The Portland daily press., 1878-08-16
FRIDAY MORNING, AUGUST le.

tuo 0oForumSut curing Tue war auu MS owner
ship of the property he should be paid the net
proceeds Of the sale. The time for filing such
petitions ex PRED August 20, 1868, and has new
er been extended As most of the owners of
property seized and sold under the acts were 10
fact dislOyal during the war they did not avail
themselves of the right of petition to the Court
of Claims But after the time had expired for
presenting their claims the Supreme Court de-
cided that the Presidents general amnesty
proclamation of December %. 1868, removed
the faint and disability of disloyalty from every
body who had supported the rebellion; and
these belated claimants have ever since been
clamoring to be admitted to their rights under
the amnesty proclamation. This is not all the
relief demanded, however. The Acts of 1863
and 1864 give only the net proceeds of the prop.
erty seized and sold. and where the Govern
ment agents who made the seizures and sales
were dishonest in not turning over property
seized or the proceeds of it, or when they were
wasteful in running up excessive bills OF
charges, the loss falls wholly on the owners of
the properly, even where they were loyal and
ought not to have been stripped of their proper
ty al all The amount realized by the Govern
ment from sales of such property was nearly
1921. 100000, of which more than $10,0o0.0O0
have been paid to owners who have proved
their claims; but the owest estimate of what
remains to be paid to owners under any legisls-
ton at all consistent with their demands Is
$50 900 900, or 100000 600 over and above the
balance legally presumed to be in the Treas
ury, but not there in fact.
3. Claims for the value of cotton seized by
agents of the Government after June 30, 1865,
contrary to law and in violation of their orders.
Seizures under the Captured and Abandoned
Property Acts were not made after June 80,
1865, but the Treasury agents continued to
search for and seize cotton sold to the COnfed-
crate Government, and which, though paid for
by that Government, had not been removed
from the possession of the vendors. These
claims are based upon the legal argument that
the sales were in themselves unlawful, and for
an unlawful and worthless consideration; and
as there had been no delivery the It'll, had not
passed from the individual owners, who are,
therefore, entitled to the value of the cotton SO
taken from them by the Treasury agents.
These claims are estimated to amount to 3d..
100000 They are in reality among the most
shameless which have yet come to light. They
mail contractors lately presented in the House
of Representatives by Mr.. Reagan, Of Texas,
which it was shown by reference to the Confed-
crate archives had once been paid in
General out of funds belonging to
the Government of the United States.
The seizures of cotton were made in accord
ance with records found on the books of the
Confederate Treasury, which showed that the
cotton had been bought and paid for, and that
the orders OF the Confederate Government.
PROPERTY, RENT. SLAVES.
4. Claims for stores or for supplies, includ-
ing steamboats, and other vessels taken for the
military or naval purposes of the United
States. These claims are the most numerous
IS well as the most indefinite and uncertain in
amount. Partial relief has been afforded to
the holders of these claims; but what has been
done bears only small ratio to what is
wanted. Persons who were loyal and have
been able to submit proof of that fact have had
through the Southern Claims Commission an
ample avenue for the preferment and estab-
lishment of their claims against the Govern
ment; and it is probable that the majority of
this class Of claims have already been paid.
Those who were disloyal In fact. but who
have been renovated by the general amnesty,
have not yet been allowed to recover any thing,
and they are among the most persistent and
loudest of the classes which are now elamoring
for standiog before Congress or the courts.
Any estimate of these claims is necessarily
loose, but as the claimants means of proof
have strengthened and the Governments
means have weakened by lapse of time, any
legislation of the kind desired by claimants will
take from the Treasury $20O,000,000 at the
least.
g. Claims for rent of buildings, wharves and
lands occupied by the United States 10 the in.
surrectionary districts during the war. The
Federal authorities being hampered by no
contracts and having no rent to pay were quite
tree In appropriating private buildings and
lands to the public USE No relief of any sort
has been granted to the claimants of this class.
They were, with rare exceptions, disloyal to
the government, and no precedent exists for
the payment of such claims. The claims are,
however, numerous and are vigorously pushed
by their agents. 1t would probably take $780,
100000 to pay them even under rigid scaling
of prices.
6. Claims for property destroyed or dam
aged in deliberate and orderly manner by
competent authority, as military necessity on
the part of the United States in furtherance
of the operations of the Federal forces or in
obstruction of the operations of the enemy.
There are no means of getting very closely at
the amount of such claims, but they would
hardly go below 100000
Z. Claims for slaves enlisted into the Fed
eral army from the loyal border States, and
only partly settled when proceedings were sus-
pended by act of March 80, 1867. These claims
from strictly legal point of view are among
the most meritorious which have yet been pro-
duced. They are numerous, but of small
amount, and probably do not amount to more
than $6.000,000
AN ENORMOUS AGGREGATE.
The foregoing enumeration takes no account
OF claims for the value of slaves emancipated
as war measure or under the constitutional
amendment; claims for loss or damage caused
by the depredations of the troops, or the cas-
ualties of the march or battle. and claims for
the spoliation or damage inflicted by the Con-
federate authorities or forces upon loyal citi-
zens of the South. Leaving all such out of the
reckoning, it appears that the demands upon
the Treasury on account of what are called
Southern claims" amount to not less than
$3.50, ZOO. 900, and may amount to much more
Take, for instance, the claims for property
used for military purposes as distinct from the
cotton, rent and damage claims. Within two
years, under law and procedure calling for a
positive averment of constant loyalty 1000
claims, footing up $50. 100000, were filed be-
fore the Southern Claims Commission It is
estimated that if the averment and strict
proof of loyalty were not exacted the claims
presented would be at least 120, 900 in number,
footing up $400, 100000 for it is to be remem-
bered that it was the disloyal who were the
most opulent and contributed most largely
to the enforced support of the Federal armies
Now, allowing deduction of one-third in
amount TOR false, exaggerated and mistaken
demands, it follows that there would be over
$3.50 900 600 in this class alone 10 pay, if proof
of actual loyalty was not required, and if the
Government should be held liable to pay "mar-
ket value" for all property taken.