Newspaper of Burlington Free Press, February 9, 1838, Page 1

Newspaper of Burlington Free Press dated February 9, 1838 Page 1
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hi iiiiim''''''i'i''iw,'1''" 1 ' " "'ii1'"t'" mi i ti-'-i-" mi ni ii i . ..... juu . .juiuh nmn u mmm h i l.ii. iii.i . i n o t t n k ; I, u v o r c ai s a h ; iT t t ii k w i: i, r a uh o v k u m i:. in inimwi Big iiiiiiwiiiuiii.,,zCTmM?CTHCTtrifirtt .J.iijui,w;.uj'iniumiiiJMin.-acroiKi BY If. B, ST A CI?. FRIDAY, FFiBHlTARY 9, 18358. VOSi. XI No. 555 EYES. The vividness of nn eye's expression is not dependent on it color. Tho eye is most expressive, whoso owner has the most thought and fooling. Tho eye cx presses the language of the mind and heart ; and whether light or dark, vvherevor there is strong cmolion, it manifesto it. A man is a better reader of meaning in a woman's eye, than he is of one of his own gendor ; nnd a lady discovers more indications in the eyes of the opposite sex, than can the most scrutinizing man. The eye is the most poetical of features! and amplo testimony has been borne, in nil time, to its superiority in this particular. There is much poetry in tho smile of one we love i but there is moro in the gleaming kindness of an eye from which the con centrated rays of feeling, thought and tcntinient arc looking forth. Did you ever look in the tranquil depths of an eye, and gee tho shadows of thought winging them selves onward ? Did you never read wholo chaptors about the sympathy of souls in them? If not, your observation has not been acute, nor your love very devout. Tho sublime science of astrology, which once commanded the faitii of tho learned lias been laughed at by tho wisdom of more modern times. The doctrines nnd the devotion of those old renders of tho stnrs have been discarded; nnd to the hum on eye tho only relict of astrology now on citlh has been confided. Lovers aro tho o'e inheritors of the romAi.lic doctrines bequeathed by elder cstrclg"rs 'o posteri ty. They do not cast devout looks towards the bespangled firmament, at night ; but to them, the brow of a beloved being is a heaven, and the star that unfolds to them tin shadows of their coming destinies. Their ancestors read the decrees of fate in the glittering watchers of the night sea eon, end thoy foresee the mysteries of the future in the expressions which shift and play upon the eye. If the eye of his mis trees sparkles tt hia approach, it is the precursor of efter joy. If tho murky shadow of a frown rests upon it, it is the foreboding of ibo woo to come. To tho lover tho eye of his mistress is ever cloq'jcnt, of hope or feoT, of triumph or defeat. It is tho polar star of his hope, the cynosure of hia faith; and in the com. plosion of the future changes as her eye wanes in the shadow, or waxes into the light of day. LIPS. A wholesome Lip is a thing to bo loved. People art too much in tho habit of regard ins "P9 as mcr0 appendogpa to tho 'human fr.ee divine' ornaments, liko car. rings, to fet on" its beauty. This is to detract from their true use and excellence. They Fcrve other purposes, and are indices of charac ter. A wholesome lip is of the complexion of a morello cherry. It pouts like a rose bud. and might lead a bee astray, as the grapeB of Xcnis did the birds. When kissing was in fashion, gallants of taste showed a pre ference for lips of this kind. Thero was a flavor about them ambrosia, on which young Love fed and grew fat. The disciplo of Socrates was feminine in the matter of lips, fur bees hovered over them; and the judgement of a bee in this particular is scarcely inferior to that of a bachelor under thirty. In general, people aro apt to think thoir noses of more importance than their lips, and many 6aucy noses seem to bo of the same way of thinking; cincc we see them turning up with high disdain, as if the lips were eo inferior as to merit scorn. No 'genteel,' well behaved nose is guilty of such dastardly effrontery. Such one, it is true, may at times flap its nostrils, and crow lustily over its neighbors, as if it were 'cock of the walk;' but there soft insinuation about on eloquent lip, that cuts the comb of the braggart, and invari ably limes tho monarch down to tho mere republican. Our maiden aunt Sally woro a lip, which, like her matrimonial chances, was rather shrivelled. It was a inero streak alonn the horizon ; an indistinct margin along an ocean of mouth; a strip to tell you where her teeth were. My aunt died huibandless. If she had wedded, her bridal kiss would have bocn interesting. Sho saluted my cbesk once, whon liko Fanny, I was 'younger than I am now, and prettier of course !' I