National Republican., 1883-02-09
DO Awards Award ?


secretary of state and the Mexican minister
and now before tho senate, provides for
q reopcning and retral of tho We'll and
La Abra claims, in which awards were
mado in 1876 in favor Of tho claim
ants by the international commission or
ganzed under the treaty of 1868. The
ground upon which this effort is based to set
asid1 the final awards is that the claims are
frauds. The commission was created to hear
and determine the claims of Mexicans
against the United States and the claims Of
citizens of the United States against Mexico,
and its decisions were to he final Each gov
ernment had u commissioner, and tho third
one, or the umpire, was Sir Edward Thornton,
then the British minister at Washington.
The United States Commissioner, Wadsworth,
on the hearing of one of these claims, offered
to admit evidence of fraud in behalfof Mexico
after the expiration of the time within which it
was admissible undcr the rules they had agreed
on. This was declined by the Mexican COM
missioner, Zamacona, on the very singular
ground that to disclose the evidence would
afford an opportunity to rebut 1t. Hero are
his very words:
The United States commissioner, without dis
regarding the more than suspicious aspect OF tho
case. proposed TO the undersigned, at the moment
Of the session at which the case was about to be
disposed of, to admit the evidence In behalf OF
Mexico and at the same time allow the claimant
nrtl n
There IL sufficient evidence upon which to judge
of the claim, and that by opening the door to now
testimony 1t would only serve TO show the claim
| ant wherein the ediice no had created upon his
| imagination was weak and by onlightening him
how to crown his intrigue by new efforts, which,
although they would not change the aspect of the
case, might lead him to confirm 1t.
| And so upon the evidence which Senior
Zamacona, tho Mexican commissioner, con-
tended was sufficient TO reject tho claim, the
American commissioner and Sir Edward
Thornton both decided it to be sufficient to CO.
tablish the claim. The evidence of fraud
which was withheld because MS stated by
! Senior Zamacona tho agent of Mexico, then
! deemed IL too frail to be riskcd in the pres
cncc of rebutting testimony, could not have
been Of n nature calling for extraordinary
of awards declared irrevocable by Secretaries
Fish and Evarts, and which have for eight
years withstood the assaults of the agents Of
Mexico in congress and in the executive
! department. THE NATIONAL REPUBLICAN
referred to these claims some days since
without having looked into the history of tho
efforts to reopen them, and without having
seen Xamacona's extraordinary statement
above quoted. 1t seems upon examination
that the fraud was alleged without proof be-
fore the commission, and that the Mexican
government has not only had its day, but its
years, in court. 1t appealed to Secretary Fish.
lie sternly demonstrated against any reopen
ing of the awards. After nearly three years
of effort Congress was prevailed upon to au-
tn orize tho President to withhold any further
payment if he believed upon investigation
that "the honor of tho United States,
the principles of public law, or consid-
erations of justice or equity require that
the awards should be opened and retired"
Secretary EvRrts, in response to resolution
of the Senate as to what had been done
under this act, replied April 49, 1850, that
no grounds existed for reopening of the
awards, as the Mexican government had had
"full opportunity to meet the cases of the
claimants" After this bill was introduced
in the senate giving the court of claims juris-
diction over these claims, which bill was re-
ported or adversely by the judiciary commit
tee. As Dickens's Man from Shropshire "
thought he had case in the court of chancery
SO the Mexican government seems to be
afflicted with the idea that it has case against
somebody here. But the executive department
having been called upon by act of congress to
decide whether any interference with the
award would be iustifable, and, the decision
having been adverse, the question naturally
arises do awards award, and, if not, by what
process can settlements become final?
If any awards are to be reopened and re-
tried, then those against as we'll as those il
favor of Americans should DO among tn,
number wherever fraud is alleged on the par
Of tho agents of the Mexican government
This can be done by an amendment to th
treaty in the senate.