Nashville patriot. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1858-1860, 1860-04-17
Plunder Of the 1-reasury-rhe Comp.
xr01Ier In che Way

tr0iier IN the Way.
Mr.. GREES, one of the Senators from Mis-
sonri, recently made himself the agent of
LOBBY members and elaim-mongers at Wash
ingfon, and Introduced resolution to CEN
sure Mr.. MEDuL. First Comptroller of fhe
Treasury, and request bis removal from Of
fee. The cause of this attack upon Mr.. Me-
DILL is his refusal to permit the Treasury to
be robbed, under pFetense of law, of the sum
of upwards of a million and half of dollars
The whole transaction is thus explained by a
correspondent OF the n. Y. Cosrir and En-
q4irr
It is the celebrated Carmick and Ramsey
case OF a mail contract, on account of the
non-fulfllment of which 10y Congress, large
damages are demanded. The substance of
the contract is az follows:
That Carmck & Ramsey should transport
the Uoited States mail from Vera Cruz yia
Acapulco, to San Francisco. and back, twice
month, according to schedule furnished
at the time, in thirteen days each way. thus
extending the New Orleans and Vera Cruz
line through Mexico. and making one through
line between New Orleans and San Francis
co in sixteen days, for the sum Of S424, 900
per year, for and during the term commencing
from the time Congress should ratify the contract
and ending four gears from that date.
The contract closed with this additional
and emphatic statement:
And it is hereby further expressly under
stood that this contract is TO have no force
or validity until il shall have received the
sanction of the Congress of the United
States by The passage of an appropriation to
carry it into effect.
Congress never ratified the contract by an
appropriation, or otherwise, and the Depart
ment never entrusted the contractors with
the mails for transportation.
The act making appropriations for the ser
vice of the Post Office Department, approved
August Is, 1856, contains the following pro-
vision:
SEC 6. And be it further enacted. That the
First Comptroller OF the Treasury be, and be
lie hereby required to adjust the damages due
TO Edward Ill. CarInick and Albert L. RAM
sey on account of the abrogatiOn, by the Post
master General, OF their contract 10 carry the
mail ON the Vera Cruz, Acapulco, and San
Francisco route, dated the 18th OF February,
1853; 10 adjudge aud award to them, ac-
cording to the principles of law, equity, and
justice, the amount SO found due; aud the
Secretary Of the Treasury Is hereby required
to pay the same to the said CarmCk d Ram
sey out of any money in the treasury not 9TH
erwise appropriated
This was TWO days previous to the adjourn
ment of Congress. Ii was objected 10 by Sem
ators YuIee Bayard, hunter and SIidell on
it, the peculiar wording of the amendment,
and the belief there was nothing due. The
latter said:
The amendment assumes, in the first place,
that damages are due to Carmick d Ramsey.
That is doubtful question. L doubt very
much whether any damages have been incur
red. The second fact, think, is in direct con-
fiict with the record. The amendment speaks
of a contract which has been abrogated by
ba Post upast.r GanaraI Tho
General has no right to abrogate a contract.
lie has not ATTEMPTED to do so. One Postmaster
General made a provisional contract with
tn. s. gentlemen for the transportation of the
mail.
i doubt very much whether any Postmas-
ter General has the right to enter into provi-
sional contracts of that kind: but admitting
the right, the contrf CT was subordinate ex-
pressly by its very terms to the salctiln of
Congress. That sanction has never been Civ
en-. The contract never actually existed-it
never took effect.
In reply to these and other objections to
the passage Of tue law, Mr.. Drkee, who not
only submitted the report. but moved the
amendment in question, said:
The amendment proposes to authorize the
Comptroller of the Treasury to examine fully
info the nature and eent Of this clam. and 10 SET
tie ii upon principles of lqv and equity. Since
that Office has won the confidence OF the gov
eminent and people, and that deservedly, /
hope the amendment will be adopted.
Mr.. Houston, who likewise favored the
amendment, said:
think that when, by this amendment, the
subject shall be referred to an intelligent and
competent officer, to ascertain Icheth6r Mey haze
sustained injury. and schether Il is right 10 make
repGrGtiOn for that injury, it is sufficient check
against ally imposition on the government it
Ia in Ihs.h han de nf nres o.
render Justice.
Mr. Wblttlesey was then the first Comptrol-
Ter, anG had such reputation for thorough
honesty thai Senators had the greatest con-
hdencc in him. Ii is shown here that these
Senators believed the whole matter was to be
referred TO the Comptroller, and such was
the impression sought to be produced by the
friends OF the mea' ure, ill after its passage.
Then they contended that the Comptroller
could not go behind the law; that Congress
bad decided that there had been a contract;
that the Postmaster General had abrogated
IL, and that The Comptroller was obliged SIM
ply 10 fnd and award the damages which
Congress had decided to be due.
The Attorney General Black was called
upon for his opinion. which he concluded in
the following words:
The duty of the Comptroller is very plain.
He cannot know what damages are due on
without enquiring when. how, in what man
ner, and TO what extent it was abrogated. If
this enquiry shall lead him to the conclusion
that the contract never was abrogated at all,
he will have It ached the limits of his power;
for he is not authorized to award them com
pensation for loss they may have suffered
in any other way.
When called upon by the Comptroller, I'M
der this act to present their claims for dam
III. Il
that they expected the business of their
route TO pay clear profit of S3l 705 33 per
month, independent OF the profits of the
mail contract. and produced estimates of re-
ceipls and expenditures to prove it. Hence
they claimed as damages full four years pay
under their contract.
-Four years at 1924 900 is..........sl, ses,OcO
Expenses incurred In Mexico...--..... 1l3,la
In all the modest sum of........... 81 500 ,l54
After making this claim, and contending
that the Comptroller could not go behind
the law. which was clearly not the intent of
the lawmakers the parties anticipated an
award of something over million and half
of dollars. What was their surprise and in
dignation. therefore to learn that, First.
Medill, on the lIth of August.
ls5S,-Mr. Whittlesey having retired from
Office in ls56.--in conformity with the opin-
ion of tn Attorney General, says:
''Rcpndiating the idea that Congress bad
determined by law the facts in this case. or
10 do so, IL was my duty first. 10 EN-
qnire whether the contract referred to in the
law was so abrogated by the Postmaster
General n to make the United States liaLIe
to the contractors in damages for such abro-
cation. and that being decided in the mega
tive. had no further Investigation To make;
and il remains only for me- 60 decide that
find nothing due from the United States 10
Messrs. Carmick d Ramsey under the con-
tract aforesaid
w. MEDILL. Comptroller.
Having used every endeayor 10 procure a
reversal OF This decision during a year and