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Show 'I REPORT OE' THE COMMISSIONER OF IKDIBN AFFAIRS. LXIX I to he thelaw andin force withinsich reservations; and the districtconrtsof the United 1 States within and for the respective districts in ahioh soch reservations may be located many State, and the Territorialconrts of the reepective Territories in which such reeer-may be located, abali have original jurisdiction over all such offenses which I may be oommitted within such reservations. I In respect to all that portion of the Indian Territory not set apart and occupied by , the Cherokee, Creek, Choctaw, Chickasaw, and Seminole Indian tribes, the provisions of thelava of the Ststeof Kansas relating to the crimesof murder, manslaughter, arson, rape, burglary, larceny, sod robbery shall be deemed and taken t,o be the law and in force therein; and the United States district court held at Fort Scott, Kans., shall have exciuaive original jurisdiction over all such offenses arising in said portion of the Indian Territory. The plaee of punishment of any and all of saidoffenses shlsll be t l ~ e same aa for other like offenses ariaing within the joriadiotion of said respective courts. This bill, as well as others of a kindred nature, died a natural death at the close of the last Congress. In commenting upon this s~lbject the Hon. Commissioner of 1ndia11 Affairs, in his a n n ~ ~ raelp ort for i ' 18i9, said: It is a matter of vital importance that action should be taken to secure the passage of the above bill, or of some meaaure of equal efficiency to provide law for Indiana, to the end that order may be secumd. A civilized community could not exist aa such without law, and a semi-civilized and barbarcoa people am in a hopeless state of an-archy without its proteetion and aanction. I t is true that the various tribe8 ha70 reg- . nlletions and oostoma of their awn, which, however, are founded on ampemtition and ignorance of the usages of civilized communities, and generally tend to perpetuate fends and keep alive animosities. To supply their place it is the bounden dnlty of the gov-ernment to provide laws auited to the dependent condition of the Iodi?ns. The most intelligent amongst them ask for the laws of the white men to enable them toahow that Indians oen underatand and respect law, and the wonder is tbat anoh a code was not enacted years sgo. I fully concur in the. views above quot,ed, and earnestly hope that Con-gress will find time to bestow attention upon this important subject. I also beg to draw attent,ion to the necessity of legislation in regard to- Indian marriages. !Chis subject has also been fully treated of in prior annual reports of this office. The importance of the enactment of a law to prevent polyg-a ~ n ya nd to provide for legal marriages among Indians is self-appm-ent,. Irespeotfullyreiterate the recommendation of my immediatepred-ecessor tbat the necessity and propriety for such legislation be laid before Congress at its next session. Ot,her subjects calling for special legislatiou have already been re. ferred bo under appropriate hesdings, and may be summarized as fol. lows : ~ e ~ i s l a t i oisn n eeded to provide for- Remooal of the Mescalero Apaches to the Jicarilla Rese~vatioa. Dejicie~~cinese csssarily incurred in current mbdprior @en1 years. Increase in number and pay of' Indian police. Establishment of penal reservations for refractory Indians. |
