Ellsworth American., 1874-06-18
General News.
The Geneva Award.

the Congressional Record was filed with
dreary columns Of statistics aod prscsdents
tAss may carry convlction 70 the supertss
infellects in Congress. Lac for brici, tcrse
alsd practical presenearion Of the c9aity Of
the case, We think that cur C'ngr - ,la~ss.
Mr. BurleiAh. exceIicsl- The follow I'M. are
burleixh's remarks:
MR.. WILSON, Of Indiana. | nov yicid
seven minutes to the gentleman from Maine,
Mr.. Burleiyh.
MR.. BURLEIGH- Mr. Speaker. II any
gentlemen residing In the interior oi the
country think they have no interest la This
question, that only those who are con-
cerued IN nayig alton on the ocean ARE inter =
ested la IL. | desire To say TO those gentle
men that they and their constituents have
as much interest In this award as three
fourths or uine-tenths of my constituents
have. The gentleman ffom New York Mr..
Tremainel had said that these ship-owners
who present their claims here are all rich.
worth on an average SIS. 900 each. Why
did he not say to the House that the own
ership of many OF these vessels /. cut up
into eights, sixteepths, perhaps thirty-sec-
onds or sixty -fourths. IL the gentleman
will come to my state. will show him how
these ship-owners live, and what many oi
them are doing now. And then let tbs
gentleman go with me to where he Is ac-
customed to go, into the giltled palaces In
which the insurance companies do their
business, on Broadway aud State streets /;
aud into the brown. stone front house, ou
Fifth Avenue and Beacon Hill.
Mr.. Speaker. when the first vessel was cap
tured by rebel cruiscrs-a ship be longing To
individuals In my state-there was a great
interest throughout the country among
ship-owners to know whether the insur-
ance companies would pay that loss or
not. The ship.owners had insured their
property against the dangers OF the sea
and they claimed that the companies were
liable for the loss. The insurance compan-
les on the other hand claimed that such a
loss was extraordinary and that the com
panies were not liable. The court sus-
tained the insurance companies; aud the
companies did not pay any losses OF that
character until they had collected from the
ship-owners war premiums sufficient in
amount TO cover the losses As tteyoccurred.
Then was the time. Mr.. Speaker, that the
ship-owners of this country were between
the upper and neither milestone, as IL were.
To lose their ships was ruin TO pay the cx-
traordinary aud, AS il proved to be exorbi-
tant war premiumn, was also ruin. Many
Of them perhaps were compelled to put
their ships under q foreign fiag or see their
property vanish like the dew before the
morning sun. Others. more patriotic, hav-
ing sailed under the old flag all over the
world. could not consent to see their YES
sells 20 under foreign flag; they paid out
their money and had their vessels captured
until their whole property was swept away.
Thus the merchant marine of this country,
that had before the war done the larger
share ot the carrying trade OF the world,
that had been the nursery for our scameii
and the envy of other countries, is now
classed In regard To numbers fourth
among the maritime nations Of the earth.
sir. nv people conceive that the Geneva
award was given TO this country 10 relnuu-
crate the ship-owucrs of this country who
had their vessels swept from the sea and
their property destroyed by the rebel crui
sers lifted out aud sailing. in a manner,
under the protection and in the interest oi
Great Britain.
Now. sir, the question before u is. who
shall have this money. Shall the people
who had ships. and now have neither ships
nor money, be excluded Sir, many ol
these men who are today struggling IL
poverty on account of these losses would
II they had their own again. cluo together
and once more launch their barks upon the
treachcrous element.
at least they should not be lcf, out 10 til,
| cold. They built up our merchant marine
they maintained u nursery Tor our seamei
without any expense TO the Government
and when the hour of conflict came the )
were too patriotic To aoandon the flag. but
paid out their money until IL would have
been better for them II they had allowed
| their ships to sink or be captured.
Sir, We hear good deal here about law
MNsm:i6, J sanleIstand tnst We here ar
case before Us. Let Us 50 make the law
| that IL VIII do justice in this case IL is il
the interest or the nation; IL l. IN the In
terest o! those that favor cheap transpor
| iation IL Is the Interest OF those who iayo
| deep water at the mouth OF the Mi,,is.ipp
| river; II Is In the Interest OF every mein6cI
| upon this iloor and his constituents plead
AS we'll A. IN the interest oi those who hav,
zone business upon the water aud who 90
down 10 the sea IN ships. II the stroug
hand OF the government shall succeed In
giving these people their own again IL vii
oniiu up our merchant Larlne again Ia b,
our pride and the envy OF the world. II
VIII be the means OF main tanning a nursery
OF seamen for our navy without any ex.
Pense 10 the government. II will dot every
sea with our white sail. and build up our
trade ana commerce In every part of the
world. among civilized and unciSilixed nt.
tioLs' and fiy those stars and stripes. wc
already love so well to see wherever We
are, the nag or our common country. now,
thank 6ou no longer counted n the EN-
bleH OF a nation OF slave holders.