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£/ CISEBOKEE JdVdFOa PH«EWX. VOL. I. XEW ECIIOTA, WEDNESDAY OCTOBER 22, 1828. NO. 34. v EDITED BY JiLlaS BUUDINOT1'. PRINTED WEEKLY BY ISAAC H. HARRIS, FOR THE CHEROKEE NATION. At $2 50 if paid in advance, $9. in six months, or $3 50 if paid at the end of the • year. To subscribers who can read only the •herokee language the price will be $2,00 ft advance, or $2,50 to be paid within the year. Every subscription will be considered as continued unless subscribers give notice to the contrary before the commencement of a aew year. Any person procuring six subscribers, <and becoming responsible f’o? the payment, shall receive a seventh gratis. Advertisements will be inserted at seven ty-five cents per square for the first inser tion. thirty-seven and a half cents for each continuance; longer ones in propor tion. jCj*»\ll letters addressed to the Editor, jp.st paid, will receive due attention. OWV J «f J9 H O-.0 AD V0ALX&S.I TAAS** U*V* I*4<>5.V. bojie ai»e>iui<*y kta d^p (pe.niJ TCTZ TEJtfO-J* Tcrz vi>p T^ao-A tb ne.!<s>.»i*<KLi, kt CHOJBJ; I^4o^.I. DVJL5&F.Z tb yw 0-yAT D^P (ve.lB.I I*4«-.I. swyz .iii<t5iuio®y, wps" ds-t I*4c£.I t’SJBfT’, TCTZ TEiWO-J* DO' ktaz df yvy *n (ysar^' trait DOJ/Scap-oea. v^GENTS , FOR THE CHEROKEE PHCENIX. The following persons are authorized to receive subscriptions and payments for the Cherokee Phoenix, Henry Hill, Esq. Treasurer of the A. 9 C. F. M. B Won, Mass. Georoe M. Tkacy, Agent ofthe A. B. C. F. M. New York, Rev. A. D. Eddy, Canandaigua, N. Y. Thomas Hastings, Utica, N. V, Pollard &, Converse, R chinon 1, V a. Rev. James Campbell, Beaufort, S. C„ William Moultrie Reid, Charleston, •S. C. Col George Smith, Statesville, W. T. William M. Combs, Nashville Ten. Rev. Bennet Roberts—Powal Me, Mr. Thos. R. Gold, (an itinerant Gen tleman.) Jeremiah Austil, Mobile Ala, GENERAL COUNCIL OF THE CHEROKEE NATION. MESSAGE of the Principal Chiefs of tiie Cherokee Nation, to the Gen- ; eral Council. To the Members of the Committee and Council, in General Council convened. j Fellow Citizens:—In addressing* you on this momentous occasion, we cannot, in justice to our feelings, for bear a solemn pause, and with grateful feelings meditate on the ma ny blessings which a kind Providence has conferred on us as a people. Al though we have had trialsli tribula! ions to encounter, & in some instances, the ead effects of intemperance have been experienced within the circle of our citizens, yet, there is every reason to flatter us in the hope, that under wise and wholesome laws, the preponder- •atibg influence of civilization, morali ty and religion, will secure to us and our posterity an ample share of pros perity and happiness. Occupying your seats by the free suffrage of the people, under the privi leges guaranteed by the Constitution, the various subjects requiring your deliberation the present session, will, necessarily be important. The or ganization of the new Government, the revision and amendments of the old laws, so a*s to make them in unison with the principles ofthe Constitution, will require your attention; & it cannot oscape your wisdom, that the laws should be short, plain & suitable to the condition of the people, and to be well ■executed. The Judiciary system d e * mands your serious deliberation, and the mode for conducting suits in courts should be free from all complicated formalities, and no other form should be required than, to let both uni ties know distinctly, what is alledged, that q fair trial may behaij. A law should be passed requiring man agers & clerks of *11 public elections to register the names of the persons voting as well as the names of the candidates to whom the votes are given, by ob serving such a course, illegal votes will be detected, and the elections conducted with more regularity, har mony, and satisfaction. The public press deserves the pat ronage of the people, and should be cherished as an important vehicle in the di fusion of general information, and as no less powe-ful au;ii'nry in asserting and supporting our political rights. Under this impression, we cannot doubt, that you will continue to foster it by public support. The only legislative provision necessary for conducting the press, in our opinion, is to guard against the admission of scurrilous productions of a peisonal character, and also against cherish ing sectarian principles on religious subjeots. The press being the • ) lie property ofthe Nation, it would ill become its character if such inf-lnge- ments upon the fecii' <> the people should he