Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1897-05-22


by Mr.. Lincoln a commissioner to pay the
people of the District of Columbia for their
slaves. Mr.. Vinton of Ohio, a lawyer of
eminence and distinguished ex-representa.
tive In Congress, was one of the commits
sioners, with Mr.. Horatio King; but my
Eame was first on the list, and 1 might
have assumed the craftsmanship at the
outset. But in Difference to the venera BILE
gentleman from Ohio, yielded the chair
manship to him. However he was with us
only three or four days when he was taken
with erysipelas and died. / then took the
place of chairman. DR.. John NJ. Brodhead
former second controller of the treasury,
was appointed to fill the vacancy caused by
the death of Mr.. Vinton.
The commission sat in the city hall,
sometimes In the Civil Court room and
other happened to be unoccupied by the
court. The public was notified of our sit
tlngs, and the owners of slaves were in
vited TO bring forward their slaves with
the evidence of title. Mr.. Vinton had rem
dered great service in the few days he was
with Us In drawing UP the forms of pro-
ceeding. We selected VIM. r. Woodward.
an experienced lawyer. our clerk
There were Just about 1000 slaves In
the District, and Congress had appropri-
ated 100000 to pay for them. and
also *iOo,ooO to pay for the transportation
OF such as wished to emigrate to Liberia
or Hayt The commissioners withheld nav
Tor about one hundred slaves, whose mas
ters mad taken sides with the south. The
Jaw alioWed an average of $500 per head
LOT the slaves; but this average required a
wide range Of apportionment between the
young, strong and healthy on the one hand
ana S tne OLD and very young on the other
value OF slaves. My colleagues were both
from the far north, and had been away
from my southern home so long and given
80 Mite attention to the subject as to feel
me want or advice as to values. We there
iore decided to employ an expert In such
business, and selected Mr.. Campbell Of
Baltimore, dealer In slaves to assist in
saiuauons. He was TO receive SO per day
ior stahoing by US and passing Judgment
upon the value of every slave. He aconit.
TED himself well and faithfully until the
seeona Bull Run battle. when he disap-
peared, and we never saw him more H
evidently thought the business in which no
was engaged here in Washington AT thai
time might involve serious consequences 81
me southerners should succeed in crossing
the Potomac.
Scaling Down Prices.
Campbelrs valuations were all made on
the OASIS OF the prices that ruled before
.he war began, and they amounted to more
man S-''oo'ooo. These prices we brought
down to the average allowed by Congress
oy the rule of proportion, thus: AS the ac-
gregate of>Campbell's valuations is to tho
aggregate of the congressional allowance
SO is the value of the individual slave as
valued by Campbell to the congressionaI
When the first case was brought before
us we asked Campbell, WHAT is this man
worth" DO you mean now he inquired.
yes; Then he has no price today, and
would not sell for any price
what, then, would he have been worth
before the war beganT Campbell had no
hesitation in saying that the man would
nave sold for a sum more than twice as
great as the law would allow. and stated
1t accordingly.
Here was another source of difficulty
The law did not require that We should
pay the average of 500. but that We should
not exceed that average. 1t was therefore
discretionary with us to say how much
below the average allowed by the law we
would place it. According to the state
ments of Campbell and others familiar
with the subject, We might have with
held all, or nearly all, compensation. But
that course, We considered. would look lie
mockery. The slaves were, with rare ex-
ceptions. living with the families to which
they belonged and rendering service as
usual. We concluded. therefore, to pay
out the full compensation allowed by the
law. l am happy to say that there was
scarcely a murmur of complaint against
our awards as 70 fairness between indi-
viduals.
Evndins the Law.
There were some interesting cases in
volving the right to freedom, caused by
the attempts of masters to run their slaves
out of the District of Columbia before the
pending bill in Congress setting them free
became a law. In all such cases We leaned
to the side of freedom, and always gave the.
benefit of a doubt to the slave. I have not
copy of our report before me, but / re-
member the case Of a gentleman who culti-
waited farm within the District by the
labor Of his slaves but required them to
sleep beyond the District line. This was
the main state OF the facts; but there We're
other circumstances favorable to the slaves
which l cannot distinctly remember. We
liberated the slaves and paid the gentle
man for them, unless he refused to take
pay, as was done in one or two cases An
other case was that of the widow of a
judge of the Supreme Court who under
TOOK to remove her slaves from the limits
OF the District before the emancipation Dill
became law. But she failed to keep
them out, and we set them free She was
paid for them. unless she refused to receive
pay. our rule was, as to the loyalty of
parties to the Union, to act on the we'll
settled principles. of law in trials for tran-
son. II the claimant for compensation was
NOT proven to have been guilty of overt
acts amounting to treason in support of
the armed rebellion. We held him TO be en-
Tilted TO compensation, whatever his sym-
pathies may have been.
Many Slaves Freed.
we withheld pay in cases in which the
owner of the slaves had gone soutb nv
otherwise given aid and comfort to .he
enemy. And altogether about 100 slaves
were set free without making eompensafIo,
to the owners. In one case a slave or
slaves lad been pledged before the war
for the payment, OF a debt, ana we allowed
the wife of the rebel absentee the amour.
Of the debt out of the assessed value W..
had placed upon the slaves.
I'VE paid out-that is TO say. we awarded
pay-about s9OOD00 for 5000 slaves. Our
clerk, Mr.. Woodward paid the money to
the claimants at the Treasury Department.
we took pleasure in paying one man of
ctlor for his wife and children. Our report
will show his name, which 1 have forgot
ten. The largest slave owner was Motley
Young, who brought up, 1 think 1t was.
slxty-seven. One of these was a hale old
man, far beyond eighty. on whom We set
a price such as We ordinarily put on men
ten or fifteen years younger. He was not a
frll-blooded negro.
President LincOln's Plan,
1.-The act emancipating the slaves I'm the
District of Columbia was introduced in
December. 1861, and became a law April
16. 1862. In February. 1862. President Lin
coin sent brief message to Congress, &C.
compsnied by a resolution which he pro-
posed for their adoption, in which compen-
sation was offered to any state that would
qG0pf a nlap nj GRO d,,o