Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1855-06-05

sonsr Of Indian Affairs, to his (R 's) late letter
| wherein that gentleman invited Mr. Manypen
ny to submit to the President the questions in
issue between them, and we spread it before
our readers as follows:
DEPARTMENT OF TIE INTERIOR, !
Office Indian Affairs,
April II, 1855.
l received on the 23d instant your letter OF
the 30th ultimo, in which, to my srrcrise, Won
arraign me for my official action in resrect TO
the reported speculations of certain govern
| mental officials in Kansas, in Kansas half
| breed lands, although that action, as is evil
dent from the documents which accompany
| the report from the Secretary of the Interior
| Of the LIST Of February last, to the Speaker of
the House of Repro, entatives, was predicated
upon the official reports of agents Clarke and
Whitfield, dated in November last, and call
ing my attention to the subject As both
those gentlemen addressed me in their official
capacity as Indian agent, and as they derived
their appointment from the same source as
you and myself, and seem to speak from per-
sonal knowledge of the facts they communi
cate, 1t is somewhat singular, especially a.
they reside in your vicinity, that you should
have deemed them unworthy of notice in your
chiyalric zeal in defence of yourself and off
cial associates in the territorial government
from what you are pleased to denounce as
=" slsnderOns' attack. Had not your passion
entirely eolipsed your better Judgment il
would have been obvious to you that L. as the
legal guardian of tho rights of the Indians,
was not at liberty to blink or gloss over
charges emansting from such high official au-
thority, especially when, as in the cases re
ferred to, they appeared to be corroborated
by letters and information derived from re
spectacle private sources Although the trans
actions were rather a bad aspect, / had no
idea that the most material of the charges
(the speculation Of government oficials in
these hall-bTeed lsnds,) would nave been so
soon admitted, and that, too, under the sigma
tare OF one Of them, the Governor OF the Ter.
r1tOTy himsei! ca1didiy cOnfe55ing its truth
sui less, SIR, did EXPECT thai, whilst making
this confession on behalf Of yourself and asso.
cissed spectators, you would have had the
boldness and bad taste 70 attempt a defence
Of tie morality and propriety of the act
ihese contracts IL use your Own WOrds)
were, It appears, " for c0EuGRj6Hee sake, made
IN the name of Judge Johnston, although it
Was we'll unders'o od that Judge Elmore, Col.
Isaacks and myself lyoursslfl tO,re squatiy
LntsTssted -
This is e candid and full confession of the
facts which constitute the g:syamen Of my
complaint; and ai your controversy with me-
OF such spcculstions in lands so circumstanced,
L will, without condescending 70 baudy
epithets or retort the vituperative language
with which you assail me say few words, by
way Of explanation. upon that subject
Under the 9th article Of tbs Kansas treaty
OF 1925, there was reserved from the lands
ceded" one mile square Of land for each of
certain half breeds of the nation, and twenty
three individuals are mentioned in the treaty
~ or
served on the north OF Kansas Similar lam
gusge is employed as to the reservations made
under the POttaWatamie treaty Of the 10Th Of
October, 1882; and ii will be seen by the opin-
ION OF the Attorney General of The United
States, given on the Goth Of September, 1888
that that of1cer considered that the original
Indian title 10 those reservations was not *.
ungulshed oa the ratification Of the treaty
The Kansas half breed lands, however, being
situated within tie Indian country. no cues
ton az t. the nature and extent of the grant
bad arisen until a. fer the date OF that opinion;
but, when the question did arse, this Depart.
msnt uniformly held that the principles Of
that decision wero equally applicable to
tho Kansas az to the Pottawatanie reserves
From that tine, az parties have presented the
question oy submitting deeds for approval, the
Uniform opinion of the indian Department
has been adverse 20 tie power Of the Kansas
half breeds to sell or ALLEVIATE their reserves
and hence, sir, my opinion of the "a indelicacy
and impropriety" of high official functionaries
in the Territory engaging in attempted speeu
Iatons therein in violation CT laws, rsgUls-
tons, and decisions, which, from their exalted
positions, they should be the first to uphold
and tho last to violate. When those who
should have been the cOnservators become the
Violators Of the laws, leave it to that public,
to which you so confidently appeal, to judge
If the Example thereby set has not : demon.
alizlng tendency! - / leave il to all candid
mon also to say, il such conduct on tho part of
ct1clal functonariss is not Z" disreputable,"
and, under the circumstances stated in the
report to which yOu take exceptions, " marked
by indelieacy and impropriety?'' II is 8
maxim, that Ignorance of the law ex-
cuseth no man" How much less, then, does
Ignorance, or recklessness Of tho laws applica
bic to the government and protection Of a
large portion Of he inhabitants Of a newly
organized Territory, excuse those appointed
TO be the executors and judicial expounders OF
SUCH laws? To hinl whose sense Of propriety
is so obtuss as to induce him to think that
such disregard Of the laws and regulations
provided tor the protection and guardianship
OF the Indian wards OF the General Govern
mont IL innocent il itself, and involves no
moral tupitude o. demOralizing effscts, I have
not word to say. Such a casuist can have
no Just conception Of the distinction between
right and wrong, and, Of course, moral truths
can have no effect either in quickening the
susceptibility Of his conscience, or in enlight
eDing his understanding. He that cannot see
in the bare recital and unblushing acknowl
edgment OF these attempted speculations by
Government officers in the face of law, enough
to shock his sense Of Official propriety, must
have conscience impervious to reason, and
which no language can reach.
You lay much stress upon the competency
Of the grantors and the fairness of the consid-
Grafton proposed to Je paid, and dwell with
much sell cOmplacency upon the intelligence
and accomplishments Of three of the vendors,
Messrs. Louis Pepin, Francis Aubrey, and
Moses Belmar, Tor Bellmond) all of whom
you say are 1Chits men, and the husbands of
three Of the half breed owners Of the reserves.
Had you been as deeply versed in the mystic
ries Of Indian conveyancing, as you dou bti IS
are IN other branches of law, you would have
Known that it was the intelligence or compe-
tency OF the reservee, or his or her heirs, and
not that o. the whites who may intermarry
with eithsr, which it was incumben, upon the
grantee to establish as q condition precedent
| to the approval Of the sale Of an Indian 70.
serve in his favor. But, if all you say alb aut