The report of Mr. Roberts was adopted and affirmed by Mr. Ward, and under the decision thus made the underwriters received $47,542.62, and Messrs. Alvord & Co., $7,023.52. The claim of Rooney, the master of the bark, was disallowed for want of proof of his American citizenship. Subsequently, such proof having been made, Mr. Burlingame allowed his claim to the amount of $3,040.1 The claimants being dissatisfied with the amount allowed under the decision of the board, Congress, by an act of June 9, 1878, referred the case to the Court of Claims. This tribunal rendered a decision in favor of the claimants, and on May 7, 1881, the decision of the Court of Claims having been affirmed by the Supreme Court, the Secretary of State paid out the sum of $113,077.11 in satisfaction of the judgment. In the case of the Caldera reference has been made to Claim of Nott & Co. the claim of Nott & Co., which was disallowed by the commissioners. It appeared that on October 16, 1857, Nott & Co., American merchants at Hongkong, shipped four boxes of specie, valued at $16,197.60, on board the British schooner Nera, at that port. The schooner sailed on the afternoon of the 17th of October, and during the evening, while she was lying at anchor at a short distance from the limits of the harbor, five Chinese came alongside and requested passage to Foochoo. At about 11 o'clock at night these supposed passengers, assisted by some Chinese members of the crew, took possession of the vessel, murdered the captain and some of the seamen, and seized the treasure on board. They subsequently escaped to the mainland near Mirs Bay. The remaining members of the crew brought the vessel back to Hongkong and made a report of the occurrence. The claimants alleged that the local authorities did not exert proper diligence for the apprehension of the culprits and the recovery of the treasure; but owing, it was said, to the .absence of their age In the northern part of China when the claim was rejected by the commissioners at Macao, they failed to take an appeal to the minister of the United States, Mr. Ward, and the decision of the commissioners was affirmed. Subsequently they sought to obtain payment of their claim from the United States out of the surplus of the fund, and by an act of February 22, 1869, the case was referred to the Attorney-General. On the 3d of the next month he rendered an opinion in favor of the claimants, under which the Secretary of State paid them the sum of $38,242.53, which included interest up to the date of the Attorney-General's opinion. der of the Fund. It seems that when it was ascertained that a surplus Return of the Remain- would remain after the payment of the claims allowed by the board, the return of the money was proposed, but the Chinese Government declined to accept it.3 In his annual message of 1860, President Buchanan suggested that, as the remainder of the fund would in equity belong to that government, it should be appropriated “to some benevolent object in which the Chinese may be specially interested." President Lincoln in his first annual message repeated this suggestion, but added that if it should not be adopted, the money might be invested as a 1 H. Ex. Doc. 29, 40 Cong. 3 sess. 189. 3 H. Ex. Doc. 29, 40 Cong. 3 sess. fund for the satisfaction of claims against China which might arise in the future. In 1863 Mr. Burlingame proposed that the money should be used for the establishment of an educational institution at Peking. No action, however, was taken by Congress on the subject, and in 1867 the money was ordered to be remitted to the United States.1 This was done, and the money was duly invested. Out of the fund thus created the subsequent allowances in the case of the Caldera and Nott & Co. were paid. Finally, by an act of March 3, 1885, Congress directed the Secretary of State, after deducting the sum of $130,000, which was to be paid to the executors of Charles E. Hill in satisfaction of his claim against the Chinese Government for the use and loss of the steamer Keorgeor, to turn over the remainder of the fund, together with the increment derived from its investment, to China. In accordance with this direction the Secretary of State on April 24, 1885, paid to the Chinese minister at Washington the sum of $453,400.90. In acknowledging its reception the Chinese minister said: "This generous return of the balance of the indemnity fund by the United States to China can not fail to elicit feelings of kindness and admiration on the part of the Government of China toward that of the United States, and thus the friendly relations so long existing between the two countries will be strengthened."" Mr. Seward, Sec. of State, to Mr. Burlingame, April 5, 1867, H. Ex. Doc. 29, 40 Cong. 3 sess. 17. *Treaty Volume, 1259; For. Rel. 1885, p. 183. 