'; '* - . 't" y/ j«••'), ,■?- «<■' JBi <ty ,%,v *-f <fl VOLUME V. $Uc Reaver HatHnrt. The Radical is ptibjished.every Friday morning he lolloping rates „ cr (payable in advance,) f 2,00 “ « ;; >•» p .. kk -kk kk r 68 THB« - Of, SffGLE COPIES v U 0 Papers discontinued to subscribers at tbe exp Ira tt oa of their terms of subscription atthe option of fte publisher, unless otherwise agreed upon. Professional or Business Cards, not excoedlhglO lines of this type, 88,«0 per annum. Advertisements of 10 lines or less, $l,OO for one insertion, Mid 5 cents per line for each additional advertisements; whether of displayed or blank lines, measured by llnesof this type. Advertisements by.ttie month, quarter or year received, and liberal deductions made In proportion to length of advertisement and length of time ol Insertion. Special Notices inserted among loca. items at 10 cents per line for each insertion, unless otherwise screed upon by the month, quarter or year. Advertisements of 5 lines or less, 50 cents for one Insertion, and 5 cents per line for each addlliona insertion. , . Marriage or Death announcements published fre of charge. Obituary notices charged as advertise' ments, and payable in advance. Local news and matters of general interest com (uunicated by, any correspondent, with real name disclosed to the publisher, will be thankfully re ceived. Local news solicited from every part of the county. Publication Office: In The Radical Building Corner Diamond, Beaver, Pa. All communications and business letters should he addressed to SMITH CURTIS, Beaver, Pa. A JUST DUE. * THE FRENCH SPOLIATION CLAIMS. History of These Long-Standing; and Dented Debts—Their Origin and Jus- tice-.* Chapter of American History —The Government’s Criminal Neg- lect In the flatter—The Claims Near- ly Alt In the Hands of the Heirs of the Original Owners—Remarks of JUr. Cameron in the Senate In Favor of their Adjustment and Satisfac- tion. The following speech, delivered in the Penate on the 16ih ult.-by Senator Cam eron, on the bill to provide for the ad justment and satisfaction of claims of American citizens for spoliations ccm mitted by the French prior to the 31st day of July, 1801, will be read with in terest by the people of Philadelphia, The bill being before the Senate, Mr. Cameron said: Mr. President: The bill which I lave had the honor to present to the Senate is the same bill that was intro duced by the Senator from Massachus etts [Mr. Sumner] on the 9th of March, | 1871. Its main feature is, that it pro | vides for the payment to the claimants of | the sum of $5,000,000 in lieu of iall de mands which may be made upqn the Government. The original claims were supposed to be about $20,000,000, and upon that interest has been accruing for seventy years; but it is proposed now to pay these people in full by giving them ss.ooo,ooo—one-fourth of the original c’aim, without any interest, Mr. President, it is equally beyond my h°pe or my expectation to say anything new on a subject which has been pressed upon the attention of Congress for sev enty years. Forty-three Congressional reports have exhausted the facte, and the masterly Jpeech delivered in the Senate on the pd and 24th of March, 1846, by Hon. Jjbn M. Clayton has exhausted the argument on this just and equitable claim. An elaborate restatement of these facts and arguments is also unnecessary; for taat has been done so eloquently and * e Iby lbe honorable Senator from Mas sachusetts [Mr. Sumner] in his report on Uis subject of April 4, 1864, that: it nu ’* n opinion, be a waste of time o go over ground again which has been « o ten traveled. But the convenience of jo enate may require a brief reminder ie main points in this case, and to * 111 shall confine myself. t , tbe French people had beheaded - Ci r king and declared the Republic. f e .H f ° Und themsel *es called on to de their country against a vast and t r , Cldu ' !ea S ue °f monarchs determined r punish the regicides and then restore e alien French dynasty; and to, lolly - honestly consider the facts from J ’c■ i our commerce suffered, it will be tet- 00 f l ° describe the charac n the war waged against France by coalition. In performing this duty I canfr °nted with facts so horrible and °ciousthat nothing but official docu ents will justify any one in stating ( ni. The failure of her harvests had r , ogbt Prance to : the brink of starva °n. The £orts of Europe were closed o :,' n f famishing people, and so her ■ } hope for food was from abroad, and mainly from us. This last resource her J. S. RUTAN, Proprietor , -•> ’ "* *• ” • V,i » ' v ‘ -f ' • v ,• , . PUBLISHED