Newspaper Page Text
V
selves, anti make ye a graven image,
{lie timilitude of any figure,” Behold
ihe|, the' sin and absurdity of thq. nic-
Ures and images of the Papists! And
vhy do we find among Potestants eGr
ain pictures, such as rays of light,
md perhaps in the 'centre, the He
brew Viharactcrs of the name JE1IO-
VAH? When human ingenuity takes
iiho pencil to present its any thtfig of
the evidence of God, to say nothing of
the sin, * . * * but cwfalse im’prorf-
sion ? ; • 1
I do not know, Mr. Editor, that the* "until
same effect would be produced on ei’e-
rif one, as. therd - 'was produced on me
tiio other day, in '.receivirtg #$abbath-
noon refreshment qn a millennial plate. 1
I was pleased with fhose striking em
blems of divine promise. I viewed
with much pleasure the representation
of the blessed book from whence those
promises were derived, the reference to
remises,'and the precious scrip-
those
tures lessons inserted; but the present
meat of the-eye appeared an exception.
I could but reflect,.this is just like such
creatures as wc are. We can advance
but onp step at a'time; qnd that stop
very often needs mending.
Still, I say, go On with millennial ef
fort; and I verily believe that some
missteps, in a:i active.course, are not
so hateful in the sight of God, as that
caution which produces nothing. There
will soon be a now edition of this furni
ture; and' iff A of not perfect, the next
following will probably be somewhat
nigher perfection, W. •
tics under the nqmns of Bonton, Talle-
dega, Randolph, Coosa, Tallapoosa,
Chambers* Russell, Macon, qvfo Bar
hour. These counties are duly organ
ized. 1 They contain a largouumber oi.
inhabitants,•* variously estimated frbm
20 to 30,00*0, whb are in feet intruders
upon the public lands, within thp ex
press meaning of the Article of the trea
ty just quoted. Thennbde of removul
is also prescribed by an Act of Con
gress, passedJVIarch 3d, 1807, ctatitlc*l
‘‘An act to prevent settlements being
made on lands,'ceded to the U. -States*
authorized by law - .” This act
provides for the interposition of tlio
Marshal and "the employment of milita
ry force, under the orders of the Presi
dent*, and furnishes the authority by
virtue of which the proceedings in Al
abama, jn> relation to this subject, have
taken place.. , ’• ' -
The constitutionality of the act of
1807 is not controverted by the Cow-
ernor. Hp merely disputes the cor
rectness of the construction by the Go
vernment.' '
The above are, we belfeve, pojnts
npop which bbth parties nf'e agreed.—-
Wo .proceed to state, as shmmarily as
me can, the grounds ofdifference.
The Secretary of War aftinns that
the law and. the treaty- impose an iip-
perrttive duty uppn the " Prudent to
remove all trespassers. He tidfls, as
inducements to an active performance
of his. duty, that «•
"Since the ratification of this treaty,
repeated representations have been
General Government, in which the fact
ot these outstanding and hostile claims
is recited, and in which special exemp
tions and privileges and pre-emption
rights are given, to actual settlers, en
gage in the cultivation of the soil.—
Tie proceeds to insist that these* acts
"show beyond dispute* that during this
time it' waif the settled policy of the
Goverpment tOj.eafipuragd- our citizens
ie and o^qtjby the public land:*
To .sett
that the class of our’ population lids al
ways been esteemed highly meritori
ous, and that the exclusive right to pur
chase at priftite sale, has. been extend
ed to them in consideration of, and ns
a regard for the services they have
rendered by these settlements in-test
ing the va^ue end productiveness of the
soil: aud in affording facilities to pur
chasers 10 examine it ” .
, lie adds', that'*‘these act§ have been
passed with the exception of that of
1300;. subsequently to 1807, find if.it
be a crime* tq cultivate the'public land,
the Government has saborned our citi
zens tc its jicrpet ration, by offering
them large rewards and confering oil
them valuable privileg.es.”
