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Show REPORT OF THE COXMISSIONER OF INDIAN AFFAIRS. XXlII On the 6th December the papers approved were forwarrled from the Department to the President, and 1,s him transmitted to ConEress for consideration on December 8. On the same day the President's mes-sage, with awompanging papers, mas referred to the req~ectireC orn-mittees on Indian Agairs of both hoa8es and ordered to be printed.+ On January 9, 1883, a bill (S. 2336) was rel)o!Aed from tlie Senate com-mittee and recommitted; Ja,nuary 16 the hi!) was rvported from the Seuate committee without ameudlnent. No further action appears to. hme been taken by Congress in the matter. A new I,* will be pre-pared and submitted to the. Department for tmusmisuiou to Coug:ese at the approaching session. *, INTRUDEES ON INDIAN LANDS. As stated in the previous reports, an amendment to the law in refer-ence to intruders so as to punish by imprisonment as well as fine is ab-solutely necessary. An intruder without property has very little fear of a fine. Some intruders have already been removed several times by the Indian police or the military, and as often have returned. The pres-ent law, imposing a fine only, has uo terrors for this class of men. A11 that can at present be done is to remove the intruder, and if he reappears to bring a civil suit against him in the nature of an aet,ion of debt to recover the stat,utory penalty of $1,000. I have get to hear of a single instancein which the penalty has bee11 recorered. The resnltis expense to the Government for no purpose. Notwithstanding his repeated ex-pulsion from the India11 Territory, Payne and his party of 'LOklahoma oolonists" hare twice dtuing the present year made attempts at settle-ment in that country;reqniring the aid of themilitary, at great expense to the Government, to effect, their removal. In add~tion to the argent recommendations which have repeatedly beell made by this office and the Department on the subject, the Secre-tary of War deemed this frequent fnruiabing of troop8 for the removal of trespassers, at great expense to the Gorernment, withont any prao-tical results, as a matter of such serious importance in the interests of the military service and of public economy that OII the 2d February last lie addressed a special commuuication to the President urging the amendment of section 2148, Revised Statutes, by providing a term of impriso~imenft or unlawfully entering upon Indian lands. This com-munication was transmitted by the Presideut to Congress on t.be 5th Fehruarx last, and on the 3d of the same month Mr. Dawes introduced in the Senate a bill (S. 2450), some time previously prepared in this office,t reading as follows: Be it maoted by the Senate and Houae of Representatives of the United State8 ojAm&a in Congress aesembZed, That aeetion twentj-.one hunrlred and forty-eight of the R e v i d Statutes of the Unitcd States bo amended to read as follows, namely: - "Every person who vithout nntborit.y of I:bw enters and shall be foond upon any S e e Senate Ex. Doe. No. 7, Fortyseventh Congress, second session. t See House Ex. DOCN.O . 145, Fort7-seventh Congress, first session. |