BTVTHJRY BY J. S. RUTAN DOLLARS PBSR ANKUmW ADVAITCB. enemies determined to cat off, and the shockihg policy was announced that France was to be starved into submission. England, while peace continued between her and France, detained all vessels in her ports loaded with provisions and des tined for French ports- A reliable histo rian, writing of this outrage, says r “These violations of the law of nations of treaties, and of neutral rights were committed when England was in a de clared state of neutrality and peace with France, and while a French minister was in London begging the Ministry to re main at peace and to permit the exporta tion of provisions to keep his country men from starving. So atrocious, indeed, were these acts that the British Ministry were compelled to take refuge under an act of {indemnity to escape impeachment and punishment." , A Kussian fleet was sent to the Atlan tic under Admiral Goff, who bore these orders for bis guidance: “We are bound, according to our stipu lations with his Majesty the King of Great Britain, to endeavor to prevent these French, who persist in their rebel lion, from receiving any supplies of which they may be in need. The hostile meas ures employed against them are not strict ly comformable to the natural laws of war when it unfortunately takes place be tween nations under lawful government; but as thlese measures are taken against these arrant villains who have overturned all duties observed toward God, the laws, and the government—who have even gone so far as to take the life of their own sovereign—the means of punishing these villians ought, in justice, to be employed" in such a manner as to accelerate and in sure success in so salutary an affair. We have made a representation to the courts, of Sweden and Denmark, but our just de mands have not been satisfactorily answer- j ed. We have, therefore, declared to them that we cannot see with indifference pro visions of stores sent to France to nourish rebels. By this you will .clearly see our intentions, and we order you to seize all French vessels you may meet with,* and send back to tbeir own ports all neutral vessels bound to Prance." Prussia adopted the same cruel policy, as shown by the third article of her treaty with England, signed July 14, 1793, as follows: “Abt. 3. The high contracting parties having taken the resolution to shat all their ports against French ships, and not to permit the exportation in any cases from the said ports for France of any military or naval stores of corn, grain, salt, meat, or other provisions, they re ciprocally engage to continue these meas ures, and promise to employ all other means which shall be in their power for injuring the commerce of France and bringing her, by such means, to just con ditions of peace.” These official contracts will show, in some degree, the situation when the spoli ations on our commerce occurred. The allied sovereigns had determined to starve the French people because they had chosen to become a republic. The starv ing French must procure bread or suc cumb. And so the attention of both par- ties was directed to our shores. Our old friends and allies were anxious to procure the sorely-needed food we had to spare. The seas between were swept by cruisers bent on preventing our breadstuff's reach ing France. And the French, driven to desperation, ordered : “The capture of all neutral vessels which should be found laden, in whole or in part, either with articles of food be- longing to the neutral powers, and fo- unded for an enemylCport, or with mer- chandise belonging to an enemy.” The consequence of these measures of retaliation was that our commerce was driven from the ocean, many of our mer- chants were ruined, and our finances were seriously crippled. Representations were made to the French government concern ing these outrages on our people and our commerce, and assurances were given that reparation should be made ; but these as- surances failed t d restore to our merchants their commercial liberties and rights, which continued to be crushed between the cpntending forces. At last our Gov- ernment interfered and attempted to re- store our maritime interests, and so re-' lieve the finances now suffering from the destruction of our foreign trade. To this end the following circular was addressed by the Secretary of State, Mr. Jefferson, under date August 27,1793. to our mer- chants : “To “Gentlemen : Complaint having been made tp the Government of the United States of some instances of unjustifiable vexation and spoliation on onr merchant vessels by the privateers of the powers at war, and it being possible that other in* BEAVER, PENN’A, FRIDAYj JANUARY 3.1873. I ’ -.Alrf . , * stances may have happened of which no Information has been given to the Gov* erhment, I have it in charge from the President to assure the merchants of the United States engaged in foreign com* , merce or navigation that due attention will be paid to any injuries that may suf fer on the high seas or in foreign cottn tries, contrary to the law of nations, or to existing treaties, and that ontheir for warding hither well-authenticated evi dence of the same, proper proceedings will be adopted for their relief.