, 1859-05-06

is for the facts to be known before a deduc-
tion is made These facts were known toI
the commissioners who examined into them
all, carefully; and there was great care
taken TO protect the interests of the Gov
ernment.
The resolutions TO which reference has
been made, by which the whole matter is
referred back to the Third Auditor, are as
follows:
4" Resolrsi, That, preliminary to final settlement
and adjustment Of claims Of citizens of The Territories
Of Oregon aud Washington, for expenses ncarred in
the years lS5j-jG in repelng Indian hostilltes, il
shall be the duty Of the Third Auditor OF the Treas
my 10 examine the vouchers and papers now on file
in his Office and make a report to the House Of Rep
reseutatves by the first Monday In December next,
p the amounts respectively due to each company and
individual engaged in such service taking the fol-
lowing rules as lis guide in asceianing the amounts
so due:
/. lie shall recognize no company or individual
entitled t. pay, except such as were called into
service by the Territorial authorities Of Oregon and
Washington such whose services have been recog'
nized and accepted by the said authorities.
80 lie Shall allow to the volunteers engaged in
said service no higher pay and allowances than were
given to officers and soldiers of equal grade at that
period in the Army Of the United States, including
the extra pay Of two dollars per month given to
troops serving on the Pacific. by the act Of - 1852
-. No person, either in the military civil SER
vice Of the United States in said Territories shall be
paid for his service in more than one employment or
capacity for the same period Of time and all such
oube triple allowances for pay as appear in said
accounts shall he rejected
a. That in auditing the claims for supplies, trans
portation, and other services incnuedNor the main
ieanace of said volunteers he Is directed to have
due gard to the number of said troops to their peri
cd Of service and to the prices current in the coun
try at the time and not to report said service beyond
the time actually engaged therein, nor to recognize
supplies beyond reasonable approximation to the
proportions and descriptions authorized by existing
laws and regulations for such troops taking into con-
sderaton the nature and popularity Of the service.
"6 That all claims of said volunteers for horses,
arms. and other property lost or destroyed in said
service shall be audited according to the provisions
Of the act approved March 3, ls49."
These resolutions not only direct the
Auditor to scale the prices to the cash
prices in our country, which he has not and
cannot have the information to do, but also
directs him to decide as to the quantity Of
supplies and transportation received for the
service, a duty which the Third Auditor
will be equally impoIent to perform.
But in face Of the known facts as to
prices in that country, these resolutions
forbid the Auditor to allow more than
$500 for the appraised value of horse,
and it is obvious that every purchase Of
horses will be reduced to that price by the
Third Auditor 1t matters not that horses
at private sale bring from $500 to $500.
1t matters not that the people are taxed
for their horses at the same rates. 1t mat
ters not that all these purchases were made
by contract. and that governmental faith is
involved. They must all be brought to the
bed of Procrustes. Because General Wool
bought few worthless Indian ponies and
worn out American horses, for from $50 to
5000, every one Of which was condemned
us unfit for service; therefore the large,
strong-limbed, serviceable, and hardy
American horses Of the volunteers, which
lcere fit for service, which did conc up to
the regulation standard, which went through
long and severe campaigns, living simply on
grass and which enabled the volunteers to
strike the hardest blows, and achieve the
greatest victories over the Indians, which
were struck and achieved either by volun-
teers or regulars, are to be paid for at
rates from $50 to 5000. This course is not
only unjust to our people, but dsgraceful
to our Government
The resolutions nomnally propose 10
give the volunteer the same pay as the
regular service. But. practically, they do
not. For, in the regular service, every
man enlisted in Oregon and Washington is
paid one hundred and fOrty-two dollars
bounty money, that being the estimated
cost OF transporting recruits TO, that district
from the Atlantic depots. 1t cost $780,
600 to transport the ninth regiment of iu-
fantry to Fort Vancouver, and $50, 600
more before they reached their appropriate
field of labor in the interior. Yet, an
amendment offered to these resolutions
proposing to pay the bounty to the volun-
teers to make their pay equal in every re-
spect to that of the regular service, was
voted down.
There is another consideration which
gives peculiar weight to these claims, and
which entities the territorial authorities
and the Commission to the confidence Of
this Congress. The facts and cirrum-
stances Of the service were promptly and
minutely reported to this Government
through the War Department, just as they
occurred For myself, as the Executive
of Washington, took especial care to re-
port carefully by every mail, not only
what had been done, jbut what was pro-
posed to be done These reports have all
been published by order Of Congress, and
are therefore within the licial knowledge
of the members of this committee. Did
the Government disapprove of the opera
tions of the territorial authoritiesY They
gave not a single intimation of disapproval
Did they direct the disbanding of tho vol
unteers? Nothing of the kind
reported in May the probable ex-
penses of the service in Washington Terri
tory, and the probable length Of time ii
would be necessary to keep the volunteers
in the field Whilst l expressed my deter
minaton TO keep down expenses to the
lowest possible point, aud to bring the ser
vice to close at the earliest possible pc
riod, | expressed the opinion in May that
J it would not be safe to estimate that the