Litchfield enquirer., 1829-12-17

sano OOiiars; LOT Wnlcn an appTVPTaauV" 'S asked.
 Your particular attention is requested to that part of the report of the Secretary of War which relates to the money held in trust for the Seneca tribe of Indians. It will be perceived that. without legislative aid, the Ex- ecutive cannot Obviate the endorsements Oc- casiOned by the diminutiOn of the dividends on that fund; which originally amounted to one hundred thousand dollars, and has rec gently been invested in United States three per cent. stock.
 The condition and ulteriOr destiny of the Indian Tribes within the limits of some of our States, have become objects of much inter- est and importance. It has long been the pO- licy of Government to introduce among them the arts of civilization. in the hopes Of gradu- ally reclaiming them from a wandering life.- This policy has, however, been coupled with another, wholly incompatible with it's success. PrOfessing desire 90 ciV:lize &settle :hem,we have, at the same time, lost no opportunity to purchase their lands and thrust them further into the wilderness. By this means they have not only heen kept in wandering state, but have been led to look upon us as unjust and indifferent to their fate. Thus, though lavish in it's expedentures upon the subject, Government has constantly defeated its own policy, and the Indians, in general, receding further and further to the West. have retain ed their savage habits. A portion. however, of the Southern tribes, having mingled much with the whites, and made some progress in the arts of civilized life, have lately attempted to erect an independent government within the limits of Georgia and Alabama. These States, claiming to be the only sovereigns with in their territories, extended their laws over the
 Indians; which induced the latter to call up- on the United States for protection.
 Under these circumstances the question presented
 was whether the General Government had right to sustain those people in their Pretensons The Con. s,itution declares that state shall be formed or erected within the jurisdiction of any other State,
 without the consent of te Legislature lf the General
 is not permitted tolerate the erection of confederate State within the Territory of of the members of this Union, against her consent much less could il allow foreign and independent govern ment to establish itself there. Georgia became member of the Confectionery which eventuaied in federal union, sovereign State, always asserting her claim certain limits; which having been ori- ginaIy defined in her colonial charter, and s,.bse- queny recognised in the treaty of peace, she has since continued to enjoy, except as they have been circumscrbed by her own voluntary transfer of DOT ton of her territory to the United States, n the art cles of cession of 1902. Alabama was admitted into the Union the same footing with the original Stnes with boundaries which were prescribed by Congress There is constitutional, conventional or legal pro- vison which allows them less power the Indians within their borders than is possessed by Maine New-York. Would the people of Maine permit the
 Penobscot tribe to erect an Independent Government
 within their State and unless they did, would 1t
 be the duty of the General Government to support them in resisting such measure? Would the people of New.York permit each remnant of the Six Na,ions
 within her borders to declare itself independent
 people, under the protection of the United States
 Could the Indians establish a separate republic on
 each of their reservations in Ohio? Andh they
 so disposed, would be the duty of this Government to protect them in the attempt? the principle n-
 volved in the obvious answer to these questions be abandoned it will follow that the objects of this Gov crnment are reversed and that it has become part of its duty 10 aid in destroying the States which it was established to protect.
 S h ss: SsE s ssd their attempt 10 establish independent government would not be countenanced by the Executive of the
 United States, and advised them to emigrae beyond the Mississippi, submit to the laws of those States
 Our conduct towards these people is deeply inter- estng to our national character. Their present con ditiOm consrasied with what they once were, makes a mos. powerful appeal to our sympaihes Our an- cesfors found them the uncontrolled pOssessors of these regions By persuasion and force they have been made to retire from river to river, and from noun- tain mountain, until some of the tribes have become extnct and others have left but to preserve for while, their once terrible names. Surrounded by the whites, with their of civilization, which, hy destroying the resources of the savage doom him to weakness and decay, the fate of the Mohegan the Narraganset, and the Delaware is fast overtaking the ChOciaw, the Cherokee, and the Creek. That this fate surely awaits them, if they remain within the usHitS Oi uOcS HOt auinu Ot a uOuDIs btn. manty and national honor demand that every effort should be made to avert great calamity. It is too late to inquire whether just in the United States to include them and their territory within the bounds Of new States whose limits they could control. That step cannot be reiraced A State cannot he dismem. bered by Congress- restricted in the exercise of her constitutional power. But the people of these States and Of every State actuaed by feelings of justice and regard for our national honor submit to you the inter- es,ing question, whether something cannot be done consistently with the rights of the States to preserve this much injured race
 As means of effecting this end, suggest, for your consideration the proprety of setting apart an ample district, west of the Mississippi and without the limits of any State Territory now formed, to be guaran. tied to the Indian tribes, long as they shall occupy Il: each tribe having distinct control the por- ton designated for its There they may be secur- cd 60 the enjoyment Of governments of their own choice, subject to no other control from the United States, than such as may be necessary to preserve peace on the frontier and between the several tribes There the benevolent may endeavOr teach them the arts os civilization; and by promoting union and har- mony among them, 10 raise up interesting common wealth, destined 10 perpetuaie the race and to attest the humanity and justice Of this government
 This emigration should be voluntary: for it would be as cruel as unjust to compel the aorigines to aan- don the graves of their fathcrs and seek home m a distant land. But they should be distinctly informed lhat f they remain within the limits of tho States they must be subject their laws In return for their obedience, as individuals they will without doubt he protected in the enjoyment Of those possessions which they have improved by their industry But 1t seems to me visionary to suppose that. in this state Of things claims can be allowed tracts of country on which they have neither dwelt nor made improvements,