Newspaper Page Text
EDITED BY TIIOttAN ILIYMIS. lISQ
VOS,, fits. NO. 32.
■r3\f C. !G. iAO.B iiSLSO M,
Publisher (By Authority,) of Ike Laus,
of the I nited States:
Olftce on (Greene Street. nearly oppo
site the Market.
Issued cvciv I’uesday morning,at ly.> per annum
No subscription taken lor less han a year
and no paper discontinued, but at the option of
the publisher, until all arrearages a;e paid.
Advertisem.'sts conspicuously inserted at the
usual rates—thos<> not limited when banded in.
will be inserted ’till torbid, and charged accord
ingly.
CHANGE OF DIRECTION.
We desire such of our subscribers as may at
any time wish the direction of their papers chan
ged from one Post Office to another, to inform
us, in all eases, of the place to which they had
been previously sent; as tin' mere order to for
ward them to a different olftce, places it almost
outof our power, to comply, because we have no
meansof ascertaining the olftce from which they
ar« ordered to be changed, but a search through
•ur whole subscription Book, containing several
thousand names.
POSTAGE.
It is a standing rule with this olftce, as well
as all others, that the postage of all letters and
communications to the Editor or Proprietor
must be paid. We repeat it again,—and re
quest all persons having occasion to address us
upon business connected in any way with the
establishment, to bear it in mind. Persons
wishing to become subscribers to the Standard
of Union, are particularly requested to give their
attention to this; or they will not hart the pa- i
per forwardedto them.
[By A*thoriy.]
—C. > ekV.
LAWS OF THE UNITED STATES* |
PASSED AT THE TWENTY-FOURTH CONGRESS,’
FIRST SESSION.
[Public. —No. 63.]
AN ACT making appropriations for cer
tain fortifications of the United States for’
the year one thousand eight hun
dred and thirty-six, and for other purpo- I
ses.
Be it enacted by the Senate anti House of
Representatives of the United Slates of A
tncrica in Congress assembled, That the fol
lowing sums be, and the same are hereby,'
appropriated, to be paid out of any’ ttnap- !
propriated money in the Treasury for cer
tain fortifications, viz :
For the preservation of Castle Island I
and repairs of Fort Independence, Boston :
harbor, one hundred thousand dollars.
For Fort Warren, Boston harbor, two '
hundred thousand dollars.
For Fort Adams, Rhode Island, two
hundred thousand dollars.
For Fort Scbtiy ler, East river, New York,
two hundred thousand dollars.
lor repairs of Fort Columbus and Cas-j
tie IV illiams, and officer.’ quarters, on Go
vernor’s Island, New York harbor, twenty
thousand dollars.
For Fort Delaware, Delaware river, ’
one hundred and fifty thousand dollars.
For Fort Calhoun, Virginia, one hun
dred and fifty thousand dollars.
For Fort Casswell, Oak island, North '
Carolina, sixty thousand dollars.
For fortifications, Charleston harbor, !
South Carolina, and preservation of the site >
of Fort Moultrie, one hundred and fifty
thousand dollars.
For Fort Pulaski, Cockspur Island,
Georgia, one hundred and seventy thousand
dollars.
For Fort Pickens, Pensacola, Florida, (
fifty thousand dollars.
For the Fort at Foster’s Bank, Florida, ’
one hundred and sixty thousand dol
flars.
For incidental expenses attending repairs
of fortifications, and for the purchase of ad
ditional land in their neighborhood one hun
dred thousand dollars.
I’ or contingencies of fortifications, ten ’
thousand dollars.
For the purchase of land and the right
rof way on Throg’s Point, in Long Island
'Sound, being the balance of the appropria
tion of one thousand eight hundred and
twenty-six, carried to the surplus fund the
first of January, one thousand eight
hundred and twenty-nine two thousand dol
lars.
And the following sums, necessary to
close accounts in the office of the Third Au
ditor ; viz :
For a fort on Cockspur Island, Georgia,
two thousand three hundred ami eight dol
lars and fifty-six cents.
For contingencies of fortifications, sixty
one dollars and eight rents.
For fortifications at Pensacola, one thou
sand two.hundred anu twenty-three dollars
and thirty-one cent-.
For the armament of fortifications, in
addition to the amount included in the bill
making appropriations for the support of the
army for one thousand eight hundred and
thirty-six, including cannon; mortars, ho
witzers, gun carriages, mortar-beds, pow
der, cannon-ball-, shells, ami for the trans
porlationjof ordnance and ordnance stores ;
and for the purchase of twenty acres of (ami
adjoining the Kennebec arsenal, Maine;
ami the purchase of Jami and enclosing the
rear of public ground with a brick wall and
coping at the Frankford arsenal, Penn
sylvania : and constructing a forging simp
je ®ffttfet6 rs Wit®
one story high, seventy-five by forty feet, of
brick, at the arsenal, Watertown, Massa
chusetts; and in the purchase of a steam
engine of eight-horse power ; and for the
quarters of officers, at I’ ort Monroe arsenal,
lour hundred thousand dollars.