thought tho sen if tion like a gentle bite. InBtoad of soft, spongy flesh, her lips seemed like scraps of flesh, iron bound. Sometimes bIic puckered them up, like wie ormce or ncr reucuiw; uuu una was an indelible precept of n coming storm. Xantippo had a thin, bluish, miwaving lip. Beware of such. The lips of one's sweet-heart nre a vol ume of pootry. Smiles fling a ray liko the flush of morning upon them, and they are glorious in thoir brightness, They arc an oraclo. and from them comes the voice of destiny. They aio a shrino, and around them thn breath of inspiration cvor lingers. It would bo vain to talk of kissing any tiling so sacred, when the mero thought overwhelms one in unspeakable bliss ! " lXug7iter7 Yet talking of laughing 83 Mr. Aircastlo would say, I own I liko to laugh. It ia worth a hundred groans in any stato of market. I never saw a Fronchman laugh. They smile, they grin, they shrug up their shoul ders, they cry "Ha !" nnd "Ciel!" but they never give themselves up to boisterous unlimited laughter. They have always a rein upon thoir lungs, and their muscle? arc drilled to order. Their mirth docs not savor officsh and blood. I do not mean to contend for that pampcrod laugh which grows less and less, in proportion as it is high. fed, but for a good broad humorous English laugh, such as belongs to a farce or a fair. The Germans laugh sometimes, the Fleming often, the Irish always: the Gpnniord's face is fused, and the Scotch man's thawed into a laugh ; but a French-! man never laughs. They smile indeed, but. wiiat then .' Their smile is like their soup meagre, thin; their merriment squeezed and 6trained, There is in it something of the acid of their sulnds, something of the pungency of their sauces, but nothing 6 slantial. It is neither solid ethereal, but a thing between wind and water, not of earth nor of heaven, good nor bad; but villainously indiflcrcnt, and not to bo ad mitted as m'ulh. (Essays of Elia) by Charts Lamb. Coleridge somewhero relates a atory to this effect: 'Alexander, during his march into Africa, came to a pcoplo dwelling in peaceful huts, who knew neither war nor conquest. Gold being offered to him, he refused saying that his side object was to learn the manners and customs of tho in. habitants. "Slay with us," says tho chief "aa long as it plcascth thee." During this interview with the African chief, two of his subjects brought a case before him for judg ment. The dispute was this: Tho one had bought of the other a piece of ground, which, after the purchase, was found to contain a treasure, fur which ho felt himself bound to pay. Tho other refused any thing, stating that when he sold tho ground, lie sold it with all the advantages apparent and concealed, which it might bo found to afl'ord. Said the chief, looking at the one, "you have a son," and to the other, "you have a daughter ; let them be marriod and the treasure be given as a dowry." Alex ander was astonished. "And what," said the chief, "would have been tho decision in your country?" "Wo should havo dis missed the parties," said Alexander, "and seized the treasure for the king's use." 'And docs the sun shine on your country ?" suid tho chief; "docs the rain fall there? Aro there any cattle there which feed upon herbs and green grass?" "Certainly," an swercd Alexander. "All," said tho chief, "it is for the soke of those innocent cattle, that the Great Being permits the sun to shine, the rain to fall, and the grass to grow in your country." DEFENCE OF GEN. JOHN E. WOOL. Before the Court of Enquiry bean and neiu (u jinorwffe (,7'cmt.) on the -lh September, 1837. Mr. President! It was very far from my expectation, when I took leave of my commanu on mo 1st oi July last, in obedi ence to instructions from the Wai Depart ment, that I should eo soon be compelled to revisit this country, particularly under me circumstances in winch 1 now appear before you. I frankly confess that when I took my departure, I was flattered with the nleasinrr reflection that I carried with mo ihe approbation and kind wishes of all the Tennesseeans, the Gconnans. thn North Carolinians, and tho Alabnmians It appears, however, that I was mistaken, and tho pleasing illusion which I had nn fundly clierished was soon and rudoly to uo dispelled. For on my arrival al Wash ington. I learned from tho Secreturv of War thut I had been charged by t he Ex ecutive of Alabama with usurpinir the powers of the civil tribunals of the State, disturbing the peace of the communil v, and trampling upon the rights of its citizens; and that a, Court had been instituted tu inquire into the circumstances, and re port the facts lo the War