The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1866-10-01

Il
ence, published on Saturday, that Ex-Secretary
Of the Interior Harlan made contract, two
days before no left the department, on the
part OF the government, by which the enor-
nous amount of eight hundred thousand acres
Of land of the finest description belonging to
| the Cherokee reserve in the State OF Kansas,
were sold to New England company for
dollar an acre. The purchasing party is said
to be the American Emigrant Society Of Con-
| nectcut The lands are known by the pane
| Of the Neutral Land,r for which the Cherokee
Indians paid the United States in 1885 half
million of dollars in gold. II appears that
| these lands were ceded to the United States
again by the late treaty, in which it was stipu-
lated that they were to be appraised, that not
less than dollar and quarter an acre, exclu-
| sive Of improvements, was to be accepted for
them; that they should be advertised, sealed
bids to be made, and awarded to the highest
bidder for cash, and that they we're to be sold
| in parcels not exceeding one hundred and
sixty acres. improvements were to be taken
into account in the estimate and sale Of the
different portions. This was the spirit and
tenor Of the treaty; but there was little clause.
proviso, put in the end-evdently with view
to favor these spectators, as the result shows
by which the whole could be sold to RESPONSE
BILE parties" for eight hundred thousand dollars
| in cash.
| Of course II was not long before this " re-
| sponsible party" appeared in company of
| Mr.. Harlan's New England fellow citizens and
g. Tho & Ea hor aIx
remarkable facility for sympathizing with
and operating in favor of one another when in
| power, and the Secretary Of the Interior did
| not forget that in the last hours of his
official existence. We do not say that
he will pocket any Of the proceeds of
this profitable transaction; but he has GER
tainly made a magnificent bargain for the
company, contrary to the tenor and object Of
the treaty and the general land policy Of our
government. The company will be migrate
full lift does not reward him handsomely.
But what is the use speaking of these
gougng operations on the poor Indianss They
have been all along the instruments of un-
principled spectators for getting lands from
the government or money out Of the Treasury.
Nearly all the wars with the Indian tribes have
been fomented by these INSCRIPTIONS white
men, who have gone out to the West for the
purpose, in order to make money out of army
contracts and to get possession Of Indian
territory. The Indian Bureau of the Interior
Department at Washington has been and is q
rich mine for Eastern contractors and specula-
tors. The people generally know nothing of
all this; for few think Of or car. about the
Indians. But such transactions as we have
noticed above ought to arouse public indigna-
ton. II the President has the power-and II
has not passed beyond his control-we think he
will upset the nice little contract of ex-Secre-
tary Harlan with the American Emigrant Com
pany OF Connecticut. Such monstrous land
monopolies and gross speculations can meet
with no favor from him; for he has been in
fexiby hostile to them all his life At all
events let us have the matter well ventilated.
II nothing else it may open the eyes Of our
people to the practices of spectators using
Treasury and to monopolize the public lands
WraaGles Between the RepnbIican Com
unitteos.
The radical element In the republican organi-
cation has heretofore been unable to control
the local nominations OF the party in this city,
owing TO the superior skill Of the other wing
Of the party in manipulating the machinery.
They however found themselves master of
ceremonies at the recent Syracuse Conven-
ton, and there secured IN order to organize
another committee in this metropolis for the
purpose of heading OF the snti-radcal ele-
ment and nominating their own men for Con-
gress the Legislature and the county Offices
This committee was organized, and everything,
as they supposed, moved along with high
feather, when they were notified by the regular
committee that they could no longer hold their
meetings at the old republican headquarters.
This notice was like bombshell among them,
and they rallied at meeting OF the regular
Twenty third Street Committee 10 vote their
opponents down and the new radical COM
mttes in. But no sooner had they made their
appearance there than they found that they
were refused admittance, on the ground that
they had seeded from the regular committee
and set up an antagonistic organization. This
action created an intense excitement, and the
radical and republican camps are just now
wonderfully exercised. In the meantime the
seats Of all those members Of the regular COM
mittee who have joined the new organization
have been declared vacant and will be imme-
diately filed The regular organization hold
the old headquarters, will ali all the vacan-
cies and are retaining the men who have here
toiore managed the republican party in this
city. The radical committee retaliate
BY refusing to allow any Of those who have
heretofore been known as Seward or Weed
men to enroll themselves in their organization.
Even those who manifest desire to back out