New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1856-04-15
FROM WASHINGTON.
CLAIMS ON THE GOVERNMENT.

Editorial Correspondence Of The n. Y. Tribune.
WASHINGTON, Saturday, April l2, 1856.
Both Houses gave up yesterday to Private Bills,
of which the House passed one and the Senate
quite number, either branch working fairly
through the day l do not propose to criti'ise the
action of either, but my conviction was deepened
that Congress is the very last tribunal to which
such questions should be referred. l would hardly
90 so far as late Secretary Of the Treasury who,
after ten or twelve years service in one House after
the other, gave it his deliberate Judgment thatt
were better that claims on the Government should
be cOnclusively passed upon by the inmates OF any
of our State Prisons than by Congress; but my
observations teHd that way. Whoever has watched
the daily sttirgs through even one Session, must
have perceived that:
/. No general interest is manifested in the settle
ment of claims by the Members. Private BIZ
days are always idle days with large proportion
You will meet them on the Avenue or at the de-
partments; the House Post-Office and other smok-
ing.rooms ia the Capitol will be full Of them; and
not more than hundred on the average will be
giving any sort of heed TO the character of the bills
under discussion. OF course accident or private
interest goes very Ear in making the decision.
3. Killing an unjust claim in either House Is a
very inconclusiye process. 1t comes to life again
speedily, and is pressed on a subsequent Congress
as if no reverse had ever happened to it. Very
likely those who killed it have ceased to be Mem,
bers. and it gets through mere facile Committee
and House without suspicion that it has once been
rejected But even if that be known. it is no bar
10 its revival.
3. A perfectly &C cd claim may now exaggerated.
Indeed, there is strong tendency to this. Lhase
been told that man who had an indisputabe claim
on the Government for four or FIVE thousand dollars
danced attendance at the Capitol for two or three
sessions to no purpose. At length an old Member,
who knew the ropes, struck by his pertlnacity,
called him aside and gave him the benefit OF some
volunteer counsel. "My friend" said be, 81 see
you are green, long as you have been here OF
Washington. Just withdraw your papers, and In
crease your claim. to twenty or thirty thousand
Then promise thousand to this one and two thou
sand to that ard so on through list OF haa-dozen
Who can help you, all of course on the contingency
Of -FOUR gaining your claim. If you should be cut
down little, you can afford it," The claimant
thankfully took the advice, acted on it, and in due
time carried home bis honest due and little more
A. There is no assurance that an honest claim
will ever be paid under the old system. lake tho
French SpOliations for example. IL correctly
understand this case, the rgh' Of the clalnabtss
as clear as that Of any mortgage to a repayment
o. he amount he loaned On his mortgage Their
yesees were unlawiully and most unjastly captured
ard e0nfscated by cruisers under the French ks-
public. France had treaty with us, dating from
or based on our Revolutionary obligations to her,
which bound US in effect to fight her battles and
grant her commerce preference in our porte.
Our Government in 1899 made new Treaty
whereby il relinquished all claims on FRANCE based
pthese spoliatiors in consideration of France re-
leasing us from our onerous Treaty obligations
foresaid 10 her. Here was a fair bargain ana
very coed one for our side-one when we could not
ave afforded to relinqush for Fifty Millions But
while The advantage Of it accrued to our whele peo-
L. tbeyholeb burden was cast on our plundered mer-
chants. Our well. roasted chestnuts were hauled
cut of the FIRE with their fRgers exclusively. YET
from that hour to this they have never received
one dollar Of indemnity. The Nation paid it'
debts win their properly ana lelI thsm W ""i'"1
for it, First, it was urged that the Government
was POOR and couldn't pay-at least, just yet Az
length one House passed the bill, but the o'nef
didn't. Then the process was reversed. Finally
both passed it, snd then Polk vetoed H. alleging
that the country was involved in costly war
with Mexico. was borrowing heavily, and couldn't
BEGIN paving old debts. Besides, the claimants
had been kept out Of their due SO long thatit W"
dosb.fl whether we owed them anything linen
it had been proposed to pay them in land-"hy
not make i. money if we really owed it, @e,
After a while the bill was passed again. ana
Pierce vetoed it on grounds equally frivolous
Aud though fifty six years have elapsed since no
u,nav VA, frat due, do no. see that It's any
nearer ps, meut now than at any former period.
We have at length Court Of Clsin' cou'eH'A