I or I’ ort McHenry, Redoubt Wood, and
Covington Battery, near Baltimore, fifty
thousand dollars.
For Fort Monroe, one hundred and fif
ty thousand dollars.
I or tile repairs of Fort Marion, and the
seawall at St. Augustine, Florida, fifty thou
sand dollars.
For knapsacks and camp equipage, au-
I thorized by the act approved nineteenth
of March, one thousand eight hundred
and thirty-six, for volunteers or militia,
' fifty-two thousand seven hundred and five
dollars.
For accoutrements for the army, one hun
dred ami two thousand three I‘undred and
' live dollars. *
I I or the purchase of sites, and the con-
■ struction of arsenals, for the deposite of
! arms in Arkansas, Missouri, and at Mem
phis, in Tennessee, forty -two thousand two
Inndrcd and fifty-six dollars ; Provided,
■ That the cost of such arsenals shall
imt exceed, fourteen thousand dollars
: each.
For the purchase of twenty-eight fireen-
I g lies, and the necessary apparatus, tvventy-
I two thousand four hundred dollars.
For store-houses at Newport, Kentucky,
■ ore thousand five hundred dollars.
For purchasing seven acres of land, in
clading the site of the powder magazine at
tached lo the arsenal at Saint Louis, Alis
soiri, Provided, the same shall be ascertain
ed not to be on land of the United States,
two thousand one hundred dollars.
For erecting a piazza in front of the buil
ding occupied as barracks by the troops at
Augusta arsenal, Georgia, four hundred and
fifty dollars.
Forbarracks, quarters, store-houses, hos
pital, stables, and materials for the same, at ’
Fort Jessup, Louisiana, twenty-five thou- I
sand dollars.
For rebuilding the wharf, and materials;
for the same at Fort Wolcott, Newport, I
Rhode Island, five hundred dollars.
For constructing a wood yard, and a
wood yard wharf, and for materials for the j
same, at Fort Monroe, Virginia, one thou
sand dollars,
For constructing a wharf, and for materi- ’
als for the same, at Fort Steven, Mary land,
one thousand dollars.
For rebuilding and repairing barracks, ■
quarters, the hospitals, store-houses, and I
materials for same, at Fort Brady, Michi
gan Territory, five thousand dollars.
For the purchase of land adjoining Fort
Sullivan, and the buildings thereof, three
ibo'isam! seven hundred and fifty dollars.
For the following objects, in addition to
former appropriations for the same :
For national armory at Harper’s Ferry, j
seventy-seven thousand eight hundred and
ninety-seven dollars.
For national armory at Springfield, forty
five thousand dollars.
For the purchase or manufacture of light
brass and iron field artillery, and for con
struction of field artillery carriages, caissons,
and travelling forge-;, one hundred and
thirty-seven thousand one hundred and nine
ty dollars.
For the construction of furnaces for
beating cannon bails, twelve thousand dol
lars.
Sec. 2. And be it further enacted, That ’
the President of the United States is hereby j
authorized, under the restrictions of the act
ol tlie first of May, eighteen hundred and
twenty, to make transfers from one head of
appropriations for fortifications, to that i
of another for a like object, whenever, in I
his opinion, tlie public interest shall require!
it.
Sec. 3. And be it further enacted, That
tne several sums of money appropriated by
this act and all other sums which have been
or may be appropriated during the present i
session of Congress, shall be drawn from ’
the Treasury, or paid over to the dishtir- ,
*ing officers or agents of the Government,’
only as the same may be required by the
several objects of expenditure authorized by
law.
JAMES K. POLK,
Speaker of the House of Representatives ’
W. 11. KING,
1 resident of the Senate pro tempore.
Approved, July 2d, 1836.
ANDREW JACKSON,
AN ACT.
I half pay to widows or
orphans where their husbands and
fathers have died of wounds received in the
military sen ice ol the I nited States in cer
tain cates, and for other purposes.
