want to support
government officers at high salaries, to ride about in their coaches
and sport gold spectacles. He did not want them paid for giving wine
parties, and electioneering the Legislature. They should walk
from their residences to their offices, as other citizens."

And so the salary of Auditor was fixed at $500. What wonder that Mr.
Hempstead "felt disposed to make a motion that no gentleman or man of
respectability should be appointed to any office under the Government
of the State of Iowa."

From the fragments of the debates which were chronicled in the
newspapers of the Capital, it is clear that the Convention of 1844, in
providing for the exercise of executive power in Iowa, aimed (1) to
make the Chief Magistracy a representative institution and (2) to
limit the influence of the Governor in legislation.

The Committee on the Executive Department, of which the venerable
Ex-Governor Lucas was the chairman, reported in favor of vesting
the supreme executive power in "a Governor, who shall hold his office
for four years." A Lieutenant Governor "was to be chosen at the same
time and for the same term." Furthermore, section five of the report
provided that "no person shall be eligible to the office of Governor
or Lieutenant Governor more than eight years in any term of twelve."

Mr. Chapman made a motion to strike out the provisions relative to a
Lieutenant Governor, "which motion he enforced upon the principle of
economy, and the non-necessity of the office." But the Convention
refused to take a step so radical.

Mr. Langworthy moved to strike out _four_ and insert _two_ "as the
term for which the Governor should hold his office." This was
"to test whether any officer in the State of Iowa was to hold his
office more than two years." Mr. Langworthy "wanted the whole
government to be changed once in two years." His motion prevailed.

On the motion of Mr. Peck section five of the report, which aimed to
prevent the Governor and Lieutenant Governor from succeeding
themselves in office more than once in twelve years, was stricken out.

The question of an executive veto on legislation naturally received
considerable attention, since the administration of Lucas was still
fresh in the minds of many members of the Convention.

The Committee on the Legislative Department had reported a form of
executive veto which was so limited that it could be passed over
by an ordinary majority in the two branches of the G