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EDITED BY THOJIAS HAYNES.
VOL. V. NO. 2-L
Jv Ije of
BY I*. L. BOBIA’SOX, State Printer,
And Publisher (by authority) of the Lairs of the United Slates
office -near the corner of waynf. and franklin streets.
ISSI ED r.VI IH TUESDAY MORNING.
j’TI'K'lS. Three DolUr* per annum. No subscription taken for less than n
»ettr, mul no paper discontinued, but nt the option of the publisher, until all arrear
ages arc paid.
CHANGE OF DIRECTION’.—I\ o desire such of our subscribers ns may at any
time wish the direction of their papers changed from one I’ost Office to another, to
inform IIS, in nil cases, of the place to y hicli they had been previously sent; as the
mere order to forward them to a different office, places it almost out of our power to
complv, because we have no moans of ascertaining tlia office from which they are
orden-d to be changed, but by a s. arch through our whole subscription book, con
taining several thousand names.
ADVERTISEMENTS inserted nt the usual rates. Sales of LAND, by Adnti
nistrstora. Executors, nr Guatdians, arc required by law to I e la id on the Hr t To* s
dav iu the month. between the hours of t-n in the forenoon and three in the niter- ,
noon, nt the Court House in the county in which the property is situate. Notice of
these sales must be given in a public gazette SIXTY DAYS previous to the day of <
sale.
Sales of NEGROES must bo nt public attclion, on the first Tuesday ot the month
between the usual hours of sale, nt the place of publie sales in the county w here the
letters testitncr.tarv.of Administration or Guardianship, mny have been granted, first
giving SIXTY DAYS notice thereof, in one of the public gazettes of this State,
and at the door of the Court House where such sales are to be held.
Notice for the sale of Personal Property must be given iu like manner, FORTY
DAYS previous to the day of .’tie.
Notice to the Debtors and Creditors of au Estate must be published FORTY
DAYS.
Notice that application will be made to the Court of Ordinary for leave to sell
LAND* must be published for FOl’R MONT HS.
Notice for leave to sell N EGROES, must b.' published for FOUR MONTHS
before any order absolute shall be made by the Court thereon.
Notice of Application for Letters of Administration must be published THIRTY
DAYS.
Notre of Application fur Letters of Dismission from the Administration of an Es
ate, are required to be published monthly for SIX MON 1 IIS.
(CFThk STANDARD OF UNION, which came into life during the stormy pe
riod of 1333,has entered the sixth year of its existence, with fresh vigor and renew
ed energies, in support of the great cause of the CONSTITUTION and the. UNION.
For the patronage which it has received, and the estimate which has been so gene
rouslv placed upon our feeble efforts to maintain the stability and perpetuity of our
blessed institutions, we have no adequate language to express our gratitude; and in
return for these unerring evidences of the public approbation, we ore armed with ad
ditional strength to go forward.
The principles which the Standard has heretofore advocated, it will continue to
maintain, with increased energy.
It shall be, as it has been, the STANDARD OF UNION. It shall support and de
feud the UNION of ALL tl>r STATES, as the only means of preserving “ the sove
reignty of EACH,” and to inculcate the great and wholesome truths, upon which
our fathers so gallantly achieved the principles of liberty and independence.
We shall oppose with vigilance, any abuse or usurpation of power by the Federal
Government, by all constitutional meai», and ns zealously oppose all rash and reck
less movements by States, calculated to jeopardize the harmony of our beloved
Union, “ until the accumulation of oppression, shall outweigh tlie evils of separation.”
We cling with unwavering confidence to the great fundamental principle, that man
is capable of self-government; and will in nowise be instrumental in arresting the
experiment now in progrr'S, by which alone this great problem can be solved. Wc
desire to sec the principles of the American revolution acted out, that the world may
know, whether mankind are worthy tlie blessings of liberty and independence, or
whether, from their own wickedness and folly, they are the natural subjects of anar
chv and despotism. For ourselves, we have too much confidence in the wisdom and
■firmness of our institutions —in the intelligence and patriotism of the people—to
question for a single moment, the final and glorious triumph of REPUBLICAN
GOVERNMENT,over all others.
The fierce doctrines of Nullification, which we encountered at the commencement
of our career, after a. ficrv contest of tour or five years, have sunk at last, under the
paramount influence of public opinion; and are now only remembered as a thing that
was. But c1!?. r ■ ii-.v • grows v.p ofi bo lomfittal tendency* rhe struggle of the j
United States Bank for unlimited power, should awaken the democracy of the Union j
to one united and vigorous e.f »rt to resist the influence of a monopolizing spirit, .
v-Jiich is seeking to subject thv Ctovertnfiefit ahd-tlm people to its dictatorial and des- •
po*ic sway. In this contest, the Standard of Union will be found, as it has heretofore ■
been on the side of the people.
Bui there is still another projec on foot, which every man who loves his country '
must contemplate with mingled emotions of horror and indignation. The attempt of
the northern fanatics to interfere with our domestic institutions, in open violation of !
the constitution, deserves the execration of every patriot, and shall not fail to receive *
our unceasing, uncompromising, and most efficient opposition.
Upon the subject of the currency, we entertain but one opinion—that no Govern
ment should sanction the existence of any circulating medium, which ig not equiva
lent to gold and silver; and that the States alone, possessing the power of incorpo
rating an«l regulating Banks, should lose no time in reforming the system as it now
exists, and of placing all Banking institutions upon such a foundation as w ill insure
the fulfilment of their obligations, in good faith to the public.