Department niy surprisu wan gruai, lor all that could be ulledgcd against mo during ihu period I .commanded in the Cherokee nation, the charges preferred against me were tin most foreign to my feelings nnd intcntioiiH ond which every measure adapted wit! reference to tho Chcrnkcop and the while inhabitants will clearly prove I did not go to l lint country, Mr Presi dent, to tarnish what Ii tl la rcpuintiot I tuny have previously acquired, by act: of oppression or cruelly, nor by vlolatinr' the laws of my country. My object wn' a faithful oxecntion of the treaty with ihf Cherokees, to protect nil in their rights as guarantied by it ; the white man and iIk md, the weak ns well as tho strong. These were the cardinal rules fur my con duct, which I steadily kept in view, ant which I never lont sight of for n oingli moment, from the time I entered tho coun try until I left it. Hut it is nntmv intention, Mr. President to detain this Court, or weary its paticncn, by attestations of my innocence, or a la bored defenco of my conduct whilst com manding in i tic Chorokec nation. The President of the United Slates having re fused my request for n general inquiry into my conduct, and the present inquiry beiig limited to a single complaint, I will at nire proceed, in as brief a manner ns circuit stances will permit, to present my viewsjf tho subject to the consideration of tie Court. The facts by winch this Courtis lo be guidod in the formation of its opinim aro now upon its records. I await tho v suit of its deliberations, and the judgumeit of the American Peoplo, when your pi. cccdings shall he made public, with ui doubting confidence. My instructions, Mr. President, of lie 50th June, 183G, in which a copy of tie lalo treaty with tho Chorokcos was enclo cd, arc before you, marked (1.) Will what energy, zeal, and promptitude I tl 1. charged tho important duties thus nssignel me, the Court will be able lo judgo froo the facts and the documents ool'oro it. A directed, I repaired to Athens, in Tonnes sec, with as much despatch as practicable and aftor organizing a urignuo 01 voiun leers, arming and cquiping such a force a I considered tho nature ol llie service re quired, nnd establishing Ucpi'ta ff provision in suitable placos lor both thO troops anu tho poorer classes of Cherokeea, distribu ting the troops in such a portion us would aflbrd tho greatest faciiitiei for operating and controlling tho Chorokoos incase of hostilities, 1 estnblisded my head quarter on tho 27th of July, a little moro than a month after I left Washington, near the mouth of Valley river, N. C. in the midst of the most ob-tinnte and warlike cf the Cherokees, and most devotedly attached to thoir country. I was not slow in dscov ing that the command I had assumed was one of delicacy in its nature, and extreme ly troublesome in the execution. 1 found the Indians laboring under a state rf ex. citomont, produced by tho means aiopled to Inrce upon them the late treaty, vliicli they most, explicitly disavowed, "deiaring that they had made no such treaty with the United States, and that the paper which purported to be one was mats by a few unauthorized individual, with'iit the sanction of the nation, assisted by lorrupt agents of the Government." I In slate of feeling was heightened by the dely en croachments of the whites, who wen flock ing into tho nation and driving then from their homos. This excitement wn still greater in Georgia and Alabama, where tho Indians were not only dispussceed of their houses nnd fiolds, but in conseniencc, also, ofthe conduct of tho troops ol these States, who, in pursuit of Crock ndians who had lied for roltigc among the chero kees from the war that was raging n their own country, not unfrequently capttredtho uhorokees, & conveyed them to tha Creek emigrating camp for transportation to the Wert, By this means husbands wao fro quently separated from their wivei, and children from their parents. Suth was parents. the perplexed and embarrassing itato of tilings with which I had to struggle on my entrance into the Cherokee country. To allay this excitement, to correct these abuses, and to indnce tho Cherokees to acquiesce and submit to the conditions imposed by the treaty, tho best energies of which 1 was master wero put in requisition 1 he testimony before the Court will Bhow that I dovoted myself unceasingly to ac co m p I is h the objects of my mission to the Cherokee country, to execute (lie treaty honorably to the Government and justly lo the Indians. I have the satisfaction of believing that the measure adopted would have produced tho desired effect, The) Cherokees wore beginning to relax in their