Arizona miner., 1866-07-25
INDIAN TITLES.

| A correspondent, whose letter is in another to public lands. He claims to be ignorant oi the fact that the theory has been advanced in Prescott that ranches could not be taken on uasurreyei lands. His ignorance does not argue well for his knowledge of public opin- ion; for the theory referred to has been ad vanced in several quarters, while the opinion that the pre-emPtion law has no application to lands here until the Indian title is extin- guished, has, so far as we can learn, been ex- pressed by but one individual
 It has undoubtedly hitherto been the pol icy of the United States to extinguish the Indian titles before settlement by the whites. but this policy has not been strictly followed upon the Pacific coast, and, for various reasons we do not believe it is the intention to follow it in Arizona.
 The constant hostility of the Indians-their hands ever red with the blood of the whites would alUne seem to be sufficient to relieve the government of any obligations to them; and further, it would be a farce of which we think he woail not be guilty, for the Land Commissioner tU authorize the Surveyor Gen eral, as he did on the 9th of July last, to re- ceiye pre-emption declarations under the acts of Congress of July 22d, 1854, and July 2d, 1864, if nothing could be done until the h. dian titles were extinguished.
 In the report of the Commissioner of Indian Affairs for 1861, the question of dealing with ! the Indian titles here is referred to, and the commissioner seems in doubt as to what the course of the Government should be. In the report for 1862, is the following statement l"No treaties have been made with any of the tribes in California; The Government has assigned to them reservations, and made appropriations to aid in in their support. It is expedient in my judgment to continue this policy"
 California came into possession of the Uni | ted States under circumstances similar to those attending the acquisition of Arizona, and we cannot learn that the Government has ever pTeteipied to e4tinguish an Indian title there. In the report for 1858 the com missioner says:
 "The principle of recognizing and respect ing the usfruct right of the Indians to the lands occupied by them, has not been so strictly adhered to in the cases of the tribes in the Territories of Oregon and Washington. When Territorial Government was first provided for Oregon, which then embraced the present Territory of Washington, strong inducements were held out to our people to emgrate and settle there, without the usual arrangements being made, in adranee, for the extinguishment of the title of the Indians who occupied and claimed the lands"
 The Commissioner says, further, that cer- tain treaties entered into in 1855 by Govern or Stevens, ex-officio Superintendent of h. dian affairs for Washington Territory, were not ratified by Congress.
 The following from the report of the Com missioner for 1862, shows that the policy of extinguishing the Indian titles did not meet his favor, and his language so we'll expresses our own views on the subject, that we will not say more than that from all we can learn. we do not think the Government has any thought of extinguishing Indian titles iI Ari- zona, and that the foolish policy is not likely to be followed anywhere in the future:
 e lt may well be questioned whether the govern