As gold and silver form the only currency known to the Constitution, it is our
deliberate opinion, that nothing else should be received by the Government, in the
collection of its dues; and as it regards the separation of the Government from all
Banks, the measure proposed by President Van Buren, generally known as the’Sub-
Treasnry System, meets our most cordial and decided approbation.
We approve the measures of the present administration, as we did those of its
illustrious predecessor, believing them to be founded upon the pure principles of
democracy, and shall give them our best support.
Thu« have we briefly adverted to the course of the Standard in times past, And the I
path it w ill pursue in future, cheered on as it is, by the confidence and support of
the Union Party. With a circulation equalled by very few Journals in the Southern
States, we shall double our diligence to make it every way worthy of the support
which it has received from an enlightened community.
Intending as we do, to make it a source of increased information upon general
subjects, nn«l to render it an instrument of additional usefulness to the cause which
it advocates, and the principles it maintains, wc confidently appeal to the UNION
PA RTY, for an increase of its circulation.
Nor need it be supposed from the foregoing, that our columns will be lacking in in
terest to the general reader. Containing as they do, more space than is embraced in
those of any other journal in this or our neighboring States, and printed in a neat
an<l compact form, wc shall have ample room to give place to the choicest gems that
appear in the numerous and valuable periodicals of our country, and keep the search
er after news advised of the many and remarkable events that transpire in our ex
tend d territory; and we do hope, that occasionally, at least, wc shall have the plea
sure of laying before our readers, productions from the pens of some of the gifted
eons of our own Georgia.
In the approaching campaign, wc shall be found nt our posts, manfully sustaining
the nominations of our Party, nothing doubting that we shall gain a signal triumph,
nn the first Monday in October next.
To THE OWNERS OF RUNAWAY NEGROES.—A large
mulatto man, between 35 or 40 years old, about six feet high,
with a hizh forehead, and hair slightly grey, name and owner unknown,
was killed on the 9th iust. near my plantation, in a rencontre with Da
vid Bowen. From all appearances, he has performed little or no hard
labor for several months’, and had in his possession, several shoemaker’s
tools, and a considerable quantity of clothing. He had on two pair of
course white pantaloons, and as many shirts, of apparently the same
materials, w ith a black janes frock coat. lie would not surrender, as
saulted Bowen with a lightwood knot, who killed him in self-defence
The cause of his death was legally enquired into. If the owner desires
fm liter information relative to the death of his negro, he can obtain it
by letter, or calling on the subscriber, 10 miles .South West of Perry,
Houston county, Georgia.
June EDM". JAS. ATeGEHEE.
<1 UARDIAN’S SALE —a greeable to an order of th, Inferior
M Court of Emanuel county, when sitting for ordinary purposes,
theie will, within the legal hours of sale, be sold on the first Tuesday
in Att-ust next, before the court house door in the town of Lumpkin,
Stewart county, lot No. 70, in the 20th district of originally Lee, now
Stewart county, as the property of the orphans of John Griffin, deceas
ed. Terms cash. ROBERT HIGDON, Guardian.
Juno 5,1838. 20-ts
AD.MINI.STR Vl'oi; S' SALT..—On the firstTues«lay in September
next, will be sold, at the Court House door in Crawford county,
within the legal hours of sale, lot of Land, No. (191) one hundred ami
ninety-four, in the 14th District of Muscogee, now Crawford county.
State of Georgia, containing (2024) two hundred two and one half
acres, drawn by Thos. Shipp of Columbia county, and sold as the pro- i
perty of'J hos. Shipp, dec. sold for benefit of creditors and legatees.
1 erm, made known ou day of sale.
SARAH SHIPP. Adm’rx.
HENRY EVANS, Ad’mr.
May 28, 1838, 20. s f .
GENCV.—The undersigned, being employed as clerk in the Sur
veyor General's office, will attend to the taking out an I forwards
mg of (.rants and Copy Grants, for fifty cents each. Also, to the
renewal of all Notes in the Central Bank, that may be entrusted to his
caie. for the customary fee of One Dollar each renewal. Letters in-I
closing money and notes (post paid) will meet with prompt attention,
Milledgeville, Ist June, 1638. ALFRED M. HORTON.
21)—tf. I
jOD,' H N1 IKA I OR,s' SALE.—Agreeable to an Order of the ln
lerior Court,of Pulaski comity, when sitting as a court of Ordinarv,
wi be sold at the Court House, in Hartford, Pulaski county, within the
' n 'i hours of sale, on the first Tuesday in September next, one negro
woman, named Jude, belonging m the estate of Adam W. T. Harvey,
ae of said county deceased. Terms made known the day
„ CHARLES HARVEY, Adm’r-
2I tdM '
■ 'V i f hose persons who have Ix cn in the habit of trespass- !
ti» * n ß ''P OO the I IH.A I RE, for some time past, arc informed by
«)ir>iH l | O >l riC,,, <r , * ,!lt v * h ' , ''d with the penalties of the law,
•houjd their offences be repeated. 1 ofl-tf J
rwwu” ■■in . . ■i. ■■ ■ j .■■■< . . - - . .... . ■■ - - -
T WENTV-l’iyTll C<JN<»lJEsS....S«’<‘oaid Session,,
SUPPRESSION OF INDIAN HOSTILITIES.
