The New Orleans bulletin. [volume] (New Orleans [La.]) 1874-1876, 1875-12-26

The Southern Claims Commissioners will
tomorrow submit their fifth annual report to
Congress- 1t will be accompanied by the pc
titions, proofs and decisions in between ft-
teen hundred and sixteen hundred cases, OF
which a very few are from Florida and
Texas, a large number each from Virginia
and Tennessee, and the rest distributed IN
varying numbers among the other late insur-
rectionary S.ates-Aabama, Arkansas, Geor-
gia. Louisiana, Mississippi and the two
Carolnas.
OF the whole number Of cases submitted
about one half are entirely disallowed, most
of them through failure OF the claimants to
prove LOYALTY throughout the war. Such is
the rigor of the law in this respect that no
claimant can succeed who could not take the
iron-clad oath, and many who could and
would take it are excluded under the law be-
cause they fail to show sufficient duress to
excuse such disloyal acts as voting Tor seces-
sion, reporting for military duty under the
Confederate conscript acts, furnishing and
selling supplies and rendering personal
services to the Confederacy.
The amount allowed on the $50 or more
approved claims is little over $500, 900, which
is considerably less than half the amount
claimed on them. The reduction is due to
charges for damages and destruction caused
by the presence and movements OF armies,
and the unauthorized pilage of the troops.
and also in part, to the difference in values OF
property to the owners and to the govern
ment The law governing the commission Is
very strict in keeping its jurisdiction down TO
cases of the appropriation OF property to the
actual and necessary wants OF the army, ana
throwing out all other claims, even for rent OF
premlse s regularly TAKEN ana occupleu lor
military purposes.
The commission was established in 1871
by clause added to the army appropriation
bill of that year, through the united and per-
sistent efforts of the Southern delegations IN
/ both houses of Congress. What thsy con-
| tended for was the extension to all the recon-
structed States of the act passed in 1864 to
pay for quartermaster and commissary stores,
taken in the loyal States, and which act had
been extended to Tennessee on the hasty
reconstruction Of that State in 1866 The
Northern members, however, were afraid
of that act, the rules of evidence adopted
under it by the examining and account
ing officers offering good opportunl-
ties for fraud, and they forced the
Southern delegations to compromise on an
act to establish sort of Congressional COM
mission to examine and report on claims, but
not to pay them. Two years were given for
the filing of claims, and $4,000 claims were
presented in that time, with perhaps some
5000 more left by the expiration of the time.
The law, as amended gave the commission six
wears in which to dispose of these %, 900 cases,
and nearly five years of the time has passed,
in which tlme including the report now to be
made, thay have disposed of something over
8, 900, or considerably less than half
The whole subject OF government claims
threatens to become troublesome question
in the near future There is not now and
never has been since the establishment Of the
Union any plain, adequate and complete rem
edy for citizen or other individual having