The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1876-10-06
OF NEW YORK.
Two Ways Of Treating a Question.


The Canadians as we'll as ourselves have an
Indian question to bother over. They have
been more successful than we in their solu-
tion of it, doubtless because they have been
more just. Since the British settlement no
Indian wars have devastated Canada, a fact
attributable to the uniform justice which has
been meted out by the British and Colonial
governments 10 the Aborigines. The Cana
dian system of dealing with the Indian does
not differ materially, in theory, from our
own In practice there is difference, the
wide difference between honesty and dishon-
esty, between right and wrong. The system
is to buy up the native claims by yearly
grants of money or of goods to each chief and
family, and by the allotment of tracts of
country as Indian reserves. This property is
under the charge of an agent, who watches
over the welfare of the tribe, protects it from
the encroachments of white settlers, and pre-
vents the alienation of the property. This
too, is our system, with these differences: {:
our grants of goods are irregular and often
delayed long beyond the date set by treaty
stipulations, and the goods not infrequently
are furnished by swindling contractors who
cheat both the government and the red men !;
our agents instead of protecting the Indians
oppress them; we do not guard Indian terri
tory against the encroachments of white set
tier, but permit those settlers to rob and kill
the rightfnl possessors of the soil and steal
their lands, and when the Indians retaliate
we denounce them as bloodthirsty savages
and send our troops to extermihate them /;
whenever we want their land we take it, not
hesitating for a moment to break the most
solemn treaty stipulations.
The results of these diverse practices are
seen in the conduct of Canadian Indians and
our own. Here the Aborigines are discon-
tented, sullen, suspicious, firm in the belief
that the government intends to cheat them,
distrustful of every white man they see,
watching opportunities to strike him as an
enemy. There the Indians live in peace with
the white man, profess loyalty to the govern
ment, are contented with their condition.
The remnants of Hurons and Algonquins,
tribes whom we have plundered and other
wise mal-treated, are settled on the st. Law
renee and the Ottawa, where they conduct
themselves as good citizens. In Manitoba
the Aborigines are still hunters and trappers,
but are amenable to law and order. Even
the savage and dreaded Sioux who sought
refuge in the British dominions after the Min
nesota massacre, are described by the white
settlers as sober and industrious laborers.
The project of enfranchising them is now Sc
riously mooted in Canada. 1t must be, if red
men who are savage here are gentle there,
who are disconnected here are contented
there, who are thieves here are industrious
laborers there, it must be that the fault is
with us.
On the western side of the Rocky Noun
tains in the Dominion there is some discon-
tent among the Indian tribes. The red men
complain that the white settlers are encroach-
ing upon them, that government has failed to
carry out some of the provisions of its treat
les. But there is no likelihood of war. Both
white men and Indians are aware of the i'm.
portance of settling the points in dispute,
both are aware of the necessity of agreeing
upon liberal policy, and a speedy and salts
factory settlement will without doubt be
reached.
Possibly we can learn something from oul
Canadian brothers.