H. OF R.] Indian Reservations in Georgia. [APRIL, 1824. all that could be peaceably obtained on reasonable terms. The document No. 1, accompanying this report, will show that, since 1802, the United States have been able to obtain, for their own use, more than 30,000,000 of acres in Alabama and Mississippi, in addition to 7,633,400 obtained in 1801; to 5,006,880 obtained for Tennessee, by treaty, from the Chickasaw Indians, subsequently confirmed by a treaty with the Cherokees; 700,000 for North Carolina; and a quantity, an estimate of which is not in the hands of the committee, for South Carolina. No satisfactory explanation is afforded to show how this difference in the quantity of lands procured by the United States, for their own account, and in compliance with their promise to Georgia, has occurred. The document B is intended to show the expense incurred in the execution of the compact of 1802. It is defective and delusive. It contains no credit for the money received at the treasury of Georgia, viz: the Yazoo fund, $184,515 94. It is omitted to be stated that the $1,250,000 was paid out of the proceeds of the property acquired. It charges the Yazoo compromise as a benefit to Georgia, who had no interest in the settlement but a common interest with the other States. The land procured for the Cherokees, on the Arkansas, is charged at the minimum value of lands surveyed and offered for sale by the United States, and not at its trifling actual cost, about twenty-five thousand dollars. The idea of title to the soil was, until lately, unknown to the Indians. Their lands were overrun by them, not inhabited; their rights not transferred, but extinguished, dependent upon the will of the power to whom the sovereignty over them belongs. This sovereign power was Georgia, prior to the adoption of the Constitution of the United States. That constitution gave to the United States the authority to manage the affairs of the Indians, for the peace of the Union, and the eventual benefit of Georgia. The Indians had mere occupation; the United States were the agents of Georgia for the extinguishment of this allowed possession. The compact of 1802 required this to be effected out of the general fund. No act of the United States, nor of the Indians, nor of both, could, without her consent, impair the rights of Georgia to the jurisdiction and soil of the territory in question, whenever the Indians should be removed from it, by accident, by contract, or by force. This doctrine is confirmed by the decision of the Supreme Court of the United States, which has declared sales made by States, of Indian territory, valid, prior to the extinguishment of Indian title: That there is a species of seizin in fee, which enables a State to grant to individuals. In fact, the compact of 1802 is the acknowledgment of the United States of this doctrine, as their only title to the soil of Alabama and Mississippi is founded upon it. The Secretary of War, in his attention to the treaties guaranteeing the Indian title, has entirely omitted to notice the first and most important document in relation to this sub- The committee are at a loss to know what bearing ject, the Treaty of Hopewell, of 1785-a document this defective document has on the question of the sustaining the opinion of the committee, and giving Cherokee lands. As, however, they presume it has to it, what is now deemed important, the sanction of a relation not well understood, they conceive it propIndian acquiescence. The fourth article of the Treaty er to show, by the statement No. 2, what pecuniary of Hopewell, is, "the boundary allotted to the Chero- advantages have accrued, and will accrue, to the Unitkees for their hunting grounds, is, and shall be, the ed States, under the compact with Georgia. By this following: " The Indians acknowledge, by that treaty, statement, it appears that $4,512,850 23, exclusive the United States as their sovereign; and, by the of Mississippi stock, have been received into the pub9th article, Congress assumes, for the interest and lic Treasury; that $6,444,821 51 are due from sales comfort of the Indians, the power to regulate their made; that the land ceded by the Indians, and not yet trade, and manage all their affairs as they may deem sold, is 27,588 800 acres, which, at the minimum proper. This treaty existed at the adoption of the price, is $34,486,000. That there remains yet, as Constitution of the United States, and Georgia, as a hunting grounds for the Indians, 22,977,576 acres. member of the Union, was vested with the sovereignty The balance of profit is sufficiently with the United and soil of the Cherokee lands, subject only to the In-States to justify contracts for the extinguishment of dian right of hunting within the allotted limits, which Indian title for the benefit of Georgia, without great right, the General Government was bound to extin-scrutiny as to the amount of expense incurred. guish as early as the general convenience would permit. The duty of the General Government was to do all acts which would accelerate this event; to refrain from all acts which would retard it. Over the territories of the United States, the General Government could rightfully exercise unlimited powe, in relation to the Indian tribes. Within a particular State, the sole power was that of agency, for the preservation of peace, the regulation of trade, and