Richmond palladium. [volume] (Richmond, Wayne County, Ind.) 1831-1837, 1835-02-28
TWENTY-THIRD CONGRESS.
SECOND SESSION.
IN SENATE.
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 1895.

!
| Mr. CLAY said, he held n his hand, and
asked leave TO present, memorial, and
certain resolutions from the Council held
at Running Waters, Of portion of tie
Cherokee Indians. Toe Chesokees b id
country, Of could any longer be called
their country,) lying in the States of Geor-
gia, Alabama, Mississippi and. Tennessee !:
containing a population of about 1900.
Of this population. much the greater part
was in the State of Georgia. Il was well
known, that for scv, raj years past, it had
been the policy of this Government, to
transfer the Cherokee Indians west Of the
-'ilssss'pp, and portion Of the tribe had
ava'led 10 amselves Of the opportunity, and
he facilities afforded them for going there
hut'- potion ot'them were disposed to re-
"iin. These proceedings come from the
lmlnor 'ortion Of them, who We're DESTROYS
ioi emigrating, who sal they foa.d it i'm
possible to live under laws winch they could
not undf rstand, and which they d IA not par-
l'icipato in framing. AnJ hey s j !hat
obstruction VS. hanging o,ei taetn, Il hey
continued within the United Stats, that
cit-g0rcrGnent among themselves vas de-
'stroyed, AID they preferred exile liberty.
rather t'i1n { residence il their accGS oned
homes with slavery. They asked tbs Coz
ieTnn1 nj TO provide means to trlnspo-. them
west Of the Mississippi with guarantees
of political rights aud scll--g 1vernment.
never TO be destroyed. These were the
Objects osthe Council of Running Waters.
But he took The prescn: occasion to give
his own opinions on this entire subject,
and to express the general sentiments
which he entertained of the relations exis-
! ting, between the Indian tribes, and the Peo-
pie ofthe United States. The rights of
the tribes were to be ascertained nv sol
emn stipulat;ons of numerous treaties. Ill
would be found from the examination, ;, hat
IA different treaties had been made with
the Cherokee lndians-some one or more
Of which were concluded under some one
Of the administrations Of this Government.
down to the present time, with the excoD-
ton Of the two last administrations. The
trcaty Of Hopcwell, made 1855, was the
first, the third article Of which, declared
that the Indians wei placed ader the DO
lection of the United States, and no other
sovereign whatever. TIE next treaty was
concluded under the auspices Of the father
ofhls country, in 1871, and guaranteed TO
the Cherokees, the undisturbed enjoyment
Icf all the lands which were not coded. The !
next treaty was in 1874, and that too un-
der the auspices Of Gen. Washington; and
containing solemn guarantee that all parts
OF the former treaties rel1ting TO the Cher
okecs, were binding on the parties. BIZ
another treaty, made in 1898, it was stip-
ulated that the treaties sabsisting between
the contracting parties, were in full force
and operation. The last treaty was con-
cluded in lSl7, and it recognized the diff
ference between the two portions of the
Cherokee nation, and renewed the provis-
ion that the existing relations between the
two parties, were to continue in force; and
to this treaty was affixed the signature of
the present Chief Magistrate, as one of TIE
nesocatOrs on thepart ofthe United States
He also called the attention Of the Senate
to the treaty of GreenviIle made forty wears
ago, recognising the same general princi-
pies. ~That the tribes should be permit
ted hunting, or any other pursuit, and when
they chose to make sale Of their lands, it
it should be only to the United States"
In this treaty too. they acknowledge them
selves to be under the protection Of the U |
States, and ~ other power. Such were
the rights which were recognised by treat
les, to the Indian tribes in the U. States,
and in addition, the guarantee that they
were to live under their own laws, without
any interruption or molestation. He con-
tended too, that these rights had been re-
cognised by the Supreme Court Of the |
United States, on several occasions. In
one case it was declared ssthat the Indians
had an unquestioned and uuquestionable
right to the lands they occupied, tilther
right was extinguished by voluntary ces-
sion to our Government. But these In /
dian rights were further recognised on one /
of the most interesting occasions known to
this Government. He alluded to the ne
cociatons between Great Britain and the
United States. for TIE termination Of the
late wal. The hinge OF which tie nego-
citation turned, he had a distinct recnilec-
tor. VS. Tire claim brought forward bv
the En.sh '.er7ciators IN behalf of the +
Indians, and which they held as sine guc
sos to the conclusion OF the treaty Of
pcacc-thet the Indians, her allies should
be included in tina. tEeaiy-tbat they should
have per,nanen, boundary ass gned them,
and that Eei.ker party should be at liberty I
10 purchase the lands they set apart. But :
the American Commissioners would not 1
listen TO the proposition so much as 10 REL !
.er il TO their Government, informing the {
British Comm ssioners that If they did so, Is
they were sa1e it would meet viii most {
prompt rejection. They stated that the In :
iians lived under their own customs, and G
not the laws Of the United States, and that
hey were placed under the protection Of q
he United states alone, whether they were i.
ubject OF otherwise. Tie correspond {