The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1850-12-20

| AFTER stated, il liable both by common law and by
treaty rights TO your petitioner, ~ soduni, by both
the King of the Netherlands and by his heirs-at-
law, to the extent of any amount acquired by them
through devise or inheritance, as well as the people
of the Netherlands collectively, or its citizens in
dividually. The United States cannot be pledged
| to pay what they do not owe.
On referring to the exhibit (at folio 225 annexed
extracted from the Executive Documents of l8i7
TO lS4S No. ii, il will be seen that there is due
by the government of the Uni.ed States TO certain
subjects of the King Of the Netherlands, as Tus-
tees for the proprietors OF certain loans for the
District of Columbia, the sum of two millions and
forty thousand dollars, since the Both June 1913;
and your petitioner has understood, and believes il
10 be tue, that the King OF the Netherlands, under
whom your petitioner rendered his services, if not
the sole proprietor for whose use the trustees
originally held the loan, at LEAST was so TO the
time of his death, for 30 much of 1t is more than
the sum due your petitioner, and that such loan is
now due, in whole or in part, in due course of
devise or inheritance, to the heirs at-law of the
king, TO whom il was originally due.
But enough is seen in the facts presented to show
that, whether the trustees of the loan hold il for
the account of the king, the Prince of Orange, or
his or their heirs at-law or devsees for subjects
OF that king or his successors. or the present king,
or for the government, all alike are liable to the
claims of your petitioner.
Pufiendorf and all international writers from
1925 to this day, declare as international law and
justice, that whatsoever debts any State or the
prince shall contract, either primarily by them
5SiSrS VI NC cuGdSSu nut IcstoIlIS 10 OtnerS
what is their right, all goods, both corporal and
incorporeal, of their subjects, shall be obliged
to restore
And this your petitioner would understand to be
not only the law OF reprisal and its justification,
but the law iof every town and every hamlet,
and in every country. A recovery had for debt
against the town, or for any derelicton of its pub
lie duties, is leviabls on any inhabitant of the
town or his property, the town being distributivey
liable to him for his reimbursement, as in the
case OF copartnership or any common liability by
several And Grotius, as will be seen in the brief,
folios 227 and 2SS,) considers sreprisals among
"nations as equivalent to the Saxon capias or
taking in Withemam." And again he says-"By
the law of nations, all the subjects of a sovereign
from whom one has received an injury, are liable
TO this law OF reprisals for these reprisals are
much OF the same nature with taxes, which are in
troduced for the paying OF the public debts" And
again -" The properly, by the seizure of things
taken, is Immediately acquired to the value of the
debt and cbarges-the remainder TO be restored :"
Your petitioner would submit, that, deprived as
he is by international relations, and their require
mtnts OF his right 10 enforce his remedy in the
judicial tribunals either all laws allowing attach
ments or sequestration of the property of abscond
ing and absent debtors, fraud upon the debtors
themf elves and reproach to the legislative enact
ments of every State in the Union, or, under the
present application to Congress, a like remedy
should, in common justice, be afforded to your
petitioner against the property of his present
debtors, whether considered in their governmental
relations or that Of subjects.
hemedlless as he IL, except by such AID as u Is
alone competent to your honorable body to afford
him, in closing the preceding exposition of the ma
ture Of his claims for arduous services most sue
cessfully rendered to his clients, and susceptible
OF confederation by unquestionable oral and docu-
mentary testimony, but to this day. hitherto wholly
unrequited; and at the same time, humby sug-
costing those recognized principles of constitu-
tonal and International law, by the application Of
which he hopes that redress may be awarded him,
your petitioner now most respectfully submits
his entire case to the wisdom Of Congress for its
consideration and action, in such manner as in its
judgment may be best adapted, not only to assure
TO your pethoner as an American citizen, his just
rights, nut also to vindcate the national honor, by
enforcing due compliance with treaty stipula-
tons. w A. SEELY,
WASHINGTON, January 2, 1850.