Richmond enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1815-1867, 1841-06-01

period, during the late Administration, complaints Of
this character took political and partizan direction
and the venerable patriot then the head Of the CO.
vernment, with the fire nds who supported him. were
charged with cruelty and extortIon towards these ,g
nosant and unprotected natives. The treaties making
Tor their lands broadly and loudly censuIed op
pressIve and UNJUST securing no adequate return 10
the red man for the value OF his property wrenched
from him and his removal from the lands, in confor
NIFTY with his treaty stipuiatons, characterized
nothing short oil violent exercise OF arbitrary power
an expulsion by force from his native hearth aud his
native home.
| Perhaps impressed with Of the partial Justice
of these complaints the then President General Jack.
directed change of the policy the purchases
Of land, and treaty entered INTO with the Chicka.
tribe of Indians, covering their whole extensive
country East OF the Mississippi, in the month of May,
| lc34, upon the terms proposed. Those terms
were brief that the L $ should become the trustee,
Of the Indians, without compr salon. for Tie survey
and sale of the lands and the removal Of the tribe
TO their homes III the West and should account
lnr and pay TO them the whole proceeds me re y
deductng the actual expenses Of the execution of the
rnst but reseTvlng no commissions or other compen-
saton for the superintendent and responsibility =
his new policy met the appreciation OF tl,s body, az
the treaty ratified here, by the vote III twothrds
Of the members present necessarily and TINS became
The supreme law Of the land, between the IT, S and
these Indians, and as between tie Treasury al the
States and any proceeds from the Chckasaw lands
lie well recollected that, at the time, tins treaty was
freely and universally spoken Of tile commencement
| Of a and more just policy in dealings with the
Indians and the subject impressed itself more strongly
upon his mind, because il substantially the polle
which his State had pursued in the purchase OF
the Indian lands within her limits and subject 10 her
pre- ptive right, ever since he had had any know.
ledge Of her lndian relations.
His present impression was, that this treaty with the
Ch:ckasaws among the last which had been made
between this Government and the Indians, covering
any large oflands Was this new more liberal
more just, humane policy 10 prevail hereafter
Who would rise in his place here and say il vas not
Who would contend that, for the sake Of bringing mo-
ney into The Treasury for distribution 10 the inepend
en States Of this Union, speculaons AGAIN 10 be
attempted in the purchases If Indian lands Ii no one
then The question Of proceeds for such distributions
yond the unsold lands To which the Indian title has
been already extinsuishcd, is at rest forever.
The extent Of the interest IN the unsod lands 10
which The Indian title has been cxiingushed he was
unable to state, he had not possessed himself Of The
facts upon that point, except as 10 the ceded lands.
In reference 10 them he had done So with great labor
and he had TO believe with great accuracy and
as some Of the leading features Of tins discussion made
refer to the exact figures IN another view which he
now called upon 10 take Of tins equity in favor of the
States growing out of the cessions.
The Assumption and argument IS, that the cessons
were made 10 pay the Gebt Of the Revolution with re-
.rlinn equity in favor Of the ccding States but OF
all the States Of the Union al period, expressed
upon the face Of the deeds Of ccsslon but following as
an equitable consequence from all the transactions con-
nccted with and relating 10 The ccssions. THIS posi-.
ton and argument presupposes that the payment Of
the debt was the first condition othe trust and that tie
remainder over TO the States the residue OF the
fund after the payment Of that debt Of it. The
equity contened tor therefore, must be that residue
of the common fund constituted BY the ceded lands,
for it would be trlng say tha, the cesslons were
made to the common Treasury 10 constitute fund for
Tie payment OF the d. bt OF the Revolution, with
equity over in favor Of the States To such remainder as
might after the payment Of the debt, and that that
equity attaches before one dollar has been taken from
the fund towards the payment Of the debt, for the pay.
ment Of which, il exclusively pledged in othc,
words contend that the entire pledge, the very OBJ
ice, and purpose Of the cess;on has become merged
the mere equitable remainder, and that that incidental
and inlerentia equity swallows up the whole and
more than the whole fund.- the entire proceeds Of the
whole public domain and above the necessary cx-
penses oil administration.
Take then the far ground Of the argument, that the
equity If 1t exist and can be maintained al all 10 the
remainder Of the fund to from the sales Of the
coded lands after the payment out of i Of the debt for
which the fund constituted ard pledged |; had
been already that, OF the cedcd lands the Indian
title remains yet uneStEguIshrd to 20 ~, 13
# the policy adopted IN the ChckaSaw treaty IS 10
govern the eYtngnishment Of the tile 10 these lands
# the Indians are to receive the whole proceeds the
Chickasaws do deductlng merely the actual expenses,
then no proceeds here to be realized either 10 ap
ply towards the debt, or TO strengthen the remaining
equity in favor Of the States. All that remains there.
fore, for both objects, is the quantity Of the
ded lands yet unsold, and which the Indian
title has already been extIDguished. That guam
tity had been shown 10 BE- los, 600, 10 4
balance in favor of the common Treasury, for the
mere expenses upon the coded lands has been shown
vet to exist the amount OF more than eleven hundred
thousand dollars which should be first paid out ot this
unsod remainder Of the fund. Then the future ex-
penses Of management and sale and collection must be
deducted from the proceeds Then the d' bt Of the Re-
volutlon usually cal ed existing Al the time Of the
formation of thu constitutional Government more
than one hundred millions Of dollars, and after all
these demands shall be discharged from the proceeds
Of the sales Of the hundred and five millions OF
acres If cued lands, what do gentlemen suppose Will
be left for distribution In the States under tins alleged
resulting equity l. there man who believes that
the claims specified be paid from the r,siduum at
the fund He did not believe there was, aud vet he
had said nothing of the Revolutionary pensions,
part Of the Revolutionary debt, and which now
larger sum annually, than could be brought INTO the
Treasury proceeds from the sales OF the cedrd LAMBS
remaining unsod Admitting, therefore, for the sake
of the argument the equity claimed and conicndcdio Tor,
and which is not ADMITTED for any other purpose, %
believed be sus'ancbr upon the facts, and there DOES
10 be any fund upon winch can act IN AID VI
the measure proposed.
a single other proposition would enable him TO come
to the close of this part OF his argument; and that was
one which had been referred Ia his opening remarks,
and which would bc fully admitted by every
friend Of the distribution policy in the senate II was,
that The common Treasury could spare nothing from
its present revenues, those from all the public lands m
cuted, and meet the necessary expenses Of h" Co
vernment without increased supply Of means from
other source Of revenue, al least eq"ai 70 'he
amount Of money distributed under the name OF MT
proceeds Of the land sales
T. r,s III. oood fortune after the tedious details he
had been compelled 90 through, 10 know, and to BE-
able 10 saw 10 the Senate, that very brief references OF
this character would content him upon this point He
had before sad his prepared during the last
session of Congress. His references, therefore, as
necessary had been made 10 The state Of
The Treasury at that time The year 1910 was then
his test of the propos'tion-a year when the estimate
Of revenue from the proper department Of the Govern
nen was less than the estimate Of eXpe ndture BY
million four hundred thousand dollars. This expected
deficiency TO be met, for that year, by the
pended balance in the Treasury the first day OF H.
and by the avals of certain debts due the Treasury
from The banks, growing out of the accumula,ions Of
revenue i'll former years
Still he had felt II to be his duty, making his remarks
al. al.