268 



CONGRESS, UNITED STATES. 



claim of the House adds to the gravity of the situation, 

 but does not alter the question at issue. The new 

 doctrine, if maintained, will result in a consolidation 

 of unchecked and despotic power in the House of Eep- 

 resentatives. A bare majority of the House will be- 

 come the Government. The Executive will no longer 

 be what the framers of the Constitution intended, an 

 equal and independent branch of the Government. 

 It is clearly the constitutional duty of the President 

 to exercise his discretion and judgment upon all bills 

 presented to him, without constraint or duress from 

 any other branch of the Government. To say that a 

 majority of either or both of the Houses of Congress 

 may insist upon the approval of a bill under the pen- 

 alty of stopping all or the operations of the Govern- 

 ment for want of the necessary supplies, is to deny to 

 the Executive that share of the" legislative power which 

 is plainly conferred by the second section of the seventh 

 article of the Constitution. It strikes from the Con- 

 stitution the qualified negative of the President. It is 

 said that this should be done because it is the peculiar 

 function of the House of Bepresentatives to represent 

 the will of the people. But no single branch or de- 

 partment of the Government has exclusive authority 

 to speak for the American people. The most authen- 

 tic and solemn expression of their will is contained in 

 the Constitution of the United States. By that Con- 

 stitution they have ordained and established a govern- 

 ment whose powers are distributed among coordinate 

 branches, which, as far as possible consistently with a 

 harmonious cooperation, are absolutely independent 

 of each other. The people of this country are unwill- 

 ing to see the supremacy of the Constitution replaced 

 by the omnipotence of any one department of the Gov- 

 ernment. 



The enactment of this bill into a law will establish 

 a precedent which will tend to destroy the equal in- 

 dependence of the several branches of the Govern- 

 ment. Its principle places not merely the Senate and 

 the Executive, but the judiciary also, under the co- 

 ercive dictation of the House. The House alone will 

 be the judge of what constitutes a grievance, and also 

 of the means and measure of redress. An act of Con- 

 gress to protect elections is now the grievance com- 

 plained of. But the House may, on the same prin- 

 ciple, determine that any other act of Congress, a 

 treaty made by the President with the advice and con- 

 sent of the Senate, a nomination or appointment to 

 office, or that a decision or opinion of the Supreme 

 Court is a grievance, and that the measure of redress 

 is to withhold the appropriations required for the sup- 

 port of the offending Dranch of the Government. 



Believing that this bill is a dangerous violation of 

 the spirit and meaning of the Constitution, I am com- 

 pelled to return it to the House in which it originated 

 without my approval. The qualified negative with 

 which the Constitution invests the President is a 

 trust that involves a duty which he can not decline to 

 perform. With a firm and conscientious purpose to 

 do what I can to preserve, unimpaired, the constitu- 

 tional powers and equal independence, not merely of 

 the Executive, but of every branch of the Govern- 

 ment, which will be imperiled by the adoption of 

 'the principle of this bill, I desire earnestly to urge 

 upon the House of Eepresentatives a return to the 

 wise and wholesome usage of the earlier days of the 

 Eepublic, which excluded from appropriation bills all 

 irrelevant legislation. By this course you will inau- 

 gurate an important reform in the method of Congres- 

 sional legislation; your action will be in harmony 

 with the fundamental principles of the Constitution 

 and the patriotic sentiment of nationality which is 

 their firm support ; and you will restore to the coun- 

 try that feeling of confidence and security and the 

 repose which are so essential to the prosperity of all 

 or our fellow citizens. 



EUTHEEFOED B. HAYES. 



EXECUTIVE MANSION, April 29, 1879. 



In the House on May 1st the question on the 

 vetoed bill was considered. 



The Speaker: "The question is, Will the 

 House on reconsideration agree to pass the 

 bill? Under the Constitution it is required 

 that this vote shall be taken by yeas and nays." 