opposition, and wore making prepa rations for removal to the West. I have thus endeavored, Mr. President, briefly to lay before you tho state of the Cherokee nation in August and beptem her, I03G. If, at that time, I had been sustained in my course by t he Government of Ihe United States, and the Commis- sionors had been present to enter upon the. discharge of their duties at the same time, I have no doubt, and think I will bo sus lanicd in tho declaration by the moro in telligent part of Ihe nation, that at least hvo thousand of the Cherokees would have removed to their new homes during the last fall and winter. This would have in duced tho removal ofthe residue ofthena tion without trouble or difficulty. As nn indication of the courso nursued by me during my command iu the Cherokee country, and as showing the means by which 1 acquired thu confidence of the Indians, and the approbation of the white citizens ol the nation and the neighboring country, I would call the attention of the Court to my communications to Brigadier General Dunlap, of tho llh and l'Jth ol August, 1830. hi thut or tho till of Au gust, thu following directions will be found : "You will proceed, without dulay, to New Euhota, uml mch other purls of tho Cherokee nation, within tho limits of (icnrgiii, as nmy be necessary to give protection both to tho Cherokeea and tho while inhabitants residing in that section of tho country. You will allow no en croochmcnt on cither side. Ilolh will be protected in their person and properly. Von will prevent, as far as practicable, all collisions between your troops urid the In dians You will also prevont any inter ference on the part of the Georgiu troops with the Cherokees. At nil event, you will prevont. any im proper exorcise of military control over tho Indian or tho white inhabitant, The whole subject is left to your sound discretion, taking earn to do nothing that will bring you in conflict with the authori ties of Georgia. The sovereignty of llio State find its law must bo respected. You will recollect, in your proceedings, that the Slate and the citizens nre still la boring undor a stato of excitement, canseJ by tho cruelties of a savage warfare. Thcrnforo great prudence and d'ucretion should he oxorcised in all your intercourse with tho nation, and particularly in nil measure which might havo a bearing up on tho rights and interests of the Stato and Peoplo of Georgia." Again, on the l'2th of August, tho Court will dud I transmitted to Gen. Dunlap tiic following instructions: "Captain Vernon, stationed at New Echota, informs mo that John 11 id ;j o hus complained to him that somo white man is about to lako forcible possession of his ferry on Coosa river. You will without delay, inquiro into the case, and if you should find tho complaint to bo just, you will, until Author orders, protoct Rtdgc in his rights and property. This order will apply to all cases of a sim ilar character in tho Cherokee country. In your proceeding ? you tot' be governed by your instructions of the Mh insl." Ridge's ferry was iu Ala bama. By examination ofthe testimony of Cap tniu Morrow, Colonel Byrd, Captain Shaw, nnd Major Lyon, tho Court will discover that I give similar instruction to every officer ordofod on command, and particu larly to Captain .Morrow, stationed near Guntor's Landing, Alabama, and yet 1 have boon charjod by his Excellency C. Z- Clay, now Senator Clay, (in violation f the laws of Alabama,) of assuming the lower of adjudicating and determining the light of pnriesjion or ownurrthip of laud ind improvements thcroon, and of dupos jessing one claimant, end supplanting him with another by military force Under one if those decisions, a conflict took placo in ii the counly of Marshall, as the Govern or states, "which rouuhed in tho death of two individuals, certainly, besides the most scrim'- injury to others, mime of whom it is fearod, may yot die of their wounds.' The letter of his excelloncy is so far correct in this, that I did, on tho occasion alluded to, and at other times, dispossess white men of Indian improvements, which they had unjustly taken, and "supplanted them" not with another white man, as it might be inferred, but with an Indian claiming the benefits and protection of the late Cherokee treaty ; and for this I be. lieve that I was fully warranted by the letter and spirit of the treaty, and that justice demanded the exercise of such a power. On this point I shall have occa sion to speak more fully hereafter. The facts of this case are simply these; The heirs of John Gunter, sr., deceased, through their administrator of the estate, Mr. Riddle, applied to me