His ijforcnces'is'timttiic Federal au-
tfioritms.havo no l ight to apply the a'ct
011807, dr use tinned force, except
against trespassers, who claim to hold
by adverse title to tire United States,
and got against ordinary settlers on the
.public lauds. '
•Of the treaty itself, he affirifis that
by authorizing the application of the
act of 180? to the Ofdek case, it
made to this Department by the public! "trenches upon the admitted jtirisdic-
Agents, .by. respectable individuals and tiori of u State, and violateSfthc consti-
ot a citizen, find is not
Jl
by°the Indians, that gross and wafiton j tutional rights
outrages have been committed upon the law—cad impose no obligatiofi upon
vent all unauthorized .settlements upon
the public land, .Whether made without
or under color of title. If the former,
the intruder was liable to be removed,
and was subjected to a pecuniary pen
alty and to imprisonment. If the lat
ter, in additioQ to eviction, to a penal
ty, ana to imprisonment, he forfeited
all claim to the iftnd, and his right pass
ed to the United*S‘.ates. And the pro
visions of the Act are varied, so as to
meet those-Viflerent cases.” »
Reciting these provisions, he adds:—
"In each of these cases, the provis
ions o£the law apply; &. if thfcy dq not
extend to all intrusions, with whatever
moiiye, upon the lands of tRe United
States, words have lost their meaning,
and the Government, during success
ive administrations, have misunderstood
(heir own duties!, land the legal conse
quences which follow the act of intru
sion.” >
To the argument of the Governor,
that .acts had been repeatedly .passed,
in lavor qf settlers, showing the policy
of the Gouernfnent to encourage those
engaged in the actual cultivation, of
the land, the Secretary replies, that
they were temporary acts of favor, all
of which have expired by their own
limitations; that there is still a general
latv in force, providing penalties; and
.that those temporary legislative res
trictions that have completed their own
object are ilo longer in torce, cannot
tei nltnqjte the general law, nor nurrow
its construction.
of jurisdiction. He performs i
these functions of supreme au
included in -the very teriit itself,
essential to the very prerogative
dictating what the law shwH be. I* i
manner, the United States, while
moving the settlers beyond the boun
ry of their possessions, assume no*
er control over him, and leave kin
the ordinary operation of tho gt
laws.
“It is no doubt convenient fo
all the lands in the several States
tied and cultivated. But this e<i
ience must yield to those unafiea
and imprescriptible rights of j
every where acknowledged among
ilized nations, and no where held si
sacked than fn our own country;—rij
which lie at the foundation of civil
ciety, v and which cannot be violstg
without inflietin^ incurable wounds i
on otir’ institutions. I suppose i|
be contended, that the General i
ertitnent is less secure in its righWt
an individual,'and therefore,*' by f
ting the rclaims of the latter, I
staling the case of the former.”
The conclusion ef the Secretary
announced firmly—that the course
ken' by |jie authorities ol the Uni
States has been imposed upon them
“the Constitution, by a treaty, andi
laws,” and that "it will not be dept
ed from until the obligations created
these are faithfully fulfilled.” T
course is thus designated:
"The troops of the United Static's
upon the land of the United States
From tho BaUimijro .American, ■
THE ALABAMA ■CONTROVER
SY'. ir
Ten columns of tho - Washington-
Globe of Saturday are filled with a cor
respondence between the Secretary ot
War, and Governor Gayle of Alabama,
in relation to the emoarrassing and
painful state of affairs in tho Oieek
country of that state. • Our limits will
not permit jas .to rcptiblish it entire,
its importapee demands that thte mate
rial parts should be laid before our
readers. Contemporary with this*pub
lication, we have received a proclama
tion of Govornor Gayle, preparatory to
an apprehended contact with the forces
oftne General Government. He calls
upon the "civil officer's” of the coun
ties ol the Creek x'fation to do "atten
tive to the people, upon whom any
crimes may be cymriirniUed, or upon
whom or whose property there may ex
ist well founded apprehensions that
crimes are intciided to be committed,
by issuing all such warrants and other
process at* may be' necessary to.bring
offenders* to justice, particularly such
as pre guilty of murder, false iinpris*
onment, house burning, robbery,ior-
eible entries, and all such like heinous
offences,”—meaning by this descrip
tion, the measures of the United States’
Marshal to on Cored the rcirtoval of tres
passers. He' further exhorts tlm peo
ple to aid the magistrates in'the execu
tion of all legal process, whqn duly
called upon, and enjoins a "ready obe
dience to any precept or process that
may issue out of the Courts of the Uni
ted States or of the State.”
‘ The proclamation bears date on the
7th of October.
