IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES. FEBRUARY 3, 1858.-Ordered to be printed. Mr. POLK made the following REPORT. [To accompany Bill S. 123.] The Committee on Claims, to whom was referred the petition of Henry Hubbard, report : This claim is as follows, viz: For services as agent in charge of the public property at Ash tabula harbor.... And interest from the discontinuance of his service.... $672 75 188 36 861 11 On a reference of the case to the War Department, the committee is informed that "the amount claimed by Mr. Hubbard for services ($672 75) is shown by his accounts to be due to him ;" and that "the claim cannot be paid unless provided for by Congress," "the appropriation being exhausted." This seems to settle the justice of the claim, so far as the principal is concerned. In regard to the interest, it is believed to have been settled by Congress, in its action on similar claims, that in cases where the amount due is clearly ascertained and admitted by the government, and payment is delayed for want of appropriation, it should be allowed. It appears from a statement of Colonel Abert, chief of the Bureau of Topographical Engineers, dated June 11, 1856, that this claim was then admitted to be due, and the committee have agreed that interest should be allowed from that date, and they report a bill accordingly. The Committee on Revolutionary Claims, to whom was referred the memorial of the legal representatives of James Bell, late of Chambly, in the province of Lower Canada, deceased, beg leave to report: That they have examined this claim and found it to be just and equitable. They have also examined a report heretofore made on the same subject, April 9, 1856, by Mr. Durkee, of the Senate. That report they believe to be correct in argument, and just in conclusion, and therefore adopt it as their own. It is as follows: IN THE SENATE, April 9, 1856. The Committee on Revolutionary Claims, to whom was referred the memorial of the legal representatives of James Bell, late of Chambly, in the province of Lower Canada, deceased, beg leave to report: That they have examined with great diligence and care the claim presented by the memorialists in their petition and accompanying documents, and find that it is just and sustained by satisfactory proof. This claim was brought to the attention of Congress as early as 1794, when a report in its favor was submitted to Congress by the committee to whom it was referred. Subsequently a favorable report was made to Congress on this case by Albert Gallatin, then Secretary of the Treasury. From this period until the death of Mr. Bell, in 1814, the claim was constantly prosecuted; but after his death it was neglected by his children, until they learned that the statute of limitation enacted by Congress was no longer rigidly enforced, when they again brought it forward in the shape of a memorial to Congress. Few cases brought to the attention of the committee have commended themselves to their sense of justice more strongly than this. On the faith of a proclamation issued by Washington himself, and addressed to the people of Canada at the time of its invasion by General Montgomery, Mr. Bell not only furnished the troops with supplies of arms, pro visions, clothing, munitions of war, timber and cordage for the construction of a flotilla, but joined the army in person, and led the assault on Fort Chambly at the head of a company of volunteers, raised and equipped at his own expense. The fort was captured, and Mr. Bell was wounded; but his enthusiasm in the cause of liberty did not abate. His ample means were all at the disposal of the American army, and were contributed freely to ensure the success of the expedition under the orders of Montgomery. After the fall of that gallant leader under the walls of Quebec, and the retreat of the army, Mr. Bell was taken prisoner, and would have been executed as a traitor but for the influence of certain powerful friends in Scotland, which was successfully exerted with the British general in his behalf. Through their instrumentality he was released, but his fortune was gone, and the remainder of his life was passed in seeking the payment of his claim against the government. In 1814 he died in poverty, leaving his claim as a legacy to his children, who have been pursuing it for the last quarter of a century. In 1834 an act was passed by Congress for the relief of Mr. Bell's heirs. This act directed the accounting officers of the treasury to settle the several accounts of James Bell on equitable principles, for moneys advanced, services rendered, and for stores, materials, and supplies furnished, &c., with a proviso, however, inserted by the Senate, that the sum allowed should not exceed $5,727 03. In pursuance of this act the account was settled and found to amount to $27,147 54, which was made up of $6,056 34 principal and $21,091 20 interest. There was thus left due to the heirs a balance of $329 31 principal, and $21,091 20 interest. That the claim was one on which interest was legitimately due, a reference to its character very clearly makes manifest. In almost all cases of like character interest has been paid by Congress. But should principal and interest both be paid, the committee doubt very much whether the memorialists will even then receive a sum equal to that which their ancestor expended in the first place. Your committee, however, do not feel authorized, in the computation of interest, to go further back than 1794, (eighteen years after the supplies were furnished and services rendered,) from the fact that they have no evidence before them that the claim was ever presented for payment until that time. This will reduce the interest as above stated about one-third. In the course of Mr. Bell's long imprisonment, and the conpulsion he was under to keep his vouchers out of the sight of the enemy, by whom they would have been used as evidence against him, many of them, according to the proof before the committee, were lost or destroyed. It is therefore believed that a large portion of the original claim remains unsubstantiated in consequence of the loss and destruction of the vouchers. For this reason, amongst others, the committee are of opinion that the $329 31, with interest thereon from the time of the former settlement, together with the balance of interest then remaining unpaid, are justly due the memorialists. They therefore report a bill in conformity with this view of the case, and annex to their report the reports of several committees, both of the Senate and House. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, February 8, 1849. Mr. BUTLER, from the Committee on Revolutionary Claims, made the following report: The Committee on Revolutionary Claims, to whom was referred the memorial of the legal representatives of James Bell, late of Chambly, deceased, praying the balance due from the United States, have had the same, with the accompanying documents, under consideration, and make the following report: The original merits of this claim have been heretofore examined by committees in the Senate and House, and reports fully setting forth the particular circumstances under which the claim arose, and scrutinizing its justness, have been made. The committee refer to a report made from the committee of the House by Mr. Young, January 16, 1834, and one by Mr. Leigh, in the Senate, February 2, 1835. No one can examine the documents and read these reports without being satisfied that the original claim was highly meritorious. The committee adopt these reports, and print them herewith. On the 30th June, 1834, an act of Congress was passed for the relief of the heirs of James Bell, directing the proper accounting officers of the treasury to settle the several accounts of James Bell, late of Chambly, in the British province of Lower Canada, on equitable principles, for moneys advanced, services rendered, and for stores, materials, and supplies, &c., &c.; with this proviso, however, that the sum to be allowed said heirs shall not exceed the sum of five thousand seven hundred and twenty-seven dollars and three cents. In pursuance of this act, the account was settled by the accounting officers of the treasury, and a balance stated to be due from the United States of $27,147 54. This sum is made up of a balance of principal, $5,056 34, ascertained on settlement by the officers of the Treasury Department of the accounts of James Bell, under the act of 1834, and interest on the same from the 15th June, 1776, the time of closing the account, to the 30th June, 1834, the time of the settlement and statement of the balance due, by the Auditor, as appears from a certified copy of the account submitted to the committee. By this act of 1834 the "proper accounting officers of the treasury" were made the arbitrators between the claimants and the United States, and their decision is in the nature of a judgment against the party found to be indebted. Of the amount found to be due the United States have paid a part only of the principal, and none of the interest. A balance of $329 31 of the principal is unquestionably due, but the interest has not been allowed, because, it is said, the act of 1834 does not authorize it. The act of 1834 says nothing about interest, and therefore, in terms, does not exclude it; and the committee think that a settlement of the accounts in pursuance of that act would give the claimants interest. In the first place, the claim is of a highly meritorious character, being "for moneys advanced, services rendered, and for stores, materials, and supplies of various kinds fur |