The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1879-04-16

crats, to investigate into and report upC
J the charges.
After debate tho resolution was laid oy,
for the present.
The House then went into Committt
OF the Whole on the legislative bill, Il
pending question being on Mr.. Bragg
motion to insert u clause repeating the Il
creating q Southern Claims Commission
and the substitute therefor (offered
Mr.. Young, OF Tennessee,) aholishing h
Commission but transferring oil claim
now pending before II TO the Court
Claims. T.
Mr.. Bragg spoke in favor OF the propos
ton. The law organizing the court ha
been passed In what the Republican sid
J OF the House would call an "anti.Constitr
honal and revolutionary method" hayin
been grated on the appropriation bill. II
therefore had expected that side OF III
House to aid him in his proposition, bu
he found that with 1t, Il was all talk and NJ
cider" The first objection he had was Il
the court itself-notto It's members or Off
clals. 1twas not confined to legal evidence
but was allowed TO act on unsworn state
ments Of detectives, The court, by actin
on the unsworn statements Of such men
had proved that the terms used 10 desig
nate an iniormer might properly be ap
piled to the court itself.
Mr.. Keller replied to Mr.. Bragg, ant
claimed that the court should not be inter
fered with until 1t died by Limitation.
Several other gentlemen on both sides
spoke, when Garfield, in answer to some
arguments, remarked that the Southern
Claims Commission was not a court but
merely commission 10 take testimony and
report 1t to Congress. He said that 90 per
cent OF all the claims presented before the
Southern Claims Commission would ,it sent
to court claims, go through without need.
ing any proof oil loyalty on the part OF the
claimant, because It had been decided that
the executive pardon removed the distinc.
ton OF the loyalty. The proposition
therefore was abolishing substantially the
distinction that had hitherto been made
in that atrespect and that the claims arising
out OF war should not be paid except per.
sons who has been loyal to the government
during war. That objection was to his
mind utterly fatal to the proposition offer.
ed by the gentleman from Tennessee
(Eoung). II the amendment was TO ore.
vail, he wanted the members TO vote on 1t
with theireyes open and to know that all the
outstanding claims over 5000 were to be
sent to court in which under its rulings
the distinction between loyalty and dis
loyalty could not be retained.
Mr.. Bragg asked Mr.. Garfield whether
the laws OF war and international law did
not hold that the conquerinp power was
not responsible for any loss inflicted on
private citizens residing in the hostile ter.
ritory.
Mr.. Garfield admitted that was so, but
stated that the law would not avail in this
matter, because II Congress conferred on
the Court OF Claims Jurisdiction over these
claims, 1t would be conferred according TO
the established rules OF that court,
Mr.. Bragg-Will not these claims 90 In
that court to be determined according to
law. and Is not the law such that no dis.
loyal claimant can recover in that court,
and was not that the reason for the make.
shift, by which the Republican party Gre
ated this Southern Claims Commission.
Mr.. Garfield-Dy repeated decisions OF
the Court Of Claims and of the Supreme
Court the pardon OF claimant Is con-
strued to wipe out the distinction OF dis
loyalty.
Mr.. Bragg-MY purpose in offering this
amendment is to prevent this govern.
ment from paying any debt which It Is
not legally liable for. That is my first
purpose. My second purpose is 10 pre-
vent gentlemen on the other side from
campaign documents in which
they call us "Confederates" and accuse us
Of an attempt to rob the government, and
in which they denounce me as coadiutor
"tatfy." Laughter.1 Iwant
those gentlemen 10 face the music. They
have hid themselves behind the shadow
OF loyalty long enough. Was Tennessee
loyal during the war? fso, why in Gods
name did she go outof the Union and cost
us more people and treasure to hold her
than any other State, except Virginia, cost
US? The people with whom you live are
the people by whom you are TO be Judged.
1.-THE people OF North Carolina were loyal.
how did the gentleman (Russell) know
that while he himself was serving in the
Confederate army, while he was q mem.
ber OF the Confederate legislature, then
becoming a Republican Judge without
ever having graduated from law office,
(Laughter.) lam not astonished that me
rules adopted by the Southern Claims
Commission should meet with favor with
that gentleman. (Laughter.) l agree with
the gentleman from Ohio (Garheld) that
thesubstitute offered blythe gontlemanfrom
Tennessee Young ought not to be adopt.
ed. Every one OF these claimants was an
enemy. They had no legal claim against the
and when we commenced
opening the door OF the treasury TO them
we did 1t as matter OF gratuity, and yet
you ask all these men (meaning the South.
ern members Of the House), who lost their
all In the cause, to vote to tax themselves
to pay men who were disloyal to them, as
well as disloyal to us; TO men who were
"Good Lord and Good Devil" depending
on which flag Hoated in front Of the
place where they lived during tho war,
| Laughter. You ask them To do that; vou
ask that the burdens Of this already over.
people shall be increased in
violation OF international law.
Mr.. Garfield The general doctrine Of
belligerents is OF course accepted by every.
body to cover as enemies technicalIv ali
the inhabitants Of belligerent territory.
That general doctrine is recognized by ali
lawyers everywhere, but nobody has ever
denied, except the gentleman from WIS.
consin, that during our late war and since
the Supreme Court has determined thatin
cases before It the question Of loyalty can.
not be raised where the party has been
granted pardon. It was stated in tho
last Congress that ninety.nine nor cent oi
all the people OF tho OeOeded states
were what NO would call disloyal,
snd that every single man in those
States that amounted to anything, be-,
longed to that category. desire 10
traverse that proposition by some facts,
Do the gentlemen know that lleavins out
all hordeF statesl there were atty regi,
ments and seven companies Of whites In
our army fighting for The Union from the
States that went into rehellionP Do thew
know that from the single State OF Ken.
lucky more Union soldiers fought under
our flag than Napoleon took into the bat.
kln nj WatnR1AA F0nHa Nl,o.