Morning journal and courier., 1880-12-07

boys and girls were selected from the East ern Cherokees and placed in boarding schools in North Carolina where they are to receive an elementary English education and training in industrial pursuits. The interest shown by Indian parents, even among the so-called wild tribes in the education of their children is very gratifying, and gives promise that the results accomplished by the efforts now mak- ing will be of lasting benefit.
 The expenses of Indian education have so far been drawn from the permanent civiliza- tion fund at the disposal of the Department of the Interior; but the fund is now so much reduced, that the continuance of this bene- Hcial work will in the future depend on specific appropriations by Congress for the | purpose, and venture to express the hope fruitful of good results, to perish for want of | means for their support. On the contrary, l increase of the number of such schools | appears to me highly advisable.
 The past year has been unusually free from disturbances among the Indian tribes. An | agreement has been made with the Utes, by | which they surrender their large reservation | in Colorado in consideration of an annuity, to | be paid to them, and agree to settle in sev- crafty certain lands designated for that | purpose, as farmers, holding individual title to their land in fee simple inalienable for l certain period. In this way costly Indian | war has been avoided, which, at one time l seemed imminent, and, for the first time in l
 
 has given up it's tribal existence to be settled l in severalty, and to live as individ- |
 uals under the common protection of the l
 laws of the country The conduct of the h. |
 dians throughout the country during the | past year, with but few noteworthy excep- | tions, has been orderly and peaceful. The | guerilla warfare carried on for two years by l Victoria and his band of Southern Apaches | has yirtually come to an end by the death of that chief and most of his followers on Mex l ican soil. The disturbances caused on our northern frontier by Sitting Bull and his l men, who had taken refuge in British domin- 1 ions, also likely to cease. A large major 1 ity of his followers have surrendered to our military forces, and the remainder are appar 1 ently in progress of disintegration.
 I concur with the Secretary of the Interior I in expressing the earnest hope that Congress will at this session take favorable action on ! the bill providing for the allotment of lands 1 on the different reservations in severalty to | the Indians, with patents conferring fee-sim- pie title inalienable for certain period and | the eventual disposition of the residue of the reservations, for general settlement, with the 1 consent and for the benefit of the Indians l placing the latter under the equal protection l of the laws of the country This measure, I together with vigorous prosecution of our ] educational efforts, will work the most i'm 1 portant and effective advance toward the so- l lutlon of the Indian problem, in preparing I for the gradual merging of our Indian popu- l lation into the great body of American citi- 1 zenship.
 THE PUBLIC LANDS. A large increase is reported in the disposal 1 of public lands for settlement during the past 1 year, which marks the prosperous growth of | our agricultural industry, and vigorous l movement of population toward our unoccu- ] pied lands. As this movement proceeds, the 1 codifcation of our land laws, as well as prop CT legislation to regulate the disposition of l public lands, become of more pressing ne- l cessity, and I therefore invite the considera- I non of Congress to the report and the accom- panying draft of @ bill, made by the Public | Lands Commission, which were communicated | by me to Congress at the last session. Early 1 action upon this important subject is highly l desirable
 l The attention of Congress is again asked ! to the wasteful depredations committed on our public timber lands, and the rapid and l indiscriminate destruction of our forests l The urgent necessity for legislation to this end is now generally recognized. In view of l the lawless character of the depredations committed and the disastrous consequences which will inevitably follow their continu-
 ance, legislation has again and again been rec l commended to arrest the evil, and to preserve 1 for the people of our western States and Ter l ritories the timber needed for domestic and l other essential uses.
 THE GEOLOGICAL sURvE1
 l The report of the Director of the Geologi- | cal Survey is document of unusual interest i The consolidation of the various geological l and geographical surveys and exploring en- l terprises, each of which has heretofore oper l ated upon an independent plan, without con l cert, cannot fail to be of great benefit to all l those industries of the country which depend 1 upon the development of our mineral re- 1 sources. The labor of the scientific men, of 1 recognized merit, who compose the corps of 1 the Geological Survey, during the first sea- 1 son of their field operations and inquiries, ap- i Poar to have boen very comprehensive and 1 will soon be communicated to Congress in a I number of volumes. The Director of the l Survey recommends that the Investigations, 1 carried on by his bureau, which, so far, have 1 been confined to the so-called public land 1 States and Territories, be extended over the | entire country, and that the necessary appro- 1 priation be made for this purpose. This l would be particularly beneficial to the iron, l coal and other mining interests of the Mis- l sissippi valley, and of the eastern and south 1 ern States. The subject is commended to l the careful consideration of Congress. 1 MORE ROOM NEEDED. The Secretary of the Interior asks atten- l tion to the want of room in the public build | ings of the capital now existing and in prog 1 ress of construction, for the accommodation l of the clerical force employed, and of the public records. Necessity has compelled the ! renting of private buildings in different parts | of the city for the location of public offices,
 
 paid, while the separation of offices belong i ing to the same department impedes the 1 transaction of current business. The Secre- 1 tary suggests that the blocks surrounding 1 Lafayette Square, the east, north and | west, be purchased as the sites for new edi- 1 fees, for the accommodation of the govern l mem offices, leaving the Square itself intact 1 and that if such buildings were constructed 1 upon harmonious plan of architecture, i they would add much to the beauty of the national capital, and would, together with l the Treasury and the new State, Navy and l War department building form one of the l most imposing groups of public edifices in l the world. AGRICULTURE. The Commissioner of Agriculture expresses the confident belief that his efforts in behalf l of the production of our own sugar and tea | have been encouragingly rewarded. The inn l portance of the results attained have attract 1 ed marked attention at home, and have re- | ceived the special consideration of foreign na- tons. The successful cultivation of our own | tea and the manufacture of our own sugar | would makea difference of many millions of | dollars annually in the wealth of the nation. 1 The report of the commissioner asks at- |
 tention to the continued prevalence of an in- | fectious and contagious cattle disease, known | and dreaded in Europe and Asia cattle | plague, or pleuro- pneumonia. A mild type |
 of this disease, in certain sections of our 1 country, is the occasion of great loss to our
 farmers ana or Ser1OuS dlSturDance to our | trade with Great Britain, which furnishes 8 1 market for most of our live stock and dressed
 meats. The value of neat cattle exported
 from the United States for eight months end-
 ed August 31, 1880, was more than twelve
 million dollars and nearly double the value
 for the same period in 1879, unexampled increase of export trade. Your early atten- tion is solicited to this important matter.
 EDUCATION.
 The Commissioner of Education reports a continued increase of public interest in edu- cational affairs, and that the public schools generally throughout the country well sustained. Industrial training is attracting deserved attention, and colleges for instruc- tion, theoretical and practical in agriculture and the mechanic arts, including the govern ment schools recently established for the in- struction of Indian youth, are gaining steadi- ly in public estimation. The commissioner asks special attention to the depredations committed on the lands reserved for the fu-