Constitutional Whig. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1824-1832, 1830-08-06

ter and her respo.sbiily to the opinion OF mnnlind
to make that effort thrs course of violence
and waste OF human life II the act can be sustain
ed, undoubtedly desirable That It should be. Blu
this not he first occasion on which have express
ed my own opinion, that 1t left the whole matter ex
acly where 1t ioundit Ithas once been my pfofes
1 siona duty to examine that question in bearing
/ upon another case. The sovereignty OF the Seneca
IS yet unimpeached, If 1t should be found that the
were not subject to tile jurisdiction of the State
when this act was passed. That question vet re
mains to be tried However benevolent the intentions
OF the Legislature may have been, yet if should be
found that the Of The Seneca nation to the
exercise Ut this power was necessary, the Courts
viii pause before they assume jurisdiction under it,.
am mol aware that the act has ever been executed
was, shortly after ts passage and the first case
which brought up the question the conditlon o
The Indians another form, that the Supreme Court
relying On the lnerehces to be drawn from that law
decided that they cltizens and SUBJECT like al
others, to he laws OF the State But since the re-
versal of this case, the opinion OF Chancellor Kent
considered To be the law OF the state How much
aid then, to the doctrines vi Report OF the Com
mittee on Indian Atfairs, can be drawn from the
Course OF judicial decisions New York, even since
the passage OF the OF 1892, 1 leave you to de
tfmlne nd Will dismiss this part of The subject With
the remark, that If, by the pubic or conventional
law Ut that State the Union, whether arising from
treaties or founded on poiicai principles of
system, the Senecc Nation held theii sovereignty
1872, that not, and could rignttuily take
II away.
shall cheerfully concede that we look to the
acts Ut tho CoiOnes and especially of the States
the Federal Government to determine the rights oi
soil and sovereignty claimed by the Indian nations
but shall be compelled to detaIn you longer than
should have done had the Committee on Indian AT
fdi;s caimed with less Confidence, ana gwen better
proof that the fundamental principle That the Indians
had no right to either, never been abandoned,
thef expressly or BY implication. Whatever may
nave been the public law before the revolution. 1t
would he quite sufficient 10 settle this question
cluslVeiy III favor OF the Indian by showing
what the acts of the old Congress- States and the
Federal Government, have been, from the Declara-
ton Independence to the present time. But we
lind upon tables collection of cooplal laws.
some OF which were passed nearly two centuries go.
Will trouble you with reflections that have &C
CURED To me this mote disposing the difficult
ties thrown In the way OF gentlemen by the history OF
later times Cannot agree that we are to 60 back
quite so Tar 10 ascertain the public conventional
law OF the Federal Government, or to look beyond
the Revolution for the political law Of the States
This collection OF laws certainly contains some,
chiefly OF an early date. which may appear be
somewhat whimsical, and there DOUBT That ma
ny Gould De found which would show less regard lu
Indian rights, and perhaps to the Common CLAIMS OF
Humanity, tina" some OF these. There may be much
to lament In our early history. cannot say that
have found muca instruction from the extracts laid
before US ut these early Laws of the colonlsts
certainly feel no qualification that they have been
rescued from oblivion, and placed among ne oocu-
ments OF tbis house am sorry to see them here
1t would no however, be difficult account Tor The
origin OF them. without attr.Dutlng them spirit
SO untavorabie le the claims of the lnlabli
or tnls continent the Committee on Indian Affairs
seem To have assumed IL would be rather remai ka
bic II we could show that Indian rights always
held nigh respect that Indian treaties were al
Ways strictly observed. We must make great allow.
ances tor the early coionIss. They settled here
at great distance from Europe They were ltL,e
regarded, and altogether unprotected by the mother
country. Their vicinity To- these fierce and warilke
nations often produced dangerous COLLISIONS witt
tnf.n q state Of eEasperatUu sprung UP wluch led
to nsrcliess wers, and bitter and parable resent
tnen.s The French were on the other SIDE OF The
lndlans aud sometimes excited them even to the e-
trpatlon ct the tns iisn cpiomsis. If we conside,
nat the State OF society was, aud how strongly the
principle OF MISREPRESENTATION is implanted ID the hu-
man cart, we should rather wonder that the Com
mlttee on Indian Affairs bad mol been ubie 10 tfno
much more IN our early history to their 90
sitlons WAS to be expected that fathers were
TO be more than men, IN the critical and aflctng
situations Which we know from history hey were
often placed! Would on look Tor calm PHILOSOPHY
In men wu0se families were awakened from their pill
lows at midnight by the yell the war noop?-when
they fled naked the depth OF winter to the nearest
thickel for refuge from the tomahu wk?-wnen they
Looked back upon the conhagralon winch lighted up
the DahesS forest around lien1!-Wnen they return
ed 10 the burning ruins and say tie door-Posts OF
their dwellings sprnkled With Tue blood OF tber chill
captyltyeor Uien they gathered from the scorchinr
ashes the cacined relics OF all they mad heId dear on
earth! Ii We cannot justify thai extremity of retail
laton TO winch human nature In such circumstances
could be- tempted, let us be just enough to their
memory, to torbear TO reProaci the OF their
social affections. Why, sir, do We not 60 back
and bring up tor onI examples al thus day
other laws OF our oWn, other countries more
gIavely enacted, and quite as Vigorously enforced.
we might perhaps be aDle to Justify The practce of
of or If yye ho
cilned 60 back still further, could Justify the
putting of prisoners oil 10 death. 1t is not half
century since the African slave trade vas generally
condemned by the laws of christian governmen 3.
l should be very sorry to believe that the Govern
men was driven to justify the passage of this bill
under any examples like these, that we should be
forced to confess that we and all the world have
made no advance for two centuries political science
or the morality OF the code of public law, by which
enlightened nations are wiling 10 be governed /
hope that during that time society has gone for
wards and not backwards. We boast much of our
improvement in other things, and why should we not