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Show REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF INDIAN AFFAIRS. XI have great respect for those sentiments. They are patriotic and noble impulses and principles. But is it not asking too much of the American people to permit a political paradox to exist within their midst-nay, inore, to ask and demand that the people of this country shall forever burden themselves with the respousibility and expense of maintaining and extending over these Indians its military arm, simply to gratify this sentimentality about a separate nationality? No such exclusive privilege was granted the Pueblos of Xew Mexico, nor the inhabitauts of California, Utah, and Arizona, or any of the more northern Territo-ries, including Alaska. 1 ! It ia alleged that Congress has no power, in view of the treaties with I those Indians, to do away with their present form of government and in- i stitute in its stead a Territorial government similar to those now existing in the eight organized Territories. While I greatly prefer that these I people should voluntarily change their form of government, yet it is ! perfectly plain to my mind that the treaties never contemplated the un- I I American and absurd idea of a separate nationality in our midst, with I power as they may choose to organize a government of their own, or not to organim any government nor allow one to be organized, for the one proposition contains the other. These Indians have no right to obstruct civilization and commerce and set up an exclusive claim to self-gorernment, establishing a government within a government, and then expect and claim that the United States shall protect them 'from all harm, while insisting t,hat it shall not be the ultimate judge as to what is best to be done for them in a political point of ~iew. I repeat, to maintain any such view is to acknowledge a foreign sovereiguty, with the right of eminent domain, upon American soil-a theory utterly re-pugnant to the spirit and genius of oar lam, and wholly unwarranted by the Constitution ofthe United States. Congress and the Executive of the United States are the supreme guardians of these mere wards, and can administer their affairs as any other guardian can. Of course i t must be done in a j u ~ atn d eulight-ened may. It must be done in a spirit of protectioo and not of oppres-sion and robbery. Congress can sell their surplus lands and distribute the proceeds equally among the omuers for thc purposes of civilization and the ediication of their children, and the protection of the infirm, and the establishment of the poor ul~onh omesteads with stock and im-plements of husbandrjl. Uongress cnnnob coosiatently or justly or honestlj take their lands from them an11 give or sell them to others except as above referred to, and for those objects alone. The seoti~nent is rapidly growing among these five ~lat iott~hsa t all existing forms of Indian government vhicb have protluced an unsatisfactory and dan-gerous condition of things, menacing the peace of the Indiaus atld irri-tatiug their white neighbors, should be replaced by a regolarly organ-iz& d Territorial form of government, the territorr thus constituted to be atlruitted at some future time as a State into the Uniou on an equal footing with other States, thereby securing all the protection, sympathy, I |