New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1877-04-16
LETTERS FROM THE PEOPLE.
MINISTER RUssELDs RECALL.
MINIS I'm NN-s9I9I1I37 ''T1V-H71N7'
,,. VENEZUELA AwARDS-ACuoN OF MR.. SPRING
FRS SUBCOMMITTEE.
-. r6iy0r Of The Tribune.


-,,,. VENEZUELA AwARDS-ACrioN OF MR.. SPRING
FRS SUBCOMMITTEE
,A< Edit0r Of The Tribune.
s,p. In q recent issue you have letter from
a.niocton generating the state Department from the
49, Of pubshng confidential communication from
AZ. rnsseI which was by no means complimentary to
,,h officials OF the Government TO which he was accred
a. The morcst tyro in-diplomaey knows how impor-
-, II Is that Minister shall freely communicate with
w. N partncnt of state Of the country which he repre-
It and that the confidence under which these com
Injections must sometimes be made shall be sacrediy
o,ccd and no one who is at all conyersant
I,.b tho venezuela scandal has ever imagined
49,, MI Fish or any of his suhOrdinates Yodld he
u,v NJ the bad faith and folly which have been i'm
,d 70 them Nor is it fair to lay the blame of this
,,tched msInauagcment on the Foreign Affairs Com
,,,oe ~ the House of Representatives. The Demo
c majority Of that committee culpable so far rs
,rrsted an important International affair to such "a
,,osrnan As Mr. w NJ. Springer That gentleman is the
,,hor Of the report against the awards OF the Mixed
commission from which your correspondent quotes ana
,t report vas proper sense the work Of the com
,,,.e I'm whosOsBane It was issued 1t was written Tor
hin IN SET aside the awards which bill was rejected by
she committee and subsequently, introduced by its au-
,tr on the floor OF tho House entirely on his own re-
oDsiblitv OF the report, Immediately after it was
read by the clerk Gen Banks used the following remark
sb,e language quote from The Congressional Record
OF Aug. II, 1876:
The testimony is not in; the committee has not con
scred a. il has not been agreed upon by the commit
te nor do the conclusions which the eommiitee report
Ia resolution OF suspension Tor inrhei cohSderauohJ
have any relations whatever to the report ltscll
Co oveyybelmipc was the evidence in favor of the
,d rs presented for the claimants by their counsel,
wessrs shelabarcer and Wilson, at subsequent meetings
Of Mr. spriuccr's subcommittee that even that gentle
man attempted TO break the force and palliae the inus-
tice Of his premature dcnuncauons OF CLAIMS OF the
merits OF which he confessed in the presence OF the VIII
ter that he was ignorant utterly ignorant that he
did no, know that the largest of the claims allowed by
,bo ,,,irc that Of Jacob Ider, deceaScdO had been
messed upon the Venezuelan government by President
In kson through special commissioner, and subsequently
Endorsed by the House Committee Of Foreign Affairs,
XXXIud Congress, lst Session in the most emphatic
terms and with entire unanimy crave space for two
sentences from this report.
Your committee cannot hut express their surprise in
view OF the importance of the services rendered 10 Nene
zucla by Ia memorasts at SO critical period IN her
tribunals favor q the memoriasts that the debt should
long remain unpaid Taking INTO considcIaIol al me
circumstances connected with TINS cidil your colll
lee are Of opinion That IL is III which the Executive
Government would hc justified IN intcrpUSng It's author
ity obtain Tor the claimants their lawful dues.
Thirty years previously lin 1S2D Simon Bolivar the
Iberaor Of Venezuela the Spanish yoke. wrote TO
Jacob dsr the original claimant letter which closes
as follows:
promse Won that it shah be the first of the Gov
LIIs I
sold contracts in the shortest time possible ana from now
uut tbcr dsoOs9hlc funds, Offer and give you the
preference The payment Of contracts, which III
truth ale tie most legal and lus ana most moderate
that this Eep public Las contracted
fen years subsequently dh 1892, the debt being still
unpaid the Superior Court OF Caracas confirmed the de-
cree " afJiIat,gs in favor of ths claimant, and this
continuation followed on appeal by " iual Judgment
o. the sr.rnc Court OF Venezuela Oycnung the objec-
tons Of tie Treasury Department and confirming the
decree Of Tie superior Court This is one OF the SO
called umpire claims which DR. Springer in his ignorance.
ana m his oagcrucss TO maze point against the Annin-
istratou characterized without foundation i'll fact or
law! Il ia difficult characterize the wrong which has
been done by a cOnce.ted and partisan TO the
descendants of an American cit who, IN the third
generation, aye suffering in poverty from the imbaclity
q their own Government ana injustice and tricEery
OF the pseudo republic wch their ancestor helped 10
establish on another occasion may show that Judge
Eu-sCI- dispatch was tue, and may use cx-Mnistcr
Pie, Who showed 60 Lis friend General blanco, as a
witness. On. Sir Your 0'eaivEt servant,
Ncr-l OYI; March -, 1877. CRANMOND KENNEDY.