/> it enacted by the Senate ami Ilouseof\
Lcprcscnlalias of the I nited Stales of A- '
m'-rica. in Congress assembled, That when
any (officer, m>n-< ommi-sioned officer, mu
sician or private of the milita, including
r.mgcisea fenciblcs, ami volunteers, shall
have died while in the service of tlie United
states, since tlie twentieth of April, eighteen
Immlred ami eighteen, or who shall have
died in conseipiem e of a wound received
whi!,t in the service, since the day aforesaid,
•uh .? di nave left a wi(.l*>w, or, if no widow,
a child or children under sixteen years of
age, such widow, or if l)0 wirlcw,. sinh child
or children, shall be entitled to receive
half tile rnontlily pay to which the deceased
a i- entitled at the time of his death or re-|
•j iving s ich wound, for and during the ,
term ol five years ; and in case of the death >
(a marria'ie of said widow before the expi
ration of said'fiveycars, tlie half pay for the |
lemaimlcr of the time shall go to the said ,
dsi emlent : Provided, That the half pay
: forc-aiid shall be half the monthly pay of
the officers, non-commissioned officers, mu-1
siciiins, and privates of the infantry of the ’
ii'gular army, ami m> more; Prt/vidcd al~\
MttJLEDlßlEyttlLiE, CfrEORCrIA, TUESDAY MORNINCr, AUG-UST 23, 183«.
I so, That no greater sum shall be allowed
j lo the widow, or the child or children of
any officer than the half pay of a lieutenant
I colonel.
Sec. 2. Andbc it farther enacted, That
! it any officer, non-commissioned officer, niu
! sician, soldier, Indian spy, mariner, or
■ marine, whose service during the revolu
i tionary war was such as is specified in the
| act passed the seventh day of June, eighteen
I hundred and thirty two, entitled “ An act
I supplementary to the act for the relief of
certain surviving officers and soldiers of the
revolution,” have died since the fourth day
of .March, eighteen hundred and thirty one,
and before the date of said act, the amount
of pension which would have accured from
the fourth day* of March, eighteen hundred
and thirty one, to the time of his death, and
become payable to him by virtue of that act
it he had sun ived the passage thereof,shall
be paid to his widow ; and if he left no wi
dow, to his children, in the manner pres
cribed in the act hereby amended.
Sec. 3. And be it further enacted, That
if any person who served in the war of the
revolution, in the manner specified in tlie
act passed tlie seventh day ol June, eighteen
I hundred and thirty two, entitled “An act
supplementary to the act for the relief of
certain surviving officers and soldiers of the
revolution,’ have died leaving a widow,
whose marriage took place before tlie ex
piration of the last period of his service, such
j widow shall be entitled to receive, during
: the time she may remain unmarried, the an
nuity or pension which might have been al
’ lowed to her husband, by virtue of the act
i aforesaid, if living at tlie lime it was pass
ed.
Sec. 4. And be it further enacted, That
any pledge, mortgage, sale, assignment, or
transfer of any right, claim, or interest in
any money or half pay granted by this act,
shall be utterly void and of no effect; each
person acting for and in behalf of any one,
entitled to money under this act, shall take
and subscribe an oath to be administered bv
the proper accounting officer, and retained
i by liim and put on file, before a warrant
! shall be delivered to him, that he has no in
terest in said money by any pledge, mort
’ gage, sale assignment, or transfer, and that
’ he does not know or believe that the same
1 has been so disposed of to any person what
ever.
Sec. 5. And be it further enacted, That
the Secretary of War shall adopt such forms
i of evidence, in applications under this, act,
j as the President of tlie United States shall
prescribe.
Approved, July 4lb, 183 G.
War Department, )
Pension Office, July 1839. )
In order to Jcarry into effect the act of
Congress of the 4th July, 183 G, entitled
' “ An act granting half pay to the widows
or orphans where their husbands and fathers
have died of wounds, received in the milita
ry service of the United States, in certain
cases, and for other purposes,” tlie foliow
ing rules have been prescribed by tlie Presi
dent of the United States, and adopted by
the Secretary of War ; and they are now
published for the information of applicants
under that law.
1. Applicants under the first section of
the act must produce the best proof tlie na
ture of the case will allow, as to the service
of the deceased officer or soldier; the time
when lie died, and tlie complaint of which
lie died, and the supposed cause of his dis
ease. It must be clearly shown in what
company and regiment or corps lie served,
and the grade he held. Such proof must
be had, either from the records of the War
Department, tlie muster rolls, the testimony ’
of commissioned officers, or the affidavits of i
persons of known respectability. From |
similar sources evidence must be derived as i
to the period and cause of tlie death of the I
officer or soidier.
