| Show THE presidents DENTIS VETO MESSAGE i lb rothe rathe thab thas mafe senate af fhe the united states I 1 have examined with care the bill which originated in the senate and has been passed by ane two House congress to amend an act entitled I 1 an act to establish a bureau for the relief belief of freedmen and refugees refu ees and for other purposes having with with much regret ome come to the conclusion that it would not be lie consistent with the public welfare to give my nay approval to the measure I 1 return the bill to the senate j wili will my objections to its becoming a law I 1 might call to mind in advance of these objections the fact that there is no immediate necessity for the proposed measure the act to establish a bureau forthe for the relief of freedmen and refugees which wiach was approved in the month monti I 1 of march last has not yet expired it was tho the thought t stringent and extensive enough for 0 the e purpose in view before it ceases to have effect farther experience may assist to guide us to a wise con lusion as to the policy to be adopted in i me of peace I 1 have with congress the strongest desire to secure to the freedmen the tuil full enjoyment of their freedom their tro uro property perty and their entire independence and equality in making contracts for their leir labor but the bill before me contains provisions which in my opinion re not warranted to accomplish the nd in view the bill promises to establish by the of congress a military jurisdiction over all parts of the united states containing refugees and freedmen tt would by its very nature apply with apply most force to those parts aarts of t the e united states tates in which the freedmen most abound and it expressly extends to I 1 he exis existing tin g temporary jurisdiction uris diction of the Freed mens bureau with greatly en merged powers over those states in which the ordinary course of proceedings iee ce has lias been interrupted by the t bellion the source froni front which this military jurisdiction uris diction is to emanate is non none e other han uan ban the president odthe united states acting through the war department ind the commissioner of the r Freed mens bureau the agents to carry out this i military aili alil tary jurisdiction are to be selected ither aher from the army or from civil life the country is to be divided into districts and sub districts and the number if salaried agents to be employed may f v equal to the number of counties or L ashes i in nil ull the united states where erdmen and refugees are to bo be found the subjects over which this military i is diction is to extend in every part of r cw C w united states include protection to A employed emp loyes agents and officers of this breau in the exercise of the duties im joed coed o sed upon them by the bill hill in eleven elevon tates tates rates it is further to extend in all cases ai alj euting freedmen and refugees discriminated against by local law custom or F prejudice in these eleven states the ml hii subjects any white person who may i charged with depriving a fred freedman dinall 0 Q any civil rights or immunities bei bel ning aing to white persons to imprison flent and fine or both without vit hout however defining the civil rights nights and raul rAni unities which whichard chare charo aro are thus to be bese secured dured 11 the freedmen by military jaw this military j jurisdiction anis aris diction also extends to all that may arise t tracts acts the agent who is thus to at reise leise sL the office of a military judge aay be tranger trauger as entirely ignorant of f ele eee tle tec jaws of the place and exposed to T Y errors of j judg judgment merit to which all ali pi nien pien en i e liable the exercise of power over wa v lih li h there is no le legal leal al supervision by s vast of oy agents must by it very nature of mail man be attended by q 4 of caprice injustice and power the trials which have th ii under rius this bill are to take place without the intervention of a jury and without any aed rules of law or evidence the rules on which of fences are to be heard ua ini determined by the numerous agents ure lie tre such rules and regulations as the tile president through the war depart lent clent shall shail prescribe xo no previous presentment sent gent ment is required nor any indictment charging harbing the commission of a f rime erime against the laws but the trial must proceed on charges chara esaud and specifications the punishment will be not wh atthe law requires but such as a i urt art martial may think proper and from these arbitrary tribunals there lies no tio appeal no writ of error to any ally of t burts in which the constitution of the U I 1 states vests exclusively the judicial power powe of the country while the territory to and the class of actions action and sand offenses lenses of matare that are made subject to this measure n pe ne e so expensive exien sive the bill itself should it become a law wll wil v 11 have no limitation in point of time iut ut will form a part of the permanent legislation of lile the country J I 1 cannot reconcile a system of military jurisdiction of this kind with the words of the constitution which declare that gino no person shall be held to answer fora capital or otherwise infamous crime erime unless