SPEECH OF~MK. HAYNES,
OF GEORGIA,
In the House of Jleprcsenlatires, Mai/ 23 and 29, 1838
■ lit Conimittee ol the Whole on the hill iippropri?.-
tioits lor preventing’ and suppressing Indian hostilities for
the year 1833, and for arrearages lor the year 1837.
I -Mr. HAY NES addressed the Committee as follows :
At r. (. h a if: ai \ a : Winn i first came into this House, in
lb-5. it was in the midst of an Indian controversy between
the then Executive of the United Slides and the State of Geor
gia ; and no one can regret more than I do, that, after having
occttpeid a seat here, first and last, for more than twelve years,
and when the period of my public services is darw'ing to a
close, I should find ntyself under the necessity of once more
. entering into the discussion of such a subject.' It is with the
deepest regret, and alone under the strongest sense of duty' to
my constituents and myself, that I could be induced to take
any’ part in this discussion. But, sir, I should be recreant to
the trust reposed iu me by an intelligent and confiding peo
pie—l should be false to the honor which belongs to my
character as their representative—if I could sit by and hear
the denunciations which have been hurled against the State
of wl.ich I am one of the representatives, without endeavor- ;
ing to repel them. Lite wide range of discussion which has
been opened before this committee, renders it indispensable that;
I should indulge a scope of remark entirely hevond what pro
perly belongs to the bill now under consideration. To enable
me to do justice to Georgia, uninteresting as it may be, 1 am
compelled to recur, briefly, to the European colonisation of
the American continent. It must be well known,to this com
mittee, that the various nations descended from European
stock, now settled on this continent, emigrated to the portions
colonized by them upon one great and general principle. 1
may assert, without fear ol contradiction, that from the time the
standard ot Ferdinand and Isabella was planted on the shores
ot the new world by the great man who discovered it, the
European colonies were settled in this country upon the prin
ciple that discovery gave a perfect right to soil’ and jurisdiction '
over every person and thing w hatsoever. I could not better
lay down the doctrine, in its application to the aboriginal in
habitants, as it has been carried out and acted upon by every’
nation w hich has established colonies here, than by reference
to remarks made by a distinguished citizen ol Massachusetts
[Mr. John Quincy Adams] in an anniversary oration de
livered by him in commemoration of the landing of the Pil
grims at Plymouth in that State, in December, ISO 2.
“ The Indian right of possession itself stands,” says Mr. Adams,
“with regard to the greatest pait of the country, upon a questionable
foundation, lheir cultivated fields; their consti uctexl habitatious; a
space of ample sufficiency for tbeir subsistence, and whatever they had
annexed to t.temselves by personal labor, was undoubtedly bv the
, laws of nature theirs. But what is the right of a huntsman to the forest
of a thousand miles, over w hich he has accidentally ranged in quest of i
I prey ! Shall the liberal bounties of Providence to die race of man lie ;
! monopolized by one ot a thousand for whom they were created ? Shall ‘
i the exuberant bosom of the common mother, amply adequate to the
nourishment of millions, be claimed exclusively by a few hundreds of
her offspring ! Shall the lordly savage not only disdain die virtues and
enjoyments of civilization himself, but shall he control the civilization I
ot the world ? Shad he forbid the wilderness to blossom like the rose? [
Shall he forbid the oaks of the forest to fall before the axe of industry
j and rise again, transformed into the haliitatiens of ease and elegance ? i
. Shall he doom an immense region of the globe to perpetual desolation,
I and to hear the howling of the tiger and the wolf silence forever the '
voice of human gladness ! Shall the hills and the valleys, u hich a be- i
: neficent God has formed to teem with the tile of innumerable multi- j
j tunes, lie condemed to evrlasting barrenness ? Shall the mighty rivers, j
poured out by the hand of nature, as channels of communication be
tween numerous nations, roll their wateis iu sullen silence and eternal '
solitude to the deep ? Have hundreds of commodcous harbours, a thou- j
sand leagues of coast, and a boundless ocean, been spread in front of
this land, and shall every purpose of utility to which they could apply !
be prohibited by the tenant of the woods? No, generous philanthro-1
pists. Heaven has not thus placed at irieconcilable strife, its moral!
