
tabishes the rule that all such bills must be
accepted or rejected en- bloc
Several attempts have been made in New
York to abolish this perniciOus system of
legislating under false pretences, and at last
powered the Governor to veto any clause of a
supply bill, while he approved the remainder.
The first Executive to whose duty it fell to
exercise this discretion was Samuel j. Tilden.
lie used the newly-cOnferred authority very
freely, and succeeded i'll saving tie State a
large sum of money which would probably
have been wasted under the old method
of dong business. As he aptly re-
marked in one of his veto messages, it
often used to be merely u choice of evils
with the Governor whether ne should approve
an appropriation bill or Kill it but now be
can examine every clause, and determine
whether it is justified by the Constitution, the
state of the Treasury, or the needs of the
people. Mr.. Tilden's whole course in the
! GOvernOrship was an emphatic approval of
! the amendment, a ratification of the principle
that the veto power ought to be u substantial
check upon the Legislature, and that mere
majority of the lawmakers ought not to be
permitted to usurp the functions of Governor
or President by extorting his assent to meas
ures of which he disapproves.
| The course of the President and the Repub-
! hcan party in the pending dispute in Congress
may have an important effect in break
]
misappropriation of the opportunities of the
supply bill-an abuse for which We dare say
! Republicans as well as Democrats have been
responsible in the past but it may be neces-
sary, also. to consider whether a cOnstitu-
| ti0nal amendment is not advisable as a fur
ther safeguard. The veto power was regarded
! by the founders of the Government as "A most
! important element in the system of "checks
and balances" which made up the plan of
| administration, and the experience of many
an exciting session has demonstrated now wise
was their judgment with respect to it. The
| tendency OF Congress for many years has been
to encroach upon this function of the Executive
| Why should we not resort TO the same change
in the Federal administration which has proved
so advantageous i'll the affairs of the State
of New York? If the President were EN-
powered to veto separate clauses of the ap-
preparation bills without destroying the rest,
we should keep legislation purer, and avoid
enormous waste of the public funds. The re-