Iowa territorial gazette and advertiser., 1846-01-31
veto Message.
EXECUTIVE OFFICE,
lo,ra City, January 18th 1916.

The bill entitled Gan act for the relief O
Samuel c. Reed" being Of such character
as to compel me to withhold my approval
| herewith return the same to the House
Of Representatives, where it originated
with these my objections;
The claim Of Mr.. Reed, amounting t,
one hundred and eighty three dollars and
fifteen cents, is for provisions furnished
the militia called into service by the U. s.
Marshal in the winter Of 1S39-4O, to sup
port the civil authorities of the Territory
in maintaining juri diction over certain
portion of Van Buren county. The bill
herewith returned provides for the l,ay-
ment Of the claim out of the Territorial
Treasury, with six per cent interest there
on, from the 18th December, 1899; the
whole, when taken together, exceeding
two hundred and fifty dollars.
However just and equitable may be the
claim, | should regret its payment out ol
our local Treasury as virtual assumption
Of the whole debt accruing out of our diff.
culties with Missouri, with a sum of in
terest exceeding one third of the original
amount added thereto, The Territory
cannot, without justly subjecting itselfto the
charge Of partiality in the distribution d
its iavore, select out one particular claim
ant for relief, and reject similar account.
brought forward by others. Those who
furnished arms, clothing, and other muni-
tons of war, as well as the militia who
turned out on the occasion in question, have
equal claims for remuneration with those
who furnished provisions, and the obliga
tion rests upon us morally, ifnot legally, t.
treat them with equal favor. The recogni-
tion Of the account Of Mr.. Reed as legiti.
mately chargeable to the Territory, viewed
in this light, assumes an Importance tha
otherwise could not attach to it; for instead
OF merely authorizing the liquidation of ,
demand Of some two hundred and fifty dol
lars, as provided for in this bill. its newt.
able effect would be to entail upon tn.
reasury debt of from twenty to thirty
thousand dollars. Lieut.. Ruggles, of tht
U. S. Army, under instructions from III.
War Department, which prevented hin
from embracing large number Of well
founded claims in mis- estimate, reports &C
cording to my recollection, the amount
properly payable out Of the Territorial
Treasury, in consequence Of thr boundary
dispute, to be something upwards Of thir.
te n thousand ,lollars-an amount which
could scarcely fail to be augmented to TWEEN.
ty thousand, by the admission Of the re-
jeet ted items. To this heavy sum, carry
ing out the principles Of the bill returned
interest would have to be added at the rate
Of SIX per cent per annum for six years,
amounting to seven thousand two hundred
dollars, which would swell the public liza
bilities from this one cause to the alarming
aggregate Of twenty thousand two
hundred dollars. Sympathising, as I do,
with those who are sufferers Oh account oi
the aid rendered by them in assisting the
Governor and Marshal to maintain iuris-
diction, / cannot, consistent with my sense
Of duty, consent to be instrumental in i'm
posing upon the people Of Iowa such a
momentous load debt.
Although our repeated application for
compensation from the general govern
ment have thus far been Intellectual | do
not despair Of ultimate success before Con-
gress. The fact Of bill authorizing pay
ment having passed the House Of Repre-
sentatives upon one or two occasions, ta-
ken in connexion with the course pursued
BY the War Department in examining in
to and ascertaining the amount ofthe claims,
affords strong grounds FOR the belief, thai
with the Increased weight and influence
which our admission into the Union as .
State viii give u It Washington, some re-