** This assurance, in conformity with the absolute duty .of, every.government, to protect its citizens in the enjoyment of all their legitimate rights, restored our com merce to some extent. But, so far as the claims now under consideration are con cerned, it proved to be a snare to the un wary rather than & shield of protection. It only allured oqr merchants and ship owners to again risk their property to the perils of the war-swept ocean, and when they had been engulfed in ruin no redress was given, although the losses they had suffered had been incurred under a sol emn assurance of protection by which they had again been entrapped into spoli ation and ruin 1 I do not assert or imply that our Gov ernment did not endeavor to procure pay ment for these losses off our citizens-' On the contrary, it was constant, persistent, importunate in its efforts to' procure in demnification, and at last did secure from France full satisfaction for these claims— a hundred times told—and has for more than seventy years- retained the consid- (ration, tbs receipt of which is acknowl edged in the convention of 1800 between Prance and the United States. The cbh- trqyersy settled ; by that convention is ' simply this: we claimed from' France more than twenty millions for indemnity for spoliations committed upon the pro* perty of our citizens., France claimed from ns the fulfilling, of treaty obligations in the future, and inestimable damages for past neglect of these duties-—damages so* vast that our claim became only icon* ;*tOTptiH»;*n-CTm|^ A brief outline of the French claims set up as an offset to ours may not at this point be inappropriate, and I shall devote a few minutes to that part of the subject, saying nothing beyond a reference to the main points of the case. In 1778 our whole country was thiilled with the joyful intelligence that Benja min Franklin, our minister at Paris, had secured the alliance of France for our struggling patriots. The succor came at a critical juncture. The campaign of 1771 had closed with the defeat at Brandywine in September, and the disaster at German town in October. Washington had led his beaten, dispirited, half naked, starved army into winter quarters at Valley Forge. Even his serene courage gave way at that terrible time. We can esti mate the general gloom when we read the sorrowful and desponding words t>f the great chieftain. He says: “Four days of bad weather will destroy this army.” And with it, we may well conclude, the hopes of ultimate liberty which up to that dreadful moment had nerved the courage of our ancestors. It was then that the camp at Valley Forge, the whole land, rang with shouts of triumph at the prospect of the powerful aid of Prance. Of this aid, and of the’ treaty which pledged it, Mr. Clayton saysi “I am cer&in this treaty secured the independence of the United States.” I have no desire to weaken that state ment ; nor do I weaken it when I qualify it by saying that this treaty and the be nign favor of God in a just cause secured to us the victory over our powerful foe. But the price we were to pay for the aid of Prance was incalculable. Men strug gling for the right to enjoy life and to promote liberty, and desperately pressed in the noble struggle, do not atop to esti mate the cost of that which brings tbqjp relief from immediate peril and salvation from ultimate destruction. To make ap parent this cost I need only quote two ar ticles of the treaty of 1778, and recount the, French possessions on our hemis- phere. I now quote articles eleven and twelve of the treaty of February 6, 1778, between France and the United Slates: “Art. 11. The two parties guarantee, mutually, from the present time, and for- ever, against all other powers, to wit: The United States to his most Christian Majesty, the present possessions of the Crown of France in America, as well as those it may acquire by the future treaty of peace. And his most Christian Majes- ty guarantees, on his part, the United States, their liberty, sovereignty, and