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mere expediency, he, as the case may be, corruptly, perverts his powers, or wantonly abuses them, and violates the spirit of the Constitution, by invading the proper rights of the legislature.

221. The use which President Jackson has made of the veto, is wholly unprecedented, in frequency, as in cause. General Washington employed it in a single case only: The elder Adams, who is not chargeable with want of energy, and Mr. Jefferson, never exerted it; Mr. Madison exercised it in three cases of constitutional difficulty, at long intervals; Mr. Monroe in one case only, and that, also, on constitutional grounds; and John Quincy Adams, as learned as discreet, never presumed to oppose the popular will, whose constitutional expression he sincerely respected. At one session, General Jackson nullified four acts of Congress, and subsequently has rejected four others,

222. With an unbiased legislature, even the abuse of this power, such as we have seen, however vexatious, might not prove, ultimately, dangerous to the public weal, since the people, through the constitutional majority of Congress, might correct executive error, or presumption; but, when Congress shall be biased by the influence of party, and corrupted by the lust of office, it will be vain to hope for such majority; and if the Executive be not able to procure what laws he will, he may prevent the enactment of such as curb the exercise of illegitimate power, and may, with impunity, arrest every measure which does not square with his purposes. Thus, we have seen, the course of public improvement impeded, the currency of the country deranged, the public treasure torn from the custody of the national fiduciary-and, in a word, the novelties of inexperienced empirics substituted for a policy which wisdom had dictated, and beneficial practice had matured..

223. V. The condition and ulterior destiny of the Indian tribes within the United States have ever been subjects of deep interest with the Government. It has sought to introduce. among them the arts of civilization, and to divert them from a wandering life. But these benevolent purposes have been marred, generally, by the impracticable character of the aboriginal race, which make it necessary for the preservation of peace, and the progress of the white population, that the Government should avail itself of every favourable opportunity to purchase their lands, and, consequently, to drive the tenants further into the wilderness.

224. From this fate, it seemed as if the Cherokees, the Choctaws, and the Chickasaws, having made great advances in civilization, were to be redeemed. But, the two last have been unable to withstand the instances of the present administration, and have been swept beyond the Mississippi; there, it is to be feared, to dwindle and perish, as the mass of their red brethren have done. The Cherokees have firmly resisted every effort to remove them; and the transition through which they are passing, is a case of absorbing interest in the history of man. Already do they till the ground, and manufacture, extensively, for themselves; they have workshops, schools, churches, a regularly organized government, a written language, invented by another Cadmus, and a printing press. So great, indeed, has been their improvement, that individuals of this nation, as admitted, on all sides in Congress, are qualified for seats in that august body.

225. The soil upon which these tribes reside, lies within the States of Georgia, Alabama and Mississippi; which, claiming to be the only sovereigns, within their respective territories, have extended their laws over the aborigines; and the former State having seized, surveyed, and distributed, without compensation, the Indian lands, thus committed a grievous oppression, to which the General Government has become a party. But to understand this properly, we must develope, concisely, the relations between the Cherokees and the United States.

226. It would be vain, now, to discuss the equity of the power, assumed by the States of Europe, and their American successors, over the aborigines of our continent. We characterize it, sufficiently, by observing, that the right of discovery, upon which it is founded, is that which force and art obtain over weakness and simplicity. Selfish as it is, the moral sense has moulded it into something resembling justice-bas restrained it by principles which may not be abandoned, without the reproach of broken faith, and the condemnation of the world. These principles originate in a species of national law, and in special compacts between the Indians and the General Government.

227. The source of all right to property, is possession and continued use. That, the Indian derived from his Creator; and it has been, in a qualified manner, acknowledged by his discoverer. Under the right of discovery, the Indians are admitted to possess a present right of occupancy, subordinate to the ultimate dominion of the discoverer; and, in a certain

sense, to exercise sovereignty over the soil. They might transfer these right to the sovereign of the discoverer, but to none others; until transfer, they were deemed sovereigns de facto. In a word, the Indian nations were always considered as distinct, independent, political communities, retaining their original natural rights, as the indisputed possessors of the soil, from time immemorial; with the single restriction, imposed by irresistible power, which excluded them from intercourse with any European potentate, other than the first discoverer of the coast of the particular region claimed; and this restriction the European potentates imposed on themselves, as well as upon the Indians. With the rights of the discoverer, the United States adopted their obligations.

228. In this view of the subject, the State of Georgia, originally, concurred with her sister States and the Government of the United States; acquiescing in the universal conviction, that the Indian nations possessed a full right to the lands they occupied until that right should be extinguished by the United States, with their consent; that their territory was separated from that of any State within whose chartered limits they might reside, by a boundary line established by treaties; that, within their boundary, they possessed rights with which no State could interfere; and that, the whole power of regulating intercourse with them was vested in the United States.

