The St. Cloud journal. [volume] (St. Cloud, Minn.) 1866-1876, 1873-09-11

dians into : privileged class, and pro.
Eeot their chiefs in inaictiug upon
then the evils Of 5 NEST tyrsnnie.l
oiieatsby z OF, that " punish po.
|yesmy ID white II black men, and
protect the Indisns il The practice Of
u th' mon degrading 'polyg.ny .nd vile
abuse of their women r. .@2.
The answer which will BE- returned
to those inquiries is: That the Indian
'f'Des were the sovereigns and owners
OF this continent upon it's discovery BY
the whites that William Penn, and
other early Governors, recognized
their sovereignty and ownership, en-
tered into treaties with them, and pur.
chased tho land from them; and that
every principle Of national honor binds
us to as faithful fulillmeut of these
treaties, Is though they had been made
with France or England, or some equal
~ powerful nation and that it is 10
ful6llmeBt Of these treaties that We
continue to treat tho Indian tribes as
Independent nationalities, and not a.
citizens.
In reply to this I observe, that l
have great respect for William Penn,
and for tho many good men who have
adopted his Quaker principles. But 1
have no respect whatever for Quaker
principles in this world Of selfish and
sinful men who could not be governed
. year on Quaker principles. With
tho Word Of God open before me, l am
compelled to pronounce them unscrip-
tur,l. That Book instruots me in tho
lorigin, nature, aud sanctions j Of nation.
Il sovsseies.y, ownership Of land, and
! reserved rights Of al classes Of men.
And With such instructions in mind, I
deny the whole trsaty and blanket bus.
in.ss from beginning to end. Tho 10.
dian tribes we're not natiouslities, espa-
bic Of entering into treaties, or perform.
ing sny other aet Of national sovereign.
ty; they were not owners of this oon-
tinent, invested with any rights of sale
or transfer Of any part Of it which they
did not cultivate acd they have no
natural rights to exemption from the
Ijust laws Of the nation, nor 10 the prao-
tioe Of communism, polygauy, slavery,
and petty monarchy Of their chiefs.
Tho treaties which purport to recog-
uise and perpetuate rights which new
or had any existence, are Of no more
value than tho commission of the Gov
ernor of Barataria. Let us examioe
this matter BY rsvertiug to first princi.
pies.
First, in regard to the Indian right,
Of sovereignty - independent nation.
alitiss-lst us ask, What is . nation
Certainly not any handful Of fragments
Of hunsnity. Nor is it an organisation
Associated for any casual purpose-s.J
aihuntisg party, . railroad company
OF the crew Of . ship. The nation il
: society otesni1sd for a,tional purpos'
q aud therefore invested With national
sovereignty. What arc the purposes
of the nations existencel The Dec.
laration of Independence simply trans
lates the Bible into the language o1
politics, when it says, GAIL men are
endowed by their Creator with certain
inalienable rights, to life, liberty, and
the pursuit of happiness; and that t
maintain these rights. government
were instituted among men," Tbt
language Of the divine grant of donln
! ion which conveys national sovereignty
is, "Bs fruitful and multiply, and re-
! plenish tbs earth, subdue it and hav'
domision over tho beasts of the earth
} and over tho fish of the sea, and ove1
tho fowl Of the air, aud over the cattle
and over everything that creepeth OF
the ssrth." The nations of the world
tho powers that be, .s the Holy Ghos
J calls them, did oil, 10 good measure
: promote the fertility and dispersion o
; mankind, and the colonization of th'
earth. Where any Of them beoam'
sfete, and refused to continue to pro
mote the multiplication OF the human
> .aes, and the eotoaisation of the world
the Sspssas Ruler displaced that M
: tion, dashed It into fragments, aud eithe
; subjected it g some other nation, a
bsfsi Babylon, Greece and Rome, o
:: allowed il to sink in savage degrada
ton aud extinction, like tbs Bushme,
, of Africa, the Polynssi.ns, and tho In
diaus and Esquim.ux.
In this state of frsgmentary barbar
ism the Iadisn tribes were found b,
tho white diseovslers Of Amsric., vic
Tins to their own vices, aud fast fadin,
before their laxiness and lewdness
while constant wars Were fast depopu
lsting tho continent. It 10 monstrou
to speak Of these poor, degraded frsg
msnts Of humanity a. nations and i
would BE- . barIesque to treat gravel!
Of tbs propriety Of dealing with then
- treAty.making powers, had not ou'
; Congress acted thus weakly.
There are no public authoritie.
among them competent to represent
and bind tho various tribes i; nor doe.
any power exist capable Of compelling
their adherence to the stipulations o.
these pretended treaties. It is abuse
Of speech o.e.ll these perishisg frag'
| mania nf Avihaa nsA;nns. sn5 - Z, .