The Northern Pacific farmer. [volume] (Wadena, Minn.) 1878-1885, 1884-07-10
P1 +, 30 Jox :. : :; P,oxr1R. J
~.* RIxx JOIN PORTER.
The President vstoss the 1all ser the Re-
lief Of Gen. Porter. :
The president on Wednesday returned to the
House the Fitz John Porter bill with his objec-

tons, .s.,...y. = T. - & T.. -
Attorney General Brewster had submitted to
tho president in compliance with the latter's
request, long and carefully prepared opinion
upon the bill for the restoration of Fitz John
Porter to the army, in which he expressed the
opinion that the bill is clearly unconstitutional
The President took the same view of the con-
stituionality of the bill and said:
There are other causes that defor mo from
giving thus bill the sanction of my approval
The Judgment of the court-martial, by which,
more than twenty years since. Gen. Ftz John
Porter was tried and convicted, was pronounced
by tribunal composed of nine general officers
of distinguished character and ability. Its in
vestigation of the charges of which it found &C
cused guilty was thorough and conscientious,
law approved by Abraham Lincoln, then presi-
dent of the United States. Its legal competency,
it's jurisdiction of the accused and of the subjects
all its proceedings, are matters which have never
been brought in question. Its judgement there
fore, is final and conclusive in it's character.
The supreme court of the United States has re-
Gently declared THAI a court martial such as
this was sis the organism provided by law and
clothed with the duty of administering justice
in this class of cases. Its judgments, when ap-
rounded by the same considerations which give
conclusiveness to the judgments of other tribu-
nails, including as we'll the lowest as the high
est" 1t follows, accordingly, that when law
fully constituted court martial has duly de-
clared its findings and It's sentence, and the
president nor congress has any power to set
them aside. The existence of such power
is not openly asserted, nor, per-
haps, is it necessarily implied in the provisions
of the bill which is before me, but when its
enacting clauses are read in the light of the re-
cifa1a II will he that IL aooka
in effect the practical annulment of the find
ings and sentence of competent court mar
tial. A conclusion at variance with these
findings has been reached after investigation
by board consisting of three officers of the
,&fpY, This board was not created in pursuance
to compel the atendannteH5 SPd Vas Roges!ess
pronounce Judgment which could be lawfully
exercised. The officers who composed it, in
their report to the secretary of war, dated
ion s'iustice requires : such action
as may be necessary to annul and set aside the
findings and sentence of the court martial in
the case of Maj. Gen. Fitz John Porter, and to
restore him to the position of which their SEN
tence deprived him, such restoration to take
effect from the date of his dismissal from the
service" The provisions of the bill now un-
der consideration are avowedly based on the
tial have been discovered to be erroneous. But
it will be borne in mind that the investigation
which is claimed to have resulted IN this dis
covery was made many years after the
event to which these findings related,
ind mp %nsS5 % s1roe that evd nd
on which. they were based. It seems to
me that the proposed legislation would estab-
hsh a dangerous precedent, calculated to i'm
peril in no small measure the binding force
established under any constitution and laws.
! have already, in the exercise of the par
doning power with which the president is
vested, RENTED the continuing penalty that
made it impossible for Fltz John Porter to hold
an Office Of trust or profit under the govern
to give my sanction to any legislation which
shall practically annul and set at naught the
solemn and deliberate conclusions of the trib-
unal by which he was convicted, and of the presi-
approved.
[Signcd] CHESTER A. ARTHUR,
Executive Mansion, July 2, 1884.
When the veto was read in the house, Gen.
Slocum then rose and asked if it was in order
to call for vote on the passage Of the bill oyer
under the constitution he was required at once
to present the bill to the house for vote upon
it, unless the house chose
to take :. some other action.
and nays, when Mr. Tucker and Gen. Keifer
arose simultaneously and said that the consti-
tuition required that it should be by yeas and
nays. The clerk then called the roll and the
vote proceeded with profound attention from
both sides. The bill received the constitutional
majority of two thirds 16S to g.
The affirmative vote on the bill is exactly fif-
teen less than that on the bill when it originally
passed the house. The negative vote is just
the same. Fifteen Republicans voted with the
Democrats, and the Democrats voted solidly
for the bill The fifteen Republicans were:
Messrs Bayne of Pennsylvania, Belford Of
Colorado, Burleigh Of New York, Jeffords Of
Mississippi, Laird of Nebraska, Long and Ly-
man of Massachusetts, Phelps of New Jersey,
Poland Of Vermont, Ranney of Massachusetts,,
and, A. Herr Smith of Pennsylvania. Two
thirds majority was not obtained in the senate
and therefore Gen. Porter will have to 'fwsit
lite longer"