The Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1877-1885, 1879-12-19
Last Nights Dispatches.
XLvI CONGRESS.
HOUSE,

REIMBURSEMENT of their reservation 10 Col
orado and their removal and settlemen
elsewhere, with amendments requiring tht
consent of the Indians to the cession O
any part of their reservation, and provid
ing that no agreement shall be valid uDles
agreed to by three-quarters of all adu
male Indians, who have not forfeited theil
treaty rights and unless confirmed by Con
gress. He asked for immediate consider
alton of the bill.
| Mr.. C0nger rose to point Of order thai
| it must receive its first consideration in
| Committee OF the whole and declined to
withdraw the poiut. declaring the bill was
absurd On its face; that Congress could
not by special act confer the treaty
making power of the country on au officer
not recognized by the constitution or laws
as having any authority to make treaties
and that Congress had nothing further to
do with the confirmation Of the treaties.
Mr.. Springer appealed to the House to
act on the question to day.
The point of order being insisted on the
bill was referred to the Committee Of the
Whole, Mr.. Reagan in the chair.
A long discussion followed. Mr..
Springer said the time chad arrived when
civilization had reached the boundaries of
serve peace there would be futile in future.
Congress must look then at the question
squarely. fairly and plainly, and must
decide 1t in the interest of justice. He did
not believe In treating with Indians as
with equals. He believed in the policy Of
regarding the whole Of the lands within
the limits Of our Jurisdiction as public
domain, and the 1ndians as citizens, and
OF teaching them To obey the law and
understand that when they killed innocent
persons they were guilty Of murder.
Mr. Bedford stated that the Ute reser-
vatioa ia Colorado consisted Of $4,000 600
acres, or about 4, 900 for every man, woman
and child in the Ute tribes. He twas op-
posed to the committees amendments TO
the Senate bill. and he predicted that if
they were adopted next year would wit
ness a renewal of the conflict which had
recently attracted the attention cf sthe
country. He challenged Mr.. Conger, or
any officer OF the Interior Department, to
point his finger To q com plainy ever I'll ade
by the Ote IuGians against the people Of
Colorado 1t these amendments were
adopted, as certain as God Yeigned above
next spring, the teeminG thousands which
would pour into Colorado would cross the
line ct that reservation, aud would pros
the government would net have power "a
arTcsr the progress Of the vast tribe. II
the government desired to prevent war
and protect the people Of Colorado. it
aus: provide some method that would
secure the remova: OF the Indians from
that state. 10 coming to Washington to
take his seat he had passed through five
large states every acre in which had been
stolen from the Indians, aud yet the gen
tlemen said while our f0refathers robbed
and plundered the Indians we want you to
belong to a eocdy goody class of people in
the Vest. Laughter He called the
attention 0f Congress 10 the fact that the
report Of the Commissioner o. Indian Az
fairs for 1878 showed that more frauds
had been com oitted acaiGst the Indiana
in Michigan thao IN any other state or
territory. Laughter Mr Hooker said
Messrs. Beliord and Springer proposed. in
violation OF the most solemn treaties, to
rob the Indians OF territory which had
been conceded TO them By the government.
If they were a powerful nation with q
great aFmySat their backs which could
point q cannon at t. cir foes and demand
Justice, these gentlemen would not dare to
take the position they did. Applause =,
lie held that the Government was power
ful enough to do what was right and to see
that justice was done, even though the
people who demanded il demanded in the
name of the law asd moral right and not
because they had he physical power to
compel it, Mr.. Belford sa. s the tide ct
civilization of the Anglo-Saxon civilization
Is sweeping over the country and that
the Indians must yield 10 If. This
proposition 10 the American Congress
comes with bad grace from this Govern
ment, which has pledged its constitutional
power by solemn amendments and solemn
laws that the recently emancipated people
Of this country belonging to the African
race. shall receive forever solemn protec-
ton in the new rights. new duties and
powers with which they are invested as
citizens. And yet the Iudlan, though con
nected with you in every page of your his-
tory, whose beautiful language has named
your states aud rivers and territories and
towns and hamlets and valleys from where
the first of rays Of the morning sun
catches the spray of Niagara, to where the
last parting ray dashes in the Golden Gate
Of California. is to be robbed of what he
has simply because be is. weak, powerless
and ncapabe of protecting himself.
Mr.. Haskell said the purpose of the bill
was merely to relocate the Ute Indians on
a portion Of their reservation bat that it
affected the whole tribe and not merely
that portion which had not been al war as
has been said by ir. Hooker
Mr. Cannon suggested that the Indian
Committee should be censured for not
bringing iu q report which would suit the
speech of the gentleman from Mississippi.
Mr.. Scales spoke in favor of the BILL
Mr. Conger asked what sort of bill this
was which required for its sanction and
renowned rascalities practiced ol the ln-
dians since the discovery OF America. This
great nation had made treaty years ago
with the mountain tribe OF Indians BY
which these Indians were permitted to go
far into unknown mountains supposed to
be almost uninhabitable by civilized
men and remain there. They had been
driven from the foot bills, driven up
from the plains. driven away from all
lands which it was then thought the
avarice and greed of the white man
might desire. but now the enterprise
aud avidity of the white man had dis
covered treasures of silver aud gold iu
the neigh hborhood of these mountains, and
ore had been found within twenty-five
miles of the Ute reservation In former
years men had waited until miners and
agriculturists had stepped over the line of
an Indian reservation, but now they were
becoming bolder, and now as soon as they
came in sight OF the reservation, as soon
as they came in sight of the foot hills.
twenty five miles of, committee appoint
Il AZ. IL = L.,