No. 41. FRENCH AND AMERICAN CLAIMS COMMISSION, 1518 H STREET, Washington, D. C., March 3, 1884. DEAR SIR: In reply to your personal letter of the 28th instant, I have the honor to inclose a schedule which contains a list of the cases for the withdrawal of which from the jusisdiction of the Commission demands have been made by the agents or counsel of the respective Governments. I have also added a statement of the action had thereon. Very respectfully, Hon. JOHN DAVIS, GEO. S. BOUTWELL, Agent and Counsel for the United States. Assistant Secretary of State, Washington, D. C. 1 Isaac Taylor. 7,900 barrels petroleum seized on $83, 191 55 Humphrey E. Wood. Seizure of Milo by French war ves 7 house. Decision of prize Withdrawn by United States 55, 701 86 do sel Magellan in 1863. Remarks. See correspondence. II.-CASES AGAINST THE UNITED STATES. 1st. 67 bales cotton seized with the $304, 135 16 250 bales cotton seized on the high 31 bales cotton and 8 hogsheads Decision of prize 68, 245 14 ..do 16, 062 00 Decision of the 79 bales of cotton alleged to have 15, 168 00 and paid for in Noblom vs. Uni- 51, 232 50 830 bales cotton seized by United $350, 726 46 65 bales cotton seized with schooner 60,000 00 Decision of State Refused because Commission 13, 162 50 35, 675 00 11, 200 00 Decision of Court 64, 575 00 of $4,500; 5 per February 9, 1884, No. 42. Mr. Boutwell to Mr. Frelinghuysen. THE FINAL REPORT OF THE AGENT AND COUNSEL OF THE UNITED STATES, WITH TREATIES AND SCHEDULE OF CLAIMS. FRENCH AND AMERICAN CLAIMS COMMISSION, Washington, May 10, 1884. SIR: I have now the honor to submit a final report of the proceedings of the French and American Claims Commission, which completed its labors the 31st day of March last, as required by the treaty between France and the United States, dated January 15, 1880, and the treaties supplemental thereto. Until about the 1st day of January, 1884, it was thought not to be possible to complete the work of the Commission by the 1st day of April, as was required by the supplemental treaty of February 8, 1883. In order to accomplish the task the members and officers of the Commission were compelled to devote themselves assiduously to the work, and the proceedings were completed at the time named. As a cousequence, however, it was not practicable for me to make any special preparation for the report of the doings of the Commission at the time specified. Additional delays in the preparation of the report have been caused by the circumstance that the records of the various casesamounting in all to about 60,000 printed pages—were not in a condition to be consulted conveniently. By the first article of the treaty the Commission was authorized to receive, consider, and dispose of "all claims on the part of corporations, companies, or private individuals, citizens of the United States, upon the Government of France, arising out of acts committed against the persons or property of citizens of the United States not in the service of the enemies of France, or voluntarily giving aid and comfort to the same, by the French civil or military authorities, upon the high seas or within the territory of France, its colonies and dependencies, during the late war between France and Mexico, or during the war of 1870–271 between France and Germany, and the subsequent civil disturbances known as the Insurrection of the Commune." "all The commission was also authorized to receive and pass upon claims on the part of corporations, companies, or private individuals, citizens of France, upon the Government of the United States, arising out of acts committed against the persons or property of citizens of France not in the service of the enemies of the United States, or voluntarily giving aid and comfort to the same, by the civil or military authorities of the Government of the United States, upon the high seas or within the territorial jurisdiction of the United States, during the period comprised between the 13th day of April, 1861, and the 20th day of August, 1-66." Under the authority so granted to the commissioners, 19 claims were presented by citizens of the United States against the Government of France, amounting in the aggregate to the sum of $2,427,544.91, excluding interest. On the other hand, 726 claims were presented by or on behalf of citizens of France against the Government of the United States. The claims against the United States amounted to $17,581,000.34, excluding interest. The claims against the Government of the United States arose out of transactions that occurred between the years 1861 and 1866. The sufferers, for much the larger part, were residents of the States engaged in the rebellion, and the injuries for which they demanded compensation had been afflicted by the armies of the United States, sometimes by the orders of officers in command, and in other cases without specific authority. The claimants had knowledge of the events connected with the losses for which they demanded compensation, and they had, also, the means of gathering and using whatever testimony was in existence in support of their demands. Some of these claims were fraudulent in whole, and others were greatly exaggerated. The preparations for the defense by the United States could only be made after the testimony on the part of the claimants had been introduced. In many instances claims were defeated, or the amounts as set forth in the memorials were greatly reduced, by documentary evidence obtained from the various Departments of the Government, and especially from the papers and documents known as the "Rebel Archives." In a majority of cases, however, the defense consisted in large part of oral testimony, given sometimes by neighbors, sometimes by negroes who were slaves upon the plantations where the events occurred, and sometimes by officers of the Army who had knowledge of the transactions to which the claims related. The time that had elapsed, and the defects of memory were serious difficulties, which in some cases, could not be overcome. When the names of officers were obtained who were supposed to have knowledge of the transactions, investigation and inquiry often resulted in information that the officers had died or that their residences were unknown. The examinations and inquiries incident to the defense of these causes led to delay and to the expenditure of considerable sums of money. But, as the combined principal and interest of the claims against the United States amounted to about $35,000,000 it seemed to me wise to continue the investigation in every important case as long as there was reason to believe that trustworthy information could be obtained which would justify the Commission either in making an award or in disallowing the claim. in all the cases against the United States the defense was managed by the counsel for the United States, and the briefs and arguments were prepared and made in each case either by the counsel or by some one of his assistants. In the causes against France, special counsel, who represented the respective claimants, had charge of the several cases, attended to the taking of the testimony, prepared their briefs, and, in the main, suggested the mode of conducting the cause before the Commission. In each case, however, the counsel for the United States made an oral argument in behalf of the claim whenever notice was given by the counsel for the French Government that the case would be argued orally by him, or whenever a request for an oral argument was made by the counsel for the claimant. As the memorials were filed an examination was made from time to time of each memorial by the counsel for the United States, or by his assistant, for the purpose of ascertaining whether the memorialist had in all respects complied with the terms of the treaty, or whether the facts as set forth in the memorial justified the intervention of a demurrer on behalf of the United States. JOSEPH NAPOLEON PERCHÉ v. THE UNITED STATES, No. 3. In the memorial of Joseph Napoleon Perché v. The United States, No. 3, the memorialist stated that he was born at Angers, Department |