2. Tlie legality of the marriage, the name ’
oflhe widow, with those of her children, who
may have been under sixteen years of age !
at the time of tlie farther’s decease, with the ’
State or territory and county in which she
and they reside, should be established. Tlie
legality of the marriage may be ascertained
by tlie certificate of the clergyman who join- j
ed them in wedlock, or the testimony of re- i
spectable persons having knowledge of the '
fact. Ihe age and number of children may I
be ascertained by the deposition cf the
mother, accompanied by the testimony of j
respectable persons having knowledge of I
them, or by transcripts from the parish re- j
gisters, duly authenticated. • Tlie widow at I
the time of allowing the half pay, or pla- I
cing her on the list for it, must show that shs j
has not again married; andmust moreover re- 1
peat this at the time of receiving each and I
every payment thereof, because in case of
her marrying again, tlie half pay seases, j
ami tlie half pay for the remainder of tlie '
time dial! go to tlie child or children of the !
decedent. This may be done by the af-lida • !
vits of respectable persons having knowledge 1
of the case.
3. In cases where there are children and
no widow, their guardian niil of course act ’
for them ; establish their claims as prcscrih-i
ed in tlie fore, going regulations, and re- j
ceive their stipends for them.
4. Applicants under the second section of I
the law will make a declaration before a !
court of record, setting forth according to 1
the best of her or their knowledge nr belief,
Lie imnies ami rank ol tlie field and compa
ny officers : the day (if possible) ami the,
mouth Jami year when the claimant's hus
baud or father (as the case may be) entered '
the service, and the time when he left the I
same ; and if under more than one em’-atio !
ment, the (iaimant must spe( ;fy the partic
ular periods, mid the rank and names of flic
officers under whom the service was per- :
formed ; the town or country, ami State, in
which the claimant’s husband «r father re- !
sided when he entered the servile, whether
he was drafted ; was a volunteer or substi
tute ; the battles, if any, in which he was I
ifttr Conscience—-Oirr Coutifrrj—tiarr
I engaged ; ’he country through which he
marched, with such further particulare as
may be useful in the investigation of the
claim; and also, if the fact he so that the
claimant has no documentary evidence in
support of’ tiie claim.
5. The same of proof as to
the relationship of the claimant to the de
ceased officer or soldier will be required as
the rule under the first section points out.
6. Claimants under the 3J section of the
law' must not only produce such proofs as
the foregoing regulations direct, in relation
to widows’ claims, but they must in all ca
ses, as an indispensable requisite, show
when they were legally married to the de
ceased officer or soldier, on account of whose
services the claim is presented, mid the
marriage took blace before' the of
service of the husband must
also prove that they were never afterwards
married.
7. In a case where the service of the de
ceased officer or soldier is clearly proved,
by record or documentary evidence, or the
affidavit of a commissioned officer, showing
' the grade and length of service of the de-
I ceased, the particulars in relation to the
I service are not required to be set forth in
■ tlie claimants, declaration, except so far as
I to show’ that the claimant or claimants is’
I or are, the widow or children of the deceas
-1 ed.
8. The claimant must in every case where
; there is no record or documentary proof of
j the revolutionary service of the" deceased
’ officer or soldier, produce tlie testimony of
at least one creditable, w itness. Traditionary
i evidence w ill be deemed useful in every such
I case.
9. Applicants unable to appear in court
I by reason of bodily infirmity, may make tlie
’ declaration before required, before a judge
I or justice of a Court of Record of the coun
try in which the applicant resides, and the
judge orjustice w ill certify that the applicant
cannot, from bodily infirmity, attend the
court.
10. M henever any official act is required
i to be done by a judge or justice of a
! Court of Record, or by a Justice of the
! Peace the certificate of the Secretary of
1 State or of tlie Territory, or cf the proper
. clerk of the court or county, under his seal
j of office, will be annexed, stating that such !
j a person is a judge orjustice of a Court of'
i Record, or a Justice of the Peace, and that |
the singular annexed is his genuine signa- i
I Hire. |
11. Tlie widows of those who served in ’
the navy, or as Indian spies, will produce *
proof as nearly as may be conformable to :
tlie proceeding regulations, and authentica
ted in a similar manner, with such variations i
as tlie different nature of tlie service may re- I
quire.
12. Ihe form prescribed for claimants un
der the .‘LI section of the act will lie observ-
i ed by every other description of claimants,
so fur as the same may he applicable to their
■ cases. The Judge or Justice who may ad- ;
j minister an oath, must in every instance ,
certifiy to tiie creditability of the affiant. j
13. In every case in which the deceased ’
officer or soldier was a pensioner, the fact !
should be so stated, and the deceased pen- (
sioner so described as to enible tiie De
partment to refer immediately to the evi
dence upon which iie was pensioned, and
thus facilitate that investigation of the claim
of his widow or children.
JAMES L. EDWARDS,
Commissioner of Pensions.
DECLARATION.
-in order to obtain the benefit of the 3d sec
tion of the ad of Congress of the Ath
J ill if, 183 G.
