Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1876-04-14

Tho Government has come TO curious
dilemma in the settlement of the Alabama
claims question. All the claims sanction
cd by the previous legislation of Congress
have been examined into, determined and
ordered TO be paid up, and yet about ten
millions Of dollars remain undisturbed.
What shall be done with that money! The
House Committee of tho judiciary, who
have had charge of tho matter, differ TO tho
extent Of sending in three reports. The
majority of the Committee recommend that
the sum be distributed among three class
es, viz. the owners of vessels destroyed
by other cruisers than the Alabama, Flori-
da and Shenandoah; those who paid pre-
NUNS for war risks for insurance upon
vessels or cargoes after the sailing OF any
such cruiser and those Insurers who paid
for property destroyed by such cruisers,
excepting those insurers whose claims
have already been provided for.
Then comes a minority report made by
four members of tho committee, who dis
approve all tho above recommendations,
and propose instead to pay to insurers of
vessels or cargoes destroyed by the cruls-
ers for which alone the tribunal made any
award-the Alabama, the Florida and the
Shenandoah-the whole amount OF their
losses thereby. The act of Congress of
1874, under which the distribution has thus
far been made, provided that no such
claim of insurers should be allowed unless
they could show that the sum of their loss
os on war risks exceeded their premiums.
This qualification ii is now proposed TO re-
peal. A third report, however, is made by
Mr.. Lawrence of the com mittee, who not
only disposes summarily of the claims of
these insurers, but of all special claims,
and declares that the unexpended balance
should go where the great injury, over and
above that already recompensed, caused
by the English-built cruisers fell, namely,
upon the people of this country. The mon
ey, in his opinion, therefore, should go into
the United States Treasury.
If this committee at all represents Con-
gross, IL is evident that it will be good
while before any decision of this question
is reached, and it is extremely uncertain
what it will be when ii does come. 1t
would seem, however, that a few general
principles are too obvious 10 be lost sight
of. We made our claim before the Geneva
Court of Arbitration in behalf of individual
sufferers from the depredations of certain
English-built Confederate cruisers. The
claim for consequential damages was aban-
doned or not really made-at any rate, it
was not allowed; consequently, if indi-
vidual sufferers cannot be found numer-
Gus enough TO take up the money, the bal
auce has no clear claimant. In ono sense
every American citizen suffered from the
rebel cruisers, but if the Court of Arbilra-
ton had been willing TO recompense them
out of the Alabama claims money, ii would
have been impossible TO determine the pro-
portion of their damage caused by the three
En9liSh-bmn cruisers-for, Of course, the
English Government is not TO be regarded
as responsib IDLE for the other Confederate pi-
rates. These considerations cut of Mr..
Lawrence's recommendations and some of
those made in the majority report. The
question of insurers claims is much moro
difficult, and il is doubtful if the act of 1874
settled it rightly. 1t may have been true
that the insurers as a rule lost nothing, in
consequence of raising their war premi-
ums, yet it is q well settled principle Of
law that an insurer who has paid the own
er as for total loss is entitled TO stand in
the place of the owner if anything is iecov-
cradle from the property; that is, the in
surer in such case would have the same
right 10 be repaid out of this Alabama
claims money which the owner Of vessel
destroyed would have had IL he had not
been saved from loss by being insured.
The difficulty lies in the application of the
principle, allowing the act of 1874 TO be re-
pealed. When this point is disposed of
there will still be all unexpended balance
for future consideration, which we need
not discuss now.-Boston Journal.