OCR Text |
Show XXX FIFTY-SEVENTH ANNUd REPORT OF at each agency shall serve as judges of said court (the term of office being one year), the police officer highest in rank to be the presiding judge. It also provides, probably because it was expected that the members of the court would be paid as police officers, that the judges shall receive no money cousideratiou on account of their services in cou-nection with said court. Bat the provisions of this rule, that police offi-cers shall serve as judges and that the judges shall not be compensated for their services, have both become obsolete. It is now held that a police officer should not be amember of the court; that the policeman who makes a charge should not be permitted to act as judge and him-self determine it upon the trial of the alleged-offender. By the Indian appropriation act for the current fiscal year, $5,000 is appropriated "for compensation of judges of Indian courts, at such rate as may he fixed from time to time by the Secretary of the Interior"; but this amouut is not sufficient. On July 18 last the several Indiau agents were directed to report upon the efficiency of these courts, and to submit estimates of the amounts required in payment of the compensation of the judges. Re-plies have been received from most of the ageuts, twenty-oue of whom report that the courts at their several agencies are accomplishing much good. The aggregat,e amouut of the estimates which have been re-ceived is $10,400, most of these estimates being for $10 or $12 per month for each judge. I am therefore of the opinion that the appro-priation for the compensation of Indian judges should be considerably increased. It is also suggested that the jurisdiction of these courts should be de-fined by la^ The ofenses now triable by them are offenses declirod by the roles of April 10, 1883. By rules 4, 5,'6; 7, and 8 the sun-dance, the scalp-dance, the war-dance (and all other so-called feasts assimi-lating thereto) ; plural marriages ; the practice of the medicine man ; the destruction or theft of propertly j the payment of or offer to pay money or other valuable thing to the friends or relatives of any Indian girl or woman, are declared to be Indian offenses, punishable by with-holding of rations, fine, imprisoumeut, hard work, and in the case of a white man, removal from the reservation. In addition to these offenses these courts are, by rule 9, given jurisdiction in the followiug matters: Misdemeanors committed by Indians; civil suits when I n d i~nasr e par-ties thereto; cases of intoxication; and violations of the liquor regula-tions. Their civil juriudiction is declared to be the same ar that of justices of the peace of the States or Territories in which they arelocated. I If these rnles, amended in several essential particulars, were enacted ! into law, the usefulness of the courts of Iudiau offenses would thereby be greatly increased, and under the authority exercised by these courts the Iudiau would be compelled either to obey the law or suffer its peu-alties, and would be thus compelled or punished by a tribunal composed of men of his own race. . . |