tolerated. In other res pects, the liberty bf the press should be as free ns the breeze that glides upon the surface From the accompanying memorial, signed by several of our respectable citizens, together with the public Treasurer, you will discover that fur ther indulgence is < ailed io** in behalf ofthe public debtors, and it is for your wisdom to deter mine, whether, it would be just and proper, that the law requiring the Treasurer to'call in r. 11 the money lorr.ed out, should be a- mended so as to rive further indul gence to ihe borrowers, that the pay ments may be made by reasonable in stalments. Owing to the extreme scarcity of mom y, from the general pressure in business, such indulgence would, no doubt be, a great relief; and the probable distress and ruin, from the sacrifices of property consequent from public sales may be averted. After receiving the Treasurer’s re port and ascertaining the true condi tion of the public funds, it will also be your province to determine the expe diency of making suitable provisions for the erection of a National Acade my, at New Echota. This subject, has for some ‘itne past been agitated, and is anti -ipnted with the warmest zeal by the reflecting part of our citi zens and : t should receive your par ticular attention. By the Treaty of ■ 1819, four tracts of land, equal *o fif teen miles square were reserved for j the purpose of creating a revenue for 1 a school fund, to he applied under the direction of the President o r the Unit* i ed States, for t‘,e education of the , youths of this Nation. The lands I were to have been s<!d under the di- [ rcction of the President in the same manner, as the public lands of the United Stales and notwithstanding the repeated anil urgent requests which have been mode, fo** the sale of these lands, and the no less repeated prom ise on the part of the General Govern ment to attend to it, for reasons un known, they are not yet sold. We. would recommend you to memorialize the President on thin important sub ject, and resnectfully to request that, the available funds may be applied to the support of the contemplated Na tional Academy. The several charity schools in thL country .under the imediate patronage of benevolent societies of the several states should not escape your notice. \R1iq’ the superintendents of these schools, under the direction of re spective societies have the right of conducting them, according to the die tates of their own discretion andjudg meats, yet, without presuming any disparagement to their regulations, wo would suggest the expediency of se lecting a visiting committee on the part of Ilia nation.for tlio purpose of inspect ing their public examinations,& at such other tinr-s as said Committee may deem nroner. and that they should be required to make a gene.ral report on the stgte. of improvement, to. be laid before the session of each Gen eral Council. Such a course pursued by tl.te authorities of the Nation in relati on to the/e institutions, would no doubt excite/an interest among the pupils , and /dd to the vigilence of their preceptors, and at the same timepi’oducf general satisfaction.— An indiifferert course perhaps might, eventua lly produce relaxation and a- pathy ill their operations, and we should endeivor to avoid the dishonor of any circumstance which might pos sibly take* place, that would defeat the fondes t expectations of those, up on whose benefaction they are found ed. The circumstance of our Govern ment assuming a new chancier under cunsihutiOiial form, and on the prin- iples of republicanism, hat, in some degree, excit cd the sensaton of the public characters of Georga, and it is incerely to bo regret ed tlat this ex citement should have been manifest ed by such glaring expresdons of hos tility to our tru’e interests' By the adoption of the Constitution our rela tion to the United States, as recog nised by existing Treaties, is not in the least degree alJected, bit on the contrary, this improvemsnt in our government, is strictly in accordance with the recommendation, views and fishes of the Great Washirgton under hose auspicious administiation, our Treaties of piece, Friendship and protection were made, and whose po licy in regard to Indian civilization has been strictly pursued by tic subse quent administration. The pretended claim of Georgia to portion of our lauds, is alleged on the following principles. First, by discovery. Secondly, by conquest.