New Orleans Republican. [volume] (New Orleans, La) 1867-1878, 1876-01-13

Colonel Sellers himself could not show
more zeal for "the old dsg-and an appro
pristion"-than the Conftderstes Who are
now engaged ct Washington in holding
oaucuses and making the full pardon OF
JEFF Davis Q condition of their support OF
Enc centennial celebration of the Union.
A review of the brief session of Congress
before the holiday adjournment sho~s that
in that short time f0rty-six bills for the pay
ment of money to Confederate claimants
were introduced. They were of all sorts
and sizes. from the Ons spprOpristing the
triHe Of $66, 600, 900 With which to refund
the tax ON rae cotton, to one auch0r'zlOg
thu Secretary Of the Treasury to present
William Lemon, of Loud0n county, Virginia,
the muni6sent sum Of $iS; We tear Lemon
will be sour with disappointment before be
Il paid for his chicken coop.
Twenty seven of the bills in this category
relate to individual ciaims, exclusive OF
those for the refunding OF the cotton.tsx.
Two Of these are almost identical They
we're proposed in the Senate and House BY
Nerrimon and DAvie, of North Carolina,
respectively. They do away With the re-
auirement Of loyalty - condition Prece-
dent Of the payment OF southern CLAIMS
We now have Southern Claims Commits
sion. which has had to adiudioate upon the
rights Of $4,000 Southern loyslists. It has
heen great expense to the country in sala-
ries, witness fees, etc., and BY far the
ereetar number Of the claims have been
nrovn ont Of court. 1t is estimated that
the Nerrimon- David bills would break
down tho barriers that nov protect the
Treasury from 100000 ex-traitore, who re-
pay their country for it's generosity in freely
forsy on ifs depleted Treasury. drain
ed Of hundreds Of millions by the
results Of their crime. They want hun
dreds of millions more for their in
dividual cases, and their sttOrneys hasten to
play tbis grab game for them. The expense
Of merely adjudicating upon these wholly
bseeless clsims would. BE- msny millions Ut
dollars. North Carolina seems to be mainly
ton, for Ex-Governor ance, Of that State, lie
putting in his little bills too. One OF them
repeals the statute prohibiting the payment
of claims to disloyal persOne, land all other
laws of similar character and purPOrt."
This, If it became q law, would batter
breach in the treasury through which all
the wagons used by the Confederate armies
could Be driven to be loaded with specie
and taken South again. There is remark
able phrase il tho bill. It refers to the
war between the States, generally called
the rebellion" This is tribute to A. II.
stephens teachings which should make the
patriaEch's heart rejoice.
We publieh else here letter giving full
details of the proposed laws. IL has never
before been known how much damage was
dooe the South Each Union soldier SCENE,
according to these ciaims, to have wantOnly
destroyed three houses, Q forty acre tarm,
and zoos domestic animals per day. besides
stealing library and burning college
every Sunday. This 10 the more remark
nble inssmuch % the versci0us almanac
published bv the Baltimore Swx shows that
The Confederstes won every battle during
the war, and finally surrendered only be-
Cause they could lind nobody to fight. 1t
would surely be moro fitting for the North
to present few million clAlms tor. damages
inflicted by the victors in the late war to
the Democratic Legislatures OF the South.
Requiring us, after being whipped IN ali tire
battles, to pay the expenses, is like the ex-
action Of the French indemnity. 1t is piling
PellOn on Ossa.
We have no wish to SOW the seeds of sec
t,onal strife. We are not doing 80. The
men responsible for the growing eDbitter-
ment Of public feeling are the Confederate
brigadiers vino kindly offer to allow the
Union t. celebrate its centennial, provided
it first pardCns JEFF Davis; the Confederate
soldiers who crowded, the other day, about
the Clerks deck in the House and shouted,
- the offices held by crippled Union vet
ersns we're shared among them: THE
gray q on deck again." aud the horde OF
Confederate raiders who have rushed to
Washington with claim on claim, des-
perately resolved to rob the country which
their treason has already once brought to
the brink OF financial ruin. The people
will not stand tbis sort Of thing. All the
prophecies of the flood Of Southern claims
that would follow Democratic supremacy IN
the House have been more than fulfilled.
And yet we have seen but titne of the
bills of this sort that would not only be
presented, but passed, if the Presidency
and the Senate should fall into Democratic
IrihaIap