Page:History of Iowa From the Earliest Times to the Beginning of the Twentieth Century Volume 1.djvu/281



signed by the Speaker and Clerk is a sufficient voucher upon which to pay for services rendered by any employee of the House.”

Upon the passage of a similar resolution by the Council the Secretary decided to make payment as directed by the Legislature, without the approval of the Governor. Many of the acts of the Legislature were vetoed by the Governor and these disagreements between the Legislature and the Executive were apparently fomented by the Secretary, as would appear from his official acts. A joint resolution was passed requesting the Governor to immediately notify the Assembly upon his approval of a bill. The Governor declined to do so, stating that upon his approval of bills or joint resolutions they were as required by law immediately deposited with the Secretary of the Territory.

The Governor returned the joint resolution without his approval. The House then passed a resolution calling upon the Secretary for the information desired. James W. Grimes, one of the representatives from Des Moines County, from a special committee appointed to consider the Governor’s vetoes, made a lengthy report of which the following is a summary:

“Several bills of importance have been vetoed by the Governor, some approved in part, and to some he has attached exceptions and explanations. We do not consider that the Governor has treated the Assembly with dignity or fairness due to it or himself as executive. We deny the power of the Governor to unconditionally veto bills. We claim that the act organizing the Territory makes it the imperative duty of the Governor to approve all bills passed by the Legislative Assembly. We believe that Congress never intended that the veto power should be exercised by the Governor. We believe the principle claimed by the Governor is dangerous and pernicious, and as representatives of a free people we cannot acquiesce in it.”

The report was signed by James W. Grimes, C. Swan, Laurel Summers and Hawkins Taylor and was adopted by a vote of sixteen yeas to six nays. Upon receipt of a