to restore them to the po-oesion of a cortnin improvement which they claimed, as Cherokees, undor the treaty of 1835, then in the possession of Nathaniel Steele. Having satislied mysolf by a thorough investigation that it was an inoinn improvement, and that it rightfully belonged to ihu heirs of John Gunter, nr., deceased, and that Steele had uo claim whatever to it, I considered it imperative duly, having tho treaty before me, which I could view in no other light than part of my infuruc inns, to transmit tho instructions before the Court of tho 3d of June, marked G, to Captain Morrow. You have it in testimony beforo tho Court that these instructions wero obeyed, and the administrator put in possession. I would, however, call the attention of the Court to tho concluding paragraph of these instruc tions as clearly indicating my deire in no wise to intcrfero with that which properly belonged to tho civil tribunals of the coun. try. It will be remembered by the Court that Mr. Riddle was an officer acting under the laws which I am charged with having out raged and trampled upon. That lie states in his testimony, most explicitly, that he applied to me for rahef, because ho believed ho had no adequate remedy under the laws ,,t' Alnl.nmn I Ln rnTo I., I I.,. .,, ln. I lnullnmil, .lf r.,,,,,7, m, ,i.,,.i. , wisll bo under,t0(J(1 ,hat ,,ie Government of tho United States was dis ti)Cl inrormej, am appromi of ,Uo for wljcll i llBV. '.,,., ,., nunciulions of llio Governor of Alabama. For this purpose I would rofer Ihe Court to my letter of the 13th August, 1830, to tho honorable Lewis Cass, marked 5, enclosing instructions lo General Dunlap, ofthe .lib and l'Jth ol August, und thu answer lo that loiter dated the I ft of September, marked (5 ; also, to my letter ofthe 27th of August, marked 7; and the answer of llio acting Secretary of War, of the 13th of Septem ber, murkod II ; to thn loiter of ihe Presi dent of the United Stales, of Ihe 7th of September, marked 10, (he following ex. truct of which is very explicit : "Should you find any ovil disposed whilu limit in the nation, exciting lliu Indians not lo cumply with the lienty, you will forthwith order him or them out ofthe nation; and if they riilusu lo go, Ihu luels being thoroughly es lublir-hcd, you will take thu slops necessary til mil 1 1 1 ft 1 1 1 lllll. S!nnli xli'inwloru Kills! tin considered in Ihe ligtn of intruder.', prolnb,uw ,or wl"-' men to hotilu on milIi lands lied by the treaty from living within the liuiitrt of tho nation.'1 Again, in my in structions of tho lith of October, marked 13, it will bo perceived I was authorized not only to have dispossessed Sleo'cbut to have turned him out of the country. For it is (hero laid down "that if any of our citizciiB cnler Ihe Indian country, and incite npuontinn to too execution of the treaty, you will nxcertiiin whether there is any Inw of tho Stale which can be brought lo hear upon them, nnd iindur which they can he removed. If they cannot be reached in this way, it is the opinion of the Provident that they may bo removed undor the Gth article of thu troaty, in which the United SlntCK guaranty t lint Ihe Cherokees shall bo pro tected against interruption nnd intrusion from citizons of thu United States, who may attempt to settle in tho country with out their consent." Thus it will bo seen, Mr President, that my course was not only approved whon I informed the War Department of my intention to protect the Cherokoes in their properly from tho lawlossiioas of in truder; but tho President of tho United Slates, who is my superior r-fHccr, oud whom I am bound lo obov, directs me iu tho most positive manner'to turn any white man out of Ihe nation who should incite opposition to the treaty. And the impor tant principle is there rrcogni.scd that llic United States, having guarantied that the Cherokees shall ba protected from all in. terruption and intrusion ofthe white man, has tho authority lo turn thoni out of the nation as intruders, 1 had also that lets obnoxious hut moro useful power to dis. possess them of tin Indian houso where they had violently nnd unjust ly obtruded themselves. Mr. President, beforo I cloo ibis brier defence, upon an intimation In that effect from one for whose opinion I havo i ho greatest respect, I will, as concisely ns I can, bring to view the reflections which brought lo my mind the conviction that llio jaws of Alabama, extending her jum. diction over the Indians and their country, arc contrary to treaties and tho statutes of tho Union, and therefore void. I approach the discuesion of 6Uch a question as this with much embarrassment. It is properly and