the extinguishment of title. To this general obligation, imposed by the constitution on all the States, a special promise was added in favor of Georgia, in 1802; partially executed; but, to the complete execution of which, difficulties are alleged to exist, which require the interposition of the power of Congress. How far this promise has been complied with, is attempted to be shown by two documents, marked A and B, sent to Congress by the President. By the document A, it appears that the Indian title to 15,744,000 acres has been extinguished; and that there remains 10,240,000 acres yet in their possession, as hunting grounds. The first quantity is alleged to be The committee agree with the Secretary of War, "that no opportunity of extinguishing the Indian title, on reasonable terms, has been neglected by the General Government," for its own use; but they do not perceive that the same zeal has been successfully exerted for the State of Georgia. The treaty of 1814, with the Creeks, was dictated by General Jackson to the Creeks, by order of the Department of War. As has been already seen, a large territory was taken from the Creeks. To The policy of the United States, as explained by the Secretary, required a separation of the tribes of Indians from each other, and from the ocean. this policy a compliance with the promise to Georgia was sacrificed. It is alleged that the obligation to Georgia extends only to the purchase of lands, &c. The term purchase is an interpolation; it is not found in the articles of cession of 1802. It is alleged, also, that this land was obtained by conquest, and therefore the nation was at liberty, laying the contract with Georgia out of view, to pursue its plan of policy. Without entering into any considerations to show that the United States, having obtained, by force not used for that purpose, but defensively, the opportunity to extinguish the Indian title within the limits of Georgia, was bound, in good faith, to use it, it is deemed sufficient to refer the House to the facts, disclosed by the extract from Colonel Hawkins's letter, already quoted, that this acquisition by conquest was an acquisition of lands from friends and allies, for an equivalent named by the United States. The propriety of accommodating the State of Georgia was suggested to the commissioner of the United States by the Indian agent; but the answer was, that the instructions of the Government would not permit a compliance with this suggestion. The committee are of opinion that an acquisition of land to Georgia, to any extent, could have been obtained from the Creeks in 1814. The attention of Congress has been called to the arrangements made with the Cherokees in 1817 and 1819. The arrangement of 1817 was for the purpose of carrying into effect the wishes of the Cherokees, as declared to Mr. Jefferson in 1808, by a deputation from the upper and lower towns. According to the preamble of the arrangement of 1817, the upper towns desired to remain fixed above the Hiwassee River, to contract their society within narrow limits, and begin the establishment of fixed laws and a regular government. The lower towns desired to continue the hunter life, and for that purpose wished to remove across the Mississippi. The wishes of the upper and lower towns were granted, and arrangements made for the removal of the latter across the Mississippi. No line was drawn between the upper and lower towns, although a request was made of the Indians that it should be done by the United States. The arrangement of 1817 provides for the fulfilment of the wishes expressed in 1808, and the promises of the Government of 1809. The wishes of the lower towns was a removal beyond the Mississippi, of the upper, a contraction of their society within narrower limits. By the 3d and 4th articles, it was agreed that a census should be taken of the population beyond the Mississippi, and of those who chose to emigrate thither; and a census of those who chose to remain in their present location. The territory occupied by them on this side of the Mississippi was to be divided according to the relative numbers of those who had migrated, and would migrate, to the remainder; and that portion which fell to the migrators was to be received by the United States in place of the lands furnished to the Cherokees beyond the Mississippi. From this plan, the extinguishment of the title of the Cherokee Indians was anticipated, and would have taken place had it been executed in its spirit by the General Government. It appears, however, that the census was never taken, and that, in 1819, a deputation of Cherokees was permitted to come to Washington to adjust, finally, the difficulties arising out of the treaty of 1817. The lower Cherokee towns, in the limits of Georgia, did not remove beyond the Mississippi. Most of the removals took place from the upper towns, out of the limits of Georgia. In place of the proportion of lands to be abandoned, according to the treaty of 1817, a fixed quantity was accepted, a very small and worthless part of which is in Georgia. It is alleged by the Secretary of War that the desire of Government was, to have a cession in such form as would separate the Creeks and Cherokees; but that it was found impossible to induce the Cherokees to yield to that proposition, or to any other more favorable to Georgia, than that which was adopted. He [H. OF