The question was taken, as follows : 



tfrignt, iiucKner, UabeU, Caidweil, Carlisle, Chal- 

 mers, Alvah A. Clark. John B. Clark, Jr., Clymer, 

 Cobb, Coffroth, Colerlckj Converse, Covert, Cox, 

 Cravens, Culberson, Davidson, Lowndes H. Davis, 

 De La Matyr, Deuster, Dibrell, Dickey, Dunn, Elam, 

 Ellis, Evins, Ewing, Felton, Forney, Frost, Geddes, 

 Gibson, Gunter, N. J. Hammond, John T. Harris, 

 Henkle, Henry, Herbert, Herndon, Hill, Hooker, 

 Hpstetler, House, Kurd, Johnston, Kimmel, King, 

 Kitchin, Klotz, Knott, Ladd, Le Fevre, Lewis, Man- 

 ning, Benjamin F. Martin, McKenzie, McLane, Mc- 

 Millin, Mills, Morrison, Muldrow, Myers, New, 

 O'Brien, O'Connor, O'Eeilly, Persons, Phister, 

 Poehler, Beagan, J. S. Eichardson, Eichmond, Bob- 

 ertson, Boss, Eothwell, Samford, Sawyer, Scales. 

 Shelley, J. W. Singleton, 0. E. Singleton, Siemens, 

 Hezekiah B. Smith, William E. Smith, Sparks, Speer, 

 Springer, Steele, Stephens, Stevenson, Talbott, Tay- 

 lor, Thompson, Tillman, E. W. Townshend. Oscar 

 Turner, Thomas Turner, Vance, Waddill, Warner, 

 Wellborn, Whiteaker, Whitthorne, Thomas Williams, 

 Willis, Wise, Wright, Casey Young 120. 



NAYS Nelson W. Aldrich. William Aldrich. An- 

 derson, Baker, Bayne, Belrord, Bingham, Blake, 

 Bowman, Boyd, Brewer, Briggs, Brigham, Browne, 

 Burrows, Butterworth, Cannon, Carpenter, Caswell, 

 Chittenden, Claflin, Conger, Cowgill, Crapp, Dag- 

 gett, George E. Davis, Deering, Dunnell, Einstein, 

 Errett, Farr, Ferdon, Field, Fisher, Ford, Forsythe, 

 Fort, Frye. Garfield.Gillette, Hall, John Hammond, 

 Banner, Benjamin W. Harris, Haskell, Hawk, Haw- 

 ley, Hazelton, Heilman, Hiscock, Horr, Houk, Hub- 

 tell, Humphrey, James, Jones, Jorgensen, Joyce, 

 Keiier, Kelley, Lindsey, Lowe, Marsh, Mason, Mc- 

 Coid, McGowan, McKhiley, Miles, Mitchell, Monroe, 

 Morton, Murch, Newberry, NorcrosSj O'Neill, Over- 

 ton, Pierce, Pound, Prescott, Eeed. Bice, D. P. Eich- 

 nrdson, Bobeson, Bobinson, William A. Buesell, 

 Thomas Eyan, Shallenberger, Sherwin, A. Herr 

 Smith, Thomas, Amos Townsend, Tyler, J. T. Up- 

 degraff, Thomas Updegraff, Urner, Valentine, Van 

 Aernam. Voorhis, Van V oorhis, Wait. Ward, Wash- 

 burn, Weaver. White. Wilber, C. G. Williams, Wil- 

 lits, Walter A. Wood, Yocum, Thomas L. Young 

 110. 



NOT VOTING Bachman, Bailey, Ballou, Barber, 

 Barlow, Bland, Blount, Bouck.Calkins, Camp, Clar- 

 dy, Cook, Crowley, Joseph J. Davis, Dick, Dwight, 

 Finley, Godshalk, Goode, Hatch, Hayes, Henderson, 

 Hull, Hunton, Kenna, Ketcham, Killingerj Lapham, 

 Lay, Lpring, Lounsbery, Edward L. Martin, Joseph 

 J. Martin, McCopk, McMahon, Miller, Money, Morse, 

 Muller, Neal, Nicholls, Orth, Osmer. Phelp_s, Price, 

 Daniel L. Bussell, John W. Eyon. Sapp, Simonton, 

 Starin. Stone, Tucker, Wells. Wilson. Fernando 

 Wood 55. 



So the bill failed to pass. 



On June 6th another bill making appropria- 

 tions for the army was reported. The objec- 

 tionable feature of the previous bills was 

 omitted, and instead thereof the following 

 clause was inserted : 



That no money appropriated in this act is appro- 

 priated or shall be paid for the subsistence, equip- 

 ment, transportation, or compensation of any portion 

 of the army of the United States to be used as a jxv 

 lice force to keep the peace at the polls at any election 

 held within any State. 