229. By treaties, often confirmed, the United States have recognized, the qualified independence of the Cherokee nation; have solemnly guaranteed to it all the lands which it has not ceded; have assumed the duty of, and pledged their faith for, its protection; pursuant thereto, have restrained their citizens from encroachments on the Cherokee country; and for promoting the civilization of this, in common with other tribes, have authorized the President, with consent of the Indians, to employ agents to instruct them in agriculture, in reading, writing and arithmetic, and to perform such other duties, as may be enjoined, by him, to such end. The power for these measures flows from the Constitution of the United States, conferring the powers of war and peace, of making treaties, and of regulating commerce with foreign nations and among the several States, and with the Indian tribes.

230. By articles of agreement and cession, 24 April 1802, the State of Georgia ceded to the United States certain lands, then within her boundary, upon the stipulation, among others, that, the United States should, at their own expense, extinguish

for the use of Georgia, the Indian title to all lands within the State, as early as the same can be peaceably obtained, on reasonable terms. This stipulation has been in part, but only in part, fulfilled. The Cherokee title has not been extinguished, the nation refusing to sell on any terms; and, conse quently, the United States, without delinquency, have been unable to effectuate this object of the cession.

231. The great progress in civilization of the Cherokees and their establishment of political government, were demonstrations of a permanency of position, which alarmed the State of Georgia. The increase of the whites required additional territory, which became more desirable by the discovery that the Indian country abounded in gold. These. circumstances, and we must, in justice, add, a natural wish to free its borders from a semi-barbarous race, induced the State to seize and divide the Indian land, among her citizens, and to expel, or reduce beneath her laws, the Indian inhabitants. Against these injuries, the Indians, instead of taking arms, as was once their wont, have, in reliance on their treaties and the uninterrupted policy of the Government, prayed the protection of the United States. The administration of Mr. Adams responded to the call with the promptness and firmness which good faith required. He concurred in opinion with Mr. Jefferson and others, his predecessors, that, “the Government should firmly maintain the ground, that, until the Indians should cede their lands by treaty, no act of a State could give right thereto, and that the Government should exert all its energy for the patronage and protection of the rights of the Indians; and that if settlements were made on land unceded by them, without the previous consent of the United States, the Government would be bound, not only to declare them unauthorized, but to remove them by the public force.*

232. With the advent of General Jackson to power, the prospect of the Cherokees was wholly changed. The protection of the Government was deliberately refused, and its sacred faith violated. The dejected complainants were peremptorily told, that they must emigrate beyond the Mississippi or submit to the laws of Georgia. Either alternative is viewed by them, as the seal of their destruction; and the latter, is admitted by the advocates of Georgia to be conclusive of the Indian fate.

*See Letter of Mr. Jefferson to Gen. Knox, August 10, 1791.

233. The first duty of the President is to execute the laws, of which treaties form a part. But General Jackson has united with the interested Georgians to declare the conventions with the Indians, formally ratified by the Senate, and the laws regulating intercourse with the tribes, to be unconstitutional, and has refused to obey and execute them; herein usurping the province of the Judiciary department of the Government. The Supreme Court upon the most deliberate survey of the question has decided, that "the Cherokee nation is a distinct community occupying its own country, with boundaries accurately described, in which the laws of Georgia have no force, and which the citizens of Georgia have no right to enter, but with the assent of the Cherokees themselves, or in conformity with the treaties and with the Acts of Congress."

234. It is freely granted, that the case is delicate and difficult. That it calls for prudence, and forbearance. But it does not, necessarily, involve a conflict of arms, between Georgia and the Union. Had the influence of the Government of the United States been opposed to the encroachments of Georgia; had it been given to support the faith of the nation, it is presumable, that, the difficulties, in due time, might have been peaceably overcome, and the purity of the national character sustained untainted. But, there is too much reason to believe, that the wish to propitiate the State, to secure its vote, has determined the course of the Executive.

235. With a view, however, to remove the inconvenience under which the States of Georgia, Alabama, and Mississippi certainly laboured, the President proposed, "to set apart an ample district, west, of the Mississippi, and without the limits of any State or territory, to be guaranteed to the Indian tribes, so long as they shall occupy it; each tribe having a distinct control over the portion designated for its use." This measure is of very doubtful policy. The Cherokees deprecate it, as one of utter ruin. The congregated Indian races may soon destroy the game; and with it, many of them must perish. The tribes, which range over a much larger territory than will be given to the exiles, suffer, annually, from famine, and the emigrants, as hunters, cannot escape it. As agriculturists, they have much to learn, for which their new state would be illy adapted; and it is greatly to be feared, that, in this respect, retrogradation will attend their removal, even should they be unable to escape the horrors of war, almost inevitable, among the commingled tribes. It is a question,

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