The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1879-02-06
Southern Claims, Again.


s..--..-,..-------r-- -
Southern Claims, Again.
The whole question ofwhat are known
as Southern Claims was brought up in
the House of Representative last week.
Three children of George German, Of
Mississippi, q loyal citizen, who died in
1862, made q claim for stock and farm
produce alleged to have been taken and
used BY the United States Army during
Che war, of the estimated value OF So, $40.
The resson assigned for not having pre-
scented the claim before is, that George
German placed his claim In the hands of
attorneys at Memphis, Tenn, for prose-
cution soon after the close of the war /;
Shat there was then no jurisdiction for
such claims arising in Mississippi; that
such jurisdiction was not afforded until
the creation Of the Southern Claims Com
mission in 1871 :; that meanwhile Cor
man died, and in the course of the ad-
ministration Of his estste the matter was
not brought 70 the attention Of the petit
TONERS until 1874, 9 year or more after
: the time limited for the filing of claims
had expired. The Committee on War
Claims reported that 3 prina Jacie case
had bean proved, and reported bill
referring the claim to the Court of Claims
for adjudication The third reading of
the bill was opposed by MIR. Clarkson
3 Potter, of New York, and We are in
formed that mis- remarks provoked ap-
! plause alIround. His difficulty with the
bill mas not that it provided for o judi
cial aseertainmept of facts, but that it
ssproyided for payment to the claimants
ifthe facts be established, while there is
not by law any liability for them." Mr..
Potter said
Once for al, let it be remembered
that where property within the enemy's
lines was taken or destroyed by our troops
! ia carrying on the war, the Government
ofthe United States is moi; liable for such
property by the laws of nations and Of
war unless it choose to assume such liza
.sbiIity. That it did see fit to do, as re-
CARDS the property taken from loyal citi-
zens, for a limited time. But its liability
! for such. claims ended with the limita-
tiop which Congress provided in the bill
establishing the Southern Claims Com.
mission ?
MI. Potter insisted that the right to
make such claims never existed except
i by positive Law, which positive Law de-
clared that it must be asserted within 8
certain nnmber of years, which number
: years has expired, so that the right
ehas. gone. He said:
NE are going to give one loyal
claimant the right to come IN after the
Limitation originally provided has ex-
pired, we ought to give it to every such
citizen, t!nd we ought not to begin by re-
fsrring 70. the Court of ClSims a single
ycne of these war claims and directing
that Court to adjndicate and allow it in
preference to all the rest, or without. un-
derstanding that this bill: is the first step
in that road and being prepared to travel
S it through. At any rate the House
ought to understand that this is one of q.
mass of claims for losses sustained by
men assthe South during the war, which
claims were for time allowable, if ]
may use the term, by the law establish
ing the Southern Claims Commission,
! but which are no longer SO"
Within the time allowed, by law q
great many Southern foyalists applied to
the Southern Claims Commission and
had their claims allowed; but Others
{some because they could not do 90 in
time, some because they did not take the
trouble.to be in time, and some for other
reasons, did not apply. Nov it is said
that the whole Southern country is full
of, claims of this kind which will be
pressed the moment we give the claim
ants a right and opportunity to enforce
!. them-cleiG.s, the amount of which will
20 far to exhaust the treasury of tie
United States in their payment. Now
We, on this side of the House, have as
serted that We did not intend either to
provide payment of these claims nor to
establish q tribunal in which they can be
enforced; and gentlemen viii remember
that in the late debate on William and
Mary College the gentleman from Vir-
ginia Mr.. Goodel said the South cid
not expect nor demand that We should
do so. - ~ IS
aIf we renew it for one loyal claimant
we should renew it for all, This bill
means that NE shall provide for paying
the hundreds of millions of dollars which
che Republican journals say the loyal
Soutbernert mean to take out of the
treasury. I do not believe the people of
the South, as o whole, want these claims
provided for, and 1 am not going to take
the frat step which shall open the door
to such payment when do not believe
we are bound to do it by right, and do
not believe it will now be for the adYan-
tage of either section TO do it by favor.
9sThere is no such thing as legal lin
bility on .hs part Of the Government in
favor of loyal or disloyal people for prop
erty taken by the army in the enemy's
country. Such sufferers have no natural
rights of recovery for such losses. Con-
eress did see fit to create special ia-
5bility for those in the South whom we
style: loyal citizens. The liability thus
created has expired. This bill proposes
To revive it. I think it is dangerous
thing to do, and want it understood
that one Democrat stands here opposed
on that subject to the distinguished Re-
publican from Ohio, (Mr. Keifer.)
= tsThe war has Eeen over for some fif-
I teen years. The loyal men of the South
kaYe had an. opportunity to present their
claims. To now, at this late day, give
them another opportunity, would be to
ooen the door to q vast army of claim
ants many of whom are without merit.
The question Of q mans loyalty, who was
South during the late war is one of the
most uncertain and Elusive or questions.
Proof of some sort, indicating that he
WIS dissatisfied at some time with the re-
bellion or with its leaders, can be collec-
ted in regard to almost any man there.
And the temptation that would be held
ont TO get up pretended claims, and for