The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser.
London, England, 1824-10-05 00:00:00

BRITISH CLAIMS ON PRANCE.

In August, 1814, after the treaty of pence between
England and France, a mixed Commission was appeieted
for the liquidation of the claims of British subj.:cm who
hal coffered in 1793, fr in the ennfiecation of their pro-
perty in France, in violation of the treaty of commerce
which had been concladed between the two countries in
the year 1786. So many diffieulties, however', were thrown
in the way of these Commissiorers by the Government of
France, that they hail not been enabled to commence the
liquidation of the claims ie March. 1815, when the return
of Buoneparte pet an end to their Commission.
The present Commissioners were appoint( tt it. 1'416 for
the liquidating of these claims, and were further entrusted
with the sat:lenient of large demands made by nullerous
English merchants trading to Bordeaux, for the amount of
certain duties which had been imptoperly demanded irons
them at that port.
In 1817, another Commission was issued, authorising
them to proceed to the examination and settlement of
various debts, which were due from the Government of
France t the Inhabitants of the lonian Isles, and of the
Isle el: France, and to other persons under the protection
of thitneouttry.
The Commissioners continued in France till the year
1818, when, by a convention signed in April of that year,
t):e French Cotnmissionets of liquidation were withdrawn,
and a large sum was placed at the :disposal of the English
Commiesioners, who were afterwards empowered by an
Act of Parliament, panted in May, 1819, to distribute it
among the different clasimants ; and, by the same Act, they
were directed to publish, within fourteen days after the
sth day of July, and sth day of January, in each year, a
live of all the claims which hail been investigated or decided.
These returns have been regularly made, in obedience to
that Act of Parliament ; while, in addition to these half-
yearly statements, the House of Commons, in cuns.quence
of motions made on helialf of certain of the claimants have,
at different times, called for an account of all the p;oceed-
inge of the Cotnntiesion. These returns were printed in
February, 1818 ; May, 1819; and July, 1821. lestead,
therefore, " of the publie being left to their own surmises,
respecting the progress which has been made in the execu-.
non of the business of this Commission," as has beer, so
calmly emerted, as if the thing were .undeniable, di per-
son: interested in Pie liquidation of these cases have tad, dad
may nt any titne have, by reference to th/se papers, the
neat full and detai:ed nee:tents of the regressive ndindica-
lion claims, and of the amount if thefa.rui at diprent
periods.
It appears from these papers (to state briefly the re-
sult of than) that the Commissioners have had entrusted
to them the sum of 133,817.000 francs, or, in English
money, 5,575,700/. sterling; that claims have been made
before them to the amount of about 200,000,000 fraucs, or
8,500,0001. sterling; that during the two years they were
employed in Pans, they, in conjunction with the Freech
Commissianers, delivered 382 written awards, by which
414 distinct claims were adjudicated, and paid. to the
claimants on such awards the sum of 59,041,921 francs, or,
in English money, of 2,460,080/. sterling. Since the pass-
ing of the Act of Parliament, in May, 1819, the Com-
missioners have further adjudicated 1648 cases. and have
paid thereon 70,248,020 francs, or, in English money,
2,927,000/. sterling. .
Before the passing of the Act. some of the clairrents
represented to Parliament the magnitude of many of the
cases, frequently invoking the most difficult questions of
French and English law • and they petitioned that a Court
of Appeal might be created, for the purpose of revising, if
necessary, the judgment of the Board. In compliance
with this petition, it was enacted that appeals from the de-
cision of the Board might becarried before his Majesty in
Council; and since that period twenty:Pair appeals agnisst
awards of rejection hare been entered, and the Lends of the
Privy Council have devoted a great many days to the hear-
iag of these French cases. They continued their siftinggss
till July last, when several judgments were de tveted.
Eleven appeals, however, still remain undecided, and, as
they involve the decision of sums amounting to 30 millions
of francs, a sum very considerably exceeding the amount
of the fund now in the heeds of the Commissioners, they
are unable to proceed in the farther distribution of serit
fund until the Court of Appeal shall have pronounced its
final judgment, either by confirming, or rescinding, the
awards of the Board. In the meantime, the clattranta
(that is, those who have suffered from confiscation in
France) have been paid 90 per cent. on the full amount of
the sums found to be due to them, including simple inte-
rest up to March 1816. They have farther received, in
pursuance of one of the articles of the Convention, a com-
pound interest on the amount of their claims since March
1826, up to the dates of their respective liquidations,
which compound interest in the recent cases amounts to a
farther sum of about 77 per cent. on the amount awarded.
Such claimants, therefore, even at the rate of 90 per cent.,
have, under these circumstances. already received more
than 160/. for every 1001. which they originally lost.
The salaries of the Commissioners, and the general ex-
penses of the Commission (the amount of which has been
repeatedly stated in the returns ordered by Parliament).
arc not paid by the public, but from a fund in the hands of
Government, formed, according to the words of the Act of
Parliament, " by deducting the sum of two pa cent. en
the amount of all the claims liquidated, for the purpose of
reimbursing to his Majesty's Government the expense: cf
the said Commission." So much for the fine argument
that this Commission being a burden upon the people, the
people bed a right to know, Stc. &c. &c. This statement
also is a sufficient answer to the assertion, that the poor
claimants, many of them in distressed circumstances, are
abridged of their per centage, in consequence of the gnat
expense of the establishment in Parliatnent-str. et.
There is no longer, as has been affirmed, "err. adverse
French Beard cf Liquidation ;" but, when evidence is
required from the public offices of France, the documents
can, of course, only be procured by application to the pro-
per French Authorities, who, by the Treaty, are 'directed
to deliver them. But they who are +toque:teed with the
modes of transacting such business in France. will be
aware that papers of this description can never be procured
without great difficulty and delay.
It tney be added, that the Commissioners have, in vire,
many instances, had to decide on conflicting clahns for the
same rum, brought by different British subjects, who have
appeared before :hens, by theii Counsel and Attorneys ;
and that fur the purpose of explaining the decision of the
Board in each questions, and also of previtlete for the re-
vision of these cases, in th.: event of an Appeal to the Privy
Council, it became necessary in each award, to detail and
comment upon all the evider.ce and documents thus pro-
d.:med. In consequence of this, many of these awalits
(and we have some of them now lying before us) are ex.
vanely volumMous instruments; but, by recurring to the
dates and numbers above-mentioned, it will be seen that,
since 1819, the real progress of the laminae has been, that
the Commissioners b.ave delivered more than emit written
award per diem. A mderahle proof, we think, that theme
has been no lack of diligence in the discharge of duties
which must be, frcm the very nature of them, most intri-
cate and difficult of perthrtnance.
We have gone into this question at greater length than
we originally intended ; hut the above statemeut must
carry conviction to every mind. There is not one word of
it which can be contradicted ; we know the truth and ac-
curacy of all that we have advanced : and we leave the
public to judge from this specimen, how little reliance
ought to be placed upon the erode accuatient of indivi-
duals, who, when they can pick up from heir-informed
persons what lookr like a ease against the Government, or
any public body, never hesitate to thunder forth their
charges, as if they were the very oracles of truth.---t.oerie: .

A duel took place at Calais on Sunday inorairz lintwet
Captain Alloy and Mr. Isaac. jcn., seconded by Major
Certlen and Mr. Douglas. Alto an exchange of shots, the
affair *as settled by the interference ethesecoads, ah;l the
surr.-in in attendance, Mr. AVilicorc. ti.:Tute origi-
nated at card., when opprobrious languag: as ta.o
eauaed a blurt with a bottleon the ether.