laws with its physical creation I”
The doctrine contained in this extract is net only conform
able to the system of English colonization on this continent,
hut that of every other European nation which established I
colonies upon it. From the settlement of the oldest of the ■
Anglo-American colonies, from the settlement of Virginia in
IGOG, to that of Georgia, the youngest in 1733, there is, I
among the original thirteen States, but a single exception,
in wliifli entire jurisdiction has not been exercised by them,
either as colonies or Slates, over the Indians within their res
pective limits, as wi'l be found on reference to their statute
books. Os all the old thirteen States Delaw are alone has ab
stained from the exercise of such jurisdiction ; and if I am not
very much mistaken, alone for the reason that there was not a
single Indian tribe within her limits. A small portion of the
Nauticokes w ere there, but the body of the tribe was iu Alary
land, and subjected to her jurisdiction. The terms of the
statutes of the different colonies and States are various, but
the principle of absolute sovereignty over the aboriginal inhab
itants, with the single exception cf Delaware, is found in them
all. It would be easy to sustain the ascertion, that entire
sovereignty and jurisdiction over the Indians was the principle
of Anglo American colonization, by reference to the laws of
the several colonies and States now composing this Union, but
it could not be necessary to inflict such labor upon myself, nor
so far to tax the patience of this committee. As this principle
of jurisdiction over Indians was at first established upon the set
tlement of the colonies, so did our fathers find it at the com
mencement of the Revolution. Well, sir, Georgia stood upon ;
the same footing, both as a colony and a State, with her sisters j
on this subject. Af.er the establishment of American Independ- I
ence, when the articles of confederation were found to be insuf- '
ficient to promote the public welfare, and to secure the blessings j
which the union of the States was intended to establish and per- '
petuate, when the delegates met in convention in 1787, for the ,
purpose of revising our form of Government, we find in the Fe
deral Constitution, that great and glorious result of their labors,
but a single particular which touches at all upon the jurisdiction I
of the several States over the Indian tribes within their limits,
i In fact, the word “Indian” occurs but twice throughout the;
whole instrumen’.—once in the danse w hich confers the com
mercial power upon the General Goverumetit, and once in re
lation to the persons entitled to be enumerated for representa
tion in the Congress of the United States. Nor does the Fede
ral Constitution confer any power upon this Government over
Indians, except the sintrle and simple power to “ regulate com
rnerce with the Indian tribes.” Wc know very well that for
’ a long scries ol years, attempts have been made so to torture
and misinterpret that clause of the Constitution, as to autho
rise the extension of jurisdiction over them bv the Federal
Government in all cases whatsoever; but, sir, it is the idlest
and absiudest of all deductions that could be drawn from any
one clause in that instrument. Every one knows that the
whole commercial power of the General Goverumetit in rela
tion to foreign nations, the several States, and the Indian
tribes, is embraced in one single little clause of the Constitu
tion. But if the power to regulate commerce with the Indian
tribes, confers exclusive jurisdiction upon this Government
over them, it confers a like jurisdiction over the several States
and annihilates their respective Governments ata single blow.
I repeat, that such an interpretation of the Constitution is the
idlest and absurdest inference which could be drawn Irani anv
part ol that instrument. I am very well aware that this may
be considered a Male and unprofitable train of argument on
my part ; but it is impossible io do justice to Georgia, without
adverting to it. Sir, in the whole history of the legislation of
that State, she has never, in a single instance, overstepped the
principles set forth in the extract just read from the Plymouth
speech of the honorable gentleman from Massachusetts, | Mr.
Adams.] nor strained her jurisdiction one meh bey.md what all i
the other original States have exerci.-ed, except Delaware, with <
respect to the Indians. In exercising this jurisdiction, which i
was alike cxcercised by the various colonies, or States, it was !
based upon th;. 1 principle of entire sovereignty over the whole
the whole soil, ami over the whole population within their li
mits as coloniesx>i’ States. |
It is now too late to inquire into the question of abstract ;
right to such jurisdiction ; it is enough for my argument to J i
CmJEOB&IA, JULT 3* SB3S.
Onr Conscienec—Ottr Cotintri/—Our Purhj.
have shown its universal application to ail the-Ettropean colo
nies planted on this continent. If the time shall come when
it will he necessary for me to inquire whether the sum of hu
man happiness has been increased by the settlement of Euro
pean colonies in America, giving full allowance for its eflect
upon the aboriginal inhabitants, I shall be prepared to sustain
the affirmative. It is well known that the British colonies
. on this continent were settled tinder the authority of charters
from the Crown, and that the limits of the original States
have been settled by them where no conflicting claim lias
been shown to exist. Georgia, like her sister colonies, was
settled under a charter, by which her original limits were so
clearly defined, that no contest is believed ever to have arisen
I between Iter and another colony or State, except that which
| involved a small strip of territory claimed by South Carolina,
! and which was amicably adjusted between them at the conven
j ion of Beaufort in 1787. «».. x
! By the commbsion to Governor Wrigltfthe royal nro
clamation in 17630 r 4, her limits were defined toextend from the
Savannah to the St. Marys, and inland from the 31st to the 35th
rlegree of north latitude; and from the Atlantic ocean to the
Mississippi. Thus stood the extent of her territory at the treaty
ol peace with Great Britain in 1782; ami thus it continued to
stand until she ceded a large portion of her territory—about
one hundred thousand square miles—to the United States, in
1802.
I Mr. Chairman, we have heard much about the common right
oftheUnion to the waste or unapropriated lands within the sev
-1 oral States. Often as that question was brought before the
Revolutionary ( ongress, and much as it retarded the ratifica
| tion of the articles of Confederation, some two or three of the
i States,‘insisting upon the establishment of the principle before
they would ratify them, the ratification of all was finally accorded
without it. So far, indeed, from the affirmation of the princi
ple, it was distinctly disaffirmed as often as it was
brought before the Congress of the Confederation. The nt- ;
most length to which that body ever consented to go was ear- !
nestly to recommend liberal-cessions by the States owning large
bodies of unappropriated lands.
