National Republican., 1888-02-19

time nor the inclination to investigate them,
unl the irN that are reported iavOrably are
/ -plduri passed upon by the two houses A
bill irving the desired relief may he, and
~uWvtiWr- is, passed in one house and lost
iu tN, uthCr. At the close of the last Con-
grr-s tifv private calendar of the House con-
iaiucl sbuut twelve hundred bills for the
relief ul private claimants, not one of which
WAS iir.ily acted upon, and all the time and
labor expended in their examination and
the preparation of the reports were thus
lost, while no one was benefited. And thus
II goes on from one Congress to another,
until each house is overwhelmed with bills of
this character and there is no end tO the
struggle Members of Congress conCcdc that
some remedy is desirable to relieve the two
houses, but when a remedy is proposcd--and
there is but one, and that is to confer juris-
diction upon some judicial tribunnl-the very
same members find II convenient or tO their
interest tu defeat the measure. To Congress
belongs the duty of creating judicial tribu-
mails and apprOpriating money To supply the
needs of the Government, but the cOnstitu-
ton COntCrS upon II no authority to exercise
judicial power or determine the amount of
the Governments Indebtedness To individu-
ais and the practice of doing so is an
uSurpation of power and an infringement
upon the judicial department more hOnOrcd
in the breach than the observance"
\ wise policy, us well ms economical, would
be to refer all disputed claims against the
Governments whatever their nature, to some
judicial tribunal, either the Court of Claims,
or one created for the purpose, and thus re-
licvc the legislative department of the mass
of business of this character which is pre-
scntcd session after session. and which grows
with the growth of the country. Why
should not the claims To which have re-
lcrrcd bc thus rclegatcd, where they could he
investigated and determined according to the
rules of legal DrDrCIurc and when thus
aSCCrtninCd to he just and valid, paid out of
| the immense surplus which is accumulating
| daily in the treasury? Can any ihircr or
better disposition be made of it Is il not
best to he just before we are generous? This
surplus is derived from the people in the
shape of taxes. direct and indirect, and to
them il should he returned, not in the way
of bounty, but in the discharge of the legal
Indebtedness of the Government These
claimants belong tO all sections of the Union
North, South East and WcSt-and the
money thus paid ont would pcrvade all the
ramiiiCaionS of society and prove of uni
vcr>al benefit. The treatment which private
individuals receive at the hands of the Gov
crnmcnt in relation to claims of this char
actcr has been long rcpronCh and disgrace;
and the Fiitcth Congress would do itScll
| great honor and enact II popular measure by
| the enactment of some statute which would
secure toprivate claimants the speedy and just
adjudication of their claims against the Gov
crmmCnt by some judicial tribunal.
| 1t is proper that | should add that this
letter is not written in the interest of any
particular claimant but from conviction that
! the honor and dignity of the American
people demand the adoption of measure
! which, while it offers justice To claimants, at
! the same time protects the true interests OF
| the Government.
Respectfully submitted.