Year: 1879

SUBJECT, Whlcn snail pc PLAINLY eA-


pressed in It's title. The Constitu-


tions of more than half of the States


contain substantially this provision.


Public welfare will be promoted in


many ways by return to the early


practice of the Government and to


the true principle of legislation,


which requires that every measure


shall stand or fall according to its


own merits. He says: This Con-


gress has ample opportunity and


time to pass the appropriation bills,


and also to enact any political meas


ures which may be determined upon


in separate bills by the usual and


orderly methods of proceeding.


But a majority of both Houses have


deemed it wise to adhere to the prin-


ciple maintained in the last Congress


by majority of the House of Rep


resentatiYes, namely, that the House
of Representatives has the sole
right to originate bills fer the


raising of revenue, and, there


fore has the right to withhold


appropriations upon which the ex-
istence of the Government may de-


pend, unless the Senate and Presi-


dent shall give their assent to any
legislation which the House may see


fit to attach to appropriation bills.


To establish this principle is to


make a radical, dangerous and un-


constitutional change in the chars
acter of our institutions. That ma


jority of the Senate now concurs in
the claim of the House and adds to
the gravity of the situation, but
does not alter the question at issue.
The new doctrine, if maintained,
will result in the consolidation of
the unchecked and despotic power
in the House of Representatives.
Bare majority will no longer be
what the trainers of the Constitu~
ton intended, but an equal and in
dependent branch of government
The principle of this bill places not |
merely the Senate and Executive,
but the Judicial also, under
the coerciye dictation of the House.
The House alone will be the
judge Of what constitutes grievance,
and also means and measure of re-
dress. An act of Congress to pro-
tect elections is ncw the grievance
complained Of. But the House
may, on the same principle, deter
mine that the treaty made by the |
President, with the advice and |
consent Of the Senate, nomin alton
or appointment to Office, or decision
or opinion of the Supreme Court, is
a grievance, and that the measure
of redress is to withhold appropria~
tions required for the support of
the offending branch of government.
Believing that this this bill is a
dangerous violation of the spirit
and meaning of the Constitution, |
am compelled to return it to the
House, in which it originated, with
out my approval.


Both Houses of Congress ad-
journed soon after assembling to-
day, in respect to the memory of
late Representative Clark.


At the Cabinet meeting to-day
the quarantine established at New
Orleans by Governor Nichols was
discussed at length. Complaint is
made by shippers of grain from the
upper Mississippi Valley that
the regulations adopted vir-
tually amount to an embargo
upon the shipments Of grain to
France and Spain. In view of the
fact that Congress had the subject
before it in the form Of a National
Health bill, it was not deemed ad-
visable for the Executive branch of
the Government to take any present
action in the matter.


Secretary Sherman made a state
nent as to the action of the banks ,
and capitalists in securing the re-
funding of certificates intended to ]
be distributed among the people. 1t {
was their general opinion that there
could be no method adopted that !
would secure the object sought to
be attained by the Secretary, as
here were so many methods by {
which the certificates could be OBJ
aimed by the moneyed class with~
out any infraction of law.