At the close of 1787, or early in the year 1783, Georgia
made a formal proposal to Congress to cede a large portion
of her western territory to the United States ; which instead of
being rejected because the lands were already the propriety
of the Union, was declined on the ground that the Federal
Government was not then in a condition to meet the payment
demanded tor it by Georgia, and for other considerations not 1
necessary to mention. Notwithst mding Georgia was entitled
to all the land embraced within her charter, about forty years
ago, the then President of the United States, and a Congress
subservient to his views, established a Territorial Government
within her limits, although within the preceding four years,Mn
negociating the treaty of San Lorenzo El Real touching the!
southern boundary of the United States, Spain had been van- |
quished upon the title of Georgia. That circumstance, toge
ther with others of a local nature, occasioned the assembling of
a convention in 1798, for the purpose of revising her constitution
i which convention inserted a provision in the revised constitution
authorizing the cession of a large portion of her territory to the
United States, defining the boundary beyond which such ces- !
I sion should be made.
On the 24th day of April, 1802, twenty-five days after the pas- '
sage of the law to regulate trade and intercourse with the In
dian tribes, and which virtually repealed that law as to Georgia,
, a compact was entered into between the United States and.
Georgia, for a cession of this territory to the United Slates, bv
I whicti Georgia conveyed to the Uniled States, about one hut!- :
j dred thousand square miles of her most valuable lands, upon
t,ie < ondition ol receiving at a period uncertain and remote, the
pitiful sum ol S 1.250,000, and the removal of the Indians from j
| the limits reserved by her. The language of that compact
desetves particular consideration. I do not however, place,
i the right of Georgia to jurisdiction over the soil and people,
i and every thing else upon her territory, upon the compact of
1802. I place it upon the hi and original ground of Eu
j ropean colonization, referred to at the opening of my remarks, as !
, confirmed and settled by the Declaration of Independence, the !
, treaty of peace with Great Britain, and the Federal Constitution
I which now binds these States together. But if doubt could exist j
in any human mind whatever as to Iter rights, that question would
be clearly settled by' the compact of 1802; for, bv it, in express
terms, Georgia ceded to the United States “ all claim to soil
and jurisdiction” beyond a certain limit, ami the United
States ceded to Georgia “ all claim to soil and jurisdiction”
within that limit, as reserved by Georgia to herself. The Unit
ed States entered at once fully into the enjoyment of “ soil
andjurisdiction” as ceded to them by Georgia, and who will ,
dare to say that Georgia had not the same right to enter upon I
and enjoy the “ soil andjurisdiction” ceded to her by the Unit
ed States?
By no known rule of construction can one branch of these
mutual stipulations be enforced, and the other not. Is it not,
then, surprizing that, after the United States should have en
tered at once and fully into the possession and enjoyment of!
what was ceded to them by Georgia, we should find at this late
day, in defiance of the cession to her of “ soil and jurisdiction’-’
by the United States, the doctrine set up that an Indian tribe
may hold a position as an independent political community up
on the soil of Georgia ? I have said that all the colonies, and
original States of this Union, exercised perfect and entire juris
diction over the Indians within their limits was; ami, I willnoW
I add, that the very last of the old states, as she was the last one
, planted on this continent, to extend her jurisdiction, over
; the Indians was Geotgia. Various acts- of legislation, it is
true, were adopted by her some forty or fifty years ago,
■in relation to the Indians; but she deferred the whole and
, entire exercise of her sovereignty over them until within the 1
I last ten years.
The occasion was this: In the summer of 1827, a council
1 of delegates of the Cherokee nation assembled, and adopted,
and promulgated, a formal Constitution, setting up a perma
nent, independent, sovereignty, embracing some four or five
millions of acres of territory, within the limits of Georgia. Not
withstanding the proceedings of this Convention were known
to the Governor and Legislature of Georgia, at its meeting
in November, 1827, even then, Georgai forbore to interfere with
this pretended Cherokee sovereigntv.
In January, 1828, the distinguished individual who now pre
sides over the Department of State, [Mr. Forsyth,] being then
Governor ofGeorgia, communicated a copy of the Cherokee
constitution, to the President of the United States. That Pre
sident, with whom Georgia bad just triumphantly dosed the
memorable controversy, which grew out cf the Creek treaty
made at the Indian Spring, in February, 1825, being w illing, ■
so faras might be practicable, to carry to fulfilment the obliga
tions oftheU. States to remove the Indians from within the limits
of Georgia, entered into a treaty with the Cherokeesof the west
in May. 1828, looking among other things, to the emigration
of’the Eastern portion of the tribe to the west of the Aliss'issippi,
I speak from a know ledge of the fact, that such was one of the
important motives which led to the conclusion of that treaty,
being, at the time it was made, a member of the Georgia dele
gation, who were consulted on the subject. It was understood
that a portion of the Western Cherokees, who made that treatv,
returned through the Eastern portion of the tribe, in the sum
mer of 1828, for the purpose of inducing their friends and kin
dred to emigrate to the West, and that, so far from finding a
friendly reception, were abused and maltreated for it. But
the opposition of the authorities of the tribe did not stop there.
