New Orleans Republican., 1873-06-04
The AtOcha Claim,
NEW ORLEANS. June 4 1873.

| EDITOR REPCBLICAN:
| In this mornings issue of your paper. IN
| der the head Of Local Political Topics,
History of tho Atocha Claim, regret tc
| say with unpardonable bad taste p0litlca
| significance is given to purely private
| matter, and as an agsrayatIOn nearly al
| the statements in tbs article are incorrect
| AS matter of Justice, and in answer l re
quest for this communication place in youI
columns. The only approach to a correc:
statement is that which refers TO the interes:
kindly taken by Governor Kellogg when in
the Senate in procuring g the passage of law
enabling the claimants to usa the same ties.
timony which had been taken before the
commission under the treaty OF Guadalupe
HidaIgO, in order that the evidence OF de-
ceased witnesses might be availed of The
act referring the claim to the Court of
Claims was approved by the President and
became law on the fourteenth of Febru-
ary, 1865, at time when. | venture to as
sert, Governor Kellogg had no apprehen-
sion that he would ever be member Of the
United States Senate representing Louis-
ana. Senator Sumner never made any report
on the claim. The last report made on the
merits of the claim was By Hon. Lafayette
Foster. Senator from Connecticut, as a
member OF the Committee on Foreign Re-
latIons of the Senate, May 10, 1864, in
which report is found the following lar
guage: Said claim has been pending be-
fore this body for some ten Years past. and
has always been regarded with favor by
the committees which have acted on it.
Your committee considers the claim to have
substantial merits, and it adopts as its
own, with slight alterations, the report Of
former committee of this body
The report alluded to was the one made
by the Hon j. Mason, Senator from Vir-
.I,a Of l,o Eo
eign Relations. on December 4, 1857 SO
much for the poor show and virtually
killing of the claim. Nearly all the evil
dence in support of the claim was ON file in
the Office OF the Secretary of State. and was
obtained from that office and fled in the
Court of Claims The evidence in the pos
session Of the Senate Committee on Foreign
Relations was cumulative. The claim was
referred to the Court of Claims only once
February IA. 1860.
Governor Kellogg is justly entitled to.
and has always been accorded the grateful
thanks of nv mother, in whose favor as ad-
ministratrx of my fathers estate the judg-
ment was lately rendered. | also am
thankful to Governor Kellogg for his as
sistance in procuring the passage of the
bill in the Senate permitting the use of the
testimony OS deceased witnesses. | deem
it but Just, however, to say, and am salts
fed Governor Kellogg will not consider
that | am belittling his kindness when 1
say that there are others in the Senate
and in the House of Representatives
who are equally entitled to thanks
for their efforts and assistance in
the same matter, among the latter
being the Hon. L. A. Sheldon. mem
ber of Congress from this State and the
Ho1. Mr.. Loughbridge. member Of Congress
from Iowa; the final passage Of the bill in
the House having taken place on motion of
the latter gentleman, who was untiring in
his endeavors to bring the bill before the
house, and ultimately with the determined
and persevering assistance OF General Shell
don, procured its passage.
To endeavor to make political capital 0lt
of private matter, which does not in any
way affect public affairs, is, in my humble
opinion, entirely foreign to the dignifed
conduct of a newspaper The article COM
planned of does in ustIce to Governor kel-
logg, because to those who are familiar
with the facts it gives the appearance of>a
ialsifying of the truth for the purpose of
making a point in his favor.
l regret the necessity forced upon me by
your article of addressing you this commu
nication and asking its publication, but in
justice to all parties interested it is requisite
that should not by my silence countenance
the mis-statements. and | explicitly deny
the right to any one to draw my mothers 8
name into such an absurd connection.
Respectfully,
A. A. ATOCHA.