5627-VOL. 5—16 Constitution of the CHAPTER K. THE "ALABAMA" CLAIMS COURTS. I. THE FIRST COURT. For the "adjudication and disposition" of the moneys received under the Geneva award Congress, by an act approved June 23, 1874,' authorized the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, to appoint "five suitable persons" who should constitute a court to be known as the "Court of Commissioners of Alabama Claims." It was provided that the President should designate, by appointment, one of these judges to be presiding judge of the court; that each of the judges and other officers of the court should take the oath of office prescribed by law to be taken by all officers of the United States; and that all vacancies which might occur in the court by reason of death, resignation, or inability or refusal or neglect of any of the judges to discharge the duties of his position, should be filled in the same manner as vacancies occurring in offices under the Constitution of the United States. It was further provided that the judges should meet and organize the court in the city of Washington, where its sessions should be held; that three of the judges should constitute a quorum for the transaction of business; and that the agreement of three should be necessary to decide any question arising before the court. In addition to the judges the act provided for the appointment by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, of a clerk. And in order that the interests of the government might be protected, the President was authorized to designate a counselor at law admitted to practice in the Supreme Court of the United States, to appear as counsel on behalf of the United States and represent it in all claims filed for indemnity, subject to the supervision and control of the Attorney-General. The court was authorized to appoint one shorthand reporter. The duty of serving the process of the court, executing its orders, and preserving order in the place of its sittings, was imposed on the marshal of the United States for the District of Columbia and his deputies. The judges were required to meet in Washington as soon as might be convenient after their appointment, and the existence of the court was limited to one year from the date of its first convening and organizing. In case it should be found impracticable to complete the work within that period, the President was authorized by proclamation to extend the duration of the court for not more than six months. 118 Stats. at L. 245. Presentation and Disposition of Claims. All claims were required to be verified by the oath of the claimant, and to be filed in the court within six months after its organization; and it was provided that all claims that should not be so filed should be held "to be finally and conclusively waived and barred." Immediately after its first meeting in Washington, the court was directed with all convenient dispatch to arrange and docket the several claims admissible under the act; to consider the evidence offered in support of and in opposition to such claims; and after allowing such time as might seem reasonable and just for the production of further evidence, to proceed to determine and render an award on each claim in accordance with the provisions of the act. The powers of the court were duly defined. It was Powers of the Court. authorized to give public notice of its sessions and to make all needful rules and regulations for the government of its forms and mode of procedure, such rules to conform as far as practicable with the mode of procedure and practice of the circuit courts of the United States. It was invested with the same powers as the circuit and district courts of the United States to compel the attendance and testimony of parties, claimants and witnesses, to preserve order, to punish for contempts, and to compel the production of any books or papers deemed material to the consideration of any pending claim or matter. It was authorized to make orders or requisitions for the delivery to it of all records, documents, or other papers in the Department of State relating to the claims and necessary to their examination and adjudication. Each of the judges was authorized to administer oaths and affirmations, and to take the depositions of claimants, parties, and witnesses, in all matters pertaining to the presentation or examination of claims. False swearing as to matters or facts material in the examination of claims was made punishable with the penalties of perjury. Jurisdiction of the By section 11 of the act it was made the duty of the court to receive and examine all claims "directly resulting from damage caused by the so-called insurgent cruisers Alabama and Florida and their tenders, and also all claims directly resulting from damage caused by the so-called insurgent cruiser Shenandoah after her departure from Melbourne on the 18th day of February 1865, and to decide upon the amount and validity of such claims, in conformity with the provisions hereinafter contained, and according to the principles of law and the merits of the several cases." By section 12 this grant of jurisdiction was materially qualified by the following provisions: 1. That no claim should be allowed “for any loss or damage for or in respect to which the party injured, his assignees or legal representatives, shall have received compensation or indemnity from any insurance company, insurer, or otherwise;" but that, if such compensation or indemnity was not "equal to the loss or damage so actually suffered, allowance may be made for the difference." 2. That no claim should be allowed "for or in respect to unearned freights, gross freights, prospective profits, freights, gains, or advantages, or for wages of officers or seamen for a longer time than one year next after the breaking up of a voyage by the acts aforesaid." 3. That no claim should be allowed "by or in behalf of any insurance company or insurer, either in its or his own right, or as assignee or other |