At the meeting of the Cherokee council in October, 1828," 1
an actwas passed, disfranchising any C. trokec who might en
rol lor emig ration to th'* West, and authorizing any other Che- 1
roki't' lo enter into the possession of houses and lands then oc- 1
copied by him. It was not until after the passage of that act •
that the Legislature of Georgia extended the jurisdiction of the <
Stale over the Cherokees, ;*t the annual session in November, ’
1828. In spile of the attempt to enforce the Cherokee law of ’
1828, against emigration, the spirit was not checked sufficient
ly for the authorities of the tribe; and in November, 1829, i
another act was passed by the council, or, as would appe; r <
ftmn a printed copy of the Cherokee laws, solely by John i
Ross, as principal chief, inflicting a fine of one thousand dol
j lars, ami the punishment of one hundred lashes, upon any and
every Cherokee Indian, who should dare to enrol for emigra
tion to the West. As the law ofGeorgia, ofNovember, 1828,
was made to meet the Cherokee law against emigration, which
preceded it, so iu November, 1829, the Legislature of Geor
gia! passed another act to countervail the Cherokee law which
preceded it. Iti both instances, it will be perceived, that Geo
rgia legislation followed that of the Cherokees, and was occa
sioned by it. It would not be difficult to show, that Georgia
has proceeded progressively in the same course, basing her
legislation upon the previous action of the Cherokees. It is
worthy of remembrance, that the Creeks, Chickas.iws and
Choctaws have been removed from the lands ceded to the
United States.by the compact of 180.2; while the Cherokees,
after the lapse of thirty-five years, and of two
flourishing States upon the ceded territory, are still permitted
to encumber the soil of Georgia.
If the expense of removing the Indians from Georgia is al
leged to her prejudice, my answer is, that the United States
have received not less than sixty millions of acres of land as
an equivalent for doing it. Surely, upon an examination of
the account current, no one can complain that the United Slates
have made a hard bargain. Would the people of this coun
try be willing to cancel it, and restore the ceded territory to
Georgia upon being reimbursed what has been expended in
removing the Indians ? I think not. The difficulties grow
ing out of the conflicting legislation of Georgia and the Che
rokees were heightened by the depredations mutually commit
ted by bad men of either race upon the people of the other, or
both. During the period under review’, and that which fol
lowed it, the*qiiestion was not as to the mode in which Geor
gia should exercise, or had exercised, jurisdiction over the
Cherokees, but involved the naked, vital principle of.her right
of jurisdiction. By what right could any community, either
before or since the adoption of the Federal Constitution, es-
I tablish an independent Government within the limits of any
one of the States of this Union, 1 leave to the adversaries of
Georgia, and defy them to answer. Let moralists say what
they will, it does not become the people of this country, espe
cially those of the older States, to arraign the course of Geor
gia on this subject. Well might she say to them, “ Let him
who is w ithout sin first east a stone at me.” In IS2B and 1829,
the extent to which Georgia carried her authority over the
Cherokees, was to protect such of that people as might desire
to emigrate from the barbarous inflictions of the laws of’the tribe.
In 1830, a Cherokee by the name of Tassels committed murder
upon one of his own countrymen, for which he was arraigned
before the superior court of Hall county for trial, and upon so
lemn, inquest was fount! guilty of murder. 1 might here show
tliat it was far better, on the ground of humanity, for an In
dian to be tried by the white man’s law than by the law of the
Indian ; by the Anglo Saxon institutions than the bloody code
of his own countrymen ; by that law’ which not only requires
proof ol the fact of killing, but which requires to be' brought
liome.to the culprit malice aforethought, express or implied,
but Georgia was not permitted to proceed quietly in the exer
cise of her jurisdiction over this Indian murderer. A hue
! an,!-cry was raised against her throughout the whole length
j and breadth of the land, and the power of the Supreme Court
[ of the United States was invoked to arrest his execution, and
to take him away from her authority. A citation was served
upon the Governor of Georgia, and upon the Judge before
whom the murderer bad been tried and convicted ; and be
cause the authorities of the State went on to execute Tassels
in conformity w ith his sentence, Georgia was accused of brav
ing and defying the authority of the United States. I may
say here, before i proceed further with the narrative of the
contest between Georgia and the Cherokees, that in the case of
Passels there was no haste to execute the sentence of the law.
On the contrary, the day of execution was made so distant as
to enable the unfortunate convict and his friends to invoke Ex
ecutive clemency fora respite, and to memotialize the Legis
! lature fora pardon. No mitigating circumstances being show n,
the pardon was refused, and he was executed. But even ac
[■ cording to the doctrine contended for, that the Supreme Court
had appellate jurisdiction over the case, under what obliga
tions did Georgia stand to obey the citation of that tribunal ?
How’ she braved the authority of the Supreme Court, will be
seen by referring to the decision of the late Chief Justice
Alarshall, in the the case of Cohens against the State of Virgi
nia. In considering what a citation is, Judge Marshall savs:
And what is a ciqition ? It is simply notice to the opposite party
tliat the record is transferred to another eomt, where he may appear, or
decline to appear, as his judgment or inclination may deteimine. As
; the party who has obtained the judgment is out of court, and may there
j foie not know that his cause is removed, common justice requires that
; noticeof the fact should be given to him. But this notice is not asuit, nor
has it the effect of process. If the part}’ does not choose to appear, he
cannot be brought into court ; nor is his failure to appear considered as
a default.”
Sir, if a citation is neither suit nor process against an indi
vidual, I should like to know how it can be so against a State ?
Such an idea would be preposterous in the extreme.
lo show, still further, that it was the question of jurisdic
tion alone which was in controversy, and not the mode of its
exercise, it is only necessary to refer to the celebrated Chero
kee chancery bill against the State of Georgia, which was ar
gued before, and determined by, the Supreme Court, at its
session in 1831. '1 hat bill denied entirely the jurisdiction of
Georgia over the Cherokees, and prayed the Court to enjoin
that State against the future exercise of such jurisdiction.
