Year: 1873

We print this morning the report of the
Committee on the Judiciary in relation to the
distribution of the amount awarded by the
Geneva Conference in satisfaction of the
Alabama Claims, and also the full text of the
bill which the Committee recommend for the
purpose of carrying their views into effect.
The report is clear and business-like, drawn
up with the Chairman's usual energy of
expression, slightly exaggerated, after his
manner when he espOuses the cause
of the mariner against that of great
corporations. and somewhat tinged it
must be confessed, with his well-known
lack of sympathy with England. He INDUCES
himself in quite an unnecessary display of
satisfaction over the evident fact that the
award of the Geneva Commissioners was
much greater than the amount of immediate
claims for property destroyed which were
made by American citizens. He therefore as
serts, with considerable ingenuity, that the
award really recognized the justice of the
principle of the indirect claims which they
rejected when presented. So convinced do
the Committee appear of this fact, that after
a careful enumeration of all the classes OF
claims which can possibly be presented under
the award, they "reiterate their belief that if
the provisions of this bill are fully and
"fairly carried out, so as to give only the true
"and just amount of losses to the claimants,
"the remainder coming to the United States
"will be very considerable if not very large
"sum."


The central idea which informs the entire
Report is that nothing was awarded to claim
ants at Geneva that the fifteen and half
millions were given to the United States;
that the distribution of this sum, or of any
part of it, rests entirely within the discretion
of the United States; that the money is sub
ject to no trust, and especially to no legal
rights in any individuals or corporations
which can be made good as against the
United States. This rule is rigidly adhered to
throughout the whole discussion. The Commit
tee enumerate the classes of damages which
are to be considered in the distribution of
these funds: First, the cases of those who
lost vessels and cargoes uninsured; second,
actual losses of officers and crews, In property
uninsured or partially insured, in wages actu-
ally earned, and losses incurred by being left
adrift OF landed in some foreign port third,
the losses of the United States in vessels and
cargoes, which are trifing. In the next rank
the Committee place the extra war premiums
paid by merchants in the regular course Of
business The Committee in insisting upon
satisfaction for this class of losses give not
unmalicious reference to the management of
the Case at Geneva, whereby they were placed
among the indirect or consequential damages,
and were thus excluded from consideration.
Speculative or prospective damages are properly
denied a hearing There are no means Of
estimating the catch of whale, the profit on
cargo, the fare of passengers which might
have been made by q vessel, and such claims
are properly left out of the account. No portion
OF the report will excite more discussion
than that which refers to the claims of under
writers. The Committee take strong and pos
tive ground against these claims, and argue
against them at great length. They conclude
by provision in the proposed bill that all
insurers, being citizens or corporations of the
United States, who shall make claim for prom
erty insured and lost, shall show that the
amount of their losses exceeded the amount
of the gains by war premiums. which, in the
opinion of the Committee. would very seldom
happen


The Committee differ entirely from the re-