The weekly Minnesotian. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn. Territory) 1852-1858, 1855-09-22
0lfec--fhird street, below cedar. j.
SAINT PAUL MINNESOTA, SATbRbAT, SEPTEMBER Ss5 1856

AL DEFlEAEBER rs, ]
TUESDAY MORNING, SEPTEMBER is, 1866.
| -7--zz-TT<7 =-----=---- -
The Half Breed Lands and the Red wing Lam
-, Officers. A'
We have charged Mr.. Phelps, the Registe
of the Red Wing Land Office, with withhold
ing from Mr.. Marshall certain instruction
from the Departmental the Interior in rela
ton to to the 7emption Of the lands upo,
the Half Breed Tract, we have also charg
ed Mr.. Phelps With afterwards stating to
settler upon the Tract whom he supposed
to- be with him in politics such instrjic
tionswere in the ofice,1 but that he Phelps
did not care to have the ctgenerally knowr
just yet, &c. 70 the first Of thsss allega
tions Mr.. Phelps has given publicly, througl
our columns, an unequivocal denial; to the
second, he has given a partial denial only
admitting that he sasaid to. some to whom
they 1.-THE instructionsl were shown that, il
no excitement was, raised about them, this
result might yet be accomplshed.'' u;s5pa
The s'result'' which Mr.. Phelps says he
thought srmight be accomplished" by keep
ing the matter quiet, was, a more favorable
constructiongof the law by the Secretary Of
the sInterior-Aa ssresult' which any man Of
common intelligence knows to be impossible,
until the law is amended ,- ,r.,. - - :
Wezfind the casa,sthen, toJstand thus boz
h. Mr.. Phelps 4 Us he did not tell Mr.. Mar
shall that no such instructions tete in the
office.
2. Mr.. Phelps says further, that he show
ed them to every one who applied to HIN, but
suggested that was best to keep quiet, and
not to raise any Excitement about the mat
ter. .t 49,
Yesterday morning, Mr.. Phelps admitted
the following additional facts to us in public
CONVERSATION: ,+ 49, - i.
l: Mr.. GRAHAM, his associate Land Off
GER at Red Wing, did inform Mr.. Marshall
at the time specified by us, that no such in
structions were in the Office. ae'l ~
2. He [Mr. Phelpsl did tell the Half Breed
Tract Settler, referred to by US, and at the
time specified By us, that the instructions had
been received, but it might be well not to
get up any excitement about the matter:
Without charging upon Mr. Phelps at this
time, that he in measure divested himself
of manly candor in not stating these addi-
tional facts in his fire and fury communica-
ton addressed to us on Friday last, we will
sum up the whole gist of the controversy in
few words ss-
4. We are satisfied, by an interview which
we have had with Mr.. Phelps and Mr. Mar
shall AL three Of us presentlthat 1t was
Mr. Graham, the Receiver, and not Mr..
Phelps, the Register, who stated that the
instructions had not been received. Herein
we did Mr.. Phelps injustice, but not the Red
Wing Land Office, which he in part repre-
sents.-
2. Mr.. Phelps having admitted, in sub
stance, the second allegation, that of course
must stand against him. What his motire
was for wishing the instructions partially
excitement" gotten up about
them-was and is matter of opinion with
us, and not of fact: lie says by that course
he hoped to get other instructions from Wash
ington under the law, more favorable to the
settlers. We chose to put more natural
construction upon his conduct. He being a
violent and reckless partisan of Efr. Rice's
one who from the time the present contest
commenced has not been backward in using
his whole might and power TO forward the
ends of his scheeming favorite, it was but
natural that we should construe his mo-
tive as We did; and if we still continue of
our first impression in regard to the matter,
neither Mr.. Phelps nor we can help it.
3. To follow up the whole matter in regu
lar order, we here give the instructions as
we find them in the Red Wing Sentinel of
the 18th instant:
GENERAL LAND OFFICE, }
August 13, 1855. :
To the Register of the Land Office and Receioer
of Public Moaeys at Red Wing, Minnesota
Territory -
GENTLEMEN:-You are hereby informed
that the survey is now in progress of the re-
servation of land in Minnesota, lying on the
West side of Lake Pepin and the Mississip-
pi river, which was set apart to the Half
Breeds or mixed blood, of the Dacotah or
Sioux nation of Indians, by the 9th article
of the Treaty of Prairie du Chen, concluded
on 18th July, 1880, and which is the subject
of the act of Congress of 18th July, 1854,
(statutes at large, 1854, chap. 83) author
izing exchanges for such lands to be effected
by the President with such Half Breeds,
and also, authorizing the survey of said body
of land, and its subsequent exposure to pub
lie sale at the proper land-offce, in the same
manner as other public lands
You are further informed of the order OF
the Department, that said body of lands, af-
ter completion of its survey, will be withheld
from sale or entry, except to pre-emptors, I'M
til after the Half-Breed claims alluded to in
the act of I7th July, 1854, aforesaid, shall
have been finally adjusted the under
standing, however, that such exception in IA
vor of pre-emptors applies to those persons
only who were actually located on said body
of land and cultivating the same, prior to the
passage of said act of 18th of July, 1854.
Very respectfully,
Your obedient servant,
THOMAS A. HENDRICKS,
T Commissioner.
A. Now let us compare dates: Theinstruc