; And w hat was the decision of the Court, as delivered in March
1831 ? We shall learn from the following extract from its de
cision, delivered by Chief Justice Marshall himself.
In delivering the opinion of the Court, Chief Justice Marshall ob
. serves: “I he Court has bestowed .its best attention on this question,
and, after mature deliberation, the majority is of opinion that an Indian
tribe or nation within the United States, is not a foreign State in the
sense of the Constitution, and cannot maintain an action in the courts of
the, United States.”
* _ ' * “A serious additional objection exists to the ju-
risdiction of the Court. Is the matter of the bill the proper subject
lor inquiry and decision? It- seeks to restrain a State from the forci
ble exercise of legislative power over a neighboring people asserting
their independence ; their right to w hich the States denies. On the se
veral matters alleged in the hill. (f >r example, on the laws making it
criminal to exeicise the usual powers of self-government in their own
country by the Cherokee nation,) this Court cannot interpose, at least
in the form in which these matters are presented.”
In reference to the jurisdiction of Georgia over the possession of lands
by the Cherokees, Chief Justice Marshall says : “The mere question
of right might, perhaps, be decided by this Court in a proper case,
with proper parties; but the Court is asked to do more than to decide on
the title. The bill requires us to control the legislation ofGeorgia, and
to restrain the exercise of its physical force. The propriety of such an
interposition by the Court may be well questioned. It savors too much
of the exercise of political power to be within the proper province of the
judicial department.”
In the cosing paragraph of the opinion of the Court it is observed :
“ Il it be true that the Cherokee nation have rights, this is not the tri
bunal in which these rights arc to be asserted. If it be true that wrongs
have been indicted, and that still greater arc to be apprehended, this is
not the tribunal which can redress the past or prevent the future.”
“ The motion for an injunction is denied."
It is very remarkable that, after pronouncing such an opin
ion as this, disclaiming jurisdiction, and that too for the reason
that ifs exercise would savor too much of the exercise of poli
tical power, in one short year, the Supreme Court of the United
States should have attempted to arrest the jurisdiction of Geor- I
gia over one of her own citizens, residing in the country oc
cupied by the Cherokees; ;nd still more so that the Court
should have sought to justify it, by assuming the individual to
be the citizen of a State some eight or ten hundred miles ofl',
w hen he had a permanent residence within the limits of Geor
gia.
If ever there was an attempt by a judicial tribunal in this
country to usurp power not belonging to the Government of
which it was a member, that attempt was made by the Supreme
Court in the ease of Worcester am! Butler agaU'st the State
of Georgia ; an attempt which, I venture to predict, will ne
ver be renewed by that Court against any member of this
Union.
i-he State cf Georgia, in the progress of her legislation for
the purpose ol extending hcr jurisdiction over the Cherokees,
org inized counties, and established her civil and other authori
ties within them. In 1831 the Legislature of the State went
P. L. EIOHINSON, PBOPBIETOR*
- the whole extent of the doctrine contained in the extract from
1 the Plymouth speech which was read at the commencement of
my remarks, by surveying and apportioning the wastelands in
t the Cherokee country among her own people, securing the In
dians in the possession of such portions as were occupied and
improved by them.
There is, in connection with the legislation of Georgia, and
the course of the principle chief of the Cherokees, one impor
tant circumstance which has not yet been brought to the no
tice of the committee. I have said, the Legislature of Geor
gia had determined to take possession of the country, subject
to the principle of Indian occupancy, to which I have already
adverted; and I will now say, that, up to the 25th of May,
1833, the Cherokees were protected in the possession of the im
provements occupied by them to the extent of from one hundred
and twenty to one hundred and sixty acres, to each head of an
occupant family. This was the State of the case between Geor
gia and the Cherokees, when the delegation, at the head of
••. hich was John Ross, urged upon the Executive of the United
Sates to subniit the valuation of all the lands occupied by them
east of the .Mississippi, to the decision of the Senate, as has
been shown by more than one gentleman who has already ad
dressed the committee, and most particularly by the gentleman
from North Carolina [Mr. Graham.]
In February, 1835, thatdelegation, clothed as I believe, with
the whole power of their tribe, being essentially its Government
—for I consider John Ross as the impersonation and embodi
ment of Cherokee power and Cherokee will—through the Se
cretary of War, proposed to submit the question of the valua
tion of their land to the Senate of the United States, pledging
themselves to use their efforts to induce their people to accept
the award. That award was made ; and the committee have
already been told, that when the delegation was urged to en
ter into stipulations on the basis of five millions of dollars
awarded by the Senate, their own especial umpire, they then
for the first time discovered that they had no power to enter into
such stipulations. They could not treat at Washington, but
must treat in the Cherokee nation. Pending the transaction,
after the question had been submitted to the Senate of the
United Slates ; after that body had awarded five millions of
dollars as an ample indemnity to the Eastern Cherokees as
the price of their removal to the West, a very short time be
fore the proposed meeting of the Commissioners of the United
States with Ross and his people in their country, for the pur
pose of there consummating the award of the Senate, while
the Cherokees were still under the protection of the laws of
Georgia for an indefinite time ; John Ross and his council
transmitted to the Governor of Georgia a communication a
copy of which I will ask the Clerk to read.
