The southern press. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1850-1852, 1850-09-21

lhs hrSt PApee ~ tnSh ansE1 tnAsS before the 10
letter from William Medili. iats Commissioner
II Indian Affairs, to Thomas Ewing, Secretary Of
the Interior, detailing the history Of this case IL
bears date June 81, l649 Ia one place the writer
SAYS:
"Ofthe sll2,O42 99-lOO found due the Chcka-
saws, William NJ. Gwin, Esquire, claims the
enormous sum Of one half for his services or instr,
mentality in recovering tue amount. under an at
legged contract with those Indians. Without dwell
ing upon the extraordinary extravaganza of this
demand which is sufficiently apparent by the
mere statement Of it, would remark that not
wtlstanding the peculiar position of the Chieka-
saws, they, like other Indians, are the wards of
the Government, and such contract or agree
ments are valid or binding unless sanctioned by
the department.
i And again, in speaking Of the fsnd out Of which
it was proposed to pay this g enormous sum, he
says:
81 am of opinion that it could not properly be
used towards repaying the Chickasaws the amount
found due to by the accounting officers; and
so the Secretary of War, as understand decided
when The report Of these officers of the result of
their adjustment Of the account, and the amount
found due the Chickasaws, was presented to him
in September 1876, for requistion for $50, 124l4
to be taken from the removal and subsistence fund
He CERTAINLY PgREmPToRILY REFUSED ISSUE
Il The requisttion."
Il And again:
I "This being the case, il is not how any
wards paying the Chickasaws the amount found
due THEM.s In my judgment, this only pro-
Pery be effected through an appropriation therefor
by Congress "
/ Does all this look like there had been no rejec-
ton. no refusal to pay' Does it look as if :. the
recorded fact was exactly the contraryi"
/ Now, let us turn over to page five Of this great
book OF manuscript before me, and here wesfnd
an order from w. l.. Marcy, Secretay Of War.
It is dated October 1886, about twenty-five days
after this had fallen into Medill's hands, and
is addressed to William Medill, Commissioner of
Indian Affairs Mr.. Medil, in handing over the
papers in this case to Secretary Ewing, says, re-
| ferring to this order
''The rule of action which has governed the
i Executive In cases of contracts with Indians. as
well as powers of attorney procured from them,
| you will find embodied in the accompanying order
Of the Secretary of War, October 1, lS49.''
! Here is the order:
| 'sThe practice which has heretofore prevailed,
to considerable extent, Of paying money due to
| Indians on powers Of attorney given by them, is
wholly inconsistent with the duty Of Government
| to pay over to them, promptly and without abate-
ment, whatever may be due to them under any
treaty or law; or for any claim whatever to which
they may be Justly entitled. Agents are appointed.
and by the Government, to attend TO their BUSH
ness for them, and they should be the medium of
all their communications with the Government
whether in relation to any claim they may have
or to their wants or wishes upon any other sub
ject.
"WM. l.. MARCY, Sec'y Of Var
How could the minority of the committee, with
this record before them, deny that there had been
any adverse decision, and even intimate that the
decisions had been in favor Of the claimant? First
we have the admitted fact that the claim was sub
mtted to Mr.. Medi in September, 1876; that
for more than three years he did not pay it I; and
that he went out of office without paying it, Sec
ond, have his letter before he left the Office, as
signing his reasons at length for not paying it and
thirdly, we have Secretary Marcys order, SO
pointed and positive that this claim could never
have been paid without violating that order And
yet, gentlemen say there has been no decision
Nay, sir, they even assert that the decision has
been in their favor.
"They must have optics sharp ween
To see what is not to be seen. !"
pass from the consideration of this point, and
return to the second contract, which we have seen
is without date, but which is found to have been
in the Second Auditor s Office as early as 9Th Sep
ember, 1886 1t may have been there some days
earlier.
fore ME, DIR. Gwin to have for his services,
attorney for the Indians, various large sums of
money, and among others, one half of all that
should be recovered from the United States on ac-
count Of provisions purchased at Cincinnati in
1897. The sum thus recovered, or, which, should
rather say, found to be due on a fair settle
ment OF the Chickasaw account, was $ll2,042 80.
One half OF this sum was, of course $50 ,02l 40,
and this was the claimed by Doctor Ewin
The report and resolutions have no relation to any
other payment to Doctor Gwn, and shall, there
fore, confne my remarks to this ffty-sx thousand
misunderstanding the others with the sing re-
mark that they were paid
:" On the day the council met the Commissions
ers, in body, resigned. was not present, but
understood there much excitement The
power of attorney given to DR.. Gwin, in Mo-
vember, 1874, was said to be the main cause
Some too ,ceeks aert the Commissioners resigned they
came to Fort Uastita, and then signed the po,cer
Of attorney. In consequence of their having been
much said respecting the papers, requested them
TO permit me to take both powers to Major Arm
strong, and gave them my word that the old one
should be destroyed returned them both into
the hands Of Major Armstrong; who, in nv pres
ence, destroyed the old one. Colonel Upshaw,
Chickasaw agent, saw all the papers, and dsap-
proved of both powers of attorney At the time q
this affair took place, was trader in the Chick
asaw country.
CHARLES JOHNSON.
CRY OF PHILADELPHIA, Sworn and sub
scribed before me- this 29th day Of January, A. .
ID. 1850. &c. BRAZER
.7ld and Er-o6icio, Justice of the Peace
No wonder this power of attorney is without
date Signed officially by the commissioners
hco ,oeeks after they had been compelled 10 resign
it would not have looked well to date it. No Won
der the Indians in general council repudiated il,
and said IT had been executed without authority
and in private manner. Can it be, Mr. Speaker,
that Messrs. Ewing and Johnson, IN deciding to i
pay this money, could have overlooked papers
like these'
But, sir, the case does not stop here. This pa
per, thus executed, lost; yes, lost. A COPY
was presented by Mr.. Corcoran, of the firm of
Corcoran & Riggs, to whom DR.. Gwin had trans
erred the claim, and on this copy, thus presented
the money paid.
Mr.. Corcoran swore, to the best of his belief
that it was correct copy. But there were sub
scriblng witnesses, some six or eight of them
Ind i do pnt1o hat"
an attempt was made to obtain their test-
mony that the copy was correct.
The gentleman from Ohio and Virginia [Messrs
VINroS and BAYLY] have dilated at great length,
and with much eoquence and learning, on this, 4
as an adiudicafed We have been exhorted II
not to lay our profane hands on the sanctity OF a
judicial decision. We must needs let this thing
pass because it is res adjudicnfa Let me ask the 4