R. does not, however, state that any other was made, with a view to comply with the compact of 1802. The proposition made for the separation of the Creeks and Cherokees, was not for the benefit of Georgia, had it been acceded to, although the interests of the State would have been more advanced than by the actual arrangement; yet, even in that case, the Unit ed States would have sacrificed the obligations of the compact to the policy of separating the Indian tribes, and to the consequent acquisition of lands for their own use in the State of Alabama. The committee cannot understand why a cession of the whole quantity of land in Georgia could not have been obtained. The obligations of the Indians was simple-a line, a boundary-and the United States had only to insist upon fixing that boundary, according to the preamble of the arrangement of 1817. The Secretary of War, however, states that the Indians will not yield, and it seems that the United States did yield. It is obvious to the committee that the interest of Georgia was considered a mere secondary object, from the terms of the arrangement of 1819. The preamble to that arrangement is a satisfactory evidence of the entire forgetfulness of the obligations of the compact of 1802. The treaty is made in consequence of the earnest desire of a great part of the Cherokee nation to remain on this side of the Mississippi, to commence the measures necessary to the civilization and preservation of the nation. The committee are surprised that the occasion was not taken to satisfy the Indians that their continuance in Georgia was impossible, unless Georgia consented to it, and still more so, that the Indians should be encouraged, by this preamble of a treaty, made at the Seat of Government, under the eyes of the President, to entertain that expectation. The treaty of 1817, and that of 1819, show a strange forgetfulness of the limited extent of the power of the United States over the land in question. The Secretary of War, acting under the direction of the Executive Magistrate, and pursuing the example set in 1817, seems to have imagined that the United States and the Indians could do, lawfully, whatever suited their mutual convenience, without regard to the State of Georgia; an error which had been previously committed in treaties with the Creeks. No difference was made between Indian lands within the limits of the State claiming the eventual jurisdiction and soil, and the Indian lands where the soil is the property of the United States. Provisions are made, in both treaties, for vesting individuals with fee simple titles to land, and to convert them, by a short process, into citizens. The right of the United States to do either is absolutely denied by the committee. The General Government can take the property of individuals for public use, but the constitution withholds the power even to prejudice the claims of any State. Congress can establish a uniform rule of naturalization; the Executive Magistrate cannot make, by an Indian treaty, special exceptions to the established rule. The effect of such acts on the part of the General Government was to be anticipated. The Indians were taught the value of separate property, and the advantages to be obtained by a continuance in their present position. The General Government authorized, also, the establishment of missionaries among the Cherokees, to instruct their children, and to give them a taste for the cultivation of the soil. The committee are not informed that the influence acquired by these missionaries has been exerted to induce the Indians to seek a residence beyond the Mississippi, nor are they informed that the Government has ever thought it necessary to impose upon them such a task. The committee are not to be understood as expressing any disapprobation of the policy of the United States for the civilization of the Indian tribes; they confine themselves to the policy, as it has affected the performance of the promises of the United States, under the compact of 1802. As it relates to that compact, they express their decided conviction that the attempts which have been made to civilize, and permanently fix, the Cherokees in Georgia, is in direct violation of the promise to extinguish their title, as soon as it could be done peaceably, and on reasonable terms; nor do the committee perceive the necessity of holding out the idea of permanent settlement in Georgia, as a prelude to the establishment of a regular government for the Indians. As it regards expense, it would certainly be, for the United States, the cheapest mode of effecting this object, as the cost would be paid by Georgia, and the United States would be saved from the onerous obligation of removing the Indians for the benefit of that State; a saving of expense which, however, the United States will not desire, as it involves a breach of their faith. From the circumstances thus detailed, the House will not be surprised at the present pretensions of the Cherokees, to be regarded as independent, or their declarations, that they will neither sell nor quit the lands occupied by them. Some surprise cannot but be felt at the acquiescence of the United States in the substitution of diplomatic correspondence for Indian talks, and at the manner in which the subject of the Cherokees is presented to Congress. The Legislature of Georgia, at their last session, sent to