in dependence, absolute and unlimited. “Art. 12. In order to fix more precise ly the sense and application of the pre ceding article, the contracting parties de- dare lhat*|ia case of a rapture between France and*England, the reciprocal guar* antees decided in the said article shall have full force and effect the moment such war break out.” I Here wehave our guarantee to France to protccfeher territory in America in caseofw»betweon her and England; and the pjpseselong thus guaranteed com prise elewislands in the West Indies, &&, (San pomingo, Martinique, Guade loupe St. Vincent,; Tobago, Deseada.l&Pierre, Marie s Galante, Miq nelon, ahd -firenada,) and Cayenne and the of Orleans on the main land. Owing subsequent participation of England hmhe great struggle to reduce Franceand thO naval war which followed, many of these valuable ■ possessions were torn froih.Fiance,' while every condition which bowll us to defend them was in full weakness of our nation then a good excuse for sapinely pejfmitting many of these fine ialaads lo be wrested from our faithful ally; but,-|f that be a sufficient excuse, the case is ohe'fchlch would justify a nation much weaker than oura then was in wish ing for power to tehythe plunderers of a brave natfon from their prey, and to en able us fo fulfil the reciprocal duties which honor, public faith, and gratitude alike and e very feeling of generosity urged us.to perform. If weakness alone was the cause of our neglect of duty, I submit tba| (he fact bears, .with peculiar weight On pur obligation, nowthat we are come to the aid of those who sufforeiffrotD dur Inability then to foifil the great bargain, aud { haveforth?ee quarters' of a century snf- of tbit weakness fromgsheiiHon to generation. . ' *.<• •„ * '■ f.‘ * ♦ - n - -- But a candUd eiaminatiod of this mat ter it didnotshpw, that bui^woliction did not proceed en tirely froth liability to perform duty A change had come over dur policy. s The Federaljuarty, governed by their sympa thy for Jnglahd, were iotent on rebuking the of the' French revolutionary day; and’while public sentiment was drifting away from our ally the French did. much to accelerate the change in American sentiment. Unwise diplomatic agents of the Republic urged us tothe performance of our treaty obligations with more zeal than judgment—always bad policy. The language held by these representatives, wastjnpre that of a master than a friend; and at last their pertinacity and insolence weakened the ties which bound the.two nations together, for the load of obligation we owed to France was lightened by the too frequent reminders we received that it was inexpressible. This state of feeling and the constant ir ritation of the public mind of Our people caused the .authorities to cast about for relief from a; friendship the continuance of which was more intolerable than open enmity. Our minister, at London began negotiations fqr a treaty of neutrality be tween the United States and Great Brit ain, and in time a treaty was signed and ratified between the two nations. This treaty, known as the Jay treaty, annulled the exclusive rights of France in our ports (so far as one party to a con tract can annul It) secured to her by the treaty of amity and commerce signed on the same day as the treaty of alliance, by giving the British equal privileges otshel- ter, equal rights for bringing into our ports and selling her prizes, and indeed in everything which had heretofore been en joyed by France exclusively. I do not trust myself to criticise the justice of our policy in this affair. passing it by as a chapter in our history best studied in silence, I merely remark that the Jay treaty caused an outburst of anger in France which came very near involving us in war with the nation to which we owe in an eminent degree our national existence. Retaliation was at once declared. Smarting under a sense of wrong, and goaded to desperation by our bad faith and the atrocious attempt to starve her whole people, orders were issued by the French government to seize our merchant vessels and carry them and their food in to French ports, and these spoliations be gan. When we submitted claims for these spoliations France set up an offset, and I think a just one, against our claims. For seven years or more neither would- agree to the only settlement then possible in the impoverished condition of the two na- tions. But at last, in 1800, both France and.the United States agreed to set off their claims against each other ; and in consideration of our abandonment of our claims against her we were released from responsibility for past due obligations