on a presentment or indictment of a grand jury except in cases arising in the land or naval forces or in the militia when in actual service in time of war or public danger and that in all criminal prosecutions the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public triad tria by an impartial jury of the state or district wherein the crime shall shail have been committed 11 the safeguards which the wisdom and experience of ages taught our fathers to establish as securities for the protection of the innocent the punishment of the guilty and the equal administration of justice are to be set aside and for the sake of a more vigorous 1 orous interposition in be behalf lia lla if of justice we are to take talle the ris risk h of many acts of injustice that would 0 of f necessity follow from an almost counti countless countiess es s number of agents established in every parish or county in nearly a third of the states of the ion union onion lon over whose decision there is to be no supervision or control by the federal courts the power that would be thus placed in the tho hands of the presidents sueh such as in time of peace certainly ought never to be in trusted to any one man if it be asked whether the erection of such a tribunal within a state is warranted as a measure of war the question immediately presents itself whether we are engaged in war let us not unnecessarily disturb the tile commerce credit and industry of the country by declaring to the american people and the horld that the united states are still in a condition of civil war at ayt present there is no part of our country in which the authority of the united states is disputed Of lenses that may be committed by individuals should not work a forfeiture of the rights of entire communities the country has entered upon or is returning to a state of peace and industry and the rebellion is ill in fact at ail an end the measure therefore seems to be as inconsistent with the actual condition of the country as it is at variance with the constitution of the united states if passing from general considerations we examine the bill in detail it is open to weighty objections in time of war it was eminently proper that we should provide for those who were pass ing suddenly from a condition of bondage to a state of freedom this bill proposes to make the Freed mens bureau established by the act of 1865 as one of many great and extraordinary military measures to a formidable rebellion a permanent branch of tilo the public administration with its powers greath enlarged I 1 have no reason to suppose and I 1 do not understand it to be alle alie alleged oed ged that the act of march 1865 has lifts proved deficient for the purpose for which it was passed although at that time and for a considerable period thereafter the government of the united states remained unacknowledged ed d in most of the states whose inhabitants ha M stants had been involved ill in the rebellion the tile institution of slavery for the military destruction of which the Freed mens bureau was called into exis tence as an auxiliary force has been already effectually and finally abrogated throughout the whole country cpu by an amendment of the constitution of the united states and practically its eradication has received the assent and concurrence of most moat of those states ill in which it at ail ali any v time had existed I 1 am an i not therefore able to discern in the country anything to justify an apprehension that the powers and agencies agencies of the Freed mens bureau which were effective for the prof prot protection action of the freedmen and refugees during the actual I 1 continuation of hostilities and of african servitude will now in a time of peace and after the abolition of sl slavery aery prove inadequate to the same ends if I 1 am correct in these views there can be no necessity for the tiie enlargement of the powers of the bureau for which provision is made in the tile bill I 1 the tho third section of the bill authorizes a general unlimited amount of support to the destitute and suffering refugees and freedmen fre fro edmen and their wives and children succeeding sections make provisions for the rent or purchase of landed estates for freedmen and for the erection for their benefit of suitable buildings for asylums and schools the expenses to be defrayed from the treasury of the whole people the congress of the united states has never hereto ore oro thought itself competent to any laws beyond the limits of the district of colum columbia bla bia except forthe for the bell ben enit of our disabled soldiers and sal sai sailors lors I 1 it has never founded schools fo for r any I 1 class of our own people not even for I 1 the lie orphans of thi tho c who have fallen in defence of the union but lias has left the care of their education to the much more competent and efficient control of the states of communities of private associations and of individuals it has never deemed itself authorized to expend the kuplic money for the rent or purchase of homes for the thousands not to say millions of the white race who are honestly toiling tolling from day to day for their subsistence A system for the sur SUN support port of indigent persons in the unite united states was never contemplated by the authors of the