purely a judicial question, and I make no pretensions to legal attainments. Be sides, I am well aware of the nngry discus sions which it has elicited, and of tho jeal ous sensitiveness of the Stato upon this point which nt ono time, threatened to ovorthrow the Union. Neither can I sup pose for a moment that I shall ha able lo convince the Court upon n question which has divided the moat eminent statesmen of the day, and has undergone Ihe rigid scrn tiny of such minds as Marshall und Story, and Wirt, nnd Sergeant, and many otln-rs who have adornrd the bench, the bar, and the Senate of our country, and whose names jrjvo lustre to the age. My object shall bo to present lo tho Court my own reflections, with n rcferenco to such decis ion, treaties, and statutes, as tho Court may conveniently consult, should it bo in. dined to pursue the investigation. I shall pass by the difcusaion of the rights which discovery or conquest conferred upon the nations of Europe over the sbori gitics of lliia continent, barely remarking, that all tho powers of the British Crown over the savage tribes inhabiting this coun try passed, by the Revolution, to"thc United Stales of America, and not lo the individu al Slates. All subsequent righls havo been acquired by treaty stipulations, or conferred by the Constitution upon Con gress. The Constitution of the United Slates declares that laws made iu pursuance of it, and treaties mado or lo be made, are the supremo laws of the land, any thing in any Stato Coiihtitutinn or law to tho contrary notwithstanding. Thn Indian tribes inhabiting this conti. nmt have been always recognised as inde- pendent communities, capable of makui" trontics, ond ol sustaining the relations of peace and war. "The United Siatei." nays Chancellor Kent, "lave never dealt with these people within our national limits as extinguished sovereignties. They have constantly treated with them as indopun denl natioiiH, governed by their own usages, ond posse-sing governments competent to make and maintain treaties. They have considered them us public enemies in war, and allied friends in peace." (Godoll vs. Jackson, 20 vol. Rep. 714.) The Supreme Court of the United States declared (0 Peters' Reports, 551) that, "by tho ninth article of the ireaty of Hopewell, n sur render of self-government was never in tended by the Cherokees, and so to hold would be a perversion of tho necessary meaning of tho Indians." Iu tho suinc case, the Court used tho following Ian. gunge; "Is it credible that they should have considered themselves as burreudering to the United Sta.cs the right to dictate their future cessions, and the terms on which they should be made, or to compel their submission lo tho violence of licen tious and disorderly intruders?" All lliotrrnties with the Cherokees, from 1785 up to this time, recognised them as a nation capable of living under their own laws. The principal provisions in those treaties have been thus Miuimed up: "Per pctuul peace, grunt of land by ihe nation, express designation of boundaries, lo give up oll'enders inking refuge among ihcui. That retaliation i-lmll ccuee, tho exclusion of the whiles from tho hinds remitted by thu Indians. Acknowledgment of the protection of lliu United Slates, nnd of uo oilier sovereign whatever. Thai Cougres shall have thu hole und exclusivu right ol regulating trade with them, mid iniiiiugiu pil their tilluirs, as Unit body t-hnll think uropor, (treaty of 1785.) A solemn guar nly to ihu Chen keeb ul nil their lumh nut ceded. Thut it shall bo niiuinsi iht and such intruders to bo punished us llio Indian think proper." Judge Peck's opin ion, il vol. Rop. "Iu the treaty of Hope woll, tho Cherokees are treated as a nation, nnd throughout that whole instrument their d stmctive characlci as a separate political communil y is kept up and clearly acknow Irdged. Tho treaty of Holstein, 1791, recognises them as n notion, aud guaranties the Cherokees all their lands not thereby ceded. All subsequent treaties recognise and acknowledge the opcrativo force of these treaties." Judgo Green's Opinion, !! vol. Rep. 34 1. Is it necessary for language to be strong er ? Whero can you find rights moro clearly defined or moro solemnly guaran tied ? Lands arc cuded, boundaries ar expressly delegated, a guaranty for those retained, and an nssuranco of protection from tho intrusions of the whites. Aro ihcn llieso treaties, and have thoy lb oporativo force of such an inrtrumont, ta known to tho Constitution ? It has nevar born doubted. Thoy havo bten aprovod by tho President, ratified by tho Senate, published to tho world as bucIi, and recog niwd in the highest judicial