The daily union. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1845-1857, 1857-01-08

you equal hardship. ! reason for admitting the
provision 10 which aude into this BILL which Is admit
ted be outside of the principle merely ON the ground
that IL Is OF peculiar hardship III 80, make II the
occasion for private bill
Another fatal objection to the bill Is that 1t does not in
cude those State lines with whom the contract was
made and who should necessarily be included fyou go
the principle of the assumption act of 1890 Every
of the Virginia line and of the other State lines with whom
contract for communication made should be included
Are they included in the bill The persons entitled to
Communication Of two sorts those who were officers
OF the continental line and those who officers Of the
lines of the different States.
Mr. EVANS. The States generally did not give any
Communication. Pennsylvania and Virginia did. Pennsyl-
yana paid and suppose ii constituted part OF the
charge which was funded in l79l Virginia did not pay
until afterwards.
Mr. TOOMBS. This excludes the Virginians and Penn
syyanans who entitled TO the bounty as the
continental line because those States agreed to give their
troops advantages which the nation gave TO the
ona troops In 1890 this put in the assumption act as
to both States Congress allowed each State compensation
for what she had spent in the general and the particular
defence The obligations of the States TO their own troops
in the particular defence of the State where there We're
similar provisions, were assumed and carrying Out tna
idea the act of 1882 passed to pay the people whom
Virginia would not pay in 1870. All that Virginia had
paid up 1890 settled in the act of that assuming
the revolutionary debts of the different States OF the Union
but this class she refused to pay Afterwards the officers
having recovered from her in her own courts she came to
Congress and said You should these debts they
were incurred in the particular Defence they on the
principle of the assumption act and you ought to pay
them She appealed justly and Congress did pay them,
and they ought to go into this bill am not authorized
to speak for Virginia. but it to that her State
line who have been paid this communication by the govern
ent of the United States, stand precisely the same
principle those in the continental line who are included
in the bill If you pay the one why should you exclude
the heirs of those of the Virginia State line, who had
precisely the rights Why should they be excluded
by this which has assumed the debts OF every
State for every dollar expended either in the general de-
fence in the particular defence of the Slater recoect
looking through the settlements but do not care to rip
them up 1t is rather long story II may be necessary
IN the States the
crying injustice of this act think that according to the
assumption act of $780, most of the States got premium
in advance of what they ought to have been PAID except
Vermont and Georgia.
One great for that was that Vermont had been
recently settled and her people fought all along the line
very quietly New York claimed her territory, and Yer
mont was in singular condition. There was kind Of
triangular duel far as she was concerned between
New York, Great Britain, and the United States and
she was a sort of Mdshipman Easy during the whole
revolution, having an adverse claim to her territory
The State of Georgia. from her having but forty thousand
inhabitants stretching along the Savannah river was
able send anybody into the continental line but the
settlers surrounded by the Indians and the Brit
ish were attacking them. Every man was on actual
service in the defence of his own homestead That
whole region of country universal camp Whenever
battle ughand this the to the upper part OF
South Carolina asohe whole community had to come to-
geher and fight because the United States had noa regular
body of soldiers then. Even at Kings Mountain there
were regular soldiers Those battles were fought by
service and could be- because they left to defend
the frontiers of the States in which they lived The States
got credit for their service Nothing was paid for them
One great reason was that the States paid nothing, and
therefore had nothing to charge the United States with
Those very who stood in the State of my honorable
friend from South Carolinawho stood in my neighbor-
hood with in their hands against tories and Indians
from the first the last day of the excluded from
the provisions of this bill There is more meritorous
class of The bones of many of them are now bleach
ing in sight of the senator's residence Their chill
dren much entitled to the bounty OF the govern
the to whom he is giving it by the provisions
OF this bill This discrimination is odious and unjust
Ynr,,r vrick fha of
and you will find that it works nothing but injustice
The people of the frontier States as were Vermont on
the one side and Georgia the other not being able to
furnish continental contingent though in actual war
from the beginning did not get much benefit from the act
of $780, The people Of those States were constantly en-
gagged Vermont with the British on the Canada line and
Georgia with the Indians Those States got nothing but
hard knocks from the British and hard work for them
selves Now class of people, who not emily got their pay
like everybody else for the service but some OF them
for much less service got Communication OF five years full
pay equal to at least twenty years hapay according TO
the value of money then are to be PAID OF e
scendants be paid this act of justice as 1t is claimed
though the report admits that is not just Ihere no
law for it, say that there is any national gratitude IN
the case extends to those who fought in the revouton
many Of whom died for their country. You can find
their descendants easily Thousands of them are on the
pension roll Why exclude the children OF those whose
services been established and who drew pensions
ring their ives There can be no want OF proof IN such
cases The service Proved the government has acknow
edged it and paid the man pension IN his lifetime Even
IN those pensions which granted Congress would not
allow the 60 back and they could not draw their
nena;ons except from the time when the proof
pleed IN this case however, proposed to go back to
1894 and asume to pay them ten years halpay as II
were the same thing paying 1t annually every year.
This is fallacy in the bill which should suppose my
honorable friend would perceive at If he can see no
difference between paying ten years hafpay in advance
and paying 1t in equal annual instaments MS OH IN TINS
respect is right but if there is difference his Dill
wrong The bill is crude, idgesed partial IN every ne
and based principle whatever except tc
a class who are now the records of the country.
Mr. President have shown that the records OF the
x,tt Ia NOT Aahf
the resolution of $780, which General Washington and the
men of the revolution constantly appealing to Con-
aress to carry out carried out There is no appeal
from them Although the report which was made to the
House puts it in such way as to leave the inference that
this debt sustained by the great authority OF the men
of the revolution say you cannot ind single human
being who stood forward for these claims until those go
GUS defenders of their country in their graves The
who fought in the revou onary war did not fayol
them The who then in the civil councils OF the
government refused to acknowledge them 1t was reserved
Tor this day. seventy years afterwards to lind men outside
ana inside these walls whose conscences become so tender
on this act of justice they choose to term it. to one
rest o.
say there ia no foundation for this claim. These Off
GERS got their communication liberal allowance. They got
letter fund than anybody else The domestic DEBT was
all swept away. What monstrous n2nsense IL is 70 t
to-day about the depreciation of the sx per cent funded
debt when the entire domestic debt OF the United oats
was in truth swept from the face of the earh IL now
said you cannot find it 1t is scattered. You can ma
great deal the records of the country that was due to
various people You know that you paid no money
nothing but this trash, and you know what II was worth
The newspapers of the day and the records OF many OF the
patriots of the revolution show its value have seen
marked at the head of some of it scale of musche de-
-