— Thirdly, by compact. We shall elideavor briefly to eluci date the character of this claim. In the first place, the Europeans by the skill and enterprize of their Naviga tors, discovered this vast Continent, and found it inhabited exclusively by Indians of various Tribes, and by a pacific courtesy and designing strata gems, the aboriginal proprietors were induced to permit a people from a for eign clime, to plant colonies, and without the consent or knowledge of the native Lords, a potentate of En gland, whose eyes never saw, whose purse never purchased, and whose sword never conquered the soil we in habit, presumed to issue a parchment, called a “Charter,” to the Colony of Georgia, in which its boundary was set forth, including a great extent of country inhabited by the Cherokees and other Indian Nations. Secondly. After n lapse of many years when the population of these Co lonies had become strong, they revol ted against their sovereign, and by suc cess of Arms, established an Indepen dent Government, under the name of ‘‘the United States.” It is further al leged that the Cherokee Nation pros ecuted a war it the same time against the Colonies. 3dly. Several years after the treaties of peace, friendship and protection, which took place between the U. S. &the Cherokee Nation, and by which the faith of the United States was solemnly pledged to guarantie to the Cherokee Nation forever, their title* to their lands, a Compact was entered into between the United States and the State of Georgia, by which the Uni ted States promised to purchase, for the use of Georgia certain lands be longing to the Cherokee Nation, so soon as it could be done on reasonable and peaceable terms. Thus stands the naked claim of Georgia to a portion of our lands.— The claim advanced under the pica of discovery, is preposterous. Our an cestors from time immemorial posses sed this country, not by a “Charter” from the hand of a mortal King, who had no right to grant it, but by the Will of the King of Kings, who creat ed all things & liveth forever & ever. The claim advanced under the se cond head, on the ground of conquest, is nor less futile than the first; even admitting that the Cherokees waged a war with the Colonies, at the lime they fought for their Independence. The Cherokees took a part in the war, only as the allies of Great Bri tain, and not as her subjects, being an independant Nation over whose lands she exercised no right of jurisdiction; therefore, nothing could be claimed from them, in regard to their lands by the conqueror over the rights of Great Britain. At .the termination of the war, the United States negotiated with the Cherokees on the terms of peace as an Independant Nation, and since the Close of that war, other Avars took place, and at their terminations, oth er treaties were made, and in no one stipulation can there be found a single idea that our title to the soil lias been forfeited, or claimed as the terms of peace; but, to the contrary, we dis cover that the United States solemnly pledged their faith that our title should be guarantied to our Nation forever. The third pretension is extremely lame. The United States enters in to a compact with Ceorgia that they will purchase certain lands, which be long to us, for Georgia, so soon at they can do it on peaceable and reasoaable terms. This promise was made on the part of the United States with out knowing whether this nation would even consent to dispose of those lands on any terms whatever; and the Cherokees not being a party in the compact, their, title cannot be effect ed in the slightest degree. It appears astonishingly unreasonable, that all those hard expressions of denuncia tion which have been unsparingly la vished against our sacred rights and interests, by interested politicians, have arose from no other circumstance than our honest refusal to sell to the United States lands, for the fulfilment of their Compact with Georgia. Al though our views & condition may be misrepresented—although we may be stigmatized with the appellation of “No-bobs,” and should be represent ed as ruling with an “Irod rod” and “grinding dovm into dust the %cretched and abject mass” of our citizens; and although wc may be called avaricious for refusing to sell our lands, we should not be diverted from the path of rec titude. In all our intercourse with our neighboring white brethren, we should endeavor to cultivate the ut most harmony and good understanding, by strictly observing the relations which we sustain to the United States. Owing to the various misrepresenta tions respecting us, we have been fre quently called upon to make a treaty of cession; and under the hope of suc ceeding with us, a treaty has been en tered into