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

just and to what ought it equitably and justly
be given 10 them. The further you go from the who
performed the service the remote the claim of the de
scendant becor the difficult il is ascertain.
This consideration may well justify aud authorize you to
act now when you are fulfilling mere moral obligation.
VI course according 10 your OF justice and
equity you pay TO whom you please You might say
you would pay il to the survivors, and only to the
yyors OF the officers or you might say that you would
pay 1t to their children grandchildren and you may
limit your bounty and your justice mingled together
acty as you please This my view of the subject and
upon this am willing TO vote for the bill There moth
ing in the constitution to prevent me-
Nor, this claim Is morally binding, is there any
thing in the objection which the gentleman from Michi-
gan urges to give little complexion to his argument that
agents under this law may commit frauds am sorry to
understand that my friend from Michigan is much in
commoded and troubled by these agents. They at
him. he says constantly this and other subjects Sir il
has been my fortune to escape them altogether They
not come about me- or attempt to influence at all.
sure if they have come around the honorable gentle
man with any view to influence him. they have failed Of
their purpose After his speech of to-day trust he will be
placed in perfect state of quetude regards them They
cannot commit fraud if they cam is that any to
you from dischargng your moral obligations appre-
bend not An individual might well urge a reason
why he should not pay his private debt that lawyers
others perhaps will make profit out Of is no argu
ment against the claim 1t is argument against
ton and think have little apprehend if the
apprehension could influence votes this BILL the
frauds of claims agents. because said before the
claims be paid TO but to the descendants OF those
whose recorded and recorded in the very office
to which their applications for payment must be made
This bill may not do all the justice that is due from the
government II may omit some that ought TO be included
1t may include that ought to be excluded All that
is true 1t does not do full justice but those embraced by
it entitled. hope and trust if it shall be found that
those who under the like obligation have been to any
extent omitted may supply that omission by further
legislation. hope, however, that this may be final and
conclusive settlement But whether il be not il is not
denied that these included in the resolutions
which promised the hapay for life although there is no
body else included. All of them may not be- and many
others might have been entitled to be included that
a
graude but those to whom the promise of the country
made, and who have not received its entire fulfil
ment though they may have accepted inadequate COM
pensation as they suppose, are entitled to It,
beg gentlemen to recollect that 1t was under resou-
ton of 1888 that this Communication of five years full pay
accepted and it ten years from that time before
the principal became due What was the condition of
those certificates during that tme2 The country
der the government Of the confederation weak and fee
BILE government impoverished without power and without
means What to be its destiny the wisest could
not tell the wsest could not oresee and the humbest
and the most uninormed might well dread its termina
tonts falling to pieces from inability and want of
cohesion at any time They accepted these certificates
payable ten years afterwards. OF credit it had What
the value of certificate payable years afterwards
upon such security? Gould prompt payment be calculated
upon at the time it fell due2 Was it calculated upon or did
these certificates depreciae to nominal value They
did depreciae What the needy soldier to do He
longer in the army his consisted in his
tfcate perhaps nothing little else What he to do
with it. and whatdid he in point of fact do with it Nine
of sold these certificates for nominal price They
ter the adoption of the present constitution but during
that term of ten years they deprecated day by day. and
sold for what the poor officer could get for them
Now when enabled to look back that time
how the consideration gave for the halpay for
life dwndled away to nothing at all, turned to dust and
ashes in the hands of your officers and fell into the clutches
spectators who may have made something out of them
and the officers thus paid with nominal value depre-
eating in their hands, actually sold them comparatively
for trihe Do not these circumstances authorize and
quire to look back2 Does not morality require us
to inquire whether ought to consider that officer
fully paid? The country knew his situation to be sure
and he knew of the country situations but when you look
the results of this case you will that the five years
full pay to most of these officers resulted in very little
They had to sell it for what they could get Their daily
necessities required it. This their condition. and this
was the result of their communication We may say they
have been fully paid. Yes sir in this they have been
fully paid They received nominal evidence upon paper
of full equivalentwhat they agreed to accept as full
equivalentbut that equivalent turned to little nothing
SO far regards them
Look now, at the condition of the officer thus placed
and see if he is not worthy ofsome little consideration aud
if we cannot in our present prosperity and in present
plenty Though legally discharged in justice and
under the constitution make to him indemnity for
the loss sustained, think So and it is therefore that
shall vote for this bill shall do shall oppose
every attempt to amend it, will take it as it is with all
its mperfecons its head because in my humble judg
men it is exposed to hazard if it is back to House
of Representatives Want of time will be more fatal to
there than all the arguments employed against its
will submit it to no further danger,