Vermont Phœnix

Virginia Revolutionary Claims. Mr. Hall, the Representative from this district in Congress, was appointed during the last session, Chairman of a Committee, to investigate certain revolutionary claims of this state, in behalf of some of her citizens.

On Wednesday, three or four days before the session closed, he presented a report unfavorable to the claims. It excited a good deal of dissatisfaction among the Virginia members, and they determined to prevent its being printed.

On motion being made by Mr. Hall to print, some one of the members of that state moved to lay it on the table. This was rejected 127 to 43, showing a determination on the part of the House to print.

On Thursday, after some discussion on the part of Mr. Briggs of Mass. in favor of, and Mr. Mallory of Va. against, the printing of it, Mr. Wise, on the previous question being moved, called for the reading of the report at length. The Speaker decided, that this was the right of any member, and the Clerk commenced the reading of the report. This was continued through the morning hours of Thursday and Friday, till on Saturday, on the rules being suspended for other business, on a call of the House moved by a member of Virginia, the report was laid on the table among the unfinished business of the House.

In 1830, Congress on the application of the Virginia delegation, granted over 300,000 acres of land scrip to satisfy warrants issued by that state for services of her continental troops during the revolution. Since then a 1,000,000 more of acres have been granted, and the legislature of Virginia are soliciting still further grants.

These warrants are issued by the authorities of Virginia, and have been satisfied by the United States without any examination of the evidence on which they are granted. With a certificate obtained, on the strength of this warrant, from the Virginia authorities, the officer or his representative, comes to Congress and claims five years full pay according to his rank. In this way some hundreds of thousands of dollars have been obtained from the public Treasury.

The report makes some curious developments and will probably put an end to the payment of the claims by the United States. The allowance of land to the officers is large, ranging from 15,000 acres to a Major General, to 2,666 to a subaltern. Thus making the temptation to obtain these warrants very great.

The report shows from historical facts and documents, that not more than 471 persons could have been entitled to warrants for services at one time, whereas the number of warrants already granted is 983. Thus showing that a large portion of the claims are unfounded.

The claims of five years full pay, many of which have been allowed, and over a hundred more of which are now pending, are presented under the resolve of Oct. 1780, and have been lately claimed and allowed on the ground that the officers in whose behalf, they are made, were left out in the reduction of the army which took place at that time.

The committee show that but 19 officers from Virginia were left out at that time, every one of whom then received his commutation pay. Consequently there is not a single officer of the Virginia line entitled to a dollar on this ground, and all thus presented are fraudulent.

The report gives a statement of more than 20 claims for commutation, which have either been allowed, or are now pending in Congress with favorable reports of committees, in which the committee show by documentary evidence, the officers are not entitled,—in several of which cases, sums varying from two to fifteen thousand dollars have been drawn from the Treasury, by individuals or services never performed. In one case 16,500 dollars were thus obtained, to not one cent of which was the individual entitled.

In relation to the County land warrants, the committee addressed a letter to the Governor of Virginia, asking for copies of the evidence on which sundry land warrants had been granted by the Executive of that state. At the end of 3 or 4 weeks in reply to a second letter from the Chairman, the Secretary of the Commonwealth informed him that "the Executive had come to no decision on the application of the Committee."

Such are some of the leading facts. The refusal of the Governor and the attempt of the Virginia delegation to prevent the facts from being made known are not calculated to inspire a very great confidence in these claims.—We have no doubt nineteen-twentieths of them are fraudulent. Mr. Hall is a member of the next Congress and will not let the matter sleep.

The course pursued by the Virginia delegation in this matter reflects no honor on them and is highly discreditable. If this be a specimen of Southern honor and magnanimity, of which we hear so much, we say, deliver us from it. Indeed we have been informed, that Mr. Wise was so much ashamed of his course in this matter, that he afterwards apologised to Mr. Hall for his conduct and promised that if no one else moved, in the business, he would himself call for a full investigation, at the next session.