The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1877-11-17


airy. and the House soon after unanimously
passed bill drawn by Secretary FISH for
its distribution among the successful claim
ants; but when the bill reached the Senate,
II instantly came to grief on the receipt of
intelligence from the counsel Of the Mexican
Government that two OF the claims, those OF
BENJAMIN WE'LL and the La Abra Mining
Company, aggregating nearly a million and
n quarter dollars, being nearly third OF
the whole amount, hs been discovered to
bc fraudulent, and that the mistaken awards
under them had been based ON perjury.
In further explanation it was alleged that,
after the award had been made on these two
claims, Sir EDWARD THORNTON had been
asked to give n rehcaring to Them but had
declined ON the technical ground that, hav-
ing already rendered decision upon the
evidence produced before him, the only rem
edy was an agreement OF the two Govern
mcnts To allow n rehearing whore fraud was
alleged. The Mexican Minister, Mr. MARIs-
CAL, accordingly applied, last winter, to
Secretary FISH for rclicfin the form OF n sus-
pension of payments ON these two claims.
until the Mexican case could be stated. But,
of course, Don IGNACIO got very little salts
faction from Don HAMILTON, and was in
formed in fact, that, the award having been
made, the subject could no longer be treated
automatically. And this seems to have been
the real rea son why, as a last resort, and at
the eleventh hour, an appeal was made to
the Senate.
To go into the allegations and evidence
regarding the WE'LL and La Abra claims
would make long story. and would hardly
mid nur i'm mod nj rurpnao which Ia Ia pniut
out for public praise the extreme sensitive
ness of the Senate, last April, in regard to
sanctioning anything which had the faint
OF fraud about IL, or to allowing the plea Of
res ddjuiicdta to stand where there was even
a mere official allegation Of fraud.
The Senate then dropped the distribution
bill at once, SO ending the matter for that
session: and now this year Mr.. FoRNEY has
raised the inquiry already spoken Of. which
resulted in referring to u subcommittee the
question whether the awards on the two
disputed claims could fairly be reopcned
The zeal with which Mr.. EvARrs hurried to
protest against any such question being con-
sidered at ALL is rather amusing. He is
Informed that many Of the claimants are
needy" yet 1t appears that the Mexican
Government does not wish either the old in
stallment, or the one due in January, to be
withheld from distribution, but only to be
divided among the claims not charged with
fraud. As the larger number Of needy claim
ants are Of this sort, they would get third
more each. for immediate necessities. by the
postponing, for future installments, OF the
two heavy claims alleged to be fraudulent
Again, the State Department thinks that the
award Of a foreign claims commission is n
very solemn affair, as it is ; but the pa rallel
case OF the Venezuela awards half dozen
years ago, shows that n suspension OF pay
ments under such commissions Judgment
is practicable
But the great point made by Mr.. EvARrs
TO the committee is that the mere allegation
that an adroit swindle has been committed
cannot be brought into your case after the
award has been made. If the payment has
been agreed to, fraud does not ,ltiate q
necessity OF making it, however lamentable
the facts may be- and to show how clearly
even the Mexican Government sees this
point, he triumphantly says of the Mexican
official pamphlets on the subject:
I'm communication accompanying these pamphlet.
Senior CurLL.R the Mexican Charge Anaires af interim
states that the object OF this appeal OF hi.
not To prevent the payment ol the awards made by the
umpire ia the cNunct Mixed CLAIMS Commission but
only IN the interest rccutude and Justice. render
manifest the fraud committed By the parties interested
A less professional mind might fancy that
this attitude OF the Mexican Government
was taken, first, in order not to give a cause
of offence, which Mexico breads more than
the loss Of a million dollars; aud, secondly,
because 1t is the attitude OF national honor,
disdaining to depart from plighted faith,
though rescrving the right to point out what
1t believes to be "A fraud. "Snce that time
the Mexican Government has simply pre-
sented, III a pamphlet form, the motions
made for a rchearing," says Mr.. EvARTs.
OF course that is all. Mr.. MARIscAL said
last winter that Mexico felt bound by the
award, and would pay, only 1t wished that
the American Government should know the
facts, in cAacting payment. But does this
honorable attitude relieve us from the duty
of even brief preliminary examination of
the probability Of fraud Most certainly,
says Mr.. EvARTs; and he therefore asks
that the bill which failed, through the sensi-
tiyeness Of the Senate, last winter, may now
be passed at once, "in order that this de-
partment may be relieved from the impor-
tunities Of the claimants" II this powerful
motive be not enough to cause the passage
Of the bill without further delay, We cannot
suggest one.