The Emporia weekly news. [volume] (Emporia, Kan.) 1881-1889, 1884-07-10
The EIrz JOHN POExER BILL,
The PrssIdeat Gives His Reasons 20
VeeOtng 1t.


The Prssidaas Gives His Reasons for !
Vseotng II.
WAsHNGToN, July 2-The president
this afternoon returned the Fitz John |
Porter bill to congress with his objec
lions. He takes the same view a. the
attorney general regarding its uncOnsti-
nationality, and says: There are other
causes that deter me from giving this
blil the sanction of my approval. The
Judgment of the court martial BY which
more than twenty years 8ince Gen f1tz
John Porter was tried ana was convict
ed, was pronounced by tribunal CON-
posed of nine general officers OF dIstlr-
guished character and ability. It's
invest CATION of the charges
of which it found the accused guilty
was thorough and continuous, and its
| findings and sentence In due course OF
law approved by Abraham Lincoln,
then president of the United States. It's
legal competency, Its Jurisdiction Of the
accused and of the subjects Of ACCUSE
ton, the substantial regularity Of al
its proceedings, are matters which
have never been brought in question.
Its judgment is therefore dnAl and con-
1 elusive in its character. The supreme
court of the United States has recently
declared that such court martial. such
as it wac, is the organism pro-
vided by law and clothed
with the duIy of administering justice in
this class of cases, and that its judgments
when approved rest on the same basis
and are surrounded by the same consid-
eratlons which give conclusions to judg'
ments of other tribunals, including a
we'll the lowest ss the highest. II fol
lows accordingly that when . lawfully
constituted court martial has duly
declared its feelings and its sentence
and the same has been duly provided
neither the president nor congress ha
any poWor to set them aside. tn,
assistance of such power is no
openly asserted, nor perhaps Is il neces-
sarIly implied, In the provisions O
the bill which is before me, bu
. when Its enactiDg clauses were read Il
: the light of the recitals of its preamble,
| will be seen that it seeks In effect praC
ticaI annulment of the findings and sen
I tence of a competent court martial. 1
conclusion at variance with these find
f ings has been reached by Investigate
/ by q board consisting of three officers G
: the army. This board was not create
} in pursuance to any stationery authorit
and was poweEless to compel the attenG
aRce of witnesses to pronounce judgmeI
which could be lawfully enforced. Til
d officers who composed It, in their r0pol
?. 20 the secretary of war dated March 19i
1879, state that in their opinion the jul
tlce requires such action as may be mex
essary to annul and set aside the fint
ings aud sentence of the court martii
in the case of Major General Fitz job
Rorter, and to restore HIM to the pos
, ton of which their sentence deprleve
5 him, such restoration to take effect fro
L L. rs l. - 6faSNafaool hn
3 vice. The provisions of the bill no
:, under consideration are avoWedIy base
:. on the assumption that the findings
y the court martial have been discover
to have been erroneous, but 1t will
borne in mind that investigation whiC
is claimed TO have resulted
ts this discovery was made maj
4 years after the event
which these findings related, and und
circumstances that made 1t impossit
Ut to reproduce the evidence on which tn
n were based. It seems to me that u
10 proposed legislation would establish
dangerous precedent calculated to i
." peril in no small measure the fndini
g. force and judgment of the various trit
u nails established under our constitute
OF and laws. have already In the eXerc
re of the pardoning power with which
90 president is vested RENTED the cont
Id Jung penalty that made it impossible
ne Fitz John Porter to hold an Office
er trust or profit under the government
the United States, but l am unwi1li
to give my sanction to any legislati
oo which shall practically annul and set
wv naught the solemn and deliberate c.
u illusions of the tribunal by which he v
70 convicted and of the president by whit
his its findings were examined and apr
Cd ed.
Gu [Signed.l CHESTER A Arthur,
nd Executive Mansion
pa July 2, 1884.
NO The message will be laid before
hS senate To morrow.