The daily union. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1845-1857, 1855-06-01

sAriy and essentially connected wthf das Mthh the use
il unapparteuan independent and not q neessa
~ and essential connection That III my Judgment Is the
escerion Of the class Of pension under con-
sheraton.
The proposed criterion is dedaced from the nature Of
things Congress If il had so pleased might have pre-
sebed arbitrary general rules as for example, pension
TO ell Of disability death In service except In the
contingency Of misconduct pension for all cases except
where the cause Of disability death should occur while
the party is in under sentence, on furloagh or
leave Of absence Such rule like all other rules OF an as
sumed arbitrary standard might have been easier 10 adj
minister than natural rule for the latter demands In
use discriminating examination and just appreciation Of
the OF the included suhecmatter but the natural
rule the only just and equitable one whether regards
the right Of persons in the service and their families or me
policy Of the government
The proposed criterion may shut out some cases Of a
class admitted heretofore through nadverence from the
absence OF any definite rule whatever to work by and the
scope thus afforded for the action Of bases and Tor mere
discretionas instance disabilities deaths produced
by disease casualties having no relation what
ever TO the military service True and 10 pension disa-
bties or deaths occurring in the course Of nature
and having no relation Of casualty in duty, disabilities
or deaths produced by diseases casualties happening to
officer soldier in the prosecution and pursuit OF his
private affairs and amusements, whilst employed on
urlough in lucrative occupation not official IS not re-
qured by any consideration Of public service On the
other hand the criterion proposed will bring many cases
heretofore excluded unusy, and through disregard or
nonpercepon of the theory of reason, OF right and
Of public policy in these matters which to bestow dis
ability or death pensions only in those cases but in all
those cases where the of disability death the
logical incident povsble effect Of duty in the service
Allow me- dismssng all further discussion of the
thus excluded recall attention TO the cases thus in
cluded.
when il is remembered that no commissioned officer or
hag eft
his obligation At will that whether he be duty Off
in glory as in disgrace still the banner OF his country
over him and its oath upon his conscience when this
great fact shall be remembered 1t must be inevitable to
concede that any rule based the assumption Of its be
ing impossible for officer soldier on furlough on
leave of absence in arrest under sentence TO perform acts
suffer casualties wounds incur of disease
in the line of his duty is not truth and like all things
not true cannot be conormabe justice wisdom. As
while active duty he may do suffer things not in the
line of his duty, So whilst off duty urough,
der censure he may do and suffer things which in the
line of duty The letter OF the law prescribes that the
quality of the condition whether in the line Of
duty in it. shall determine the question of pension
that alone is inst and wise; and that is the thought
which according my reading of the statutes has from
the beginning of this Of legislation the end held
its place with Interchangeable consaucy in all the acts of
Congress
The idea that furough OF leave of absence of
cessiiy exclude an officer from all benefit Of the pension
laws may have arisen from the fact that officers fur
Laughed put leave of absence from time to time for
the purpose Of enabling them to into lucrative pri
vate pursuits for other cause which implies
CATION of public duty In such the officer win of
be excluded from the purview of the pension laws
because OF the urough leave of absence but
because of the special occasion consequences thereof
In regard arrest, again Suppose that march, in
camp garrison voyage an oihcer IS put In ar
a zat,a~g4
be subtantaed and then it would be maniestly unjust
that the mere fact his being charged should operate
to deprive himself his family of pension Or, while ne
in arrest he dies Of camp fever or ship fever and then
unjust presume crminaliy not proved in the course
Of law Or whether guilty not, he die OF wounds,
casualty or disease contracted while in arrest STILL the
death not the consequence of the arrest but of the pub
tic service not dying in arrest and on trial being con-
vcted and sentenced that sentence be Of death or disms
sal for some grave military that of course terminates
the question of pension; but if his offence be light one
with of reprimand for instance and he shall
have happened to disability mortal disease
while in arrest by the hazards Of long march voy
age not just to add to his legal sentence the Sc
rious indirect aggravation Of ncapacy OF pension All
these difficulties are avoided conciIiated by directing
inquiry to the question, Was the of disability or
death or was it not of his official military duty
believe that the views thus presented constitute re-
ply to the compound question proposed by the Commits
sione in all its parts except such as questions OF evil
dence All these questions reerable settled princi
Piles and may be disposed Of in a few words
In the first place. causaty is question of fact TO be
proved according the ordinary rules of evidence and
reasonable satisfaction Of the inquiring and deciding
mind That mind is entitled to have the very facts before
it, and is not bound accept final the opinions Of
an expert Such opinions evidence but neither con-
elusive nor exclusive proof Every person of judicial train
ing well knows that the opinions Of medical other sci
entc or practical experts often differ and that they some
times err in body if by epidemic contagion.
There is judicial involving scientific inquiry in the
printed record Of which the Of twentyhree
experts the question twenty-five Of them give
decision one way and single of them gives
decision and the conclusion proved beyond all
controversy that be alone right and that all the Others
erred In general the opinions of expert OF
less weight and value according to the persons cons
tuition Of mind and the degree of completeness Of the coll
lection of pertinent facts which his mind acts But it
may happen that the great body of the wses and learned
est men OF science shall be possessed by opn
ion while the true of s revealed dis
coverer who as yet unknown the world and is pain
fully struggling up into the sunght Of greatness and Of
fame In a word, no witness whether expert not can
righly claim to have his opinion take the place Of the
facts and substitute his Judgment for that Of the
Commissioner,
In the second place the question Of the quality degree
Of proof requisite question clearly for the conscience Of
the Commissioner II called upon suggest any rule for
the guidance Of bis discretion in would be