• Sta'j e, Territory, or District )
of r
' Oo this day of ,personally ap-
’ peared before the , of the
! , A. B. a resident of of
I the country of an( ] State,
’ Territory, or District of , aged
years, w ho being first duly sworn according ;
: to law, doth, on her oath make the following j
declaration, in order to obtain tlie benefit of i
• the provision made by the act of Congress, '
passed July 4, IB3G. That she is the wid-
! °' v , who was a [here in-
I sert the rank the husband held in the army,
i navy, or militia, as the case may be, and ’
specify the service performed, as directed in j
j paragraph No () ( these regu-
i lations.] °
Sue further deciares that she was married
Ito the said #O n the day
! °* , in the year seventeen
hundred and that her hns-
bantl, the aforesaid , died on the
' . day of ; and
| that she has remained a widow ever since j
j that period, as will more fully appear by re
ference to the proof hereto annexed.
I .Sworn to and subscribed, on tlie day and ’
’ year above written, before- .
A ugtist 23 32 2t
j Printers of the laws of tlie United j
States are requested to puhli-h the forego- !
ing advertisement for two weeks in each of)
their respective papers ; and send their ac
counts to the Pension Office for settlement. ’
COTTON BAGGIN«7“
'”‘ vj l: " ssi, ' s f “
AICHtILS A. DEMIXG.
Tl <> the Citizens of BeKaib <t ioniitj.
GAIN fellow-citizens i am before yon a ean
-IjSA diilale for a seat in the State 1 i Jatm - :;. !
• decni it proper thus publicly t'» announce myseli'l
in consequence of the nomination v. lii, h a portion
of the party, of which I am a member, have
made. With tinsnoinimition my friemls have ex
pressed di-satisfaction, and r; <]U' sl< d my coni'm
ttaiice as :i candidate before the peopl", and J |>c
licving as they do, that il is theirs, and the people’s
rij htto vole for a < aiididate for office, (if it suits
tle ir views and propriety) notwithstanding he
may by niatiagcmenl. he caucussad don n, have
c<m-.eiU(’d to cotilinuo a ( aiididate, pledgin'' my
self t;> the citizens of Di kali), if eletUetl, to do till
to advance their’s ami tiie State's interest, which
my feeble abilities will enable me.
MOSES 3ILRJ-HY. j
August 11, 18JI), —qq I
SPEECH OF Mr.. HAYNES,
OF GEORGIA.
In the House of Representatives,
June 27 1836.
The Resolution calling, on the President of
the United Slates for information rela
tive to the Treaty .lately concluded 'trilh
the Cherokee Indians, being under con
sideration—
Mr. lIAYNE S rose and said :
Mr. Speaker, I had hoped that I should
never again be involved in a general dis
' cussion of the Indian question ; but thealle
| gations, violent gratuitous, and unjust,
which have been preferredogainst the State
j of which I have the honor to be a
• ’ tative, by an honorable member from Mass.
! (Mr. Adams,) make it my solomn duty to re
: pel the assault, and to roll it back upon the
i assailant. 1 regret, sir, exceedingly, that
the honorable gentleman whatever may
have been his motive, (and that motive I shall
, not now attempt to investigate,) should,
have thought necessary in the discussion of
la bill protiding for the faithful performance
ol the treaty w ith the Creek Indians of the
I 24th March, 1832, to revive the exploded
j charges of injustice and oppression on the
part of Georgia towards those Indians. Be
fore proceeding to the discussion of the sub
ject, I may be permitted to say, that the
regret expressed by (he honorable gentlc
. man, reminded me strongly of the occasion
on which be uttered the same sentiments
because he could not again throw back upon
the people the choice of Chief Magistrate,
j As this historical reminence was involuntary
j I trust the committee will bear with me for
! expressing it, not intending lo inqire into
. his motjve at the one time or the other. It
’ is impossible to do justice to the defence in
, which I have been, reluctantly, involved,
i without presenting a brief outline of the
i political history of this country in its colo
nial, revolutionary, and present state. The
i Colonies, which afterwards became the ori
| gmal thirteen States of this Union, were ei
ther settled or acquired, by the Government
or people of Great Britain. Deriving their
■origin principally from a common ancestry,
siniilarinstitutions were common to them all.
Among the number, Georgia, as is well
know to every one familiar with American
history, was tlie last Colony planted by the
! mother country.
