Wilmington journal. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1844-1895, 1872-09-20
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ILNEA NNBAEI Z REnNRIS
Sum total.

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20 sum up the result in North Carolina
We lad tllat The Co.nInissiun has taken
final action on thirty claims in all, am0tiut-
irg in the aeg, ccate 20 So, 1j1.50; that ii
has wholly rejected twnnty-four Of these
Claims, amounting to $24 Jos; that it has
reported favorable on six claims, amount
ing to 80, but has cut them down to
5000 which is al that has been award
ed to North Carolina claimants. liz other
words, O~ly 20 per cent. Of the claims
passed upon have been recommended for
payment5 and these have been cut down
more thlQ so per cent. In short, that only
one dollar has been allowed out Of sixteen
claimed, Or, there are sixteen chances to
one against the claimant.
This is rather discouTaging view of the
picture for claimants but this is not all.
Up TO this date-SepteInber, 1S72-some-
what over: $4,000 claims have been filed.
Now, if tie Commission is able to dispose
oI ,lSv cases in one year. it will take them
just thirty-one years and twelve Gays to
clear their docket and finish up the bust
ness now in hand. 1t is not surprising,
therefore, to learn that the Commission
eES, or some Of them at least, have made
arrangements for Il permanent residence
in WasilipatOit.
The act OF Congress allowed tne Claim
ants testimony to be taken at home, where
the amount claimed did not exceed ten
thousand dollars. We have already seen
that the Commission fixed this limit at
three THOUSAND dollars. This arbitrary
ruling had the effect of causing very many
claimants who had just claims, largely in
excess Of three thousand dollars, and who
were not ..bie to Gear che expense Of tax
ing their witnesses to Washington. to cut
I fi,Hip claim III,
tights for the sake Of hearing. Mark
what followed. After it was Supposed that
tie greater part o. the claims were filed,
and their report had been inaaa, the Com
miSsiOners issue another general order,
dated May 20, 1872, allowing all claims I'M
der ten thousand dollars to be taken con-
venient to the residence of the claimant.
This ingenious device rendered it apparent
that tne Commissioners had much more
than saved the amount O. fneir tZe thou
sand dollar salary to the Government. and
justly entities them to the reputation of
SHARP practitioners in the fullest sense of
that expression.
Continuing to illustrate with North Car
Dina, We find that, in this State, which
has larger area or square miles than
New York, there has been only one special
commissioner allowed west Of a. line run
ming North and South through the centre
of the Statp. There is no railroad piercing
this mountain region, and these people. a
majority Of whom remained loyal, and
where most of the claims accrued, had to
drag themselves and their witnesses an
average OF one hundred end fiftv miles
over execrable roads to get to the special
at Charlotte. The mountain
GERS being all poor and THEW claims small,
the commissioners were able to save
large amount to the Government by plac-
ing the nearest special commissioner be-
yond their reach, and thus to display again
their economy and skill.
1t is also worth while to note the rigor
of the examination to which claimants and
witnesees ate subjected. In the first place,
there are ftty-eisht printed rules to be
observed by the special commissioner in
taking testimony. The Supreme Court of
Lhe United States has laid down for itself
thirty-three rules Of practice. Claimants
themselves and their witnesses are literally