constitution nor can any reason be advanced why as a permanent establishment it should be founded for one class or color of our people more than for another pending the war many refugees and freedmen received received support from the government but it was never intended that they should henceforth be fed clothed educated and sheltered by the united states the idea on which the slaves were assisted to freedom was that on becoming free they would be a self sustaining population any legislation that shall imply that they aro arc not expected to attain a self sustaining condition must have a tendency injurious alike to their character and their prosperity the appointment of an agent for every county and parish will create an immense patronage and the expense of the numerous officers and their clerks to be appointed by the president will be great in the beginning with a tendency steadily to increase the appropriations asked by the Freed mens bureau as now established for the year 1866 amount to it may be safely estimated that the cost to be incurred under the pending ci bill will require double that amoun amount t more than the entire sum expended in any one year under the administration of the second adams if the presence of agents in every parish and county is to be considered as a war measure opposition or even resistance might inight be provoked so that to give effect to their jurisdiction troops would have to be stationed within reach of every one of them and thus a larga large standing force be rend rendered bred necessary large appropriations would could therefore be required to sustain and enforce military jurisdiction in every county or parish from the potomac to the rio grande the condition of our fiscal affairs is encouraging cou raging but in order to sustain the present measure of public confidence it is necessary that we practice not merely the customary economy but as far as possible severe retrenchment in addition to the objections already stated the ath section of the bill proposes to take away land from its former owners without legal proceedings being heing first had contrary to that provision pro Islon ision of a the tile constitution which declares that no person shall be deprived of life liberty or property without due process of law it does not appear that the lands to which this section refers may not be owned by minors or persons of unsound mind or by those who have been faithful to all their obligations as citizens of the united states if any portion of the land is held by such persons it is not competent for any authority to deprive them of it if on the other hand it be found that the property be liable to confiscation fis even then it cannot be appropriated to public purposes until by d due u process of law it shall bave have have havo been d declared e forfeited to the government there are still further objections to the bill on grounds seriously affecting the class of persons persons to whom it is de signed to bring relief it will tend to ili keep p the mind of in a state of uncertain expectation and restlessness while to those among whom he lives it will be a source of constant and vague apprehension undoubtedly the f freedmen rel I 1 ien len should be protected but they shou should rei d be protected by the civil authorities especially by the exercise of or all the constitutional powers of the courts of the united states his condition is no so exposed as may at first be imag imagined he is in a portion of the countr country where his labor cannot be well spared spare competition for his services from froin planters from those who are constructing or repairing railroads or from capitalists in his vicinity or from other State swill enable him to command almost his own terms he also possesses a perfect righetto hight right to change his place of abode and if therefore he does not find in one coia colA community or state a mode of life suited to his desires or proper remuneration ne ration for his liis labor lie he can move to another where labor is more esteemed and better rewarded in truth j er each state induced by its own wants and interests will do what is necessary and proper to retain within its borders 1 all the labor that is needed for forthe the development of its resources the laws that regulate supply and demand will maintain 1 1 their force and the waged wagen of the I 1 laborer willbe regulated thereby there is 19 no danger that the great demand for labor will not operate in favor odthe of the laborer neither is sufficient clent elent can consideration sidera given to the ability of the freedmen to protect and take care of themselves it is no more than justice to them to believe that as they nave have received their freedom with moderation and forbear ancelo they will distinguish themselves by their industry and will soon show the world that in a condition of freedom they are self sustaining and capable of selecting their own employment and their own places of abode of insisting 0 for themselves on a proper re remuneration 11 and of establishing and maintaining their own asylums and schools it is earnestly hoped that instead of wasting away they will by their efforts establish for them themselves a condition of respectability and property it is certain that they can attain to that condition only through |
