The true theory of our system is not to govern by the acts or decrees of any one set of representatives.  The Constitution interposes checks upon all branches of the Government, in order to give time for error to be corrected and delusion to pass away; but if the people settle down into a firm conviction different from that of their representatives they give effect to their opinions by changing their public servants.  The checks which the people imposed on their public servants in the adoption of the Constitution are the best evidence of their capacity for self-government.  They know that the men whom they elect to public stations are of like infirmities and passions with themselves, and not to be trusted without being restricted by coordinate authorities and constitutional limitations.  Who that has witnessed the legislation of Congress for the last thirty years will say that he knows of no instance in which measures not demanded by the public good have been carried?  Who will deny that in the State governments, by combinations of individuals and sections, in derogation of the general interest, banks have been chartered, systems of internal improvements adopted, and debts entailed upon the people repressing their growth and impairing their energies for years to come?

After so much experience it can not be said that absolute unchecked power is safe in the hands of any one set of representatives, or that the capacity of the people for self-government, which is admitted in its broadest extent, is a conclusive argument to prove the prudence, wisdom, and integrity of their representatives.

The people, by the Constitution, have commanded the President, as much as they have commanded the legislative branch of the Government, to execute their will.  They have said to him in the Constitution, which they require he shall take a solemn oath to support, that if Congress pass any bill which he can not approve “he shall return it to the House in which it originated with his objections.”  In withholding from it his approval and signature he is executing the will of the people, constitutionally expressed, as much as the Congress that passed it.  No bill is presumed to be in accordance with the popular will until it shall have passed through all the branches of the Government required by the Constitution to make it a law.  A bill which passes the House of Representatives may be rejected by the Senate, and so a bill passed by the Senate may be rejected by the House.  In each case the respective Houses exercise the veto power on the other.

Congress, and each House of Congress, hold under the Constitution a check upon the President, and he, by the power of the qualified veto, a check upon Congress.  When the President recommends measures to Congress, he avows in the most solemn form his opinions, gives his voice in their favor, and pledges himself in advance to approve them if passed by Congress.  If he acts without due consideration, or has been influenced