Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1884-07-25
VETOED.

President Arthur Refuses to St.
for the Relief Of Fitz John p ee Bn
Reasons Therefor - Attornev" er-HA
Brewster's Views. 'eheea
WASHINGTON. July s.-Attornon
.ral Brewster, in his communicaSaa'
to the President on the Fit 'Sae1
Porter bill, declares decidedly fin. 'oAa
action of Congress is unconstitutional I'D
quotes the clauses of the constitution ID
ing the powers of Congress and of tha G nn
ident, laying special emphasis upon Con. ses
sional rights in the matter of creatinns res
maintaining the army. In conclnSss aug
takes the ground that the Porter Act y, b
constitutional because it creates a - my
office for a particular individual and , nau
the individual. in doing which it not "ale
oversteps its authority but treats unor my
constitutional rights of the President IN .M
matter of appointments.
In his message to the House the D..
dent, after concurring with the views
Attorney-G General Brewster in regarI ~ r.
bill, says:
There are other aus that deter mo :
giving this bill the sanction of my annr Iron
moro than twenty years since, General IN ~
John Porter was tried and conyicteMI ~
pronounced by a tribunal composed Of Of VIZ
general officers of distinguished charaos
and ability. Its investigation of the chasp
of which it found the accused guilty. "
thorough and conscientious. and its tindina
and sentence in due course of law wcro "
proved by Abraham Lincoln, then presisspp
| of the United States. Its legal comneteraa
its jurisdiction of the accused and of the SnS|
jects OF accusation. and the substantial rcS~
larity of all its proceedings, arc mat,esJ
which have never been brought in ouestion|
IL, - $685. F-.o 20 tt-1I -, ~.ouN
sive in its character. The Supreme Court Y
the United States has recently declaled ~
a court-martial, such as this was, us the I 10y
ganistn provided by law and clothed with MI
cases. Its judgments, when approved. roJ
on the same basis Inc are surrounded liz M
same considerations which give conclusys
ness to the judgments OF other Tribunals, ID
1t follows, accordingly, that when a lawfriil
constituted court-martial has duly Jcclara3
Its finding and its sentence. and the san1
nave been duly approved, neither the Pra
aside The existence of such a power is M
openly asserted, nor, perhaps, is it neccssarS|
implied in the provisions of the bill which
read in the light Of recitaIs Of its p nss a a1 \
e eits '9 practical tssn ana. annullment see * i i
findings and sentence Of a competeal
with these findings has been reached after h
vestigatiOn by a board consisting of ths1
officers of the army. This board was nj
created in pursuance of any statutory al.tlor
ity, and was powerless to compel the attend
ance of witnesses or to pronounce a ind
ment which could be lawfully enforced. RI.
officers who composed it, in their report to M
Secretary OF War, state that in their oUininT
" Justice requires such action as NAV h
necessary to annul and set aside the tindins
and sentence of the court-martial in the cas-
OF Mn~jor-Gcneral Fitz John Porter, sni
to restore him to the position d
which their sentence deprived him
The provisions of the bill now under con
sideration are avowcdly based on the asslmn
ton that the findings OF the court-marti
have been discovered to be erroneous. Butt
will be borne in mind that the investigator
which is claimed to have resulted in this dis
covery was made many years after the even
to which these findings related, and under cir
cumstanccs that made it impossible to repro
duce the evidence on which they were based
It seems to me that the proposed leg
isiation would establish q dangerous pre-
small measure the binding force AM
effect Of judgments of the various tribunal
established under our Constitution ana laws
| have already, i'll the exercise of the PARTON
Ing power with which the President is vested
RENTED the continuing penalty that made
impossible for F%itz.John Porter to hold IN Of
flee OF trust or profit under the Government
But am unwilling to give my sanction to an!
legislation which shall practically annul ant
set Mt nauGht the solemn and deliberate con
GluSions Of the tribunal by which he was COZ
victed, and of the President by whom its tint
ings were examined and approved.