The Republican journal. [volume] (Belfast, Me.) 1829-current, 1871-11-16
Tine Hancock Bounty Warrant Case.

Much interest existed in Hancock County
during the recent term of the Supreme Court.
growing out of the trial of a case between
Sumner Wooster plaintiff and +. H. Mace, Esq :,
of Bangor, defendant. Hale and Emery were
counsel for plaintiff, and J. +. Godfrey and
Arno Wiswel, Esqs., for defendant Some
thing like eighty actions of the same nature
have been brought against Mr.. Mace in Ham
cock Co., and by reason of this and of the great
interest taken by the counsel for the plaintiff in
these actions, considerable excitement attended
the trial of this case
Sumner Wooster was soldier in the war of
1872, in Col. Blacks regiment, which was called
INTO service to epel invasion and defend the
coast from Castine to PASSPORT. The base of
operations during service was At Mt Desert
island. Under the act of Congress approved
March 81, 1888, which gave to soldiers Of the
war of 1872, who had served fourteen DAYS Il
land warrant of 100 acres, many claim agents
both in this State and in Massachusetts. tried 10
procure warrants for the soldiers in Col Blacks
regiment, and failed because there were no
records in the war department to connect this
regiment with the service Of the United States
iu 1864, Mr. Mace undertook to establish the
service OF this regiment At the war department,
and after three years spent in gathering infors
nation from the surviving soldiers and from
public and private records and document, in
Massachusetts, New Hampshire ami this State,
he had collected enough to make up a full his
tory of the service, and from which he connect
ell this regiment with the T.. $. troops He
then found it necessary, before any land war
rants could be procured, to furnish company
rolls; and hy the aid of Capt. lIotchkins, then
residing in Connecticut, he furnished a roll of
Capt. Hotchkins' company and procured war
rants for soldiers in that company. These
plaintiffs were not on CAPT, Hotchkins' company
roll, AMI their cases were suspended Tor ovrr u
year, ill Mr. Mace awaited him.elt OF the, l>uuyvi-
edge and experience in the department at Wash
ington. of Gen. Charles Hamlin, when these
plaintiffs were brought in under Capt. Hoch-
kins on the seniority principle. Il principle
known among military men, that all the COM
panies report to the senior Captain in the regi-
ment. Mr. Mace paid Gen. IIumlin $1,000, and
made an agreement with him that he should re-
| eeye 20 per cent, of the value of all the war
| rants when procured. Through the influence
u NNh 49, iihtilJdl IldHltl, was Ill
duced (ater he was Vice President and before
Senator) to 60 before the department at wash
ngton and argue the case So that if Mace
is convicted of fraud, or rather of pushing
through unmertorious claims. Hannibal and
his son must come in for a share.
| After some 300 of these warrants had been
procured for soldiers or their representatives in
Hancock County. Mr.. Mace sent DR.. Hartman
| of Bucksp0rt, W no was in his employ all the
way through, around to buy up all the warrants
| for 50 over and above all expenses for estab-
| fishing the service aud procuring the warrant
and if any party did not choose to take 81 he
was obliged to wait till all the warrants were
| procured, the expense might he rerkonel
| for each. With the exception Of Cot. Black 5
widow, Mrs Peters John AIS motherj and
| one or IT, officers who assisted Mace, who re-
| ceiyed $3.50 for their warrants, with no expense
| deducted, most all Of the rest received So in
| fun. But after some little time had elapsed,
some one of the claimants came TO Hale \
| Emery to see if more could not he collected
from Mace. And II. n f., not only aommene-
| ed suits for those applying to them, but for all
| others whose names they could learn, III one
case for a widow who had been dead more than
! two years. They issued circulars and mailed
them to parties notifying them that they had
commenced suits for them, and calltioning them
not to settle, but to leave that to them. Not
withstandiug, this, Mace Went round and took
releases of many of the nominal plaintiffs. and
dispositions of others, showing that they had
never authorized any one to bring suits, and
had nothing TO TO with prosecuting them, and
also gathered up circulars and letters from
| Hale & Emery sufficient, he says, TO make Il
| clear ease of harratry.
/ The case occupied week, and was fought
| vigorously on both sides. Judge Cutting
charged the Jury that it they believed THAT
| Hartman, acting as Mace's agent represented
to the parties that they could have the warrants
by paying the expenses for procuring them, at
| ter that expense was asrertaincd, and they
| chose to take the S2l. there WAS no fraud on the
part Of Mace. Jury was out nearly MI dlv ami
| could not agree.