The Montgomery advertiser., 1902-03-09

wantonIy and without provocation attacks
 him upon the highway and inficts total disability upon him equal with the rignt
 enjoyed under similar conditions py any other citizen. upon what principie cl morality or justice can he be shut on, In time. of peace, from claiming damages for wronEs Inflicted by foreign govern. ment. ity agents or subjects, where sucn
 a right is not denied but freely gransea the injured individual in the case of tne private citizen makes the claim on ms behalf against the foreign government
 because 1t Is recognized principie oi international law, which every self-re- specting government asserts and enforces. that it's citizens are entitled to full repae ration under such conditions.
 It Is true that the Government makes the demand for reparation in its capacity of sovereign and not as mere represent ative of private interest; but the Gov. ernment can not and does not forget that be paid to it in its corborate person, and even covered into its Treasury, belongs of right to the individual who has sus- tained the damage. and in some honorable
 tieS iS pisses thereto. u ors The co court T Sf Alabama claims, in the distribution of the Geneva fund.- carried this principle to its extreme limit. That court even allowed the claims time the damages suffered by them were engaged in the commercial marine or whale fishery, giving as their reason for so doing none other than that thcy were under "the protection of the United States" (Moore on International Arbi. trations. p. 4s5S.) It was upon this broad principle of equal rights and cemprehen- sive justice to all citizens that the claims of officers of the United States Navy were allowed by that Court the same as claims of private individuals.
 Porter, J., in delivering an opinion Of that court in 6 case involving the ques- Al l. t-ls ~ke xat Tt Is clear to us that the Government had the right to prescribe the terms on which claimants should present their claims;" and he based this statement up- ''wers not strong enough to compel the payment of the money by Great Britain thus recognizing the principle contend ed for herein that the Government makes weakness and Inability to demand repar- alton from powerful foreign govern ment. its own. And the claim of the in- dividual citizen thereby becomes elevated and clothed with all the paraphernafia of a national claim. ..= Of all its citizens, classify them Into as many different grades as may be-, the weakest in this regard are the private soldier and sailor serving in humble ca pacity fin the line of duty"
 As an illustration of the injustice which would result to this most helpless class of citizens if they are denied hearing
 
 ment when the Maine was blown up there was lying at anchor only few hundred feet away the City of Washington. merchant vessel of the United States ma ors, had been destroyed by the very sanie agency which 1t is admitted caused the explosion of the Maine. This Commission would present to the people of the United malous aspect of Investigating for the purpose of adjudicating, according tn the merits of the several cases and the principles of equity and of internationa law" the claims of all these private cit izens who were injured or killed upon tn. merchant ship, while the claims Of the equally unfortunate sailor citizens, whose injuries were received or whose lives were sacrificed while '''ln the line of duty at | the same instant of time on the battle ship Maine are denied hearing. To my | mind, no principle of law. divine or h'i- man. international or municipal. recog- ous procedure.
 It is as clear to my mind as the shin 1 ing sun is to my physical sight that the high commissioners of our ever-generous Government at Paris In negotiating the l treaty of peace never intended. when | they put into that treaty the words "all F claims for indemnity. national and indi- vidual, of every kind, of either Govern ment. or of its citizens or subjects, | against the other Government. that may have arisen since the beginning of the | late insurrection In Cuba and prior to | the exchange of. notifications of the pres- | ent treaty" to exclude the claims of that | class of our citizens entitled to it's high est protection and generosity while ad- hitting all others It is equally clear to
 me that the Congress of the = United ared l into effect the benefcent adaptations of | the treaty in this regard. did not intend | to exclude the claims of the sailors who | went down to a watery grave on that me ar1n l more so because. as the case Is presented | to the court. 1t Is admitted that the ex- l plc sion of the Maine was caused either by | tho act of the Spanish Government or l through agencies for which 1t was re- l sponsible.
 In the cases at bar the United States Government has released Spain of all lia- bilty for injuries which it is admitted | on its part to adjudicate and settle all | claims of every kind for indemnity that arose in behalf of its citizens for such wrongs between certain dates. Between those dates 1t is claimed that many of our citizens were injured and many | killed; some in peaceful avocation on | shore in Cuba. others fin the line of | duty" on the battle ship in a Cuban har-
 bor; some in civilian habit, others in | soldiers garb; some while engaged in personal. gainful pursuits, others while | serving their Government in time of peace, prepared to sacrifice their lives in
 its behalf in~ time of war. Some were | shot. others beaten; still others blown | into eternity. while quietly asleep on shipboard. in the vain dream that they were safe as the guests of friendly na- | tion.
 Under these conditions I fail to per- | ceive that there is any difference between | one class of citizens and another and can draw no distinction. Without class- | hcation they are entitled to exactly the same consideration, and 1 can not believe that the Government of the United States. | under the exercise of It's sovereignty over Its citizens, in the arrangement of the terms of peace with a vanquished enemy. would scrupulouslv provide for the claims sought American citizenship for no other purpose than to secure the protection of its flag and at the same time ruthlessly disregard and fail to provide for reason able indemnity to other citizens native bornI whose patriotism had led them to enlist in its service and to risk their lives in it's defense in time of war.
 According to my view these are some of those individual claims of citizens of the United States against Spain which
 were relinquished to Spain and which the United States bound itself by the treaty of peace of December 10 lS9S to adjudi- cate and settle. and therefore the de- murrers should have been overruled and
 the claims investigated and adiudicated on their merits by the Commission. This
 being my opinion. am constrained to
 dissent fem the decision of my col leagues.
 The Huguenot Church.
 No visitor to Charleston who has an
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