eneral Assembly.
Mr. Peck favored a two-thirds majority of the members present.

But Mr. Hall moved to strike out the whole section and said that "in
making this Constitution he wished to throw off the trammels of
fashion and precedent. He had so pledged himself to his constituents.
This veto power was a trammel, and an unnecessary restraint on the
freedom of legislation. The law of progress required that it should be
abolished."

Mr. Bailey "thought the veto power was a valuable one; it was the
people's power . . . . The Governor was more the representative of the
people, than the Representatives themselves. The Representatives were
chosen by sections, and represented local interests, and they
might continue to pass bad laws. But the Governor had no local
feelings."

Mr. Peck said that "the veto power was a qualified negative to prevent
hasty and ill-advised legislation." He declared that the executive
veto was a wholesome remedy for over-legislation. "It was a Democratic
feature of any Constitution."

Ex-Governor Lucas took part in the discussion. "We were," he said,
"engaged in making a Constitution to protect the rights of the people.
The veto was one of the instruments that had been used to defend the
people's rights . . . . It might have been exercised imprudently at
times, but that was not a good argument against the power."

Mr. Hall discussed the question at length. "Gentlemen," he said,
"supposed that the Legislature might be corrupt--he would
suppose on the other hand, that the Governor might he corrupt, and his
supposition was as good as theirs. Some gentlemen were afraid of the
tyranny of the representatives--he would suppose that the Governor
would be the tyrant; or he would suppose that the Governor would
combine with the Legislature, and they would all be corrupt and
tyrannical together. A number of persons were not so liable to
corruption and combination as a single individual;--just as numbers
increased the probability of corruption decreased." He declared that
"there was no need of the power in this Territory."

The Convention finally agreed upon the form of the limited executive
veto as provided for in the Federal Constitution.

Not even the Judiciary was spared from the influence of Western
Democracy as it rose up and asserted itself in the Convention of 1844.
The day of executive appointment and life tenure of judges had passed
or was passing. The Committee on the Judiciary recommended