Constitutional Whig. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1824-1832, 1829-09-15
From, the National h,tclts faccr.
PRESENT CRISIS IN THE CONDITION OF
THE ANERICAN INDIANS.
N o.. = IT

In the article of guaranty, which was the subec
o! discussion III my last number the country OF tht
Cherokee nation is called s'EhetY i1HHs;" an eynrcs
sion utterly at varance with the notion. that the
lands belonged 10 the whites Indeed the recent in
depreciation at our coupncts with the Indians, does
great violence to the ordinary rules Of ianguane-
Eie seventh article IS short, and will hear rpcatiro
Is reads thus: "TaE UNITED STATES SOLEINLY
6OARANIf TO THE C:IEsoI.EE Marion, ALL
THEIR LANDS NOT lEREBr cEDEp" This seems
to be, upon the face OF 1t, plain sentence. man
OF moderate Information would least SUPPOSE him
self to understand it. He would not s,sDcct tina,
there vas secret, reconcile meaning, altogether in
compatible with the apparent But il seems that
there VAS such meaning How it was discovered
by whol-t he public are not informed. The present
Secretary Of Wa, however, has lately adopted it.
and urged it upon the Cherosecs as decisive Of tIa
artia!e then, explained by public tiancticparv
thirty eight years after 1t made would have h,nn
accurately eXpresaoa as follows: The Uated Siatss
s1'sm'ty dcclaTe thai tae Cherokee h,dians hare no
right nor title 30 any lands a0ihin the territory of The
United Silies, fra dy The treaty Of 1885, bit til
Tinted States permit tc Cheyoices 10 semaa or ttt
lands Of North CaYo!ina, South Carolina and Geo,,-
SiE, (SoRt aad Vest Of The above described bounduy
irti! tie said States SGH te possession of Ike same
This Is the guaranty o.! the Cherokee country. It
is certainly the Interpretation of the Secretary OF
War. How would other treaties bear similar cx-
p!anation? Fbc newspapers tell lis, that Russia, @.
britain, and France, have engaged to guuraniy the
territory of Greece within certain limits. Does this
mean that the Greeks 10 he permitted to i've for
Ike present, on lands which belong to the Turks; but
that the Turks whenever they please, may take pos
session Of their own lands, and massacre the Greeks?
Tine Federal Constitution says, (Art. ". sec. 4 !
The United States shall guaranty to every State in
this Union, Republican, form Of GfoUeranseni" the
rue meaning (which may hereafter appear to be as
~ have Republican form of government for the pre-
si9t; and until u DronGTch5cnt form Of Government
shall be imposed upon the people thereof"
The tue meaning OF an instrument is that which
F3s in the minds Of the parties the time of sign
rig. Can the Secretary of War prove that General
Washington understood the treaty Of Holston accor-
ny to the explanation now given? Can ne rrsva
N: the Cherokee chiefs aud warriors uudersi God
II the manner Surely he would not have
81 sgucd aud ratified in sense, and carried into
effect 10 totally different and opposite sense, lie
mast therefore suppose, that they hid right to
IeF Owl lands, and That they stood ready to remove
= hcn@yer requested. But he must allow, that If
lis were the meaning Of the parties, it was very
strangely expressed and however sincerely he may
entertain The newly discovered opinion as 10 the mean
'1y he may still find it extremely difficult to convince
nc fyOr,l that he is RIGHT
y III the Secretary Of Var guaranty his country
a:~asL any loss 81 character, as a consequence Of
,oPsng lns interpretation; Whom viii bo get for
s3oisoEs arl eonpurlgators2 Can be engage that i'm
!,rtia and disinterested will be satisfied? :nd
they viii not, or ii there is danger that they will
ot, siio1lj he not dstrust his conclusions And
'i3y he not have arrived az them without sufficient
el,,I...natian,
Not to dwell longer fhe icords of the article is
4. cgsd0le that the Chcrokccs would have sioned
treaty, in tle year 1884, if they had been plainly told
taa. ihe United States did not Acknowledged them
cpamtc peoples that hey hadno rights, any lands;
taat they lived un6n their ancient hunting grounds rs
tic permission Of IT,. Whites and that, whent ycr the
whites required it they must remove beyond the fIs
e.sspps? ~ that y.~y mCment the ChCrokees felt
strong. Thy an me naighJoring tybee could col.
IJct formidable Go.cc. They had an ilmitabIe
i,rest in which 10 range with many parts Of which
hey were perfectly acquainted They could have
Given IL Eo the white settlers, line Of more
tan 900 niles il extent. Macy Bradlocss field,
ia2ny -. Cla!I's defeat, many battle Of T!pDl3a-
ne, woHd nave been witnessed, before they could
haze s2n cz2s,'ed from their swanps and their
mountains thag DHea @ou's and their imperyjous cane
brakes anI fs'r.g dstogel from tie wide regions on
thi7 silo Of The Mississippi
Tue people Of The Tinted States wanted peace
W ihYted tbc tdeFokees 10 lay down their arms
We spoke kindly to them. called them our brothers.
at Tie beginning OF cvcrv Fancp~c; treated hctn as
y .a.5 spoke l'rgaIy o. or f,,e,3 kindness and