The republic., 1850-12-05
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one which. suppose is soregarded by most them,
acoordng 10 fair Interpretation of a vote taken
some two or three days before the late adjournment
mean the institution Of tribunal of some sort or
other, authorized and required 10 examine and set
lie the disputed claims of private persons against
the Government Of the United States.
The anomalous condition Of ttia subject under
our Government has been, believe a matter OF
complaint and regret 10 all right minded men,
from the time our systcm itself commenced. The
most experienced and distinguished have at
all times been the advocates of supplying some
remedy for defect which Is peculiar to our Fede-
raj Government.
There is not Government besides, either in our
own States any country Of the world, in which
individual citizens may not. by the fundamentally
Of some Judicial tribunal other, recover just de-
mand against their own Government. Here the
only relief in a multitude OF cases Ia 10 be had be-
fore Congress; and members of Congress best know
how absurd farce the settlement OF private claims
is when made by that honorable body. And II must
| ever remain so, from the very nature Of the body
| itself, even though il composed as IL never
| has been and never will be-of such men John
| Marshall and Roger b. Taney. The numbers in
| the two Houscsthe multiplicity and Importance Of
other and gravcr dutes-the absence Of any special
and available responsibility-al these disquslify
| Congress for such business.
| Every man in Congress knows perfectly well
| that, when decisions had. they uncertain
the DEGREES of lottery, and that, in Of un
disputed and indispuiable justice, the chances
that no decision all can be had in of ten or
twenty years. That there il no uniformity in the
judgments, no principles established, nothing 10
satisfy those who fail in their applications, and who
of course return to annoy another Congress, and
nothing calculated to prevent those already twice
| or thrice paid from renewing their suits II has
become proverbia that bad claim is good a
Just one. Men have ceased to rely upon the mere
justice of their demands, and new contriyances
have grown into a system-conrivances TO effect
by management and elcctoneering. what could
not lie accomplished by the force of the claims them
selves. Hence profession has arisen--bores
and lobby agents swarm the metropolis and crowd
| the Capitol-men who are curious in feasting, and
expert in treats are enlisted, until unwary mem
bers likely to get the gout the mania potu
| as TO acquire experience in public affairs
Two hundred and thirty gentlemen in one house
| and sxty-two in the other must give concurrng
| majorities to establish good claim; and all OF
| them together, by unanimous votes, cannot get
| clear of bad one.
| OF these, il may be safely assumed, that two
| hundred in house and fifty in the other vote,
| whenever they do vote, in perfect and absolute
| ignorance of every circumstance belonging TO the
| case.
| Idoubt exceedingly whether there were a dozen
| men in either house, who at the meeting of the
| present Congress knew, ever had known, that 4
claim had ever passed Congress- in the name of the
heirs of George Galphin. Yet some hundred and
| fifty, more, of these very gentlemen voted for
| or against that very claim. believe they all voted
for it-and believe they voted properly. But they
deserve credit for that-ior they gave right
vote by accident only. As soon as they took the
subject up for serious examination they got wrong,
| for the obvious reason, that they made a party
question of it, and he is very ignorant of the char
acter of that body who does not know, that if you
could make party question of the first proposition
| of Euclid, the division upon it would be pretty
| much by party lines. II has sufficient inn
| portancc from amy cause to be mode party ques-
ton, then it passes fails according to the state
of parties-if il is too email to be magnifed into
| party question, it attracts no attention at all.
| A distinguished politician who belongs to the
strong party, If he is amiable and popular man,
| and has killed Mexican Indian, may get
his claim through, whether it is good bad; and
when he has exhausted the appropriation, he may
| come and get II through again, and so as long
| as he needs money and has troops of friends in
Congr ess; but il is not with the great body Of
the people.
There are hundreds Of cases, nay thousands, that
have been before Congress for more than forty
years, and the new are much more nu-
merous than the decisions which are made and as
nothing Is conclusive except (avoraJle decisions
(and they not always) there is a regular progress
Of accumulation which has already attained such
magnitude to exclude the whole existing gen
Grafton from all reasonable hope Of relief through
such medium during their natural lives.
Every Lon,n man will admit that mat DO
mands ought TO be paid-and paid promptly. !
| know there have been public whose boast it
| was that they never voted for any claim. Their
views Of public and personal duty were such that
| they would seem to consider that they performed
patriotic service to their constituents by cheat
4 ing every body else's constituents; for have OBJ
served that those demagogues, who try TO make
themselves popular by indiscriminate opposition to
all other claims, never happen to fall on any bad
claims from their own districts
The truth is that nobody is responsible for any
particular claim, except the one member who has
charge Of il, as the representative Of the party
And just two hundred and twenty nine are per.
fecy free to look into it or not, vote for or against
it, not vote at ALL without any sense Of rcspon.
dbility to any body. That mockery 90 utterly
| prePosterous should have been permitted 80 long
10 exist, j. a reproach 10 the Government
And, az for the Government itself il lie infinitely
worse-for, beyond all possible doubt, il has at all
| times paid more money for claims without parti.
Gle Of equity than would have satisfied all Just dc
| mands.
IL IL, however, useless to dwell on this branch Of
the subject. 1t may be assumed that every man
who has any understanding at all admits that the
| existing system ia bad onc-unjust unequal and
injurious IN ts operation, alike on the Government
and the people.
The question is, what ought to be done, and can
any thing for remedy Of the evil be done except by
Congress,
Can there be any question ne 10 what ought TO be
done, As our people cannot meet to settle such qucs
| tons, why somebody must be appointed to do it,
couri-a board Of officers, Of some sort or other
call it what you will-must be appointed by some.
body; and, if possible, the mode Of appointment
the tenure Of the Office, and tho rate Of compcnsa-
ton should be 20 regulated 10 secure competent
and responsible Judges. Congress only can by law
arrange this thing. ] DO not pause TO inquire by
what influences they have heretofore failed TO doit
My object is moro practical propose to examine