Edgefield advertiser. [volume] (Edgefield, S.C.) 1836-current, 1849-12-05
CATAWBA INDIANS.

The Legislature, at its last session. conided
TO the cale Of the Governor this whole subject.
~ ilh a request that he " ould "aproim sumo 1T
and proper person TO examine inlot The condition
orthe Indians, and report 10 him." I'm con-
forming 10 The spirit ui this resolution. nonl.
mated five commissioners frnm the districts of
! York and Lancaster to meel me, with as niany
| of the Caiawbas IA coald be assembled III the
vicinity of Nation Ford, ca the tweniy-tnrd
dry of July Al That meeting fall and sallslac-
tory answers were obtained on many material
points. Subsequently,, proposed sfries "t
questions te. the commissioners 10 elicit writ
ten reply. At the same time, B. 5. Massey, Of
Lancaster, was despatched To Haywood cuunty.
North Carolina. for a purpose connected with
the main object N be accomplished. Copies OF
the papers. disclosing the result Of my iuvcsli-
CATIONS, 1 now forward.
The two important questions involved in the
general inquiry, have reference. The one to the
nroprieors, of the lands in the Indian boundary;
lhe other 10 the Caawba tlibc.
Thirty-sevcn years ago. the Caiawbn' conn'
| try, embracing an area of fifteen miles square,
was umepresentcd in the Lee islanre. The
member elected in 1898. being only u: lenseho-
der. was deca, ed Ineligible to u seat. The law
of 1912, constituting lease for three lives. or
nincty-minc years. Il qualification equivalent To
a Techold, placed the people Of that region, IN
relation 10 representation, on footing with
the res, of their felIow-ciliZens. BY an act
passed in Decembcr, 1888, the reversinnary
rgh, 10 the lands, which thereafter were TO "be
considered aud a.ljudgeu real estate" was
| transferred from The State 10 those who owned
them "as iessccs from the Calawba Indians"
In 1910, an agreement was concIuned with the
Indians, by which they contracted to cede their
interest in their lands for twcnty-nslc thousand
dollars. 'Ea be refunded for this expenditure.
tic. Legislature imposed tax OF one aud Il llali
cen's on every actc within the Catawba limits.
The present assessed rltc is onc-ha!ta u cent an
acre. By the act of that year, ITO carry INTO
effect the late agreement between the Caiawba
Indians, aud the commissioners OF the part oil
this Slute." South Carolina succeeded Ito the
risll, title. and intcres: heretofore vested IN the
Catawba Indians, for the purposes "i taxation
aud of issuing grants to the respective icssees
thereof The I'll, section declares. that the
lessces who had executed bonds. as enj"lned by
a previous act, were required to pay into the
Treasury the annual sums stipulated, until they
shonld, aecedc tote terms "of this acl, or until
the expirat;pn of the term Of their lenses, at
either of which perods, they shall be entitled
to grants for their respective leaseliuld posses
sions' BY The 9th section, II appears that ile
sum Of $1,000 was set apart topnrchase land,
and lnr "lhc establishment aud oniit OF the ln-
dla,ls." Under This provision no action was ia:
ken as nci,her,he muney nor object were named
in the appropriation actof that year. La lS]l,
S25O0 was. appropriated Tor That purpose. ~
that time the Agent had condilioually barsulned
for tract of land in York district, conlaInlns
sos acres, nj 81 per acre. AS it was subse-
qucnlly asccraincd that no better arrangement
could hc made, the contract was concluded:
This brief history shows. that the inhabitants
of the Indian territory occupy an ananolous
position, in which The government should no
longer compel them TO acquesce South Car
oin, did moi by the treaty Of 1910, bny the CT-
,awba lands. The fee simple from the first set
temcnt Of the country had been vested in her,
according 10 the legal doctrine as 10 lndinn lands
within the boundary OF the original thirteen
STATES; nor did she purchase the usufrnct OF
the Indians, for the State had, two years pre-
vnusIy. conveyed it to the lessees. who then