The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1884-07-11
nE FITz JOHN PORTER BILL

~ wAsHISGror. D. c.. July =
IT, President yesterday returned 70 the
House without his approval the bill for
the relief of Fitz John Porter. The text
Of the veto message Is as follows:
To the House of Representatives:
Alter careful Consideration Of the bill {
untitled "Eor thu relief Of Fitz John
Porter" herewith returnit with my OBJ
iections, to the, House. Of Congress In
which it originated. Its enactipg clause
is in the terms following: "That
The President be, and - he
is hereby authorized to nominate,
and by and with the advice and consent
Of the Senate. to appoint Fitz John Por'
ter, late a Major-General of United States
Volunteers, and Breyet Brigadier- Gem
eral and Colonel in the army, to the posi-
ton of Colonel in the army of the United
States, of the same grade held by him
at the time of his dismissal from the
srmy BY sentence Of court-martial pro-
mulgated ON January 9th, 1868, ETC.,
ETC." 1t is apparent that should this bill
become law it will create new Office
which can be flied by the appointment OF
the particular individual whom it speci-
fies, and can not be filed otherwise. Or
1t may be said, with perhaps greater pre-
cision of statement, that it Will create
q new office on condition that the partic.
ular person designated shall b. chosen to
oil it. Such an act, as it seems to me, Is
either unnecessary and Ineffective, or 1t
involves an ,encroachment by the legisla-
tive branch of the Government on the au-
thority of the Executive. As Congress has
no power under the Constitution to nom-
mate and appoint an officer, and can not
lawfully impose on the President the
duty of nominating and appointing to
office any particular Individual of its own
selection this. bill, if it can fairly be con.
strued as requiring the President to
make the nomination, and by and with
the advice and consent of the Senate,
the appointment which it authorizes, is
i'm manifest violation of the Constitution.
II such be not its Just Interpretation II
must be regarded as a mere enactment OF
advice and counsel, which lack, in the
very nature of thiRgs, the force of positive
law, and can serve no useful purpose on
the statute books. There are other causes
that deter me from giving this bill the
sanction of my approval. The judgment
of the court-martial, by which more thar
twenty years since, General Fitz Johr
Porter was tried and convicted, was pro.
nounced bya tribunal composed of nine
general officers of distinguished charac.
ter and ability. Its investigation of the
,t, x,.:,;cb fnppd accnSaH entity
were thorough and conscientious,
and its findings and sentence were
in due course of law approved BY
Abraham Lincoln, then President of the
United States. RS legal competency, it,
Jurisdiction of accused and of the sub
jects of the accusation, the substantial
regularity of all its proceedings, are mat
tiers which have never been brought In
question, Its Judgment, therefore, Is
final and conclusive in its character. The
Supreme Court Of the United States has
recently declared that a court martha
such as this was "Is the organism pro-
videi by law, and clothed witt
the duty Of administering Justice in this
class of cases. Its Judgments, when ap
proved, rest on the same basis and are
surrounded by the same considerations
which give conclusiveness to the judg.
ments of other tribunals, including AZ
well the lowest as the highest" 1t fol.
lows accordingly that when a lawfully.
constituted court-martial has duly de.
clared its fndiugs and its, sentence, anG,
the same have been duly approved.
neither the President nor Congress has any
power to set them aside. The existence
of such power is not openly asserted
nor, perhaps, is it necessarily implied liz
the provisions of the bill which is before
me, but when its enacting clauses are
read in the light of the recitals of its pre-.
ambles, it will be seen that it seeks in eff.
feet the practical annulment of the find.
lnss and sentence of competent court.
martial. A conclusion at variance with
these findings has been reached after in.
yestigation by Il board of three officers
Of the army. This board was not created
in pursuance of any statutory
authority. and was powerless to compel
the attendance of witnesses or to pro-
uounce Judgment which could be law.
fully enforced. The officers who conn.
posed ~ in their report to the Secretary
OF War, dated March 10, 1879, state that
in their opinion "Justice requires ~
such action as may be necessary to annul
and set aside the findings and sentence
of the court-martial in the case OF
Major-General Fitz John Porter,
and to restore him to the posi-.
tons of which their sentence deprived
him, such restoration to take effect from
date of his dismissal from the service"
The provisions OF, the bill now under
consideration are ayowedly based on the
assumption that the findings Of the court
martial have been discovered to be erro.
neous, but it will be borne in mind, that
the Investigation which is claimed tc
have resulted in this discovery was
made manys years. after the event tc
which these findings related, and
under circumstances that made it i'm.
possible. to reproduce the evidence on
which they were based. 1t seems to me
that the proposed legislation would es-
tablish dangerous precedent, calculated
to imperil in no small measure the bind.
ing force and effect of the judgments OF
various tribunals established under onr
Constitution and laws. l have already,
in the. exercise of the pardoning
power with which the President is
vested, RENTED the continuing penalty
that made it impossible, for Fitzs 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 sanlml and set at naught the
solemn aAdde fbefate conclusions of the
tribunal by which he was convicted, anc
of the President by whom its findings
were examined and approved.
CSignedl CHESTER A. AETHUR. p,
! Executive Mansion, July 2,lSS4.
FrightfulIy Mangled.
LEXINGTON. KY, July2.
While a freight train ion the Kentucky
Central was waiting at Cunningham Sta
f;o, q - -, 70. ba 10 q m.