In all the charters granted by Great Bri-
I tain to the Colonies, the principle was as-
■ sinned, if not directly expressed, of the ab
i solute right of colonizing nation both to soil
’ and jurisdiction of the countries thus colo
’ nized. It may perhaps have been hereto
’ lure contended,that the question oflimits be
’ tween the European discoveerrs of this conti-
■ nent had no reference to their right of soil
or jurisdiction in respect to the aboriginal
inhabitants. But tfie slightest examination
of the colonial charterswill dissipate such an
assertion in a moment. In no one instance
is it believed, did the Government or colo-
■ nisls of Great Britain base their right to set-
I tie this continent on the previous permission
>of its orignal possessors. Not intending
i to trouble the House any longer than may
be indispensible to the performance of my
i present duty, I forbear such references to
the colonial charters as would clear mv po
sition ol tiie slightest reasonable doubt.—
T he Colony of Georgia then was placed on
the same footing with her elder sisters in
respect to the right of her people to a re
sidence on this continent. As there were
aboriginal inhabitants in all the original
Colonies, it became necessary at an early
period of the existence of those Colonies to
establish some general principle of action to
wards them. Audit is believed bv the pre
sent speaker that the principle generally
adopted by the Colonies on that subject
cannot be better illustrated than by refer
ence to the doctrine said to have been deliver
ed by a distinguished citizen of Massachu
setts on the anniversary commemoration of
the lauding of the pilgrims at Plymouth in
Massachusetts, on the 22d day of Dec.
1802. That distinguished individual is re
j ported to have said on the occasion refer
icd to that, “ ihe Indian right of posses
! sion itself stands with regard to the greatest
part ol tne country, upon a questionable
foundation. Their cultivated fields, their
constructed habitations a space of ample
J sufficiency for their subsistence, and what
j they had annexed to themselves by their
personal labor was undoubtedly by the laws
of nature, theirs. But what is the right of
a huntsman to the forest ofa thousand miles,
over which he lias accidentally ranged in
quest of prey? Shall the liberal bounties
of Providence to the race of man be mono
polized by one ol a thousand for whom they
j were created? Shall the exuberant bosom
lof the common mother, amply adequate to
the nourishment of millions, be claimed ex-
I c.lusively by a few hundreds of her off
j spring? Shall the lordly savage not only
■ disdain the virtues and enjoyments of civii-
■ izatioti himself but shall he control lhe ci-
vilizatlion of the world ? Shall he forbid
the wilderness to blossom like (he rose?—
Shall be forbid the oaks of the forest to fall
before the axe of industry and raise again i
transformed into lhe habitations of ease and
elegance ? Shall lie doom an immense re- ’
giou of the globe lo perpetual desolation, !
and lo hear the howling of the liger and the I
wolf silence f’oreverthe voice ofhuman glad- |
ness? Shall the hills ami valleys, which a ,
heneficieut God has formed to teem with
the life of iniimnerable multitudes, be con
demned to everlasting barrenness ? Shall
the mighty rivers, poured out by the bands
of nature, as channels of communication be-1
tween numerous nations, roll their waters
in sullen silence ami eternal solitude to the
leep! Have hundreds of commodious
harbors, a thousand leagues of coasts, and |
a boundless ocean been spread in front of j
tins land, am! shall every purposes of utility ’
to which they could apply be prohibited by
he tenant of the woods? No, generous I
philanthropists ! Heaven has not thus’
placed at irreconcihibie strife its moral ’
lil» S With its physical creation !” ’ '
Could the principle which regulated the
Colonies from their earliest day of strength
and beyond which Georgia has never gone
have been more forcibly expressed, or elo
quently illustrated than in what I have just
■ quoted? Can it be that in such wide sweeping
assertion ofcolonial right the mind of the
orrrator had narrowed its vision to the
horizon of New-England and the defence of
his own puritan ancestors ? Who, that lias
heard the announcement of such a principle
could fora moment imagine that the mind
which had adopted and the tongue which ex
pressed it with such eloquence and force,
should now utter unmeasured denunciation
against Georgia for having acted short of
the extent of his ow'n principle ? Thtif
principle if his illustrations
any weight, goes the whole length, not only
of the forcible dispossession of the savage
of every thing but his home and little spot
of cultivation together with such personal
trifles as his labor has appropriated but
sanctions his entire ejection from it all.—
But it is not here necessary to dwell longer
on the abstract doctrine of the honorable
member from Massachusetts, (Mr. Adams,)
as contained in his anniversary oration at
Plymouth in 1802.
1 shall now turn my attention after a
word or two upon the subject of the terri
torial limits created and established by the
several colonial cliar ers of the old thirteen
States, and as confirmed by various public
acts since the commencement ofthe revolu
lution, to the manner in which various Col
onies, particularly those in the middle and
northern portions of this country, carried
out the doctrine maintained by the honora
ble gentleman in 1802, in their legislative
enactments for the government of the In
ndian tribes within their several limits. In
proof of this assertion it is only necessary
to advert to the statutes of a majority of
the Colonies on this subject. That Massa
chusetts considered Indians only entitled to
tlie land improved and inhabited by them is
shown by a colonial law of 1833, “ For
settling thelndians’ title to land in this (that)
jurisdiction,” in which it is enacted, '“That
what lands any cf the Indians in this juris
diction have possessed and improved, by
subduing the same, they havejust right un
to.”
