The daily union. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1845-1857, 1851-01-23


whole of il II il is g'aiuy, il would seem TO be
proper 10 give 10 the assignee only what he paid and 10
devote the resi- TO the family And now regard 10 in
received premium Tor his risk whose business il was 10
insure against risk who received all the profit he ever
stipulated 10 receive, his premium Is he to be paid
twcehfsI by The person insured and afterwards BY
ciey at large Is this Just Is right Trace il a litte
further Is II not reasonable suppose thai the mer-
chants mus trading knew something OF the risk to which
they were exposed; and if they did insure at an in
surance ONCE they probably insured in the shape ad.
donai pIonts and so, the community paid the losses,
and paid them in the shape of profits Why then should
these merchants be paid again 1t is impossible we can
know how 10 distribute this fund properly How
to ascertain what is due and TO whom II is due z The
claimants will show that their property was seized but
the evidence the other side in France, and now
probably destroyed They make claims Tor the value OF
cargo how 10 ascertain whether II was not
contraband! They make clam because their vessel
was seized for want Of role dequpoge;" how do we
know that they had letters or certificates which our
own courts would have deemed sqhciehtt How do we
know what evidence existed 10 show that in truth they
were not American but foreign vesselsi
Let us look TO the history OF the times; let us look
; ascertain. We find very early in the history of this
matter that Mr. Morris writes TO Mr.. Pinckney, in Lon.
he knew that fraud would be practised in order cover
enemys property with the American name. Ga that
occasion he chose to the rule and have many
innocent people suffer rather than who gully
should escape We know that at the time when the
convention OF 1903 was negotiated list Of the claims OF
persons probably entitled made out by Mr. Living.
ston with all the assistance he could derive from the
French archives, from the claimants, and from the
!, agents OF the United States. He filed list with the
treaty OF all those claims which he supposed could be
possibly raised against the fund provided by that
yenton And YET what does he say' He says, page
1876 f.. !.
That many OF the the list have been aid that
others due, greatly overcharged and many
charged under different heads that, pom
there is the highest believe whole
OF that not including the embargo together with the
teest on the debt, will not exceed twelve millions OF francs
Mr. Skipwith, an agent long employed by the govern
ment in relation to these matters, and resident in Paris
made out list and sent it home He had the adj
of reference to the French archives, and of daily
nications with the claimants Mr. Livingston in letter
to Mr. Madison in 1904, (p 1881 in relation to Mr. Skip
withs list says:
The whole list errors and is calculated to
render the amount of claims large possibe-with
what view will not pretend to Judge The list contains
that paid. Mr. skipwlth himself knows; a
number Tor which no vouchers can be produced; mum
Der that do not come under the treaty"
II impossible for all these contemporaries at that
time 10 make even an approach 10 fair list of the claims
il they were so liable to be deceived in relation to the
amount due and the persons 10 whom it due, how
are we to ascertain at this distance of time, after lapse
OF Atty years regard il impossible Gentle
men may upon feeling OF magnamty and generosity be
willing to throw millions OF dollars into crowd. be
scrambled Tor under the supposion that dollar may per
haPs, hit somebody who may be entitled to it, But the
hope will be vain and Ruthless, if they believe that any
thing like fair and just distribution will take place.
say that under such circumstances these il the
debt were due, would be Impossible to ascertain whom
i was due and what was due But, in point OF fact.
do not believe it is due believe the government is moi
liable for these claims for the reasons which have given
believe, If we give it. il will be gra,uity And
II 10 not SUFFICIENT answer TO after tracing the
respOndence and examining the history of the times, TO
bring up certain distinguished individuals Who believed
the claims ought TO have been paid II is sufficient
answer to bring up the reports of certain committees who
believed the claims ought TO have passed Against all
that put the striking fact that for than thirty
years these claims did receive majority of either
house Of Congress in their favor regard that as neg
i regard If was not
believed by contemporaries that these just claims
Mpon the public treasury Add to that the fact that
Of our Presidents, as far as know, recommended
the payment OF these claims and have abundan au
thoy, il authority TO decide rejecting them Sure
~ those Presidents who lived at the time, il they had be-
lieved they Just claims upon the public treasury
would have recommended them the favorable consider
alton OF Congress II the Congresses OF that day. and for
thirty succeeding years, believed that had used private
properly for public purposes they would have paid them
The strongest proof have that they believed no
such thing the fact that of them did II and
1t was moi until Yeas had passed, not until conempoane
GUS evidence was gone, not until we had been seaed
out with opportunities. that Congress began TO give an
indication OF acting favorabiy upon this subject
Mr. President know is an ungracious task TO OPP
pose these appropriations fear may almost say that
it has become odous business 10 oppose
expenditures Of any description Econony-hat highest
virtue oil governmental fear has long since ceased to
be at all regarded here say economy is the hug hest
virtue oil government, because, rightly understood il
includes lusce-justlcc, simple, severe, exact And if
you will show me government that Is just in all It's
lations you will show government which is better
administered than any oil winch have vel any account
believe 1t IS virtue which shortly we shall be forced
10 study and TO practise, The worse will come OF IT,
Weare accommodating debts rapidly, and making no pro-
vision 10 pay them | fear there are some Eho believe
that by accommodating these debts, they will finally force
upon the country the necessity for adding 10 the tariff
Tor increasing The duties on Imports and who would be
willing oincur debt il that consequence should result
from IT,
But let those gentlemen lag that naeting unclion
to their souls. The people OF this county have had
taste OF free trade, or something approaching to it, and
they will not consent 10 any system OF taxation by
which, Tor every dollar they pay into the treasury,
they have 10 pay four five dollars into the pockets
OF some protected" individual II we should be re.
duced to the necessity OF raising additional revenue
me present tariff will be searched and scrunized 10 see
Whetnel more money cannot be raised, not by an in.
crease but by reduction OF duties | believe in my
soui mat we could raise revenue BY reducing The
duties than by increasing them. Let gentlemen ponde r
over these things before they 90 too far IN Ihe
j speak now TO those who believe this debt ia moi
strictly due but who think il is a grauity which this
government may grant, which il ought 10 grant out oi
magnanmity and generosity There are some who tak .
that view but | would remind them that this i pot a
proper time for the exercise of that sort OF magnsnnily
The public treasury will not bear IT, MIR Randolph said
on that he had found the true philosopher,
stone, the true political acbymy-and it consisted in one
snort maxim, "pay you go" i believe, If there be
any political alchymy, IL is 10 be found in that maxim
waeh carries with il another-that OF spending no
more 'nan may be necessary for the proper purposes
on government But are practising upon that precept
nIe we making any provision here for the payment of
PUBIC DEBIT The public lands yera