The Clerk read the following :
Council Ground of the Cherokee nation.
Red Clay, October 1835.
Sir; The undeisigned, the principal Chief, the assistant principal'
Chief, the Committee and Council of the Cherokee nation, trust you?
will appreciate the purity of their motives for thus addressing you. You
are aware of the distressing situation in which our country stands. We
are the earlier possessors of the soil which we yet retain, hut wheie
events, which we have had no share whatever in producing, surround u»-
with all the anxieties and piivations of war, although in a perfect state
of peace.
Various attempts have been made to arrange our difficulties, and upon '
conditions w hich may satisfy the people. We have been misrepresent
ed, we have been slandeted. The General Government of the United
States, has been swayed by agents of its own, who do not enter into
the feelings of our nation, and who adopt a course in reference lo it
which has made the nation distrustful. The Cherokees will only put
faith in those whose devotedness to them has been tried. They have'
appointed a delegation to settle their difficulties. To accomplish this,
they have invested that delegation with the fullest powers. If source*
of irritation are now avoided, we doubt not all will be accomplished
which can be desired on the close of the present session of Congress,
should we not greatly misapprehend the feelings of the General Govern
ment.
Under these circumstances, we have thought it due to ourselves, to
you, to the United States, to the interest of humanity, to make this
representation, and to ask that you will submit it to the Legislature, of
which you are the head ; and, in submitting it, that you will entreat the
Legislature, w hatever they may have had the purpose of doing regaid
ing those portions of our nation which border on their possessions, to’
abstain, at any rate until this negociation shall be completed, from pass
ing any law, of sanctioning any proceedings, which may further harrass
a people so deeply galled that a renewal of irritating measures, at a mo
ment so critical, might entirely defeat the objects of those who have
nothing at heart but the peace and happiness of their own countrymen,
and a permanent friendship with yours.
We have the horuor to be. sir,
Your Excellency’s most ob't servants,
(Signed) JOHN ROSS, Principal Chief.
GEO. LOWRY, Ass. Prin. Chief,
KICK'D TAYLOR, Pres'ntN. C.
James Daniell Choonoluskee
Jas. I). Woffard John Hinson
Old Fields Samuel Gunter
Hair Conrad George Still
John Fox Baldridgk George Hicks
James Hawkins Richard Fields
Nahiioolah
Wm. Rogers, Clerk Nat. Committee.
his
Going x Snake,
mark
Archt Campbell Tahquoh
Bark John R. Daniel .
Monet Crier. White Path,
Sleeping Rabbit James Foster
Young Glass John Otter Lifter
Chunk Kf.e Charles
O. Olenow’a Chualokee
Bean Stick John Waynk
■Walking Stick Situw’akee
John Watts Sweet Water
James Spears Peter
Edmund Duncan •
Moses Daniel, Clerk Nat. Council.
To his Excellency the Governor of the State of Georgia.
I stated, Mr. Chairman, that at the time this communication
was made to the Governor of Georgia, the Cherokee Indians
were secured, for an indefinite period, in the possession of their
improvements in Georgia, to the extent of one hundred and
twenty to one hundred and sixty acres of land for each family.
Therefore, there could have been no motive on the part of the
State of Georgia to have changed her legislation on the sub
ject, unless it was intended to bring this matter to a close.
But, acting on this pledge from John Ross, the Legislature,
in doVember thereafter, passed an act securing Indian oc
cupants in their possessions until November or December,
IS3G, reserving to the State the power still further to extend
their right ot occupancy. John Ross ami bis Council stated
to the Governor ot Georgia, that, relying on the disposition of
the Executive ot the United States, not starting anv difficulty
in relation to the award ot their own umpire, the Senate of theU.
States, but leaving Georgia to act on the clear, distinct, and
unquestionable presumption that they would carry out that
award by the necessary details; in consideration of which,
Georgia legislated specifically to protect the Cherokee occu
pants in their possessions until November, 1833, several months
beyond the session of Congress within which Ross pledged
himself to close a final adjustment, still reserving the power of
further extension, and in 'IB3B actually extending the right of
Cherokee occupancy up to the 25th of May, 1838. In the
course ol that session of Congress in w hich Ross held out to-
Georgia the promise of a final arrangement, the treaty of
which we have heard so much was ratified; and in conformity
to its provisions, allowing to the Cherokees two years to com-'
plete their removal from the 23d of May, IS3G, in November
thereafter, the ...legislature of Georgia extended the protection
of the State to the Cherokee occupants tin to the 25th of May,
1838. Sir, the whole course of the legislation of Georgia
upon this subject, from the time the communication from Ross
was laid before the Legislature, was based upon live faith of
that document.
[At this stage Mr. Haynes yielded to the entreaties of a,
nitmber of gentleman, and gave wav to Mr. Underwood of
Kentucky, on whose motion the committee rose. On the fol
lowing day the House went again into committee on the same*
bill, mid Mr. Haynes concluded h;s remarks ns follort's.—Re
porter.
Mr, Chairman, w hen I addressed the House yesterday, I had?
:»s I thought, closed, or nearly closed, the remarks I'proposed*
to make as to the right ol’Georgia to jurisdiction over the In-’
di ms within her limits, tocelher with her legislation upon the*
subject. As I stated to the committee, at tlie commencement
WO. 23‘2. ,