Washington sentinel., 1854-03-31

| mend that the Executive be directhd to take
steps to test the liability in law or equity of all
or any of the parties who received any portion
Of the moneys awarded to said Gardiner or
Mears to refund the same to the treasury of the
| United States. The evidence herewith exhib
ited shows who their agents and attorneys were,
| how and by whom employed, and the sums re-
ceiyed by them
| Whilst the committee are of the opinion that
the commissioners have in general exhibited de-
cided ability in the opinions prepared by them,
| they cannot but express their regret that there
were irregularities in their proceedings scarce
| y compatible with judicial inquiry and still
less with judicial determination, which was
| intended to be final disposition Of claims in
which were involved the rights of the citizens
on one side and the obligations Of the gov
ernment on the other. The papers, it appears
from the evidence, were kept with little care
and the mode adopted by the commissioners of
deciding on the validity Of the claims without
making an award as to the amount, though the
amount was in fact agreed upon and registered
In private memorandum- books by the commits
soners, and in some cases made known on pri.
vate application, was, in the opinion Of your
committee calculated to excite suspicion, and
ought not to have been adopted. And this
course Of action appears the more Objectionable
from the fact that claims were in some cases
| favorably acted upon which were represented
| by gentlemen whom it is difficult to suppose
were employed from any benefit to be derived
| from professional skill. Besides, it is in eyi-
| dence that such persons were related to or had
very intimate personal intercourse with some
of the members Of the board Of commissioners
or others holding high official stations.
The committee are also of opinion that there
was palpable carelessness and neglect upon
the part of the commissioners in some of the
cases, and especially in those of Gardiner and
Mears. The fact of an amount exceeding
S500,0OO being awarded upon mere assertion
of title, without any effort being made, either
by the parties to produce the title or to show
its loss or destruction, or ON the part of the
commissioners to require such productions or
proof of such loss or destruction, they being
authorized to require it, is evidence of want Of
attention, if not Of gross neglect.
The following is a list OF the witnesses ex-
amined by the committee:
| General Waddy Thompson, Major F. F.
Lally, r. G. Cerwin, John S. Phelps, James
II. Causten, Alexander j. Atocha, Oliver
Phelps, jr., }. P. Levy, George w. Slacum,
Buckingham Smith, Richard s. Coke, Peter
A. Hargous, G. P. Van Ness, w. w. Corco-
ran, James Wright David Sayrs, John M.
Toago, Noah L. Smith, Jose Antonio Barra.
gan, Pantoleon Galvan, Juan Baptiste Barra.
gan, Edwin Hartman, Thomas c. Connolly,
}. {. Gardiner, Juan Adasol, Charles W.
Davis, William Ryan, Charles F. Mayer, L. Ii.
Saunier, l.. S. Hargous, Charles f. Bowes,
Alfred A. Lewis, Richard L. Jones, and John
! II. Houston.
The committee, after full examination have
agreed to ask to be discharged from all the
memorials submitted to them, except those OF
Jonas F. Levy and Jose Maria Jarrero. In
these cases the committee, on the ground OF
plain mistake in law, have agreed to recon.
mend the passage of a bill referring them to
| the accounting officers Of the Treasury for re-
examination, settlement, and payment, under
the provisions of the treaty with Mexico
The opinion of the committee, in each case.
will be found more fully stated in the journal
Of their proceedings.
In the case of Alexander j. Atocha the COM
mittee came to no decision, Mr.. Clarke being
absent and the other members of the committee
being equally divided in opinion.
The committee deem more elaborate report
unnecessary, as the records of the committee,
herewith submitted, fully exhibit their doings.
and as the chairman of the committee, (Mr.
Soule,) who had its business speciaily in
charge, and the duty Of preparing report
the basis of which had been agreed upon
specially entrusted to him, was appointed to an
official station abroad and left the United States
before drawing up said report.
Mr.. BAYARD. Mr. President, | will ask the
indulgence of the Senate to make a few re-
marks in eonnexon with the report of the Sc
lect committee on Mexican claims, under the
treaty Of Guadalupe Hidalgo, before the order
is made to print the document. / was men,
Der Of that committe; and make this request
i'll justice to the committee, SO that what NAV
look like delay or negligence on our part may
be wholly explained. The petitions were re-
ferred to us two years ago. They were some
sixty-three or four in number, and of course
the general course of proceeding in the action
OF the committee-in that as in other cases
was regulated by the determination and views
OF the chairman of the committee. Immedi.
ately after our organization, we directed a
notice to be forwarded to all the different pe
titioners, with view of eliciting any testimony
which they might have as sustaining their
grounds of complaint. Under this notice, we
also received information which led us neces-
! sarily into an investigation Of the claims OF
Gardiner and Mears; and they occupied the
greatest portion of the time. The examination
: OF witnesses IN that case produced SO strong a
conviction OF fraud, that, arriving at the con.
clusion that the matter could be determined
j beyond controversy by sending commission
to Mexico, which should ascertain the ex;s.
tence or non.existence Of the mines for the de-
, struction of which indemnity was claimed, the
committee determined upon that course. Then
the Executive must also be represented upon
this commission, which occasioned unavoidable
delays in the sending out Of the commission.
After the return Of the commissioners. the
committee, during the last session of Congress
during the executive session, may say, have
completed their labors, agreed upon the basis O
their report throughout, and the heads Of tha,
agreement were noted by the chairman of the
: committee. He had then been appointed
minister to Spain, but had not yet accepted
that appointment; and he undertook to pre-
pare, from the determinations of the committee
a report, which was to be submitted and printed
by order of the Senate. But, from reasons O
which have no knowledge, he left the country
without performing that duty, and without any
communication with any member Of the com
mittee whatever have no doubt, from what