. The ^documents in the GJobe consists
of a letter to Governor Gayle from the
Secretary of War, dated Sept. 5; a re
ply from the Governor dated at Tusca
loosa, on the 2d of October, and a con
cluding letter from, the Secretary - of
War, dated 22d instant, enclosing let
ters of Messrs. Gallatin. Crawtord, and
Calhoun, ih.similar cases, and a pro
clamation of Mr. Madisotl. We pro
pose giving'the substance of them, a-
voidiug those repetitions which were
unavoidable In an argument carried on
by Icfter, where there i3 so much dis
crepojicy in opinion, and so 'many dis
puted questions of fnct^ Before stating
the points of^djlfexetico, we ought to*
promise, by. quoting the following arti
cle, which is part of the treaty of 1832,
by which the . lands in question were
ceded to the United States
Article 5th—"AU intruders upon the
eoilutry hereby ceded shall be removed
therefrom in the auntie manner as in -
truders may be removed 4>y law from
ublic land until th<
latter, by persons who have intruded 1 the people—and will be declared nul| disproved by the practice of the Gov-| ble inhabitants to remove. Even w
upon ■ the ceded lands,
stated that the houses of the Indians
It lifts been and void by the legally constituted au-
*•*'“ ! thorities ”
have been forcibly taken possession of,
and sometimes burnt, and the owners
driven" into the woods, that their fields
and improvements have been wrested
ilis-argument, though of some length
in tho original, is compressible within
a few words. .The Indians withiu the
Stqte, are citizens ot the
$n further proof of the fact that tho
construction which -would limit the act j They M - e instructed to do this-with
of March 3d, 1807, to the removal; of j much moderation as possible.—Ti
intruders from the. public' lands, who ] has.beep given by the Marshal till
cluijn .the possession they occupy*, is j 15th of January next, for the peac
eminent in the admistratiu'n of the law* a proper jealousy of the employment
he furnished the letters of Messrs. Gal- a military foi'cc, which in other coi
latin; Crawford, and Calhoun,, ajul the ; tries and in all ages has been so
structjv’e to free inatitftticnvs, ! can
see any dpnger to'tho republic, eit
from its action in this 'particular ca
or from the precedents, which sue
cuisc may establish.”
proclamation of* Mr. Madison, all of j
ivhich direct the removal of intruders
State and j without distinction.*
from them and occupied by white per-j subject to * its jurisdiction; their prop-j I he Secretary takes but brief notipc
sons, that aggravated injuries have j orty is, therefore, tlie property ol the ■ of the uuconstitutionality of the'treaty
been committed upon the persons of citizens; they have an inueieasiule ngnt as alledgedby.the Governor,, in thk I
the Indians, and that their horses; cat- to their improvements; and tiie treaty ■ supposed case.thaUhe Indians have a]
tie, hogs, and other’property have been in another article sanctions it, by con- j possessory title, and will -have- a fee
forcibly taken ftojn them. .The appeals tinning I lieir. possessory title and when j simple in their improvements where!
of the Chiefs td the Government to car-■ the locations ■ are made, conferring "it j the locations are made, and that con-; >
ry .the trea.ty -Into effect, -and to afford i into n Ice simple. The United States, sequently the -United. States cadnot of. which we copy from the Washing
their people protection, have been re- Jjhen, have no interest, present or con- j ri^ht consider them.as public lands.Globe, they give reason to appreh^ r .
Froni tha New York Journal of Coipraorctj
Trouble in Alabama.—-The accou
from Alabama are of the gloomy cU
actor. Coupled with the state<h|
pcqted arid forcible. They represent
that their eropsjiave been taken from
them, and they look forward’ to.a state
ofstarvation, unlooo some decisive step
is adopted in their favor. And in ad
dition to this, the Deputy Marshal re
ports that there are' lour hundred per
sons selling whiskey to tlje Indians upon
the ceded lands.”
He lb it her more says-—
"There;is not the slightest wish, un
necessarily to injpre or .oppress The
settlers up6nTbe3C lands. I .am. well
aware of the hardships and irtconVcn-^
icnccs to which frontier settlers are
exposed, and every idasoriablo-ollow
ance should Ire tirade fordheir. p9sition.
When there aro-no other obligations
intervening* settlements have.exteudcd
over the public lands without inconven
ience to the.courttry^ and without inter
ference of the Government. . But in
this ease the rights qf others are con
cerned, and thq^ executive' is called
upon to fulfil the obligations of a'sol-
eitin treaty.” . . * * *
Governor Gayle’s reply to this is,
tingent, in tnei
have no more
any other case of private property.—
The State tribunals are the only
lawful authority , and the treaty which
empowers" tlie United States troops to
interfere is u£|nfiringement upon State
sovcrcigntyjTOMppeuding the ordinary
operation qiulT laws upon the person
and property of tlie citizen. .In anoth
er vievy of the subject, he .contends that
the enforcement of the orders of the
Secretary of War will "subvert the en-
j.ire jurisdiction of the State over nine
counties, by expelling under the gene
ral designation ol '*ail white persons,”
all the civil officers,.judges, and author
ities ol the Stale, w ho under tlio'4'eder-
al cohstruciidbi must he "treaspass-
e ;l!
unpleasant resullfe. If the letter
Alabama is to be relied on, Goverl
locations aye made. Ho contents him- ! Gayle will attempt to arresj hv fo
self with saying— 1 the United States’ troops who ki
‘‘That the land is the property of the j Col. Hardeman Owens, a citizet
United States, at any rate, till the lo- | Alabama, together with the comitii
cations are made, peeins not to be de
nied by you;. and if jt is, the operation
of the Act of March 3d, 1«07, upgn it,
cannot be disputed, upon the principles
I have endeavored to maintain.”