and from all future guarantees of Frencb territory on this hemisphere. All alli ance, the end of which none; could see, and a responsibility which none could estimate, was ended. For the first time in our existence we were re lieved from that “entangling alliance” which would have inevitably drawn us into the tempestuous dangers and endless troubles^©(/European' complications and wars, in;which we bad all to lose and nothing to gain. And now the time had come when the whole force of the mind of our people could be directed to home developments; and the mighty progress which has since blessed us is but one of the many benefits we have enjoyed by the emancipation from . these guarantees, which emancipation was secured through the confiscation of the property of those whose heirs now ask us to pay them a tithe of what their ancestors lost. This very imperfect, outline of the case before us shows, I think, that to secure national release from an'immense claim, and national exemption from perpetual onerous duties, from complications and dangers reaching Into futurity, from in ternational obligations which must have brought on us the danger and the curse of European politics, the Government of the United States bartered claims of its citizens placed in its possession for col lection, at the invitation of i Thomas Jef ferson, by direction of George Washing ton. These claims were for losses, incur red in the pursuit of legitimate trade; they were caused by a condition of af fairs at once novel to the sufferers and disgraceful to us; they were* suffered be cause no adequate 9 protection was afford ed by the Government to its citizens in the pursuit of their lawful calling; they were increased on the plain promise- of the authorities to assist the plundered merchants and ship-owners in obtaining redress and indemnity; they were confis cated for a lasting public benefit, and these benefits have been constantly en riching our people, while those whose property was bartered have died in pov erty and disappointment. How mUch longer can wo hear the di* brings 5Ur our generosity ? How long shall the heirs of the sufferers come, cap in hand, to the descendants of the beneficiaries and piteously beg us to give a part of what our fathers took from theirs ? How long shall our criminal neglect of these poor * people fill the land with stalk ing shadows who witness against us so eloquently? And for how many more weary years shall they furnish living wit nesses of that most shocking thing, that all property is in perpetual peril in a na tion which, in violation of its fundamen tal law, takes private property for the public use without just compensation ? I hope the end of these things has come. I cannot believe that a Congress now called on to appoint commissioners to distribute indemnity for losses so like the Frencb spoliation claims will busy themselves with the Alabama award, and neglect to order that our own Treasury shall now disgorge the money so long and sp unwisely withheld from the poor peo ple for whom I plead. What conjunction coaid be more felicitous ? What occasion so singularly just ? I sincerely trust that the Senate will promptly pass this bill, and so earn the plaudits of all just and merciful men. I have only to say in conclusion that I am surprised to find that nearly all these claims are in the hands of the descend ants of the first owners. Such confidence had the first owners of these claims upon the Government that almost every one of them gave a dying injunction to his children never to barter them away, be cause they felt that the Government, when it became able to pay, would pay so just a debt. —The Pittsburgh Mail says: The Florida United States Senatorsbip is .ex ctting»as much interest as the late elec tion for Senator in South Carolina did. The election takes place on the 15th of January, and the candidates are the pres ent Senator, Mr. Osborn, Governor Reed and John Tyler, Jr., with the chances evenly divided between the two first named. The fact that the Democrats in the Legislature have no hope of electing the Senator, has induced those gentlemen to tender their votes to any Republican who will undertake to defeat Osborn. During the recess a special House com mittee, consisting of Messrs. Merriman, of New York; Colton, of Iowa; and Cox, of Alabama; will visit New York Intake evi dence as to the cause of the Ices of $185,- 000 of Government stamps by Johnson’s well-remembered defalcation in the As sistant Treasurer’s office. The object is to provide remedial legislation for defects In existing rulesandlaw. #■ | Prof. P. A. Allen, of Tioga