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committee about five hours on the various questions presented by the bill, and connected with our Indian relations. When he concluded,

On motion of Mr. STORRS, of New York, the committee rose.

SATURDAY, MAY 15, 1880. SALT.

Mr. TALIAFERRO moved that the House take up the resolution laid on the table by him yesterday, proposing a repeal of the duty on salt.

Mr. EARLL, of New York, demanded the yeas and nays on the question of consideration, and they were ordered. Mr. BARRINGER rose to state that he had a substitute for the resolution, which he should offer when in order. Mr. CONNER called the attention of the Chair to a resolution on this same subject, which he had laid on the table at an early period of this session; which, he presumed, would preclude the present one, while that was unacted on;

but

The SPEAKER, on a reference to Mr. C.'s resolution, stated that it did not cover the ground of the present one sufficiently to preclude its previous consideration.

[MAY 15, 1830

Mr. MARTIN. Rather than consume the time of the House in taking the yeas and nays, he would withdraw his motion: but

Mr. DAVENPORT, of Virginia, renewed the motion; and The question was taken on suspending the rule, and decided in the negative by yeas and nays: yeas, 67-naya, 90.

REMOVAL OF THE INDIANS.

The House then resolved itself into the Committee of the Whole on the state of the Union, Mr. WICKLIFFE in the chair, and resumed the consideration of the bill provid ing for an exchange of lands with the Indian tribes within the several States and territories, and for their removal west of the Mississippi river."

Mr. STORRS said, that, if he had believed that the real object and only effort of the bill were to further the policy of providing a country beyond the Mississippi for such of the Indian tribes as might be inclined, of their own free choice, to remove there, he should have cheerfully given his support to the measure. For [said Mr. S.] I heartily respond to the opinion expressed by the honorable member at the head of the Committee on Indian affairs, who spoke yesterday, [Mr. BELL] that no philanthropie man can look at the condition to which these unfortunate pro

The question," Will the House now consider the reso-ple have become reduced, by a combination of circumlution was then put, and decided in the affirmative by the following vote: yeas, 90-nays, 76.

Mr. TALIAFERRO then rose, and said it was not his purpose to enter into any discussion of the resolution. His purpose [he said] would be fully answered in having put this proposition into the possession of the House. This course was dictated to him by several considerations, by the late period of the session, and by the late elaborate debate of the question by the House. It would, after that full and recent discussion, be a trespass on, if not an insult to the House, were he now to go into an argument of the question. Declining, therefore, to enter into a discussion of the subject, he rose to do what he had never before done in his life. He had for forty years been in some legislative body or other, and in all that time he had never moved an adjournment, had never called for the yeas and nays, or for the previous question. As, however, the proposition which he had submitted was simple and distinct, untrammelled with any other matter, and fully understood, he would call for the previous question.

Mr. VINTON moved a call of the House. Mr. DAVIS, of Massachusetts, asked for the yeas and nays on this motion, and they were ordered.

Mr. BARRINGER requested Mr. TALIAFERRO to with draw his motion for the previous question, to allow him to submit his substitute, understood to embrace a gradual reduction of the salt duty, a reduction of the duty on mo lasses, and some other modifications of the tariff, which would probably meet with general approbation.

Mr. TALIAFERRO was proceeding to explain why he did not accede to the request of the gentleman from North Carolina, when the Chair reminded him that no debate was in order pending the questions which had been made. The call of the House was sustained by yeas and nays90 to 76; but

It appearing by the vote that the House was pretty full, the call was dispened with, on motion of Mr. STRONG. Here the hour allotted for the consideration of resolutions having elapsed,

Mr. MARTIN said, if any thing was to be done on the subject of this resolution at all, during the session, it must be done at once. He therefore moved that the rule be suspended, and the discussion allowed to proceed.

The SPEAKER The gentleman is aware that it quires two-thirds of the House to suspend a rule. Mr. MARTIN. I am aware of that, sir.

re

Mr. VINTON demanded the yeas and nays on suspending the rule.

stances which now press upon them in some quarters with intolerable severity, without fervently wishing that they were already removed far beyond the reach of the oppression-and, I was about to say, the example of the white man. I hope that I am too well aware of the responsibility of the country to the opinion of the world, and too sensible of the duties we owe to these people, to be found resisting any measure here, which may really improve their condition, or encouraging them to reject any propositions of the Government which may be offered to them for their free acceptance or refusal. But, sir, although the bill now before you presents nothing on its face, which, on a superficial examination, appears to be objectionable, yet we cannot shut our eyes, if we would, to the circumstances which have brought this subject be fore us at the present session. The papers before the House have convinced me that it is chiefly intended and expected to come in aid of the measures recently take by the States along the southern line of the Union, for removing the Indian nations within their limits from the country which they now occupy; and, finding a purpose so unjust to these people, and so mischievous to the reputation of the country, lurking under it, I cannot give it my countenance or support.

profes

I shall leave it entirely to others to examine that policy which affects to improve the moral condition of the Indians by removing them into the western forests, and dismiss that part of the subject with the single remark, that the President has furnished us, in his message at the opening of the session, with a fair commentary upon that scheme of Indian improvement. He says, that, sing a desire to civilize and settle them, we have, at the same time, lost no opportunity to purchase their lands, and thrust them further into the wilderness"-that, “ by this means they have not only been kept in a wandering state, but been led to look upon us as unjust and indiffer ent to their fate. Thus, though lavish in its expenditure upon the subject, Government has constantly defeated its own policy; and the Indians, in general, receding further and further to the West, have retained their savage ba bits." He then recommends to us that we should set apart an ample portion of our western territory, beyond the limits of Missouri and Arkansas, for the reception of all the tribes of Indians now within the States-about sixty thousand-secure them the country, where he says they may enjoy Governments of their own choice, and where. "the benevolent may endeavor to teach them the arts of civilization, and, by promoting union and harmony

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1 MAY 15, 1830.]

Removal of the Indians.

among them, to raise up an interesting commonwealth, destined to perpetuate the race, and to attest the humanity and justice of this Government."

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[H. oF R.

The last administration was then required by Georgia, in tone at least decisive of her intention, to persevere in her own views of the obligation of the compact of 1802, to We are fortunately able, sir, to ascertain clearly the extinguish the Cherokee title to the lands held by them state of things which has induced the Executive to recom- within that State, and which were covered by the treaty mend this policy to us so earnestly at the present time. of Holston. The administration repeated its efforts in There can be no mistake in the history of our relations good faith, to induce the Cherokees to treat; but they with certain Indian nations, which has brought this sub-resisted all the temptations held out to them, refused to ject before us at this session. It is fully spread upon the enter into any negotiation, and claimed, on their own part, official documents of the House for some few years past; the protection of the plighted faith of the Government. and I shall proceed to call your attention to such parts of then as, I trust, will lead us to the only safe and honorable conclusion to which we ought to come upon this whole

matter.

By the fifth article of the treaty of New York, of the 7th of August, 1790, the United States solemnly guarantied to the Creek nation all their lands beyond the boundrary then established. The treaty of Holston, of the 2d of July, 1791, with the Cherokee nation, was also entered into, under the administration of General Washington, for the purpose of quieting forever the collisions which had taken place between that nation and the adjoining States. After fixing a new and definite boundary between their lands and these States, and obtaining from the nation its express acknowledgment that they were under the protection of the United States, and of no other sovereign what ever; that they should hold no treaty with any foreign power, individual States, or with individuals, and stipulating for the restoration of prisoners, the treaty contains the following article:

"ART. 7. The United States solemnly guaranty to the Cherokee nation all their lands not hereby ceded."

It was time for the administration to pause, at least-and examine well the ground on which the Government stood. The scenes of 1825 were still fresh in the recollection of all. The blood of MacIntosh and his fellow-chief was yet scarcely dry upon the earth, and the smoke of their habitations had scarcely ceased to curl above the tops of the forest. But the Government continued its efforts in the true spirit of its obligations to Georgia, until it became evident that it was in vain to hope or look for success. The Cherokees remained inflexible, and the perseverance of Georgia placed the administration in a situation in which it was more probable that they might soon be called on to preserve the faith of the country plighted to the Cherokees, in the solemn pledge given to that nation, under the administration of General Washington, for the integrity of their country.

In this condition of things, Georgia put forth her ultimatum, and passed her resolutions of the 27th December, 1827. In these she declared her right to extend her authority over the whole Indian country; to coerce obedience to it; and openly asserted that she could rightfully take possession of the Cherokee lands at her own will and pleasure. During the last year, she has followed up these claims, and annexed their country to the adjacent counties; she has extended her laws over the Cherokess, and coupled with them a peculiar code, framed for that purpose, and applicable to the Indians only. Of the operation and character of these laws, I shall say something before I sit down.

It is

There has been some complaint, on the part of Georgia, that, from the commencement of her collision on this subject with the former administration, she has been much misunderstood, and often greatly misrepresented. fair and candid, therefore, that, on this occasion, and in this House, the principles on which she has relied to support her measures, should be stated by herself; that she should be heard in her own words; and that, if she fails to be convinced, the doctrines on which she has rested her pretensions may be no longer mistaken, or her principles misrepresented. I shall not trust myself to state them from recollection, and must ask the committee to indulge me in reading some extracts from the proceedings of her Legislature in 1827. A joint committee of that body, to whom the Governor's message relating to "the acquisition of the Georgia lands, at present in the occupancy of the Cherokee Indians, and the absolute and jurisdictional right of the State to the same," had been referred, reported that they had given that subject the most mature and deliberate consideration, and accompanied the report with an elaborate exposition of the principles on which they founded certain resolutions submitted with it. The whole argument is finally recapitulated, with a comprehensiveness and clearness which relieves me from reading the whole report.

By the compact with Georgia, of the 24th of April, 1802, on the surrender of her claims to the country west of her present limits, the United States stipulated to extinguish, at their own expense, for the use of Georgia, the Indian title to their lands within that State, as early as it could be peaceably obtained, on reasonable terms." This article of the compact also recited, that, for acquiring a part of these lands, the President (Mr. Jefferson) had directed that a treaty should be immediately held with the Creeks. There seemed to be no doubt, therefore, originally, between the parties to this compact, as to the manner in which it was to be executed on the part of the General Government. This treaty was accordingly holden on the 16th of June, 1802, and the kings, chiefs, head men, and warriors of the Creek nation, assembled in council, ceded to the United States an extensive tract of country. The commissioners plenipotentiary, who held this treaty, were nominated to the Senate, and their appointments confirmed. By another treaty with the Creeks, (November 14th, 1805,) they ceded other lands to the United States, which also passed to Georgia. Other treaties have followed with this nation, not essential to be now considered, until the administrations of Mr. Monroe and Mr. Adams, when they persisted in refusing to sell any more of their lands. Georgia had, in the mean time, strenuously required of the General Government the fulfilment of its pledge under the compact of 1802. But all the efforts of the Government to induce the Creek nation to part with their lands had failed, until the execution of the articles at the Indian Springs, in 1825, by MacIntosh and some other chiefs, who assumed to represent the Creek nation on that occasion. We all know the melancholy catastrophe which immediately followed, and which all "Before Georgia," says this report, "became a party of must wish could be for ever forgotten. The calamities to the articles of agreement and cession of 1802, she could which befell the Creeks filled them with terror. They rightfully have possessed herself of those lands, either by were in some degree quieted, after great difficulty, negotiation with the Indians, or by force; and she had deand very painful measures, on the part of the General Go- termined to do so; but by this contract she made it the duty vernment, towards Georgia; and found, at last, that their of the United States to sustain the expense of obtaining for only hope of peace and future security was in listening to her the possession, provided it could be done upon reathe benevolent councils of the administration. They sonable terms and by negotiation. But, in case it should finally surrendered the remnant of their lands to Georgia. become necessary to resort to force, this contract with the

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Removal of the Indians.

United States makes no provision; the consequence is, that Georgia is left untrammelled, at full liberty to prosecute her rights in that point of view, according to her own discretion, and as though no contract had been made. Your committee, therefore, arrive at this conclusion, that, anterior to the revolutionary war, the lands in question belong ed to Great Britain; that the right of sovereignty, both as to dominion and empire, was complete and perfect in her; that the possession of the Indians was permissive; that they were mere tenants at will; and that such tenancy might have been determined at any moment, either by negotia- | tion or force, at the pleasure of Great Britain; that upon the termination of the revolutionary war, and by the treaty of peace, Georgia assumed all the rights and powers in relation to the lands and Indians in question, which theretofore belonged to Great Britain; that since that time she has not divested herself of any right or power in relation to the lands now in question, further than she has in relation to all the balance of her territory; and that she is now at full liberty, and has the power and right to possess herself, by any means she may choose to employ, of the lands in dispute, and to extend over them her authority and laws. Although your committee believe that the absolute title to the lands in controversy is in Georgia, and that she may rightfully possess herself of them, when and by what means she pleases, yet they would not recommend an exercise of that right until all other means fail. We are aware that the Cherokee Indians talk extravagantly of their devotion to the land of their fathers, and of their attachment to their homes; and that they have gone very far towards convincing the General Government that negotiation with them, with the view of procuring their relinquishment of title to the Georgia lands, will be hopeless; yet we do confidently believe that they have been induced to assume this lofty bearing, by the protection and encouragement which have been afforded them by the United States; and that they will speak a totally different language, if the General Government will change its policy towards them, and apprise them of the nature and extent of the Georgia title to their lands, and what will be the probable consequence of their remaining refractory.

[MAY 15, 1830.

all hazard, and without regard to terme, to procure said lands for the use of Georgia.

Resolved, That the policy which has been pursued by the United States towards the Cherokee Indians, has not been in good faith towards Georgia; and as all the difficulties which now exist to an extinguishment of the Indian title, have resulted from the acts of policy of the United States, it would be unjust and dishonorable in them to take shelter behind these difficulties.

"Resolved, That all the lands appropriated and unappropriated within the conventional limits of Georgia, be long to her absolutely; that the title is in her; that the Indians are tenants at her will; that she may at any time she pleases determine that tenancy, by taking possession of the premises; and that Georgia has the right to extend her authority and laws over the whole territory, and to coerce obedience to them from all descriptions of people, be they white, red, or black, within her limits."

This report and these resolutions were agreed to by both branches of the Legislature, approved by the Governor, transmitted to the President under the late administration, and are among the papers of this House. They were sent here by the President, in 1828, in answer to a resolution offered by a gentleman from Georgia, [Mr. WILDE.] I have not been able to ascertain whether or not the late administration complied with the suggestion contained in this report, that these proceedings of the State of Geor gia should be laid before the Cherokee nation; but the pa pers on your table will enable us to judge how far the pre sent administration has, in furtherance of the policy and views of Georgia, changed the former policy of the Go verument, and apprised the Cherokees of the nature and extent of the Georgia title to their lands, and what the probable consequences would be of their "remaining refractory."

Against all these pretensions of Georgia, the Cherokee nation have protested to the present administration as well as to the last. They have asserted the inviolability of their treaties, and invoked the faith and demanded the proteetion of the Government. They have received the answer of the present Secretary of the Department of War and "Your committee would recommend that one other, the President. They have finally appealed to this House, and the last appeal be made to the General Government, and offered their memorials here as their last refuge from with a view to open a negotiation with the Cherokee In- the calamities which they believe await them after we shall dians upon the subject; that the United States do instruct have turned them away. Speaking of their case, the Presi their commissioners to submit this report to the said In-dent says in his message: "A portion, however, of the dians; that if no such negotiation is opened, or if it is, and southern tribes, having mingled much with the whites and proves to be unsuccessful, that then the next Legislature made some progress in the arts of civilized life, have lateis recommended to take into consideration the propriety ly attempted to erect an independent government within of using the most effectual measures for taking possession of and extending our authority and laws over the whole of the lands in controversy. Your committee, in the true spirit of liberality, and for the purpose alone of avoiding any difficulty or misunderstanding with either the General Government or the Cherokee Indians, would recommend to the people of Georgia to accept any treaty that may be made, between the United States and those Indians, securing to this State so much of the lands in question as may remain, after making reserves for a term of years, for life or forever, in fee simple, to the use of particular Indians, not to exceed in the aggregate one-sixth part of the whole territory. But if all this will not do; if the United States will not redeem her pledged honor; and if the Indians continue to turn a deaf ear to the voice of reason and friendship; we now solemnly warn them of the consequences. The lands in question belong to Georgia-she must and she will have them. Influenced by the foregoing considerations, your committee beg leave to offer the following resolutions:

"Resolved, That the United States, in failing to procure the lands in controversy as early as the same could be done upon peaceable and reasonable terms, have palpably violated their contract with Georgia, and are now bound, at

the limits of Georgia and Alabama. These States, claiming to be the only sovereigns within their territories, extended their laws over the Indians, which induced the latter to call on the United States for protection. Under these circumstances, the question presented was, whether the General Government had a right to sustain these people in their pretensions."

It is to be deeply regretted that before the President assumed the power to decide against the Cherokee nation, the interesting questions, which were thus presented under the constitution, laws, and public treaties of the country, he had not submitted the whole matter to Congress as his constitutional advisers, or at least to the Senate, with the view of disposing of these difficulties by amicable negotiation. It seems that it was expected at one time that this would have been done. The Superintendent of Indian Affairs, in the War Department, in a letter of the 11th of April, to the Cherokee delegation says: "The Secretary of War is not now prepared to decide the question involved in the act of the Legislature of Georgia, to which you refer, in which provision is made for extending the laws of Georgis over your people after the first of June, 1830. It is a question which will doubtless be the subject of congressional inquiry, and what is proper in regard to it will no doubl

MAY 15, 1830.]

Removal of the Indians.

[H. OF R.

be ordered by that body." I regret that this disposition | tion of the United States. The treaties of this Govern of the subject had been made. These questions might ment, made with them from its first organization and under doubtless have been safely trusted to Congress. But if every administration, to which they have solemnly apthis was ever the intention of the Government, it appears to have been soon abandoned. On the 18th of April, and within a week after Colonel McKenney's letter, the Secre41tary of the Department of War informed the Cherokee a delegation, that, since that communication to them, he had conversed freely and fully with the President, and had been directed by him to submit to them his views on the whole subject. He then explicitly tells them that their ra claims to the protection of the Government, under these treaties and the laws of the United States, against the operation of the laws of Georgia, could not be recognised. I shall not now call the attention of the committee to the doctrines assumed by this department, further than to read one or two extracts from this letter to the Cherokee delegation.

pealed for their security against these fatal encroachments on their rights, have been treated as subordinate to the laws of these States, and are thus virtually abrogated by the Executive Department. The President has assumed the power to dispose of the whole question, and the message proposes to us little more than to register this executive decree. This has seriously embarrassed the whole subject. It is to be feared that insuperable obstacles have been thus interposed to the fair and unbiassed action of the House, and the full and free expression of its opinion. We are called upon and constrained to act under a moral coercion, extremely unfavorable to an impartial examination of the question before us.. I well know the strength of the moral influence of any opinion of the Executive Department of this Government, and I feel the weight of it on this occasion. But I hope that this House feels too deeply its own responsibility to the country, to suffer this influence to be felt here against the solemn convictions of its judgment. But these questions must now be examined here. We must adopt the measure before us, and in that way sanction all that has been done, and all which shall follow, or reject it, and leave the responsibility to those who have assumed it. It is the more to be lamented that this decision of the Executive was made so hastily, since there was no necessity of acting definitively upon it be fore Congress would have convened. The laws of Georgia were not to have gone into operation immediately. If the first determination which seems to have been taken had not been unfortunately abandoned, and the States concerned had been frankly advised that this subject was to be referred to Congress, we should have been left free to devise some prudent and just course, by negotiation or legislation, which might have quieted all parties, and preserved the public faith unblemished. It is unfortunately now too late to expect that any such course could be proposed with the slightest hope of success. There is no reason to believe that the Executive Department is desirous to retrace its steps, and it is decisively avowed that these States have unalterably determined to proceed to the extremity of a strict execution of these laws in the face of the guaranties of our treaties. We must meet the case then here as we find it. The message has invited us to examine it freely; and, if I am not greatly mistaken, the decision of this House upon the measure now before it will involve momentous consequences, for good or evil, to the reputation of the country. While we have been sitting in these seats, deliberating on this matter, or rather sleeping over it, the intercourse laws have become a dead letter in the statute book. While the Cherokee delegation have been at our door, anxiously waiting to know the fate of their nation, bands of profligate men have intruded themselves upon their people, and seated themselves down upon their lands. I know that this is not done under the authority of Georgia, or by the countenance of the authorities of that State, but our agent has informed us that these intruders have taken courage in their aggressions, from the laxity of opinion prevailing in regard to Indian rights. A state of violence, disreputable to the country, exists there. Blood has already been shed. One of the Cherokees has been slain in open day. The forces of the Government have very lately been sent there to preserve the public peace, and there are some thousands of lawless adventurers prowling through their country, digging for Cherokee gold, and quarrelling among themselves for the division of the spoil. I am not at all surprised that outrages of this sort have been renewed there. They were By the course adopted by the Executive, and the princi- to have been expected, and are nothing more than the ples on which he has thus assumed to act on his own re-obvious consequences which must have certainly followed sponsibility, without consulting Congress, these Indian na- the least relaxation of the former policy of the Governtions have been substantially placed without the protec-ment. The protection which these unfortunate people