“ And be it further ordered by this court
and the authority thereof, and be il hereby
enacted, That ail that trad of land within
this jurisdiction, whether already granted
to any English plantations, or persons, or
to be granted by this court, (not being un
der the qulification of right to the Indians,)
is and shall be accounted the just right of
such English as already have, or hereafter
shall have grant of lands from this courtand
the authority thereof.” Various other acts
were passed by ti.e colonial Legislatures of
Mass, from the year 1633 downwards to
1747, in no one of which is the jurisdiction
entire and compleie over all the rights of
the Indians believed to have been in any
manner relinquished, restrained or dimin
ished. Being necessarily obliged to go
over a great deal of ground for the complete
vindication of Georgia the foregoing evi
dence from the colonial laws of Massachu
setts is deemed sufficient to show that she
claimed perfect and entire sovereigntv over
all the Indians and Indian lands her limits.
Next, in order of time, 1 come to the colo
ial legislation ofVirginia. Sa early as the
year 1653, I find in her ?cords the" follow
ing provisions: “ Be il hereby ordained an I
enacted, That all thelndians of this Colony
shall and may keep those seats of land
which they now have; and that no person
or persons vvbatsoverhe suffered to entrench
or plant upon such places as tiie said Indi
ans claim or desire, until full leave from the
Governor and council or commissioners for
the place.” Several other laws regulating
Indian afiairs, were passed atdiflerent times
between the years 1858 and 1705, inclu
sive, by the coloinal Legislature ofVirginia;
but the extractjust presented will suflice to
show that the Colony claimed and exercised
entire jurisdiction over thelndians within
her limits. In theyear 1663, the Colony of
Rhode Island seems first to have exercised
jurisdiction over Indians ; and from the ten
or of her enactment in that year, in regard
to their lands, and the act of IG9G, for re
straining and governing their persons, she
seems to have exercised as unlimited con
trol over them as she could have done over
her white inhabitants. By the act of 1663,
it is ordained “ that no person or persons,
lor the future shall purchase any lands or
island withih this Colony of or from the na
tive Indians within the same but such only
as are allowed to do so by the General As
sembly upon penalty of forfeiting all such
lands or islands so purchased to Colony.”
By an act passed in theyear 1696, it is pro
vided “ that if any negroes or Indians, free
men or slaves, shall be found abroad after 9
o’clock at night at any time throughout the
year, without a certificate from the master
or some other English person ofthe famib.
to which he, she, or they belong or so rtl ‘ e
lawful excuse for the same that then it s i lla ]|
| and may he lawful for any person -.n- pe.-,
; sons to take seize and secure the same till
the next moring, and then In ing them be
fore an assistant or justice of the peace of
sue.i town, who s’talt upon due proofthere
ol cmise said e.egro or negroes, Indian or
ndians to l-.e publicly whipped nt the pub
lie v ‘Upping-post of such town.”
In the year 1672, the colonial Legisla
une of Connecticut adopted numerous reg
ulations for the restraint and government of
l-er Indians ; among which was one provi
ding “that no Indian or Indians shall, at
any time, pawaw or perform outward wor
ship to false gods, or to the Devil, within
this Colony, on pain of forfeiting the sum of
five pounds to the public treasury of’ this
Colony, lor every (line any Indian or Indi
ans shall be convicted of performing the
same.”
As further evidence ofthe criminal juris
diction exercised by Connecticut over Indi
ans, and especially lor the benefit of" those
who have made such outcry because Gcor-
PUBtLEMSJED BY F. I M KCIHft&CN
W&SOLE NO. 333»
gia, of late years, has exercised similar jus
tice towards them, 1 will offer one further
extract from her act 0f]672: “ And where
as it is 100 manifest that the Indians, not
withstanding all counsel and advice to the
contrary, have committed and still do com
mit murder, and kill one another, within the-
English plantations in this Colony, and take
no course that such justice be executed on
such malefactors as may take oft’ the
guilt of blood from the land ; which, to
prevent,
“ It is further enacted by the authority
aforesaid, That if any Indian or Indians
within this Colony shall wilfully and vio
lently fall upon any Indian or Indians with
in this Colony, and upon the English land,
■"fiHtcept it he such as they are at open war
with.) and uimder him or them, and ,be_—
thereof legally convietvd, even^Such Indi
an or Indians shall suffer death.”
In addition to the highest criminal juris
diction thus exercised by Connecticut, the
last extract contains the singular provision
of legalizing Indian wars within her limits.
One more reference to the colonial law of
Connecticut, and I shall pass to another Col
ony.
