Edwardsville spectator. [volume] (Edwardsville, Ill.) 1819-1826, 1824-03-02
Monday, February 2.
On motion oil Mr.. Brent II was


settled upon the public lands Oh tht
banks OF the Mississippi, for the purpose
OF aiding and facilitating steam nayiga.
ton upon said river. Also,
Re8otUea, That the committee be in.
structed to inquire into the expectancy
otPasslng law 10 encourage settlements
on The public lands upon the banks oil
the Mississippi river, with view TO
improve the navigation of said river.
ADDIrIoNAL INDIAN = ob-ScIro.
On motion oil Mr.. Cooke, Chairman
of the Committee on Indian Affairs, the
orders Of the day were postponed, TO take
up bill for the appointment of two adj
dltional Indian Agents. The House ac-
cordingly went INFO Committee of the
whole, Mr.. Conaict in the chair, On the
consideration of the bill.
This bill provides, LIST, "That from
and after the passage Of this act, he
President OF thegUni,ed States be, aud
and he is hereby, authorized to appoint
two Indian Agents, in addition 10 those
already provided 10y law, to be stationed
on the western side of the Mississippi,
at such places as he may think proper.
81, That The Agents appointed accord
Ing to the provisions of this act, shall re-
ceive compensation for their services,
OF 1900 hnndred dollars, each, IN full,
and that all rations or other allowances
made to them, shall be deducted from
the sums hereby allowed"
On this bill (Which the Chairman Of
the Committee on Indian Affairs assured
tie House wou not detan IN
ten minulesl a desu!tory debate arose
which continued Till past ,hree O'Clock.
The object Of The bill, as we'll as the cir
cumstances which gave rise to 1t, were
stated by Mr.. Cooke, who referred the
Committee to a letter OF the Secretary
of War. TINS letter, together with a
document accompanying it, exhlblms
the present number and emoluments al
all the Indian Snpern'enderts, Ageats
and Sub-Agents, now employed by the
United States, was read al the request
oil Mr.. Rankin.
The expedency Of the bill was advo-
Gated by Messrs. Cooke, Cor ny, Clay
and Cook, aud opposed by Messrs. han-
Kin, Ross, Floyd, YaAce, oil ONO, an,i
Foot, OF Connecticut.
The grounds assumed ITS favor were
the dsorderly state ii The Indians on the
Arkansas River anG It's vicinity, produce
ed in part by the removal of the rem
nanis of other tribes into that Territory
and its neighborbood, in consequence ot
an exchange of their lands elsewhere Tor
lands there. Some OF these were Eauii
tribes who inherited an ancient grulge
against each other, and almost the whole
of them were more or less dissatisfied
with the arrangement which had placed
them there. They were nov in very
Iawless state, aud committed great de-
probation, on the property OF The settlers ;
and recent intelligence had been recels- I
ed Of actual hostililies and bloodshed !,
Two agents were as few as could be |
assigned for this region, and il was
hoped that their presence and influence
with the ordinary means employed IN
such agencies, would have an operation
TO restrain these excuses.
The opposition to the bill was direct
ed chiefly against the increase OF the pre-
sent number OF Indian Agents, many o
whom were represented as having very
little to do, and as enjoying situations
that approached to sinecures. Some OF
these might be removed TO the Arkansas,
if Agents were thought necessary there.
1t was incongruous 10 increase the nnm-
Der of Indian Agents, while the num-
Der of the Indians themselves was on The
decrease. The Governor Of the Terri |
tory OF Arkansas was already, ex-otilclo,
an Indian superintendent. The legisla-
ton, now proposed, would'be partial and
imperfect. The entire system ought to
undergo thorough revision. \ gents
should be removed from places where
they were useless, and transferred to
other spots on our frontier, where their
presence was more needed, and some OF
them might be dispensed with allose-
ther Besides the disconte / of the mixed
multitude OF Indians who had been
crowded and concentrated on the Ar
kansas, were not TO be assuaged by ap-
pointing agents. Those discontents
were founded too deeply to be reached
by such remedy. They were the con-
sequences Of the expressions exercised
on the Indians in inlruslons by the whites
on their hunting grounds; a practice
that was carried TO peroicious excess.
A single white hunter often having thlr-
~, forty, and hundred hands employed
a, once in trapping, while the poor In
din owned bnt s;Drie traD1 If we