Special Message

To the House of Representatives:

It is hereby announced to the House of Congress in which it originated that the joint resolution (H. Res. 190) to refer certain claims to the Court of Claims has been permitted to become a law under the constitutional provision. Its apparent purpose is to allow certain bankers to sue in the Court of Claims for the amount of internal-revenue tax collected from them without lawful authority, upon showing as matter of excuse for not having brought their suits within the time limited by law that they had entered into an agreement with the district attorney which was in substance that they should be relieved of that necessity. I can not concur in the policy of setting aside the bar of the statute in those cases on such ground, but I have not deemed it necessary to return the joint resolution with my objections for reconsideration.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR