The southern press. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1850-1852, 1851-01-25

- 49, w<4 -! cS@0tQt some ntty, fOrys or
thirty ysats ago i barred by the statute OF lmita
tons H espnot coaa4 sainst The administrator.
Yet, ~ !. dslsss eeFtaialy thss property belongs
70 the cFaotos. 30 IN relation to the assignee III
this - propsrtys he who may have paid Only five
cents on the dollar will be entitled 10 the whole OF
Il. II nisa grstuity, it would seem to he proper
y give 70 the assignee only what he paid, aud to
devcss Ne vsss 70 the family. And ao~ ia regard
% 'nsarerSs are va e pay insurance Office, an
insussr Who received premium for bic risk ,whose
business y was TO insure agsinsa risk, Who re-
cetvsd al the protaf he stipulated 10 receive,
his premium is he to be paid twics--6rss by
the Psrsen insured, and afterwards by society At
large IL this just! 10 IL rightl Trace il little
furshsr. IL il not reasonable to suppose that the
merchants thus trading knew something al the
risk 10 which they were exposed; and il they did
not insure ut an insurance Office they probably in
sureA ia the shape Of additional profts; and, Il 70,
the community paid the losses and paid them in
the shape Of profits. Why, the shouId these
merchants be psid againi Il 10 in. sssibIs We can
know bow 70 distributs this fund properly. How
are we TO asosnain what b due and 70 whom il 10
duet The claimants will show that their properly
was seized; but the evidence on the other aide
wasin France, and 10 now probably destroyed.
They make claims for the value Of cargo: how
are " e ascertain whether it was not contra.
band? They make claim because their vessel
was seized for want Of as role d'sq1ipage:" how
I, We kns thai they had letters or certificates
which our Own country would have deemed suffi-
centi How do we kn,w what evidence existed
TO show that in truth they were not American but
foreign vessels
Let u look to the history Of the times; lot US
look 10 that period when the facts were much
easier TO ASCERTAIN. We find very early in the his
tory Of this matter that Mr.. Morris writes to Mr..
Pinckney, in London, that he refused to give pass
ports to vessels, because he knew that fraud
he ond ~ 10 va
property with the American name. On the occa-
sion he chose 10 reverse the rule, and to have ma
ny innocent people suffer rather than one who
was guilty should escape. We know that at the
time when the convention Of 1900 was negotiated
q list OF the claims of persons probably entitled
was made out by MIR. Livingston, with all the as
sistnnce he could derive from the French ar
chives, from The claimants, and from the agents Of
the United States. He filed list with the treaty
Of all those claims which be suppos could be
possibly raised against the fund provided by that
convention. And yet what does he say' He
says, page 1876:
ssThat many Of the debts on the list have been
paid, that others are not due, many greatly over
charged, and many charged under different heads;
80 that, upon fair statement, there is the high
est reason 70 believe that the whole Of that. not
including the embGrgo, together with the interest
on the debt, will not exceed twelve millions OF
francs. i"
Mr.. Skipwith, an agent long employed by the
Government in relation to these matters. and resi-
dent ia Paris, made out lst and sent it home.
He had the advantage Of reference to the French
archives. and OF daily communications with the
claimants. MIR, Livingston, in letter to Mr..
Madison, in le04, (p. 1897 in relation to Mr..
Skipwith' 3 list, says:
1.-THE whole LISTS tissue Of errors, and is cal
culaled 70 render tho amount Of claims as I,r,e
a. possible-with what view will not pretend to
- 1s~t Ikor If ala III
which there is no foundation; number that are
paid. az Mr.. Skipwith himself knows; number
forw hich no vouchers can be produced; a num-
Der that do not come under the treaty.
If it was impossible for all these contempora-
ries at that time to make even an approach to a
fair Iist Of the claims; If they were liable to be
deceived in ie alton 10 the amount due, and the
persons TO whom il was due, how are we to as
certain at this distance Of time, after lapse OF
ffty years. regard it as next TO impossible.
Gentlemen may, upon a feeling Of magnanmty
and generosity. be willing to throw millions OF
dollars into crowd to be scrambled for, under
the euppcsition that dollar may, perhaps, hit
somstDdy who may Re entitled to IT, But the
hone viii Be vain and fruitiess il they believe that
anything like fair and just distribution will take
place. say that, under such circumstances as
these, even il the debt were due, it would he inn
possible to ascertain to whom it was due, and
what was due But, in point of fact. do not be-
leve il is due. believe the Government is not
liable for these claims, for the reasons which l
have given. believe, If We give it, it will be a
mere gratuty. And it is not a sufficient answer
to me, after tracing the correspondence, and ex-
aiming the history Of the times, to bring up
tain distinguished individuals who believed the
claims ought to have been paid. 1t is not suf-
fcient 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
more than thirty years these elaine never did re-
ceiye a majority Of either house Of Congress in
their favor. regard that AZ negative pregnant.
l regard it az showing that it was not believed by
contemporaries that these were just claims upon
the public treasury. Add TO that the fact that
none Of our Presidents, as far as know, ever re-
commended the payment of these claims, and we
have abundant authority, if authority is to decide
for rejecting them. Surely those Presidents who
lived a the time. il they had believed they were
just Chains upon the public treasury, would have
recommended them to the favorable consideration
of Congress. lfthe Congresses Of that day, and
for thirty succeeding years, believed that we had
would have paid them. The strongest proof we
can have that they believed no such thing is the
fact that none of them ever did it; and it was moi
until years had passed, not until contemporaneous
evidence was gone, not until we had been wearied
out with opportunities, that Congress began to
give an indication of acting favorably upon this
subject.
Mr.. President, know it is an ungracious task
10 oppose these appropriations. ! fear may al
most say that it has become an odious business TO
oppose txtsavagant EXP endturts Of any descrp-
ton. Economy--ihat highest virtue ola govern
mentI fear has long since ceased to be at all re-
garded here. ! say economy is the highest vir
tue of government, because, rightly understood !,
it includes justce-justice, simple, severe. exact.
And " you will show me government that is just
in all Its relations, you will show government
which is better administered than any Of which
we have yet any account. believe it is a virtue
which shortly we shall be forced to study and to
practice, or the worse will come Of il. We are
accumuatiDg debts rapidly, and making no pro-
vsjon TO pay them. l fear there are some who
believe that, by accnmulafing these debts, they
will finally force upon the country the necessity
for adding to the tariff, for increasing the duties
on Imports and who would be willing to incur
debt, il thai consequence should result from it..
But let not those gentlemen lay that fattering
junction TO their souls. The people of this coun-
try have had taste Of free trade, or something
approaching to it, and they will not consent TO
any system of taxation by which, for every dol
lar they pay into the treasury they have to pay