The objection that the'treaty violates
the ‘ ‘jurisdictiye rights” of the State
»V>
The unconstitutional part of the trea
ty, tiie Gdvernbi fitids in thaU'i'ticle by
-which tlie United States undertake to
remove, by tpree, all intruders, upon
occupations of tiie Indians, ".until the
country is surveyed and the Selections
maVieV” and also to .remove them in tHe
that the Secretary’s information is er- same maimer “from these selections,
roupous and unjust, and that altbouglr for .the term of five years from'the rati-
instance may bp fouiuf -‘‘dot to* any
Considerable extent,’' of such as are
mentioned., "ninetenthe of them have
not interfered with the Indians, a^id in
the upper counties,.'which fire most
populous, not a whisper of disaffection
has been littered.’A’ Hts draws & fear-*
ful picture of the distress which will be
caused by the execution ofIhe order's
of the^ Government, - -x --
other public
country is
surveyed, and the selections made;
this firtiole shall not operate upon that
part of it not included ia selections.—.
But intruders shall, in the manner be
fore described, be removed f(om the
selections', far the terra of five years
frpm t‘*e ratification of this treaty, or
uptil the same are conveyed to white
persons
k . . * •
Wiiile the trsaty wfis pending, the
Creek £'Ws were anxious that the,
provisions of the Intercourse Aot of
1802 should be extended to them* so
that the whole 1 ' jurisdiction should be
pssumed by the United States. This
was refused. The State of Alabama
has extended her jurisdiction over the
inclucfing.a des
truction of properly tq an incuJculabje
amount, and an infliction upoiYtlic Suite
of other "great and irreparable injuries
.tHun those avliich
not less cdliumfoqs
would murk the invasion of a public en
emy.”
The parties being at issue on these
points of facts tho Governor, proceeds
to contest in the first place 4he con
struction . of tlife laws of 1807, adopted
by the .Secretary; olid next tlie vairdi.-
ty of tho treaty, as iuconrpatable with
the sovereignty of Alhbama, We ab
stract his leading views on both top
ics:
Ho argues that it was not tho inten
tion of Congress in passing the act of
1807, to restrain persons from settling
thh public lands who had jio object in
view beyond their cultivation..' That
the act was designed to meet a partic
ular case—that of the claimants under
the Yazoo contract, who tool?* posses
sion under color qf title, With.the view
of putting the United Stales to the cost
of suits at law, in tfid case of every in
dividual ciaimaut—and was not meant
to embrace the cose"of" settlers, with
out title, who cultivate the soil with the
bona fide intention “of purchasing. He
quotes in corroboration s scries of act#
fication oft tip treaty,” See.
in conclusion, the Governor calls
upon tho feecretary' to abandon "this
project,' so fatal in "its tendency to civil
liberty" and so directly subversive of
thq ackubwfedgad rights and sovereign
ty of the StaTe of Alaouma. ’ *
We have thus thrown .together, the
.arguments^)! Governor Geyle. They
are. answered at length by Secretary
Cass, in. his lettbr j>t the 22nd nit. the
icudiiig points*oi which we present, o-
mittyig the details and' specific reier-
ences to former acts of Congress..
lie. defejids his construction tq. tho
act olT8U7, by dcnying^both th^icor-
Aectness of the Goverifor’s qtiotaftuuS
of precedents, and reasons ot 'tKein*as
ullcdged for the’ presont argument, -jr'.
lie cites die same Ifiws, ailed by Go
vernor Gayle,, to show that they ex
tended not only to alfpersodB claiming
under cold^of title, but to "settlements
of all descriptions which would tend .to
obstruct the policy of the -government
in its*disposal of the public domain.”
it is further urged. that the questions
of claim was lutrofiuced in indulgence
to.persons .dready in possession at the
tuimoPthe passage of tho act, but that
to subsequent intruders, ft was appli
cable and had beqn applied without
distinction.. Several acts ol’CongVesa
are cited to show that thib disiiction
had bpen frequently observed tbr the
same purposes. lie collects *the pro
of Alabama, because it will expel, a*-
mong other trespassers, the whole civil
organization' of.courtaf"aud civil police,
is met frankly bv the Secretary S\ itli an
ing officer at Fort Mitchell, M
M’Intosh In this case blood will pi
ably be shed ; the Major having j
Uive declared that he will not be art)
cd, or permit any of his men tolH
This uiihappy state of things is
tnral consequence of the ten*porii_.
