Constitutional Whig. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1824-1832, 1830-12-24
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FRIDAY MORNING, DE EMBER "a 1sao.

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FRIDAY MORNING, DE EMBER "a 1880.
- Some DAYS ago, Mr.. Atkinson of Isle IF Wight.
moved resolution in the House of Delegates, in
struciing the Committee of Finance to inquire into
the eXpediency of making some legislative provision
to protect Revolutionary claimants from fraudulent
speculat'o n. Mr. Atkinson referred to letter which
he had seen, from gentleman engaged in attending
to revolutionary claims, to of the heirs of q re-
voutonary officer in the low country as the inducing
motive to this motion. He represented that letter
as offering on the part of the person writing It, or
causing 1t to b. written, to attend the claim for
one half-and stating the of the claim to be
S24Oa--whereas, from an examination watch he him
self had made Mr.. Atkinson informed the House
that the claim was in fact ten thousand dollars
From this letter, MIR A. appeared to draw lnferen.
ces very nnfvorabe to the honour of the gentleman
in this city, who (although Mr. A. did not identify
HIM was understood to be The person alluded to by
him. These differences were, that information as to
the amount of the claim had been withheld by the
writer, in order that after the heirs had received their
half of the $4,000, the person attending to their
claim might pocket the remainder of the or
Sloooo--and general" to exaggerate the dificultes
OF getting the claim through, in order to enhance
the value Of the serv ces rendered
Subsequently,, Mr.. AK nson obtained the letter
from the country, and had it referred to the Com
mittee.
On Wednesday, we happened in the room where
the Committee of Finance sits, and heard the exnIan
atoms of the gentleman implicated. Phe matter
having excited some conversation here and at dis
lance, it is due to him, that the tenor of those OK
plantations should be laid before the public
Previous to that late decision of the Court of An
peals' which BY authenticating the demands of the
Supernumerary Officers of the Virginia Line has ex
posed the Treasury to payments equal to the whole
revenue OF the Commonwealth in any one wear, and
created no small sensation IN the country-all that
those officers or their representatives asked was the
communication ofUe years full pay in lea of haLf pay
for Hfe The revolutionary officer alluded to by Mr..
Atkinson, was Captain, who died in 1919. Com
putting from 1871 to his death in I3i9-his claim as
Captain, entitled to half pay, amounted to s24oO, the
sum spoken of in the letter. When the letter above
spoken of was written, August 1920 the Court of
Appeals had not made their decision nor was it ina
gined, that any such decision was to be made; eonse
quently the writer of the letter could not have had il
in to withhold information as to the amount of
claim established by the judgment of the Court, when
neither be any other person. possessed such infor-
nation.
The question was therefore narrowed down to this
-whe her the demand of one half for ATTENDING 10
the cnim, was inordnate speculation On that
Pont, the observations of the gentleman implicated
were equally conclusive. in his vindieaton. Such
were the ger eral terms for attending to Revolutionary
claims on Congress and the State--legitimaed by
the practice Of the country-and choerfully accedcd
to by individuals Of the highest intelligence having
such claims 10 prosecute.
Phc explanations of the gentleman were trium.
phantly conclusive every point, and we may with
entire confidence say they were esteemed by the
Committee.
This by no means, throws the slightest censure
upon the course of Mr.. Atkinson Looking at the
terms OF the letter and their reference to $1,000 as
the amount of the clum-and then finding the claim
ants under the judgment of the Court, entitled to
$4,000 instead OF $240O-he naturally enough
rsed into the unfavorabe constructions he put,upou
the intentions of the writer. The intermediate de-
cison Of the Court putting tie claims of the Super
numerary Officers upon asd more favorable
grounds was overlooked among the circumstances Of
the case. In truth however, at the dat G of the let
ter, the writer neither knew, nor could he possibly
know, that the claim was good for more than $1,000
the sum he stated 10 to be- Thinking as Mr. A.
did, Of the letter. his spirited and proper
II We ask the readers attention tn the New
York Address, which we commence to-day. It is q
powerful composition.