The National tribune., 1903-02-05

law, that the marriage of appellant ana
| the officer was Il legal one. So far as
i the presumption of innocence is concerned,
the whole history of the case, as shown
| by und;sputed facts, is such as to COM
pletely destroy such presumption.
| The merits of the case of Burton aroj
not intended TO he disturbed, but the past
of said opinion in said case where it was
inadvertently held that the burden of proof
of establishing the invalidity of any al
/ legged marriage is upon the Government, IS
hereby expressly overruled.
THE claimant having failed to proveI
| her marriage with the officer to be legal
by reason of the fact that as to two PRIOR
marriages of said officer neither areI
shown TO have been dissolved by death or
divorce, the rejection of the claim of Mary
J. Gilliland is sustained.
Action affirmed"
| SPECIAL ACT PENSION-CON-l
| SrRUCTION.-In the special act pension
case of the widow of William Hyndman
| the pension rate was specified by the spe-
| cial act as $50 per month in lieu of the
pension she is now receiving The Pen-J
sion Bureau held that the total paymentS
per month could not exceed $50. notwith-
standing there were two children of the
soldier under IL and for whom the claim
ant had been allowed 81 eaclr additional
per month when she WAS drawing pension1
under the act of June ~, 1890. On ap!|
! peal it is held asst Secretary Gang
BELL Dec. ;, 1902:
1T is provided by act of July %. 1921
| That 10 person who is now receivingI
or shall hereafter receive a pension underI
special act shall be entitled to received
in addition thereto pension under theI
general law. unless the special act ex-I
presSly states that the pension granted
! thereby Is III addition to the pension which
said person is entitled to receive undef
the general law
Under section 4103 it is provided tina
the pensions of widows shall be increased
at the rate of 50 per month for each chi
under the age of IL years.
1T can thus be readily seen that claim
ant was receiving the pension as her ow
ard not as the minors
THE pension of $40 under the specia
act was in lieu of the ST. granted undo
the act of June -, 1890.
by the provisions of the act of Jul
%, 1852, you We're expressly prOhibite
from granting claimant more than $40 ID
month.
Therefore your action is affirmed"
VIDENCE-PROOF OF DEATH
In the pension case of the widow of Wi
lam CahOe the Pension Bureau held th
''the death or divorce of her former hi
band was not satisfactorily shown,
therefore she had not proven herself
legal widow of the soldier. On appo
it is held asst Secretary Campbell, u
0, 1902:
1T is laid down as well establish|
law that there are declarations, viii
are admitted as original evidence, bel
distinguished from hearsay by their co
nection with the principal fact under
vestigation. The affairs of men cons
of a complication of circumstances so
timately interviewer as to be hardly Sc
arabic from each other. Each owes
birth to some preceding circumstance, q
in its turn becomes the prolific parent
others, and each, during its existence,
its inseparable attributes and its kindr
facts, materially affecting its characte
and essential to be known in order to
right understanding of it's nature. The
surrounding circumstances, constitutiI
parts of the res gestae, may always
shown to the jury along with the prn
pal fact, and their admissibility is detf
mined by the judge according to their d
gree of relation to that fact, and in +
exercise of his sound discretion, it bel
extremely difficult, if not impossible,
bring this class of cases within the linn
of more particular description. T
principal points of attention are, whetE
the circumstances and declarations offs
ed in proof We're eontemporaneous w
the main fact under consideration,
whether they were SO connected with
as to illustrate its character z(See Gree
leaf on Evidence, Vol. I. See. 1851
''The case under consideration mee
every requirement of the above-stat
principle. 1t is one of those cases whe
it is impossible to bring any other e
denee to the support of the main fact
der consideration. How else could it hi
pen? storm on the Ohio River. a m;
intoxicated falls overheard and is browne
The only witnesses knowing the decease
Garvin, are Mclean and Cahoe. They
home carrying the report of his dea
Their statements are made at the time
the occurrence and Immediately upon tf
arrival at the home of the deceased. Th
declarations offered in proof We're cont
pOraneous with the drowning, and so
nected Herewith as to illustrate its c
acter. These declarations constitute n
OF the res SeStae, and are perfectly
Missile.
ut is evident that Mrs. Gavin "a
Cahoe) believed the report, for she afI
ward married soldier Cahoe. 1t is
sumed that she would not commit the
tense of bigamy; and if Gavin was
dead she placed herself in open viOlat
of the law. 1t does not appear that
vim ever was seen after the date of
reported drowning. His daughter 81
up and married, and she says she had
reports of the eyewitnesses TO the dro
ing, and the fac. of the soldiers death
never questioned or doubted in the fam
Taking the declarations of the 4
witnesses, Mclean and Cahoe, thefcd
mon belief that Gavin had drowpedi in
Ohio River, the fact that he never az
appeared to his wife or daughter and
subsequent marriage of Gavin's widow,
these years living in the neighborlI
where Gavin had lived, and the col,
sion is inevitable that the said Gavin
by drowning in the Ohio River some
not later than the year 1876, and prioI
the marriage of his widow to the deceas
soldier in 1877.
ut is not denied by the Bureau1
Cahoe is dead, that claimant and
were married, and that she has
married.
'The only thing necessary to set ASH
the rejection is the proof of/the death
the first husband, Gavin The Depa
ment is of the opinion that claimant ID
established the fact that her first hu
hand died prior to the time of her ma
rage to soldier.
Therefore the decision of the Burea
was in error, and the same is revers
with directions to readjudicate the cl1
accepting the appellant as the pensiondb
widow of the soldier"
THE GRAND ARMY.