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Show CXXVIII BEPORT OF THE COMMISSIONER OF INDIAN AFFAIRS. A clause in the Indian appropriation act of 1885 (23 Stat., 376), aet aside $10,000 "for the investigation of certain Indian depredation claims." This act provided (1) for making and presenting to Congress at its next session a complete list of all Indian depredation claims then on file; and (2) for the investigation and report to Congress of depredation claims in favor of citizens of the United States, charge-able against any tribe of Indians by reason of treaty stipulations. The first part of this work was transmitted to Congreas March 11, 1866, and is to be found in Executive Document 125, Forty-ninth Gon-gress, first session. To carry out, the second requirement, the Secretary of the Interior was authorized to cause such additional testimony to be taken as would make it possible to form a just estimate of the kind and value of the property damaged or destroyed. For this purpose special agents were employed and sent to the scenes of the alleged depredations, and addi-tional clerks were appointed in this Office to report the claims to the Department for transmittal to Oongress aa rapidly as investigated. The number of employ& in this division, exclusive of the special agents (who are five in number), has been as low two and as high as six; there are now four. Much of the first year's work was rendered useless for the following reason: The construction placed upon the act of March 3,1885, by both the Indian Bureau and the Department of the Interior, was that claims barred by the limitation clause of the act of June 30,1834 (4 Stat., 731, sec. 17), were not entitled to investigation on their merits. Honce they were simply examined to see whether they had been filed 6' within three years from the commiasion of the injuries," and if not, they were hriefiy reported as ' G barred" and not entitled to considera-tion. When quite a number had been thus disposed of Oongress, by. the act approved May 15,1886 (24 Stat., 44), which appropriated $20,000 for continuing the investigation of the class of claims designated in the act of March 3, 1885, added the clause, " and the investigation and re-port shall include claims, if any, barred by statute, such fact to be stated in the report." This change in the law necessitated the return from Oougress or the Department of all claims which had been reported as <b' arred l) and not examined on their merits. At the request of this office, the Assistant Attorney-General for the Interior Department rendered an opinion August 23,1886, as to what claims were subject to investigation on their merits under the act of March 3,1885, as amended by the act of May 15,1886. This opinion was to the effect that two classes of claims came within the provisions of these mts : First, all claims on file March 3,1885, in favor of persons who were citizens of the United States at the dates of the alleged depre. dationsfor losses at the hands of Irldians whose tribe had a treaty with the United States at the time of the losses, whether such claims were barred by statute or not. Beoond, all claims growingout of depreda- |
