Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1875-12-16
TAXATION OF cHr1RcH PROPERTY.


any other object of any nature or kind what
ever.
TAXATION OF CHURCH PROPERTY.
The message next urges the taxation O.
church property, which is now of the value O.
about 81 100000, and receives the same
benefits and protection from the government
as all other classes Of property.
FOREIGN RELATIONS.
Our foreign relations are represented tt
continue on a friendly and satisfactory foot
ing. The President devotes considerable
space to discussion of the Cuban question
and arrives at the conclusion that recogni
ton by this government Of the independence
of Cuba is both impracticable and indefensi
BILE; but friendly mediation, with the view tc
end hostilities between Spain and Cuba, is re-
commended.
The free zone, so.called, several years since
established by the Mexican government in GER
tain of the States of that Republic adjacent tc
our frontier, remains in full operation. 1t has
always been materially injurious to honest
traffic, for it operates as an incentive to tra
ders in Mexico to supply, without customs
charges, the wants of inhabitants on this side
of the line and prevents the same wants from
being supplied by merchants of the United
States; and thereby, to considerable extent
defrauding our revenue and checking honest
commercial enterprise. Depredations by
armed bands from Mexico, on the people Of
Texas near the frontier, continue. Though
the main object of these incursions is robbing,
they frequently result in the murder of un-
armed and peaceably disposed persons, and in
some instances even the United States post Of
fees and mail communications have been at
tackled. Renewed remonstrances upon this
subject have been addressed to the Mexican
government, but without much apparent ef'
feet. The military force of this Government,
disposable for service in that quarter, is quite
inadequate to efectually guard the line even
at those points where the incursions are usual
ly made. An experiment of an armed vessel
op the Rio Grande, for that purpose, is on trial,
and it is hoped that, if not thwarted by the
shallowness of the river and other natural OBJ
stacles, it may materially contribute to the
protection of the herdsmen Of Texas. The
proceedings of the Joint Commission under
the convention between the United States and
Mexico, of the 4th July, 1868. on the subject
of claims, will soon be brought to close. The
result of those proceedings will then be COM
municated to Congress. am happy to an
nounce that the Government of Venezuela has,
upon further consideration, practically aban-
doned its objection to pay the United States
that share of its revenue which some years
since it allotted toward the extinguishment of
the claims of foreigners generally. In thus
reconsidering its determination, that Govern
ment has shown just sense Of self:respect
which cannot fail to reflect credit upon it in
the eyes of all disinterested persons elsewhere.
1t is to be regretted, however, that its pay
ments on account of claims of citizens of the
United States are still so meagre in amount,
and that the stipulations of the treaty in re-
gard to the sums to be paid and the periods
when those payments were to take place,
should have been so signally disregarded.
ALARAMA CLAIMS.
On the subject of the claims against the
known as the Alabama claims,
the President makes the following recommen-
dations:
Many of these claims are in behalf Of mar
liners, or depend on the evidence of mariners
whose absence has delayed the taking or the
return of the necessary evidence. 1t is rep
resented to me that it will be impractcable
for the Court to finally dispose of all the cases
before it within tho present limit of its dura-
tion. Justice to the parties claimant, who
have been at large expense in preparing their
claims and obtaining the evidence in their
support, suggests short extension, to enable
the Court to dispose of all the claims which
have been presented. l recommend the leg
slation which may be deemed proper to ena-
BILE the Court to complete the work before it.
l recommend that some suitable provision be
made by the creation of special Court, or by
comforting the necessary jurisdiction upon
some appropriate tribunal for the considera-
tion and determination Of the claims of aliens
against the Government of the United States,
which have arisen within some reasonable
Limitation of time, or which may hereafter
arise, excluding all claims barred by treaty
provisions or otherwise. 1t has been found
impossible to give proper consideration to
these claims by the Executive Departments
of the Government Such tribunal would
afford an opportunity to aliens, other than
British subjects, to present their claims on &C.
count of acts committed against these persons
or property during the rebellion, as also to
those subjects of Great Britain, whose claims,
having arisen subsequent to the 9th day of
April, 1865, could not be presented to the late
commission organized pursuant to the provls-
ions of the treaty of Washington.
TELEGRAPHrc CABLES.
After enumerating the many advantages to
the civilized world of ocean telegraphy, and
deprecating the extortionate charges of sever
al of the lines in operation, the President
makes the following recommendations for the
prevention of monopoly or a combination be-
tween lines:
First. No line should be allowed to land on
the shores of the United States, under the con.
cession from another power, which does not
admit the right Of any other line or lines
formed in the United States to land and free
ly connect with and operate through its land
lines.
Second. No line should be allowed to land
on the shores of the United States which is
not, by treaty stipulation with the Government
from whose shores it proceeds, or by prohibi-
tion in its charter or otherwise to the satisfac-
ton of this Government prohibited from con-
solidating or amalgamatipg with any other
cable telegraph line, or combining Herewith
for the purpose of regulating and maintaining
the cost of telegraphing.
Third. All lines should be bound to give
precedence in the transmission of the official
messages of the governments of the two coun-
tries between which it may be laid.
Fourth. A power should be reserved to the
two governments, either conformity or to each,
as regards the messages dispatched from its
shores, to fix limit to its charges to be de-
manded for transmission of messages.