The Evening critic., 1884-07-03
THE FlTz-JoHN PORTER ann,


Tho Presidents Reasons for vetoinE
1.-THE House Passes the Bill over
the Veto.
AS stated In THE CRITIC tho President yes
terday vetoed the Fitz-John Porter bill aud
sent his message to the House In the after
noon. In his veto message he says that "after
careful consideration OF the bill entitled an act
for tho relief OF Fitz-John Porter l herewith
return It with my objections to the House of
CONGRESS In which 1t originated. Its onactlng
clause lie In the terms following; THAT the
President be, and he is hereby authorized to
nominate, and by and with tho advice and
consent OF the Senate TO appoint Fltz.John
Porter, late major-general United States vol.
unteera and brevet brlgadier.general and col
OPEL In tho Army, to tho position OF colonel In
the Army OF the United States OF the same
grade held by him at the time OF his dismissal
from the Army by sentence OF court martial
promulgated january 81 1868 etc., etc.
ut 10 apparent that should this bill become
law Il Will create new ofllce which can BIO
nlled by the appointment OF the particular
Individual whom 1t specifics, and cannot be
haps greater precision OF statement, that It
will create q new office on condition that tho
particular person designated shall be chosen
10 III IL. such an act, as II seems to me, 10
either unnecessary and ineffective, or It In
wolves an encroachment by tho legislative
branch OF the Government on the authority OF
the Executive. AS Congress has no power
under tho Constitution TO nominate and ap.
point an ofIicer, and cannot lawfully impose
on the president the duty OF nominating and
appointing TO offlce any particular individual
OF It's own selection, this bill, II It can fairly
De construed as requiring tho President to
make the nomination, and by and with the
advice and consent Of the Senate, the appoint.
ment which II authorizes Is In manifest viola.
tion OF the Constitution. II such be not its
Just Interpretation 1t must DO regarded as a
mere enactment OF advice and counsel, which
lacks In the very nature of things tho force of
positive law and can serve no useful purpose
on the statute books"
The President adds that there are other
causes which deter him from approving the
bill. He thinks the investigation OF the court
martial which convicted Porter was thorough
and conscientious, and Its judgment was nnal
and conclusive, and refers TO tho recent decl-
eion OF the Supreme Court OF the United States
sustaining the conclusiyeness OF the tudg-
menis OF courts.martial properly constituted.
1t follows from this that neither the President
nor Congress has any power to sot such Judg-
ments aside, which tho President thinks is the
practical effect OF the Porter bill. Referring
70 the recommendation Of the board OF three
Army oncefs recommending tho amendment
OF the judgment OF the court-martlal, the
President says that tho Investigations OF this
board were made many years after the event
to which the findings OF the court.martial no.
lated, and under circumstances that made It
impossible to reproduce the evidence on
which they were based. The bill, no thinks
would establish dangerous precedent, cal.
culated to weaken the forco OF the judgments
OF properly-constituted tribunals.
The Presidents message, as far as Il relates
to the legal aspects OF tho case, is based upon
6e CPfnSn % to him by At
eral reviews the case at length and argues that
the decision Of the court-martlal which found
Porter guilty was nnality In law and in fact,
and cannot be reversed, as tho bill In effect
processes 10 do. He contends that the bill Is
merely IN the nature OF advice, and therefore
imperative II 1t simply authorizes the appoint.
ment OF Porter to the position OF colonel, and
that II Is usurpation of power and unconsti-
tutlonal II II means to command his appoint
ment imperatively. He also points out that
Congress undertakes by tho bill TO create an
ofce only upon condition that It is to be filled
by particular Individual, thus interfering
with inc constitutional rights OF the President
and the Senate In the matter OF appointments.
Abe Action OF she House.
AS soon as the veto message reached the
House the Speaker laid 1t before that body.
The reading OF the veto was received with
applause on the Republican eide OF the House
and with Misses on the Democratic side.
Tho Speaker announced that immediate &C.
tion on the veto would be in order.
MIR. Slocum moved that the dill BIO passed,
Notwithstanding the objections by the Presi.
dent, and on this motion demanded the prevl.
ousquestion. The bill was then passed-yeas,
I6S; nays, "a, four more than the necessary
The announcement OF the result was re.
ceived with applause by the Democrats and
hisses by the Republicans.
The Senate Sustains the Veto.
The veto message on the Fitz-John Porter
Dill was read In the Senate this morning.
The chair stated that a two-thirds vote was
necessary TO pass the bill over the veto.
vote was Immediately taken.
The result was % yeas to "a nays, and the
bill accordingly failed OF passage.
The vote In detail was as follows; Yeas:
Bayard, Beck, Brown, Butler, Call, Cameron
lPa), Cockrell, Coke, Fair, Farley, Garland,
George, Groome, Hampton, Harris, Hoar,
81. ''
Nays: Aldrich, Allison, Blair, Bowen,
M In Nm nArs
munds, HaIe, Harrison, Hawley, Hill, ingalls,,
Lapham, Logan, Mcmillan, Miller IN. ",
Mitchell, Morrill, Palmer, Plat, Plumb, Saw.
yer, Sherman, Van Wyck, Wilson, 27.