McCook weekly tribune. (McCook, Neb.) 188?-1886, 1884-07-10
THE PORTER BILL VETOED.
In Doing Which the President Sets Forth
Some of His Reasons.

On the I'd of July the president re-
turned the Fitz John Porter bill to congress
with his objections. He takes the same
view as the attorney general regarding the
unconstltutionality Of the bill and says:
s'There are other causes which deter me
from giving this bill the sanction of my
approval. The Judgment Of the court
martial by which, more than twenty years
since, Gen. FItz John Porter was tried and
composed of nine general officers of distin-
guished character and ability. Its investi-
cation of the charges of which it found the
accused guilty was thorough and conscien-
uOus and its findings and sentence in due
course of law approved by Abraham Lin
Its legal competency; its Jurisdiction of the
accused and Of the subjects OF the accusa-
ton; the substantial regularity in all its
proceedings, are matters which have never
been brought in question. Its judgment,
therefore, IS final and conclusive in its char
acter. The supreme court of the United
States has recently declared that court
martial such as this was is the organism
provided by justice in this class of cases.
Its judgments, when approved, rest on the
same basis and are surrounded by the con-
siderations which give conclusiveness to the
judgments of other tribunals, including as
well the lowest as the highest. 1t follows
court-martiaI has duly declared its findings
and its sentence and been duly approved,
neither the president nor congress has the
power to set them aside. The existence of
such power Is not openly asserted nor per-
hapS IL is not necessarily implied in the pro.
visions of the bill which is before me. But
when its enacting clauses are read in the
light of a recital Of its preamble, it will be
seen that il seeks in effect practical
annulment of the findings and sen.
tence of competent court martial.
A conclusion at variance with these findings
mas been reached after an investigation by a
board consisting of three officers of the
suance of any statutory authority and was
poweriess to compel the attendance of wit
nesses or to pronounce judgment which
could be lawfully enforced. The officers
who composed it, in their report to the Sec
rotary of war, dated March II, 1878, state
that in their opinion justice requires
such action as may be necessary to an
null and set aside the findings and sentence
of the court. marital in the case of Major
General Fitz John Porter and to restore him
to the position of which their sentence
deprived him, such restoration to take
effect from the date of his dismissal from
Office. The provisions of the bill now I'M
the assumption that the findings of the
court-martlal have been discovered to
be erroneous, but it will be borne in
mind that the investigation which is
claimed to have resulted in this discovery
was made many years after the event to
which these findings related and under cir
cumstances that made it impossible to re.
produce the evidence on which they were
based. 1t seems to me that the proposed
legislation would establish dangerous pre-
cedent, calculated to imperil in no small
measure the binding force and effect of the
judgments of various tribunals established
under our constitution and laws. I have
already, in the exercise of the pardoning
power, with which the president is vested,
RENTED the penalty that made it impossible
for Fitz John Porter to hold an Office of
trust or profit under the government of the
United States. But am unwilling to give
my sanction to any legislation which shall
practically annul and set at naught the SOL
emn and deliberate conclusions Of the tribu-
nails bv which he was convicted, and of the
president by whom its findings were ex-
amined and approved.
[Signed] CHESTER A. ARTHUR.
EXECUTIVE MANSION, July 2, 1884.