San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1891-04-03

Capt. Caleb Bdssett ,Das gazing one morn
ing through his tr'usty glass.
In the year 1894 Capt. Caleb Bassett, a
navigator of the old sort, was gazing
one morning through his trusty glass at
very suspicious object on the horizon.
The Yankee skipper was gray with serv-
ice, but his eyes were keen and true, and
the first mate, at his side, was wai.ing
with unconcealed anxiety for their YER
dict.
YES" said the skipper, ''it's one Of
those cursed Frenchmen."
The mate frowned and muttered q few
biblical phrases much in use among
sailors then and now.
"Crowd SAIL" said Bassett, land IN
go below and get my papers ready"
What followed is matter Of record.
The American bark Sunbeam, Capt.
Bassett, was overhauled and captured by
a French cruiser, and its cargo of pro-
visions confiscated. The prize was taken
to France, condemned and sold, and the
food distributed among the starving
poor. And Capt. Bassett, who was
very careful and methodical man, duly
wrote out protest and an itemized
claim for damages, amounting, for ship
and cargo, to $2S,317.S0. This, in brief,
was 1.-THE Bassett Claim"-an heirloom
which is still preserved in the family.
Its name may not be familiar to the
reader; and yet there have been no less
than forty-three reports made to differ
emit congresses on this claim, as one of a
number of similar cases, and without
much doubt there will be many more;
for we all know the power Of habit, and
congress can be fairly said to have con-
tracted the habit of favorable report on
the French spoliation claims.
1t has been urged, as one of the objec-
tons in the way of settling these claims,
that they slept" but no lawyer could
retreat behind such a technical defense
as this with regard TO the Bassett claim.
On the contrary, it had been afflicted
with insomnia from birth. The method
ical Capt. Bassett, being very 10th to
lose at one stroke the bulk of his hard
earned competence, took proper legal
advice, made out his case, and duly laid
it before Mr.. Morris, then our minister
at Paris. Mr.. Morris, writing home to
the state department at this time, used
the following plain language: These
captures create great confusion, must
produce much damage to mercantile
men and are a source of endless and
we'll founded complaint. Every post
brings me piles of letters about it from
all quarters" One fat package in these
piles came from Capt. Caleb Bassett,
and it was perhaps after reading it's con-
tents that the minister added: "H | were
to give way to the clamOrs of the injured
parties ought to make demands very
like declaration of war"
But Mr.. Morris was able to get very
little satisfaction for Capt BaSsett, nor
was Col. James Munroe, who soon after
ward succeeded him, able to do more.
And, in fact, matters yearly grew worse
instead of better, in spite of the efforts
of such men as Pincl1ney, Marshall and
Gerry, until, after FIVE years of letter
writing-in shaky, grabbed hand,
much at variance with his firm and even
disposition-the skipper was hot for war,
and as the original lobbyist for the Bias
sett claim. went TO Philadelphia in 1898,
and was one of many who urged the
government to demand justice of France
at the lannon's mouth.
But callner and wiser counsels pre-
vailed The cannon after all is a poor de-
batter. No one waseve convinced by hav-
ing his leg shot off on his only son blown
to pieces by a shell. And in this par
ticular case we should have been obliged
to cope with master in that stOlid,
brutal line of argument-a young Cor
sican adventurer, then at the head of
the French government, who shortly aft
er became very famous for his skill In
disputations of this character.
Now, as a matter of fact, laying aside
national pride for the moment, we did
have our match game of empire with.
Napoleon, and, like everybody else, got
wOrsted; only he checkmated US with
bishop instead of a castle. For just as
Caleb Bassett and others were shouting
their loudeSt for redress, that shrewd
priest Talleyrand moved sidelong out
with a counter charge of national claims