The republic. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1849-1853, 1853-01-15
Death Of Senator upham.

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Death of Senator Upham.
We record with regret the death of the Hon
w. UPHAM, Senator from Vermont, which
took place yesterday afternoon at, his apart
ments in the Irving Hotel In this city. The
Honorable gentleman had been confined to his
bed several days, laboring under complicated
illness, but no approximations Of fatal result
were at first entertained. Mrs. Urban arrived
from Vermont at the commencement Of the
week, and was with him in his latest moments
Mr.. UPHAM's Senatorial term would have
expired in the. present year. He was an as
siduous working member of the Senate, and en-
joyed the warm respect of those with whom
he was associated, whether in the discharge OF
public duties or in the closer relations OF pr
vate life.
"The French Spoliation bill 10 lingering in the
House, and the chance of it's passage is diminishing
as the season advances. If the debt is due, why
should men hesitate to say 80? Let have direct
vote on the subject. x"
We are little surprised that the intelligent
correspondent of the Baltimore Satn should sug-
gest any "ifs'' on the question of the Govern
ment Indebtedness to the claimants of indem-
nifty for French spoiations prior to 1906.
By the convention of 1900 the Government,
of the United States relnquished to France
all claims of American citizens for spolia
tons committed by French privateers upon
American commerce prior to. 1900. The
valuable consideration for this REIMBURSEMENT
was the release by France of the United States
from fulfilling the guarantees of the treaty Of
ITS. By this act the United States assumed
the liabilities of France towards the American
citizens who had been robbed by French pri-
vateers. Ia
In this understanding of the case, the de-
spoiled citizens Immediately applied to Con-
gress for relief, and in the year 1902 fayora
Bile report was made to the House by com
mittee of which Mr.. GILEs, of Virginia, then
distinguished member of that body, was
chairman. 5f es7 ssas,- r..
In 1907, on the petition of merchants of
Charleston, South Carolina, a committee of the
House, of which Mr.. MARION, of that State,
was chairman, made a report declaring that, in
the judgment of.that committee, the United
States was bound to indemnify the claimants
Since that time there have been three adverse
reports made; one in the Senate, by Mr. Ro-
BERrs, from the Committee of Claims, in 1918;
and two in the House of Representatives, from
the Committee on Foreign Affairs-one by
Mr. RUSSELL, in 1922, and the other by Mr..
FORSYTH, in 1924. OF these reports not one
takes decided ground in opposition to the jus
tice of the claims. But in May, 1926, the
PRESIDENT communicated to the Senate the
correspondence between the United States and
France in relation to these claims; and it is
remarkable fact that from that time every COM
naittee having charge of the subject has come
to the conclusion that the claims ,oere Just and
equitable, and ought to be paid.
Among the favorable reports to which we
have referred are those of Mr.. c. J.. INGER-
SOIL, Mr.. EDWARD LIVINGSTON, Mr.. Will
KINs of Pennsylvania, Mr.. WEBSTER, Mr..
ARCHER, Mr.. CHoArE, Mr.. CALEB CUSHING,
besides those already mentioned of Mr.. CUES
of Virginia, and Mr.. MARION of South Carroll
ma. .dN the adverse reports were made before
the, publication of the evidence on which the
claims rest, and t,centy favorable reports made
since that publication must vouch for its con
clusiyeness to the mind of every unprejudiced
man. Not committee of either House has
been able to- resist the overwhelming force of
this testimony. ,...
Under these circumstances we cannot under
stand how SO intelligent gentleman as the
of the Sun can suggest doubt
as to the "indebtedness'' in the premises Of
the United States.
The Democracy and our Foreign Relations.
The Democratic Revie,o. eAtravagant as are
its demands upon the pliability and principle
of the President elect, is not without coadju-
tors in the field of journalism. In Congress,
we know, it has many sympathizers; in Tam
many Hall it has warm friends, and not a few;
and now it has allies, more or less unscrupu-
lous and enthusiastic, amongst the varied hues
of the Democratic press. saa8- s
The Philadelphia Ledger, erst so severe in
its condemnation of Mr.. LAW and filibustering
generally, has joined the movement, and with
characteristic vigor battles for the whole an
nexation ticket. We would not wilfully
wrong contemporary to whose columns we
are indebted for many excellent paragraphs,
but the following, which we take from its prin-
cipal editorial of Wednesday, admits of but one
Interpretation
eve hope and trust that the abrogation Of the
Nicaragua treaty, the expulsion of British domin-
ion from Central America, the union of the Central
American States, the monopoly of canals and rail
roads across Central America by that confederacy
and the United States in conjunction, the annexa-
ton of British North America and the ineor pora-
ton of the United States of Central America with
the United States of North America. will be ac-
complished during the administration oftl,e sold-
fashioned Democrat franklin Pierce.
.sWe shall be told that this is cutting out work
for the next administration by wholesale True
But it is work that ought to be done, aoiu be done
eventually, and cannot be done too saon''
We will not follow the Ledger into its
endeavor to prove that Democratic administra-
tons have always resisted foreign aggressions,
with uniform success; for we are unable to be-
lieve that the Ledger seriously assumes po-
sition which the merest tyro in contempt
rary history knows to be untenable Our pre-