the Chief Magistrate a memorial on the subject of the compact of 1802. The President of the United States has not laid that memorial before Congress, but has preferred to present to the Legislative body a correspondence of the Secretary of War with certain Cherokee chiefs, which begins, on their part, by a declaration that they would sell no more land; contains a request that no more appropriations should be made for that purpose; and a suggestion that the United States should, in some other way, satisfy Georgia, as, by a cession in Florida. To the formal answer of the Secretary of War, a rejoinder is given, and, on this rejoinder, Congress are informed that its power must be exerted, as it is obvious that the Executive can do nothing further without the intervention of Congress. The President has given his opinion, that the use of force would be unjust, and that without force nothing can be done. What should be done by Congress, is a subject of the most serious and important concern. The parties to the compact of 1802 anticipated the extinguishment of the Indian title to all the lands in Georgia. The United States agreed to extinguish it, as soon as it could be done peaceably, and on reasonable terms. The compact imposed upon the General Government the obligation to use all the means necessary to accomplish the end in view. It was especially their duty to refrain from doing any thing calculated even to retard, much less to render impracticable, the attainment of that end. If the committee have not deceived themselves, it must be apparent, that the United States have omitted to embrace two occasions, when a fuller performance of the conditions of the compact was in their power. It is equally apparent that the United States have not only omitted to express constantly, [APRIL, 1824. and with firmness, to the Cherokees, the necessity of their ultimate removal from Georgia, but have held out to them the idea of a permanent residence, as citizens, in that State; have taught them the value of their position, and intimated, that it depended upon themselves, to remain or to remove; have attempted to vest, in individuals, a permanent property in the soil. From these causes, every day increasing in their effect upon the inclination of the Cherokees, have arisen the determination of the Cherokees, as made known to the President. It is the policy of the United States which has created the difficulties; if peaceable acquisition is impossible, that impossibility is the work of the General Government. In this state of things, encountering contradictory obligations, the course for the Government is plain and obvious. Justice should be done to Georgia. The Indian claim should be extinguished, even should force be required for that purpose; or the consent of the State must be obtained to some arrangement, which will free the United States from the embarrassments arising from its regard to the unhappy condition of the Indians, from a respect to the expectations they have erroneously permitted this tribe to entertain, and from their formal and solemn obligation to a member of the Union, The committee do not, however, believe that any serious difficulty now exists, to the peaceable extinguishment of the Indian title, on reasonable terms. An order from the General Government for their removal, would be cheerfully acquiesced in, if accompanied by the necessary preparation for the prosperity of the tribe, and a just equivalent for the temporary inconveniences they might suffer. The committee agree with the President, that it would promote essentially the security and happiness of the tribes of Indians, if they could be prevailed on to retire beyond the limits of the States; but they cannot see the injustice of any measure, short of actual hostility, which would essentially promote the security and happiness of the Cherokees. There is another consideration which should be brought into view; the only plausible objections to the proposed order, is its injustice, and inhumanity, to the Indians. That it is just to promote their essential security and happiness, even by means not agreeable to their wishes, cannot be denied; that it is humane to preserve them from dangers, to which they will be exposed, by an obstinate adherence to their own opinions, is equally true. Their present position is incompatible with the claims of the State of Georgia; the knowledge of the fact, that the United States will not, in consequence of the perverseness of the Cherokees, comply with the obligations of the compact of 1802, will necessarily produce irritations and resentments, the consequences of which may be easily foreseen. The United States may be under the fatal necessity of seeing the Cherokees annihilated, or of defending them against their own citizens. The committee offer to the House the following resolutions, under a full conviction that the adoption of them will not be followed by any consequences injurious to the Cherokee tribe, or to the character of the General Government for justice and humanity: Resolved, That the United States are bound, by their obligations to Georgia, to take, immediately, the necessary measures for the removal of the Cherokee Indians beyond the limits of that State. Resolved, That such an arrangement with the State of Georgia should be made, as may lead to the final adjustment of the claims of that State, under the |