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Show VI REPORT OF THE COXMISSIONER OF JAN AFFAIRS. the Yakama agency iiiVCVCashingtoTne rritory has sruplus beef for sale. A new era has dawned for them; they no longer [desire to follow the chase; they have tasted the benefits of civilization, and have. conse-quently, ceased to lean entirely upon the government for snpport j they are milling and earnest laborers, eager to be taught, and ready to adopt the habits, customs, methoils, and advantages of civilization. Among the more forcible arguments which can be presented in cou-nection mith this sul?ject is the faet that the ex])enses attending the reinoval and consolidation of the India,ns as herein proposed will be more than met from the sale of lands vacated. Under the provisions of the bill as presented at the late sessios~ 17,043,000 aeres of lmcl will be vacatecl. Should these lands be opened to settlement nnder t,he pre-eniption or homestead laws, but a very small revenne, if any, mould be der i~~efrdo m their sale, as they wodd be largely absorbed nndcr the last-named act. The bill presented contemplates the al)praisenlent and saie of the lands vacated, except in the ca,se of four of the tribes, to whom a sum in gross is to be paid, and the money arising therefrom, as before stated, used in effecting the removai, builrling houses, pnrchas-ing cattle, breaking lands, and teaching them the rndiments of agri-culture; the balance to be funded, the interest to be nsecl as long as necessary in furthering the objects nalned above. Much of the land now owned by these Indians is valt~a,bloe n l f~or its timber, and may be sold at an appraised value for an amonnt far in ex-cess of the price &xed by law, and yet leave a large nlargin of profit to the pnrchaser into whose hands the lands will fall. The same condi-tions exist as to the arable lands now embraced in the reservations to be vacated. Settlements have s p m g np all around them, and the value of the lands 4as been largely appreciated tlierebg. I can see no reasou why the gorernment should not avail itself of those facts, and in cffect-ing the consolidation of the Indians and the opening of the lands for settlement, sell the same for an amonnt soficient to wpport the 111- dians in their new locations, without air^ actual drain on the Treasury in the future. The lands belong to the Indians, and they are clearlj- eeu-titled to receive the full value of the same when sol(1. The government is desirous of reducing the cost of the Inclian service to the lowest pos-sible limit, consistent with the best interests of tlle Indians. This can be done by tlle sale of the lands, the funding of the snrplns after the removal and settlement of the Indians, and the application of the nccru-ing interest to the payment of the current expenses of t11B respecti\-e agencies, a,nd that without afleoting in the least degree the iuterests of citizens. By following these views to a legitimate conclnsion, the seventy-fonr agencies now existing by law can, mith material benefit to the Indians, be reclnced to a very limited number. An opportunity mill thus be given the Indians to earn a snf5cient support for themselves. Sohoolu -. can be opened and maintained, and their attention will be &awn to ncw |