county, was introduced as instructor for the week.,-- He made some very well timed remarks : on the great importance of teaching; the : power that the teacher can exert over the / children, owing to the relation sustained! to them; knowledge and training were necessary. He alluded to his own expe rience, having entered upon it without any correct conception of its responsibili ties ; referred to the fact that so many teachers are experimenting—forty per cent, teach only one year ; urged the ne cessity of professional teachers; alluded to the Teachers’ Institute, so necessary for the teacher; gave some practical sug gestions with reference to the plan of managing the Institute. Prof. Allen took up the subject of School Economy ; referred to the bargain made between di rectors and teachers, usually one sided on the part of the former. In order that the teacher be successful he must baye a plan, and should know what each pupil ought to study. He referred to the archi tect, hhtplnne In rearing a building; com- teacher aBA., ||ider, working upon as teachers we should nave just as clear an idea of what we are building, as defi nite a plan, as the architect. In speak ing of school organization he stated that all school life divided itself into two pe riods: Ist. How or fact period; in which we want only to know facts, or how things are; in the other we seek for reasons, which may be termed the Philo sophical period. JVhen the child enters school be should nave but three lessons, namely: language, mathematics and sci ence, and should continue with but three, no more no less, until be graduates. The lecturer spoke of the multiplicity of classes and studies in our schools. In one instance, when be had gone into an Academy of forty-five pupils, there were forty-four classes. In teaching Languages, teach the pupil how to talk, embracing everything relating to the subject. In teaching Mathematics, make the instruc tion practical, using mathematical forms and solids, objects that will give the pupil clear illustrations of the subject. la teaching the Sciences, first a little Geogra phy, then Physiology, and at a proper time of the year, when flowers are bloom ing, Botany. Prof. Allen then entered upon the sub ject of Geography. He slated that teach ers know too little about the subject, and make the mistake by studying the book and not the subject; pointed out preva lent errors in commencing the study; we should proceed from the things we. know to things we do not knoie, from the known to the unknown. First teach the child to understand the points ofHhe compass. At this point the Prof, requested the teach ers to rise, gave the command to face the South. The result was that many of the class were facing all the cardinal points of the compass. This circumstance caused much merriment. He would teach dis tance by actual meamrement ; children should be taught this la such a manner that they may be able to estimate distance accurately in after life; gave some very good illustrations of how to teach dis tance practically. " The subject of Spelling was next con sidered, and teachers were called upon to give their methods of teaching the bsaneh. Mrs. Marquis, of the Beaver public schools, taught by using both the oral and written methods, combining-the two. Miss Bunn, Principal of the above schools, taught it by dictation exercises, having the pupils write sentences upon the board; For the timebeing Professor Allen sustained the relation of pupil. Miss Bunn as teaches, and an exercise NUMBER 1 PROCEEDINGS OF BEAVEB COUN TY TEACHERS) INSTITUTE. FIRST DAY. The Ajiirteenth annual session of the BeaveirCounty Teachers’ Institute was held in the Court House of Beaver, com* mencing Monday, the 16th of December, and closing on Friday noon of same week., The attendance of teachers was large. Directors and friends of education gener-. ally were present, and manifested great interest in the proceedings. \ The Institute was called to order by. Prof. M. L. Knight, County Superintend ent, and the opening prayer was made by Rev, I). P. Lowary. Mr. Knight made some remarks, addressed to the teachers present, stating that the Institute for the -time being would be conducted as a Nor mal school, and insisted on each teacher being punctual and regular in attendance during the session. The Institute was organized by P. Todd, of Bridgewater, Recording, Secretary, and L. Wise, of Industry,; and Mrs. 8. D. Marquis, of Beaver, enrolling Secreta ries. COKTDTtJKD 0$ EIGHTH! PAG®. " * - .. V v*. ~-^7.: .V‘■'S' 1 * 3.-- -W'- J <-n ' •__ • . ' ' r 1 J
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