By Mr. Clayton.. By Mr. Spencer. 79 2×6 329,363 .21, 30, 301, 380 .29, 120, 125, 152, 153, 289, 405, 407 .47, 64, 100, 104, 197, 198, 229, 230, 231, 232, 292, 293, 294, 308, 509, By Mr. Logan ..49, 102, 127, 128, 163, 164, 165, 166, 199, 200, 201, 233, 310, 311, 323, 324, 325, By Mr. Pratt....6, 32, 33, 34, 35, 53, 54, 56, 57, 58, 70, 76, 90, 117, 121, 122, 143, 151, 162, 183, By Mr. Ingalls 304, 305, 315, 349, 358, 370, 393, 410, 421, 433, 440, 459 By Mr. Hamilton, of Texas... By Mr. Logan By Mr. Patterson By Mr. Norwood. By Mr. Oglesby 26, 27, 78, 80, 91, 218, 221, 222, 350, 351, 352, 354, 356, 374 39, 41, 43, 73, 77, 93, 94, 95, 96, 97, 118, 119, 123, 139, 140, 144, 145, 146, By Mr. Allison By Mr. Mitchell... .65, 209, 330, 415, 416 396 .4, 5, 12, 67, 68, 105, 109, 113, 137, 196, 256, 265, 266, 271 272, 298, 336, 450 ...... 14, 16, 31, 85, 98, 106, 110, 111, 147, 157, 175, 176, 179, 205, 227, 255, 263, By Mr. Davis..... 15, 52, 59, 107, 135, 158, 237, 245, 290, 296, 344, 369, 375, 414, 445, 447, 457 By Mr. Washburn 335, 402 .17, 18, 19, 20 By Mr. Boutwell By Mr. Boreman By Mr. Goldthwaite . 246, 247, 248, 275, 347, 413, 455 From the Committee to Audit and Control the Contingent Expenses of the By Mr. Carpenter .... 575, 476 By Mr. Anthony ... .... 48, 267, 362, 474 From the Select Committee on Transportation-Routes to the Seaboard: From the Joint Select Committee to Inquire into the Affairs of the District By Mr. Allison .453, 473, 477 1st Session. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES. APRIL 16, 1874.-Ordered to be printed. No. 281. Mr. HAMILTON, of Texas, submitted the following REPORT: [To accompany bill H. R. 1835.] The Committee on Pensions, to whom was referred the bill (H. R. 1835) granting a pension to Mary A. Lowe, widow of Charles Lowe, late a sergeant of Company B, Third Infantry, United States Army, have had the same under consideration, and submit the following report ; It appears, from the testimony, claimant's husband enlisted in the Army on the 5th February, 1815, for five years, and was honorably discharged February 5, 1820; that he enlisted again on the 14th November, 1826, for five years, and was discharged August 16, 1831, a sergeant of Company B, Third Infantry; re-enlisted on the same day for five years, and discharged August 16, 1836, an ordnance sergeant; re-enlisted May 4, 1837, for three years, and discharged May 4, 1840, first sergeant Company B, Third Infantry; re-enlisted same day for five years, and discharged March 4, 1845, first sergeant Company B, Third Infantry; re-enlisted same day for five years, and discharged September 30, 1848, on surgeon's certificate of disability, for the following reason, viz, "length of service, and repeated attacks of rheumatism and ophthalmia, resulting in impaired vision and general disqualification for active service," a sergeant of Company B, Third Infantry. Dr. Pitcher testifies, December 12, 1858, that he was late surgeon in the United States Army, and gave certificate to Charles Lowe, upon which he was discharged; that certificate sets forth that "Lowe was disabled for the performance of picket-duty by a change in the structure of the cornea, incident to great age, called 'arcus sinilis,' and his case prematurely produced by exposure in military service." The doctor adds, "To the best of my recollection, it was also stated that Sergeant Lowe was one-half disabled from obtaining his subsistence by manual labor." Upon this evidence, and the certificate of Brevet-Major Shepherd, United States Army, late captain Company B, Third Infantry, that Lowe's infirmities had their origin and were caused by exposure and hardships of the service, in the performance of duty, particularly in the winter of 1845-46, on the beach of Corpus Christi, during the march thence to the Rio Grande, and in the night-march before the battle of Palo Alto. Upon this and other similar testimony the said Lowe was admitted to the pension-roll on the 19th January, 1859, at $8 per month, which he continued to receive during his life. The claimant was married to the said Lowe in 1864, only about four years before his death, when his age and infirmities must have rendered him mainly if not wholly dependent upon his pension for support. He had been discharged from the service sixteen years before his marriage, on account of his age and general unfitness to do duty in the field. Claimant could have expected little in the way of support from his labor, and had no right to expect a continuance of the pension after his death, except upon a contingency, which did not happen, or, at least, there is no evidence of it. Claimant alleges in her petition that her late husband died of chronic diarrhea, contracted while in the service, during the Mexican war; but it will be remembered that he was discharged from the service before the expiration of the term for which he enlisted, because of impaired vision from age, and frequent attacks of rheumatism. No mention was made of the disease of which he died, and there is no medical testimony tending to show that diarrhea is a natural or probable consequence of rheumatism. Besides, twenty years elapsed between the discharge of the soldier and his death, which is a long period for one to survive under so exhausting a disease as diarrhea. It is, therefore, improbable that his death resulted from disease contracted while in the service, and hence claimant's case does not come within any of the provisions of the pension-law. The Committee on Pensions, to whom was referred the bill (H. R. 2217) granting a pension to Henry Bruckner, late a private of Company F, Fifty-eighth Regiment Illinois Volunteers, have had the same under consideration, and concur in the conclusion of the Committee on Invalid Pensions of the House of Representatives who reported the bill, and whose report accompanies it. |