Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume XVI.djvu/357

 VETO ing odor ; palanquins are perfumed in the same manner, and the roots are used for making per- fumed baskets and other small articles. As early as 1103 the root was received in India in payment for taxes. VETO, a Latin word, signifying " I forbid," which has been introduced into the political language of modern nations to signify the act by which the executive power refuses its sanc- tion to a measure proceeding from the legisla- ture. The first instance of the use of this pow- er was by the tribunes of the people in Rome, who, by pronouncing the word veto, could ren- der of no avail the decrees of the senate or the proceedings of the magistrates. Under the an- cient Polish constitution any single member of the diet, by the use of the liberum veto, saying Nie pozwalam (I do not allow), could hinder the passage of any measure. At the beginning of the French revolution the national assembly, in forming the constitution, allowed the king a conditional veto only ; but the absolute veto was restored to the monarchy after the fall of Napoleon. The sovereign of England has theo- retically a veto upon the measures of parlia- ment, but it is a power which has not been used since 1707. In Norway the king has a veto; but if three successive storthings pass the same measure, it becomes a law in spite of the veto. In Sweden and the Netherlands the king has a full veto, and in other European countries there is an equivalent authority wher- ever the assent of the monarch is necessary to a law. The president of the United States has a veto power, which has very frequently been exercised ; but a majority of two thirds in each house of congress is sufficient to pass any mea- sure over the veto. A similar conditional power over the acts of their respective legislatures is given to the governors of the several states, with the exception of Delaware, North Caro- lina, Ohio, Rhode Island, and West Virginia. In several of the states the veto may be over- ruled by a majority vote, but in most of them a majority of two thirds is required. Mayors of cities generally have a like power. VEUILLOT, Louis, a French author, born at Boynes, department of Loiret, in 1813. He is the son of a poor cooper, obtained a place in an attorney's office in Paris, and at the age of 19 his articles in the ficho de la Seine-In- ferieure involved him in two duels. At the end t>f 1832 he became the editor-in-chief of the Memorial de la Dordogne, at P6rigueux. In 1837 he went to Paris as editor of the Charte de 1830, founded by the ministry; and when that journal failed, he became principal editor of the Paix. Hitherto he had been distin- guished for boldness and skepticism ; but hav- ing in 1838 visited Rome during Holy Week, he returned to France a zealous Catholic. In 1842 he went to Algeria as secretary of Gen. Bugeaud, and on his return became chief clerk in the ministry of the interior. In 1848 he became editor-in-chief of the Univers, on which he had been employed several years. While VIARDOT 337 advocating extreme ultramontane views, he sided with the abb6 Gaume in denouncing the use of the pagan classics in the Jesuit and other colleges, and with Padre Ventura in combating the Jesuit philosophy as too ration- alistic. His journal was interdicted in many dioceses, and in 1853 the bishop of Orleans expressly forbade his clergy to read it. In 1860 it was suppressed by the emperor, but was al- lowed to reappear in 1867 with Veuillot as chief editor. During the discussions which preceded the council of the Vatican, the Uni- vers was the foremost organ of the infallibilists. Veuillot resided at Rome during the council as the chief correspondent of his paper. He has written numerous works, relating principally to the tenets of the Roman Catholic church, and often bitterly attacking everything that came in conflict with what he conceived to be ultramontane doctrines and interests. His latest work is La vie de Jesus- Christ. VEVAY, or Ymy (anc. Vibiscum), a town of Switzerland, in the canton of Vaud, 10 m. S. E. of Lausanne; pop. in 1870, 7,881, chiefly Protestants. It is beautifully situated at the mouth of the gorge of the Veveyse, on the N. E. margin of the lake of Geneva opposite a range of mountains, is built in a triangular form, and has a large market place lined with fine buildings. St. Martin's church contains the tombs of the regicide Ludlow and of Broughton, who read the death sentence to Charles I. The other principal church is St. Clara's, and there is an English chapel. The corn magazine is remarkable for its marble pil- lars. A marble bridge spans the Veveyse, and the lake shore is provided with quays. Vevay is the centre of an active transit trade. A vintage festival, traced by some authorities to the worship of Bacchus in the days of the Romans, and by others to mediaeval monastic usages, is held at intervals of 15 or more years ; the last was held in 1865. Vevay is associ- ated with many celebrated personages, and especially with Jean Jacques Rousseau, whose favorite inn, in the Grande Place, has been converted into a coffee house. The scenery increases in magnificence within a few miles N. E. of Vevay, and attracts in summer multi- tudes of tourists, not a few of whom become permanent residents in consequence of the fine climate and the cheapness of living. VIARDOT. I. Louis, a French author, born in Dijon, July 31, 1800. He studied law in Paris, and wrote for the newspapers. In 1838 he joined Robert in managing the Italian opera, became sole director in 1839, and brought out Mario and Pauline Garcia, whom he married in 1840. In 1841 he joined George Sand and Pierre Leroux in founding the Revue indepen- dante, and he afterward accompanied his wife in her artistic journeys. His works include Essai sur Vhistoire des Ardbes et des Maures d'Espagne (2 vols., 1832); Etudes sur Vhis- toire des institutions et de la litterature en Es- pagne (1835), translated into Spanish ; Souve-