tribunals aa Ihe supreme law of the land. Was the United States competent to enter into stipulations of this kind, and is it nblo to perform them ? Or did ibis mug uanimnus Government designedly bind il eclf to terms which it could not enforce, with a liandfull of rude, unlettered savages, while it compelled performance on their part ; and, when they demandod a fulfil, ment of tho conditions, coldly to inform them we cannot comply, you must rely upon the justice of tho States and the ten der mercies ol the bordering wnue men r Was it ever contemplated by the Indiane, when thoy received tho solemn nssuranco of the United Slates of protection from all intrusion of the whites, that thoy were to become subject to a body of laws imposed on them by tho the States, tho language of which lliey did not even underslond, and so entirely dissimilar to all their habksand customs? In the languag of the Supremo Court ofthe United Statc, " it is increi! iblc." It would bo a perversion of lan guage to suppose so, and a fraud upon thu Indians to give it that operation. Or, did this Govorcmonl, in tho formation of theso treaties, condescend to "palter in a douWe senso, to keep tho word of promise to tho ear, and break it lo the hope?" I trust that such Punic faith will never slain our natinnal character. In Worcester ft. tho Stato of Georgia, G Peter's Reports 501, the Supreme Court ofthe United Slates hold that "tho Chero kcoj are a distinct community, occupying its own territory, with boundaries accu rately described, in which iho laws of North Carolina could have no force, nnd which Ihe citizens of North Carolina had no right to enter, but with the assont of the Cherokees themselves." Thi, per haps, is the Insi case, involving ibis ques liou, which has been bofore tho Supromo Court of tho United Slates, the only tribu nal recognised in tho Constitution for tho decision of such questions. The opinion was pronounced by that pure-hearted mm and eminent jurist, Chief Justice Marshall whoso expositions of the Constitution will be revered while that instrument itself en dures. The time and circumstances give to this decision unusual solemnity and im portance. The court will remember that the Union was agitated from one extreme to thn other, and threatened no lest than an overthrow of ihe Constitution. At t n c Ii n time, how calm would have been the deliberations of Marshall ! how earnest his convictions ! The Constitution of tho United States also prescribes that Congress shall havo the power of regulating commerce with foreign nations, among the several States, and with the Indian tribes. It has been decided that personal inter course was commorce in the sense of the Constitution. The laws of Alabama aro, therefore, void, as being repugnant to Ida provisions of the Act of Congress of March 30, 183'J, commonly called the Iulorcourso Act. And it would seem that ihe Con gress of the United Stales wis of tho opinion that the Act of 1802 was still in force as late as the year 1834, at which lime an act was passed regulating trade and intercourse with the Indian tribes west of the Mississippi, and in which the Act of 1802 was declined not repealed, as to the tribes cast. (Sue the Act of I83J, Act of 1802.) Upon what argument, then, rest tho rights of the Slates to extend their lawg over these people ? We are told that thu Indian lribn-4 aru wilhin Ihe chartered lim its of the Stales, and (hat the Statoa aro sovereign within thoso limits, and cantut be restrained. But aro thoy not parties to the furmniioii ofthese treaties ? Whero were the Senators of these States at the time of their ratification? Does thoir solemn protest stand upon the records of tho Senate against this usurpation ol tno Gen. Government ? They wero proiont, and themselves parties to the act. But tho Slule of Alabama became a member ofthe Union with this tribe of In dians then in her hordcrs.with most of thesa treaties exiMing in full force, pledging the protection of Iho United Stales, guaranty ing to them tho undisturbed possession of their country, urn! the enjoyment of llicir iipngcs and cui-toms i prohibiting tho in trusions uf the whites upon llicir soil, ami laws enacted to carry out ihu provisions, and penalties prescribed for lliuir infrac tion. By accepting membership with tlir.-e conditions before her, slid became n parly lo the acts und cannot disuvow (hem. Under llio repeated und solemn guaran ties of Ihu United Stales in ihu Cherokees, for the occunaiiiui oi their hinds not ceded, would the Governuii ul hove permitted ihu Stale of Alabama to hi. ve cilh.u tinon tin

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