Weekly national intelligencer. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1841-1869, 1851-12-06

The half-pay claims examined and allowed since IN
date OF my last report amount BAL AGO. including th
sum Of 9oSoSof winch had been previously adjudieated
No action has been taken on any communication case
during the year Congress having indicated purpose
egisate IN regato them Idrected suspension of fur
Their proceedings until the close of the next session SO
to afford them an opportunity of expressing their will
| the subject.
Bounty Lands
Donations of public lands in consideration oslltary
service nave been made under different aJI
classes OF soldiers The first grants of th were 70
Soldiers Of the Var of ld2-
In my last report the whole number warrants issued
to soldiers OF our last with Grea Britain was stated
to be 2897s Since that time thu following adouon ma
have and been s viz There The re m $50
claims suspended for further s,idence
Mriedn War.
There have been 90 40 appcationsn tor bounties
under the act of 18th of February "a; sfnng ahIs
all 49, 955 claims have been Thu anu u
scrip issued to the parties err Ing ""lta s anu
scrip issued since the last aie 10 ioloWs
viz Ieol
0'9 99S w warrants S 40 acres each
20 ..n.;slees for 800 each and
. r.acates for 1926 each
s191 cases re suspended for further evidence
Tze Bou,,g Land Laac of 28M September, 1850.
This aet is much more liberal and comprehensive in it's
provisions than any previous law OF similar character
1t gives all persons living and to the widows and minor
children of such dead who have been actually
from 700 to The Close Of the Mexican war for the
period of one month more bounty land graduated in
quantity according to length of service II all the sol
diers engaged in these living represent
ed by persons entitled the benefits of the law the
Der Of claims would not be less than ue hundred and
thousand and assuming 80 as the average grant to
EACH the quantity of land disposed Of would be tyour
millions Of Making proper allowance for those who
had died leaving no representatives entitled to claim, the
former Commissioner Of Pensions estimated the number
OF applicants at tao hundred and y thousand The
suit has proved that he did oyeresmate the number
Between the 18th of September and 9th Of November
1850, ., Alb applications were fled On the LIST of No
vember, 1851, the whole number received about
$4,000; and, they still coming in rapidly, it will
not fall far below 10000 at the of the
session of Congress.
The duty of acknowledging, registering endorsing,
ming, investigating deciding and issuing warrants for
such vast number of claims involved great labor and
responsibility 1t necessary in the first place, to
prescribe forms of application and modes Of proof by
which they be established The next step was
collect arrange, and classify the rolls of the different
panies extending through period of sixty years.
and embracing than half million of soldiers;
that the claim OF each applicant be compared with
them and his identity and term Of service accurately
certained
No provision had been made by law enable the office
to dispose of this immense increase Of business Hence
at first the declarations merely tied up in bun
dies, in the order in which they received and depo
sted in room for safe keeping until arrangements could
be made for their examination. For months the
receipts ranged from 1000 to 1880 per day There was
consequently large accumulation of them before the
cessary preparations could be made for investigating their
merits and issuing the warrants
Under these circumstances, and knowing that tardy
execution of the law would defeat the purposes Of those
who passed it, and deprive many aged persons OF the
benefit OF its provisions felt warranted in assuming the
responsibility Of increasing the force of the Pension Office
with reference to that particular service This
was approved by Congress at its last session. and appro
mac lot only tn nny
who had thus been employed, but for still further addi
ton to the force.
With the view of ascertaining how many additional
clerks would be necessary to keep pace with the number
OF applications called the late Commissioner for
estimate Of the probable number which would be submit
ted during the year He could of form his opinion
only from the facts before him in relation other laws Of
similar nature From these date he concluded that the
number presented within the frst year about
fifty thousand or one-ffth of the whole
Guided in some by his estimate but still de-
slrous OF making allowance for contingencies, asked
for number Of clerks sufficient to adjudcae and issue
warrants for 60 600 claims, which granted 1t
soon found, however, that the number Of applications
would be almost three times great had been sup
posed AS far the at my disposal would allow,
have endeayored to meet the emergency Some addi-
tona clerks have been employed Others who could be
spared for time from my Office have been detailed
to do duty in the Pension Office and the clerks of that
bureau have been required work hour longer in each
day than has heretofore been customary In all these eff
forts to advance the progress of the business received
the cordial cooperation only of the head of the
bureau and his efficient acting chief clerk but Of the large
body OF his assistant clerks engaged that business,
who have manifested the audabe zeal in the dis
charge of their respective duties
The first warrants issued about the first of Febru
airy last For months the number out each day
was comparatively small because many of the clerks
engaged in acknowledging the receipt Of claims
spending with claimants, and registering fling and pre-
pairing the cases for adjudication.
Notwithstanding all these difficulties, of the 157 900
claims which had been fled on the ls November 1851
$4,000 had been examined and a. 900 carried into
rant 900 have been rejected suspended for further
consideration The number of warrants now issued daily
exceeds 400 and by the meeting of Congress the aggre
gate number of warrants issued will be about 10000
Thus 1T will be seen that in the short space Of nine
Gated under the of 1850 as have been disposed of
under the law Of l84 in relation to Mexican warrants
since its passage
may not be improper here to remark it has been
the nyaabe rule OF the office to act the in the
order of their presentation If there have been occa
sional departures from it, they have been the effect of
accident and not Of design Complaints have been made
to from various quarters that the rule had been yo
lated but it found in every instance that the
which it was alleged had been improperly passed by in
favor of junior applications those which had been
suspended for some defect informaty. AS soon as
case is ascertaned to belong to this class is laid aside
until the defect be supplied and in the time the
office proceeds with other applications in their appropriate
order. Any other rule would cause endless delay.
The Report Of the Commissioner Of Pensions contains
many valuable suggestions of amendments and m6dica
tons of the existing laws to all of which respectfully
lowing, viz
First. That the benefits of the pension laws be con-
fined to those who rendered the military service and
the widows and children of such as are dead.
Second That more efficient provisions be adopted to
trevent frauds under the various pension laws and more
especially under those relating to inyalids