Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1872-11-22
French SpOIiatatien Claims.

Everybody has heard of the French spoa-
tou claims, but very few know how they ori
ginated. A pamphlet issued by Mr.. Causen,
of Washington, furnishes the desired intorma-
ton. To understand how the claims arose. it
is necessary to premise that, by our tresty Of
alliance with France in ITS, we agreed, 10
consideration of the aid extended by France to
the colonies then engaged in the war for indie
pcndence, to guarantee forever to France the
possession Of her colonies in America When,
however, the French revolution broke out, and,
to stem the career of conquest eutercd upon
by France, an armed coalition of the European
sovereignS was formed against her, our Gov
ernment was placed in a serious dilemma. 1t
had either to make common cause with France,
in defence of her American possessions, or re-
pudiate the treaty stipulation by which we en-
gagged to protect them from invasion OF cou-
the combined Powers Of Europe, weak as we
were from the struggle through which we had
bu, recently passed, and burthened with the
debt We had incurred 10 maintaining it, would
have jeopardised our newly acquired lnde
pendeuce, and wrought Tor US, 10 any
event, such grevous injury, that we should
have found it difficult to recover from.
AS means Of relief, repeated appeals We're
made to Fraucc, and money offered to release
us from this perpetual and most onerous treaty
obligation. France insisted on keeping Us
bound by the conditions of the compact These
we we're in no condition to fulfill, and, finally,
Washington cut the Gordian knot by issuing
proclamation Of neutrality. The sale Of French
prizes in our ports and the departure of prlva'
teers from them, carrying French commissions,
were subsequently prohibited. lnconsequence
of this reputation of the letter and splritot our
treaty with France, the latter retallated, by
arming and sending out, from San Domingo
alone, eighty-seven cruisers to prey upon the
commerce Of the United States The aggre-
gate result Of these predatory incursions was
the capture, between the years 1892 and 1901,
of more than fifteen hundred American vessels,
entaing loss upon our citizens or from eight
to thirteen millions of dollars. Not one Of
these captures was legally made, as our COM
mercial treaty with France establishes, and az
the French Government ultimately acknOwi-
edged. After many and tedious negotiations
on the subject, and when We were on the very,
verge of war, with France, 10 consequence eft
these outrages treaty was agreed upon
whereby our Government consented to relln-
uuish these claims against France and as an eqal-
valent France released the United States from
the perpetual OUliSdtiou W pAotoS' ono 0H'soN
the French dependencies in America against
any and all belIigerents. -.
By thus setting of the claims Of American
citizens against the treaty obligations due by
the United States to France, our Government
became bound, it is commended, to indemnify
the claimants This it has failed to do; al
though between the years 1927 and 1916
twenty-five reports of committees, all in favor
of the claimants, were made in the two houses
ofCopgress. each by bill, and each bill tor {,
compromise sum Of FIVE millions Of dollars.
The bill passed both houses on two different
occasions, and was vetoed, in the first instance
by Presid dent Polk, on the ground of sinexpe.
dlepcy" and in the second, by President
Pierce, who subsequently, acknowledged he had
made mistake" e.pass over the more re-
cent efforts to get both houses to act upon the
bill, stating merely as matter Of interest, that
although those efforts were batf.ed, the justice
of the claims was acknowledged, and that an
agreement was reached at the last session OF
Congress whereby it was understood that the tn
bill Should be taken up for consideration 10 70, the
House of Representatives Oh the second Wed-
nesday of December next. and 10 the Senate on
the same day.-Bdhtnaore Gazette .a