by the United States with that portion of the Cherokees who have absolved themselves from all connection with us, by removing west of the Mississippi, and establishing themselves there as a distinct commu nity, stipulating that all those Chero kees residing east of the Mississippi who will consent to emigrate west of that river, shall receive a bounty con sisting of a rifle gw, a blanket, a steel- trap, u brass kettle and five pounds of Tobacco. Such are the temptations offered to induce us to leave our friends, our relatives, our houses, our cultivated farms, our country, and every thing endeared to us by the pro gress of civilization—for what? To tread the barren wilds and dreary waste on the confines of the rocky Mountains, with those necessary ac- countrements and appendages of the hunter on our backs, in pursuit of the Tuffaloe and other wild animals. With the view of carying this burlesque on our happiness into effect, the United States’ agent for this Nation has been instructed by the Secretary of War, to visit us at our firesides, accompa nied by James Rogers and Thomas Maw, two of the Cherokees residing west of the Mississippi, and who com posed apart of the chiefs (hat negoci- ated the late Treaty. This extraordin ary movement has been made, though without any effect; and we are happy to state, that cur citizens generally, have treated the Agent and his as30^ dates with civility, and have with great propriety restrained their indig nant feelings from committing any vi olence on the persons ofthe two Ar kansas chiefs, for the indignity offered by the design of their visit. We would recommend you ns the imme diate representatives of the people, to submit a respectful memorial to (he Congress of the United States, ex pressive o 1 the true sentiments of the people respecting their situation, and praying that measures may bo adopt ed on the part of the United States for the adjustment of thfiir Compact with the state of Georgia, otherwise than to anticipate any further cession ol land from this nation. WILLIAM HICKS. JOHN ROSS. New Ecluota C. N. Oct. 13. 1828. Na tional Committee. The National Committee mot on Monday 13th October, agreeably to the provision of the Constitution, at New Echota, when there not appear ing a quorum of members, they ad journed to meet on Tuesday 10 o’clock October 14. MEMBERS OF THE NATIONAL COMMITTEE. Richard Taylor, 3 John F. Baldridge. ) Chickamaugn Edward Gunter, Dan’l Griffin Jr. Joseph Vann, Georgf. Sanders. ^ Chattooga. j- Cooseicalce. David Vann, > „ Jos. Vann, \ H 'S h Toner James Daniel, > rr . , Saml. Downing. ^ Hickory Log. William Bolfn, J Alexander M’Daniel. $ Ta ' i quoheK Samuf.l Ward, } a John Timson, \ •*!“«»■ Thomas Foreman, } Lewis Ross. £ M-mo-kee. Tuesday, Ocl. 14. The National Committee met a- greeably to adjournment when, a quo rum being formed, they proceeded to the election of a President and Clerk Pid. Tern. Lewis Ross was elected President, and David Vann Clerk.— After which, they proceeded to the examination of the certificates and re turns of the members, when each pro duced his certificate, was qualified, and took his seat. The house adjourned to meet Wed nesday, 9 o’clock, October lcth. Wednesday Oct. 15. Tlie House met agreeably to ad, journment, and proceeded to rht elec tion of a President and Clerk for tin session. Lewis licss was electc< President,^ and William S. Coody Clerk. The House being organized proceeded to business. Rules for the regulation of the Natior.a Committee. The following rules were submittei by Messrs. James Daniel, Josej! Vann and David Vann, and adopted U the House. L Each member shall be seated and whenever he wishes to addivs President he shall rise up in Ins place 2. No member shall be allowed t- speak more than twice upon any reso lution, or bill, but with the consent o the President. 3. Whenever a member shall intro dace a bill or resolution, it sha.Il be ii writing, unless for adjournment, o: tbq previous question. 4. When two members rise to spotil at the same time, the President yhal decide who shall take the floor. 5. Whenever a member is callei to order hv the President, or a mem her, ho shall sit down, or explain be fore be shall be permitted to continui the debate. 6. When a communication is re reived by the Committee, from tin Principal Chiefs or Council, all d e bate shall be discontinued until th< bearer leaves the Committee room. 7. Each member that absents h'm self fifteen minutes after the time ap pointed (by adjournment) . for meet mg, shall forfeit twenty five cc:lj and for every half* hour thereaftei