To all this," says the Secretary, "there is a plain and obvious answer, deducible from the known history of the country. During the war of the revolution, your nation was the friend and ally of Great Britain; a power which then claimed sovereignty within the limits of what conIstituted the Thirteen United States. By the declaration of independence, and, subsequently, the treaty of 1788, all the rights of sovereignty pertaining to Great Britain became vested respectively in the original States of this Union, including North Carolina and Georgia, within whose territorial limits, as defined and known, your nation was then situated. If, as is the case, you have been permitted to abide on your lands from that period to the present, enjoying the right of soil and privilege to hunt, it is not thence to be inferred that this was any thing more than a permission growing out of compacts with your nation, nor is it a circumstance whence now to deny to those States the exercise of their original sovereignty." After further explaining to the Cherokees the views of the President, the Secretary continues: "But suppose, and it is suggested merely for the purpose of awakening your better judgment, that Georgia cannot and ought not to claim the exercise of such a power, what alternative is presented?" He then explicitly says that if any collision should arise, even on this admission that Georgia was thus in the wrong, the claims set up by them under their treaties for protection, cannot even then be recognised; and as to the interference of the Executive under the laws of the Union or these treaties, he adds, "The President cannot and will not beguile you with such an expectation;" and finally tells them, "No remedy can be perceived, except that which frequently heretofore has been submit ted for your consideration-a removal beyond the Mississippi, where alone can be assured to you protection and peace. It must be obvious to you, and the President has instructed me again to bring it to your candid and serious consideration, that to continue where you are, within the territorial limits of an independent State, can promise you nothing but interruption and disquietude." About the same time, I find that in a talk delivered by the President to the Creek nation, through their agent, he told them that where they now reside, their white brothers" always claimed the land, and these lands in Alabama happen to be the lands of the United States. He further informed them that his "white children" in Alabama had extended their laws over their country, and that, if they remained there, they must submit to these laws. I believe, sir. that this bill owes its origin, at this time, to this state of things, and that its chief policy is to co-operate with these States in the acquisition of the benefits which they expect to attain to themselves by the removal of the Indians."

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Removal of the Indians.

[MAY 15, 1830.

have demanded of us, has failed to secure them against general interest of the country requires it to be done, but these evils.

By surrendering the question of sovereignty, the Executive has, for all substantial purposes, virtually surrendered the treaties too. The intercourse laws of the United States are nullified with them. For until this was done, the right of these States to extend their laws over the Cherokee nation and their country was not sustainable. It has become necessary, therefore, for those who justify what has been done, to go one step further, and deny the validity of the intercourse laws and the treaties too. That ground has accordingly been taken, and gravely attempted to be sustained. If it be well founded in any principles of our political system, there is indeed no redress for those who have trusted to us. We shall have ensnared them in our toils. We have allured them on to their destruction. These unsuspecting victims of their generous confidence in our faith must be left to bear the calamities which threaten them as they can, or perish under them. They have grievously complained of us, and the country has deeply felt the reproaches of our good faith, which these complaints could not have failed to inspire in an enlightened and christian community. The obligations of our treaties have never been so understood or acted upon before. The events which have followed have shocked the public feeling, and agitated the country. It requires no skill in political science to interpret these treaties. The plainest man can read your Bolemu guaranties to these nations, and understand them for himself. I can tell the gentleman from Tennessee, [Mr. BELL] that he is greatly mistaken in supposing that the excitement which prevails is nothing more than a puling sensibility, or that it is to be attributed to religious fanatics or aspiring politicians. The memorials on your tables will show you the names of the warmest friends of this administration. Able civilians and sound statesmen believe you to be in the wrong, Pious men of all denominations have been afflicted by what has passed, and the consciences of the purest patriots in the country have been wounded.

we have in that respect pursued a liberal policy towards them. We have purchased in these States about forty millions of acres. There have been surveyed for sales which have rapidly progressed, nearly nine millions in Mississippi, and more than twenty-two millions in Alabams before 1827.

