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Show REPORT OF THE CC?MMISSIONER OF INDIAN AFFAIRS. 113 thoriea the uae of a 8821 by this office, and to provide that papers antheoticeted therewith shall have the same validity as in oase of thB use of a seal by other Bureaus (see fourth end fifth sections of act of 18h, 2 Stats., p. ?I?).* Hincc this report was made there have been added to the record 24 pages of miscellaneous deeds, 78 of Shawnee deeds, 17 of Miami deeds, 9 of Easkaskia, etc., deeds, and 76 of deeds from the L'Anse hand of Chippewas ; in all, 204 pages. Realizing fully the necessity of keeping this record and its value to the many land-owners in Kansas, who arc constantly applying for cer-tified copies of deeds on record in this office to complete the chain of title to their land, I earnestly concur in the recommcndetion made by my predecessor in 1887. As showing the necessity for prompt legislation, I iuvite'your attcn-tion to the communication of P. T. McElhone, an attorney of Chicago, who, on the 6th of November, 1885, advised this office that in a lawsuit, at that time bot receqtly tried in that cityl a certified copy of a deed, . recorded in this office, was offered in evidence and was refused by the court, on the ground that neither the statutes of the United Stat.es, nor any act of Congress made it the duty of this office to keep a record of suchconveyance. From this it would seem that the ver?l records them-' selves of this office have been declared not to be competent evidence where the original paper is lost. The effect of sucl~a decision should, in my opiuion, be remedied at the earliest date. It is a fact, as stated by the court alluded to, that there is no enact-ment of law authorizing the recording of these deeds, and, in view of the case above recited: I respectfully recommend and urge that Con-gress be requested to adopt such legislation as may be necessary to legalize the recording of these Indian deeds and other reeords of this office. Also to authorize the use of a seal by this office and to proride that all papers authentica,ted therewith shall have the same validity as in the case of the nse of a seal by other bureaus of this Department. INDlAN DEPREDATIONS. There were on filein hhis office at the close of the fiscal year ending June 30,1890, as shown by my last annual report, 6,053 claims arising from Indian depredations, involving $20,922,939. These have been augmented by 978 additional claims, involving $3,530,561, which, added to the "Creek claims" (to be referred to later), make the total number now on file 7,985, and the aggregate sum claimed $25,689,006. The nnprecedentedly large number of filings dnriug the last year was occa-sioned, no doubt, by the prevalent idea that Congress was about to leg. islate for the relief of this class of claimants, who tbns hastened to get " For prece~lerltsa dditional to those referred to by Mr. Atkins, see the act of Feb-ruary 22,1849, 9 State., p. 346, chaptsr 61, amended March 2, 1849,9 State., p. 350, cbapter 82. 10288 I A-8 |
