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Show REPORT OF THE BOARD OF INDIAN COMMISSIONERS. 31 merit in it. I have watched them for a dozen years. Some of them will drink and some of them will steal, aud they are of oar race, for they have the same vices ; but in every difficulty that has occurred in this twelve years of my residence between the Indian aud the Government, the Government has been always wrong, aud the Indian has been always right." But he was a Christian priest perhaps judged from a senti-mental point of view. We will go out to St. Louis. We will open the door of that old rough frontier soldier, General Harney, graduated at West Point and sent out to the frontier when 19 years old, living there 50 years until to- day. General Harney, cradled in experience with the Indian tribes, grown gray in their companionship what does he say ? I never yet knew an Indian chief to break his word ! [ Applause.] Search me now Mr. Colyer, forgetting his own education, called our great uieu at Washing-ton our chiefs search me now the catalogue of great chiefs from Maine to Florida, and find the man of 70 years that can lay his hand on his heart, aud say, I never knew an A? nerican brave to break his word. Put into one scale the Christian, with his edu-cation aud his honor, his instincts and his chivalry, and put into the other the savage, aim then summon your witness of fifty long and weary years, and find me a man so green, from Bangor to Texas, that he has not found the larger number of American chiefs have sadly broken their words. Well, General Harney goes on to say : " I have lived on this frontier 50 years, and I have never yet known an instance in which war broke out between these tribes that the tribes were not in the right. Why, I can tell you thut every one of these men with us to- day is able to say of the United States, ' Its word is a lie ; its treaty is a snare ; its flag is a shame.' " Mr. Phillips narrated Gen-eral Harney's experience in attempting to keep faith with the Indians, and referred to the last war with the Cheyenues, in which the Government spent nine millions of dol-lars and some hundreds of lives in the killing of six Indians. That was an expensive way, and if they undertook to kill off the 330,000 and their descendants at that rate, Boutwell would have to attempt some new arithmetic to settle the national debt. [ Laughter.] He then presented in a telling manner the worst phases of the govern-mental relations with the Indian tribes, recalling the incidents of two of the most atrocious massacres, and contrasting the whole policy of the Government and that of the Canadian dominions, which ninety years ago anticipated General Grant by protect-ing the Indian, and have never had much of any trouble with him. We have spent a thousand millions in fighting him and have never been just to him. Mr. Phillips closed as follows : " What I want of every one of yon to- day what I want of every ed-itor in Massachusetts is that you should say to Grant : Forget republicanism, forget democracy. Deep down in the hearts of the people, in a substratum which no divi-sion of party can reach, there resides the indefeasible purpose of the New England pcoi> ie that the law shall be as potent on the prairies as it is in State street that these ruii'nns of Arizona and these murderers of the Apaches shall be hung just as certainly as if they committed murder in the yard of the State House, or upon the very steps of the, capital. Don't fear that when you have carried out that exact justice to the very shores of the Paciiic it will weaken the republican ranks or lose you a single vote. We assure you that the justice of the American people, the honor they give to their Hag, the respect that they pay to law is so perfect, that it overrides the lines of party, and will not only save but lift higher the man who, risking office, trampling under foot party lines, forgetting all the greed of Indian rings, shall carry out the most ct protection in the minutest particular to every atom of property and the most trill ing right of the smallest Indian tribe. Let our pride be, fellow- citizens, that there is uit~ an enemy so weak, that there is not an Indian tribe so small, there is not a lom- ly cavern beyond the Rocky Mountains so distant that the American flag and the American arm cannot reach there, and make the law triumphant over every force." [ Applause.] . Phillips was the last speaker, aud after the singing of a hymn the benediction was pronounced by the Rev. Dr. Kirk, and the meeting ended. VISIT TO THE LOWELL MANUFACTORIES. Yr sterday forenoon the chiefs, accompanied by Commissioners Tobey and Lang, Agent St. ubbs, the interpreters and several others, went to Lowell on the 8 o'clock train, and visi. rd the mills of the Tremont and Lawrence companies, and the Merrimack Print Works. They expressed much delight at witnessing the process of manufacturing cot-ton goods. They were shown about the places named by Mr. Cumnock of the Boott Mills, Dr. J. C. Ayer, Thomas S. Shaw of the Tremont and Suffolk Mills, and Mr. Bur-rows of the Merrimack Print Works. They were furnished a collation at the Merri-mack House at twelve o'clock by A. G. Cunmock, esq., arid returned to Boston by the noon train. Buffalo Good, on behalf of the visitors, made a speech of thanks for courtesies received. Each of the chiefs received samples of goods manufactured by the Lawrence and Merrimack companies. |