He has a veto upon all acts of
Congress, This veto is by no means a dead letter, as is the veto of
the Crown with us; but it is not absolute.
The President, if he
refuses his sanction to a bill sent up to him from Congress, returns
it to that House in which it originated, with his objections in
writing. If, after that, such bill shall again pass through both
the Senate and the House of Representatives, receiving in each House
the approvals of two-thirds of those present, then such bill becomes
law without the President's sanction. Unless this be done, the
President's veto stops the bill. This veto has been frequently
used, but no bill has yet been passed in opposition to it.
The third article of the Constitution treats of the judiciary of the
United States; but as I purpose to write a chapter devoted to the
law courts and lawyers of the States, I need not here describe at
length the enactments of the Constitution on this head. It is
ordained that all criminal trials, except in cases of impeachment,
shall be by jury.
There are after this certain miscellaneous articles, some of which
belong to the Constitution as it stood at first, and others of which
have been since added as amendments. A citizen of one State is to
be a citizen of every State. Criminals from one State shall not be
free from pursuit in other States. Then comes a very material
enactment: "No person held to service or labor in one State, under
the laws thereof, escaping into another, shall, in consequence of
any law or regulation therein, be discharged from such service or
labor; but shall be delivered up on claim of the party to whom such
service or labor may be due." In speaking of a person held to labor
the Constitution intends to speak of a slave, and the article
amounts to a fugitive slave law. If a slave run away out of South
Carolina and find his way into Massachusetts, Massachusetts shall
deliver him up when called upon to do so by South Carolina. The
words certainly are clear enough. But Massachusetts strongly
objects to the delivery of such men when so desired. Such men she
has delivered up, with many groanings and much inward perturbation
of spirit. But it is understood, not in Massachusetts only, but in
the free-soil States generally, that fugitive slaves shall not be
delivered up by the ordinary action of the laws. There is a feeling
strong as that which we entertain with reference to the rendition of
slaves from Canada. With such a clause in the Constitution as that,
it is hardly too much to say that no free-soil Slate will consent to
constitutional action. Were it expunged from the Constitution, no
slave State would consent to live under it. It is a point as to
which the advocates of slavery and the enemies of slavery cannot be
brought to act in union.
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