course pursued by tho General C
eminent towards Gourgia, when
latter trampled on the treaties
the Cherokee? Indians, which tlie
acknowledgment that It 'will mndoubt- j ernment at VVashington was boun
edly produce great inconvenience—j sustain and enforce. Geor " '
while he affirms that neither the incon-| the advantage of bullying, and Alabi
vemence, nor the arguments derived | j 9 disposed t« try the.same
rgia fo
4V' 1 ™
;weaj
frpm it, can be permitted “to outweigh How it will succeed, time must d?
tfie positivo requisitions of a'dtolemn | mine. One thins is certain viz:
Covenant, under which the 'United 1
States acquired, and by virtue of which
th.ey hold, the district in question; q)tid
which formed- one of tho principal in
ducements, operating upon the Indians,
to make the cession.”
'-The right of tlje Stale to an exclu
sive jurisdiction over the district is ad
mitted without qualification. It iiyid-'
mitted, also that the officers and courts,
&-c., mentioned, may be necessary, in
order to exercise that jurisdiction.—
But the points in question ate—can
the State, by extending her jurisdiction
over the lands, thus justify any of its
citizens in taking forcible? possession of
them, in the*United States?—Does the
power to (irovide theae officers and tri
bunals include'the .grant of a right to
fake pipperty not belonging to*them,
to qualify them to act?—Do persons
cease to be intrnders against positive
Jaw, by being appointed to any ot these
dtuics? ' *
The following are the" Secretary’s
views'of the separate rights of the par
ties:—
lands, and divided them into nine couu- j running through thirty years of the
imagine there
sion upon m this aifbject
critical examination
'move. Its object was doubtless to pre-
“Tfle ownership of thp land, and the'
authority to legislate over it, 'for the
ordinary purposes of lift,^embrace pow
ers entirely distinct in themselves,'and
which in this case must he' exercised
by different tribunals. The United
States constitute a great landholder
'possessing under the Constitution the
right to “make all needful rules and
regulatihns 1 concerning their territory
atld other property.” They hrfve made
a regulation, by which intruders upon
tlieir lands snail be removed, under tho
ordersof "the President, by a military
force, In doing this, they fie no more
k i w ivi vvi *•* % a j io, an uu ||<J lUlrl v
visions of the act of .1801, to show thatj than an ordinary individual, whp re-
the Governor quoted it lnaccfiretely. pe i s the forcible intruder, who comes to
>‘I imagine there is a misapprehen- take noMion nfhia Kmim Il l»nrf t S.„.K
which
take posaioh of hii house. &- land.* Such
a "* ore ! an individual, by the act of expdlsion
•of the dot wiH re-| exercises an-authority acknowledged
to be in hitn. But he exercises no act
ou
nou
One thing is certain, viz:
the General GoveAment, in defew
the Indians from intrusion, accon
t,o the Ireuty, is fulfilling a sole mu-d
and ought to be supported by e«
good qftizen. And even if no s
treaty Existed, it would be fully apil
•izell to remove tho intruders, on
grqund that thqlands'intrudedupoo
long to tho .United States, having l|
ceded to the General Governmtn
the treaty above referred to. If
cause public lands lie within the lit
of a state, they, are therefore, put oi
the control of tlie GenerLGovernn
and i£ that Government has no r
even to protect its own territory,
may as-well give up pR. such pv
lands at once, to the states in w!
thov are situated. But: this we i
not do. Neither shall we permit th
lands to be wrested out of’ our hs
by violence. If the governor .ol
hama presists in the course he haf
opted, we hope .tliat congress, whicl
about t0 convene,, will exteped-
provisions of the Act of last soui
for the collection of the revenue,
such modifications as may be necti
ry, to and for the protection of the p
lie lands. If the General Governa
is to fle kicked about at pleasure
every state in the Union, we itiigh
well have no Government. It
neithof be respected at home
abroad.
1 !‘
Indiana.—Col. Reynolds, toget
with a number of tho Chiefs of
Chickasaw nution, is now at this pl<
In a few days they intend cross
river ontbeir. way to the wet(t* in
of a suitable homo for those !m
yv ho wish to emigrate from theirp
ent couutry.
Abi ut one thousand Choctaw
qow encamped in the vicinity of "
phis, under the eupcriiltendauct
Major Armstrong. They will
ofj