In 1717, the Legislature of Connecticut
passed “ An act concerning purchases of
native rights to land.”
Tins Assembly observing many difficul
ties and perplexities arising in this Govern
ment, by reason of many purchases ofland
made of Indian titles, without the preceding
allowance or subsequent approbation of
this Assembly ; which, to remove, it is here
by enacted and delivered by this Assembly,
and the authority thireof, that all lands in
this Government are holder) of the King of
Great Britain as the lord of the fee, and
that no title to any land, in this Colony can
accrue by any purchase made of Indians, on
pretence of their being native proprietors
thereof, without the allowance and approba
tion of this assembly.” Other acts were
passed by the colonial Legislature of Con
necticut, relative to Indians, in 1717, 1722,
and 1750 ; but the foregoing will show
most clearly that the Colony assumed
unlimited control over them and their
lands.
in the year 1700, the Colony of Penn
sylvania is believed first to have exercised
her jurisdiction over the Indian hinds, and
her legal records show under that date
“ ylw ad against buying land cf the Indi
ans,” which contains the provision, “ that if
any person presume to buy any land of the
natives within the limits of this province
and territories, without leave from the pro
prietors thereof, every such bargain*df pur
chase shall be void, and of no effect.” In
1721, she passed “An act to prohibit the
selling of rum, and other strong liquors, to
Indians, and to prevent the abuses that may
happen thereby,” reserving “ that the Go
vernor and council, or persons by them,
authorized and appointed to hold treaties witli
any nation of Indians, may, at such trea
ties, give any reasonable quantity of rum,
as by them shall be thought necessary, any
thing herein contained to the contrary not
withstanding.”
And I find that in the year 1744, coloni
al Pennsylvania assumed the jurisdiction,
for which Georgia has within the last six or
seven years been so much derided by some,
and passed “ A.n act for the speedy trial of
capital offences, committed by any Indian.,
or Indians in the remote parts if the Pro- I
vince.” In this act it is provided *' •• at alt
murders, manslaughters, homicides, feionies,
and offences, whatsoever, and accessaries o f
the same, which by the laws or acts of A
sembly, of this province, are declared c
tai, or felonies punishable by death, u
already have been committed, pcrpeP a ted
or done, or shall hereafter be com' nitted*
perpetrated or done, by any India’ j or j n j
dians, within this province, in plac es remote
from inhabitants, as aforesaid, al) an j everv
such offence and offences, in whatsoever
place and county the same hath’ n a pp enc( j or
shall happen, shall hencefort’ a 1)8 i nqni ’ retJ ,
01, heard, adjudged, and det ei Illilletl) before
the Justices of the Supretr e Court or the
Justices of the Courts of Qy e| . aiK]’Termi
nerand Genera! Gaol D e ]i; crv> to bcheld>
in the county ofPhilade\p[ )ial) ; i n( jj ct ments, ‘
inquests, and verdicts. t 0 [)e takeu of d •
and lawful men, inhabitants of the
county, in like manner and form as if such '
capital offence or offences had been com
mitted, perpetrated, or done, within the.'
said county, c.ny ]r xW or usage to lite,
contrary thereof in p ai y wnotwithstand
ing.”
1 here Is, in \nis last act of the colonial.
Legislature < y f Pennsylvania one feature,,
which shows, that however well the generaj,
(locy.ines of criminal law might have beqq,
mtderst jod in that day, the injustice of
SUI S r X post facto laws does not seem to
lte v e been duly considered. New J. enter
t?.med, and exercised jurisdiction over lu-_
.dian lands, so early as 1703, as appears by
an act of her Legislature, passed on the
’ 13th of December, (’filial year, entitled‘An
j act for regulating the purchasing of Land
from lhe Indians,’ by the second section of’
which it is enacted, “That if any person or
persons shall presume to buy, purchase,take
gilt, or mortgage, or lease, of any land,
contrary to this present act, be, or they, so,
offending, shall forfeit forty shillings, mo
ney ol this province, for each acre ofland
so obtained,” <kc. £zc. (Maryland exercised
jurisdiction over the Indians withitt her
limits, by legislative action, at different
times between the years 1704 and 1723, in
clusive. North Carolina, in 1715 nn<|
1748 ; and New Hampshire also in 1714 j.
'rhe latter State, in the y ear 1815, passpjj
“Ao act to prcv 'nt, and make void clandes
tine uni illegal purchases of lands from the
Indians” by which it was enacted, “that all
deeds of bargain, sale, lease, release, orquit.
claim titles, and conveyances whatsoever,
at any lime or times since the year of our
Lord one thousand seven hundred, without
the license or approbation of the General
Assembly of this province; and all deeds
of bargain mid sale, titles and conveyances
