The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1900-12-14
When Privateers Seized
Many Yankee Ships.
Only Three Claims Have Been
Paid Portland People.

Recently there appeared petision IA
the probate court presented BY \. D
Ervine Mcclellan Of this CITY asking for
the appointment OF HAIRY II. Virgin
ESQ as special administrator In tne
sstate of Arthur Mcclellan, his great
grand father. This is one of the French
spoliation claims. Arthur MoLehan
being ia quarter owner in the sloop
Abavail, which was seized by nriVa-
tser of the French Republin, February 20,
1898. Arthur McLellan's claim announced
Co Si,15 II, and the court OF claims mas
given judgment favorable to It's payment
and this session of Congress 10 expeoteo
to make an appropriation which VIII
enable their claim over a hundred years
old to he paid.
In all there were some twenty 1--WE
vessels owned by people living In or
about Portland which were seized by
uriyateers of the French Republic, and
the aggregate amount due Portland
Ieople by the government ON this account
ia something like Ss5o,0C0. Only two OF
thres OF these claims have been paid
The bill authorizing these claimants to
apply by petition to the court OF claims
which was to examine and determine
the amount and validity of claims thus
presented, and to report the facts founu
to Congress did not pass Congress until
January |, 1885 These claims arise from
damages done American ships and
cargoes By the French prior to the
convention between the United states
States urged these claims, which were
estimated at twenty millions OF dollars.
france retorted with a counter claim
many times as great for damages re-
suitlpg from the failure OF the United
States TO keep it's treaty OBLIGATIONS The
convention OF 1891 was mutual surren-
der of these olai ms and our government
then became responsible to Its own citi-
zens for their decentralization.
This sloop Abagaii of which Arthur
Mcclellan owned one-quartsr was one OF
the many ships seized in the West Indies
in those good old days when France was
at war with England and practically at
war with the United States, and when
her privateers commended by dare devil
citizens of the Repablic made the Yam
kee shippers who traded with the West
Indies lie awake many a night when
south OF Hatteras. The Abigail was
commanded by Captain Samuel Robin
son and left Portland January IL, 17SS,
for a small port on the island OF santo
Domingo. When in sight of Martinique
she was seized by the French privateer
La Pauline, Captain James Even, on
February 3,l79s, and was taken to santi
ago dc Cuba libelled In a French court
and condemned and sold. The grounds
for the seizure, purely fictitious grounds
too, were that the papers OF the Abigail
were net in due form and properly
certified.
The amount of this claim of Arthur
Mcclellan az has been said is 81, 7S5 II.
When Congress appropriates the money
1T will be distributed by the snecial ad-
ministrator of this estate to the nearest
of kin, so tn at all OF the descendants of
Arthur Mcclellan, male and female,
will obtain some portion or the amount.
= None of them viii receive very large
sums as the sum must be split up into
fractions In order TO comply with the
law. In one case, that OF the schooner
Phoenix, in which the claimants were
originally John Snow and Samuel Snow
of Portland and stephen Purinton OF
Harpswsll, the total claim was about
8 500. Some OF the defendants OF these
three men received one, two hundred and
SEVENTEEN of one-third of this amount
after the costs were deducted and their