.

I have been inclined to think, sir, that, under all the circumstances, some of the new States were admitted into the Union before they had acquired a sufficient population and strength to support their State governments with advantage and convenience to themselves. I am not Dow disposed to complain of it. I have cheerfully voted for the admission of them all since I have had the honor of a seat in this House, and an enlightened policy required that we should have dealt generously with, those by whose enterprise our immense forests had been reclaimed from the waste in which they lay, and who had carried with, ¦ them, and are still extending to our remotest borders, our free institutions, our laws, and I hope, our virtues toe. There can be no more cheering sight to any patriotic man, and the friends of free government every where can have no surer confidence in the stability of our institutions, and the triumph of that consoling example which we hold on to mankind of the blessings of regulated liberty, than to view the success of that policy which has planted around us that flourishing circle of free States. But their early admission into the Union imposed upon them the burden of supporting independent governments when they were not yet well able to bear taxation, and while their resources were too much exhausted in payments for the public de main. These circumstances have given rise to pressing claims upon us. But it was our fault, if there was any, as well as theirs, and has imposed upon us the duty of pur suing a liberal policy towards them, which I think we have been disposed to fulfil honorably. The great extent of public lands within their limits has been made a source of uneasiness in some quarters. While we have been deal ing generously with them here, insidious attempts have been made to mislead their feelings, and entice them inte false views of their rights, and lax notions of political me rality. Restless men and artful demagogues have laid hold of this matter to serve their private ends, by teaching them to contemn their own good faith, and to look upes the General Government as a hard master.

[Mr. LEWIS, of Alabama, requested Mr. STORRS to yield the floor, that he might say a word in regard to that State. M. S. gave way, and Mr. LEWIS said that if the gentleman from New York included the State of Alabama in his remarks, he would inform the House, that though s report was once made in her Legislature, to which Mr. S may have referred, yet it was promptly rejected in both branches by very large majorities.

In my humble opinion, sir, Georgia has had no reason to complain of us, or to accuse the General Government of a disinclination to promote her interests as far as it could have been done in the true spirit of our engage ments to her, and without violating our good faith to the Cherokees. To say nothing now of her original title to the country west of her present limits, (for we assumed that to be in her by the compact of 1802,) we made her what was then considered and accepted as a fair compensation for its surrender. We have since burdened the treasury with a heavy charge from the proceeds of what we acquired, for the extinguishment of private claims under titles derived from her Legislature. The amount paid to these claimants and to Georgia was seven Mr. STORRS said that he had no reference to the State millions and a quarter of dollars. In the execution of this of Alabama. He was not aware that such a report had compact, I am informed that we have since extinguished ever been made in her Legislature, and was glad to find the Indian title within her limits to more than twelve mil- that it was disposed of there in a manner so honorable to lions of acres, and at an enormous expense. I am ready the character of the State. Mr. S. said that he owed st now to vote any further amount that may be necessary to apology to the committee for introducing this topic at all carry it into effect honorably, in the spirit in which it has on the present occasion. He had seen doctrines started always beeu executed. This is to be done by treaty. in some quarters on that point, which were calculated to { The very delay which has taken place in its complete exe- do mischief; but he believed that they might safely be cution, from the second year of Mr. Jefferson's adminis- left to there probationw hich they would be sure to mee tration to this time, (independently of its obvious meaning with from the good sense and integrity of the people of on the face of it,) conclusively shows the sense in which those States to whom they had been addressed.] it has been understood and acted upon under all adminis- Mr. S. resumed. In the message of the Executive, in trations. There can be no administration, nor any one here, who does not feel and acknowledge our obligation to execute it faithfully. But Mississippi and Alabama stand in a different relation to us. As we extinguish the Indian title to the lands in these States, they become the domain of the General Government. We have entered into no engagements with them to do this faster than the

forming us what had been done, he has given us his reasons, too, for the course which has been taken on his part. We are thus enabled to examine the principles on which that department has acted, and to determine more satisfactorily how far they sanction the doctrines which have been there assumed. While the President has very justly said that it would be as cruel as unjust to compel the li

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