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Show 70 REPORT OF THE COM~ISSIONER OF INDIAN AFFAIRS. Indians aggregating about $33,000,000. It will thus be seen that if judgments were rendered in favor of the claims allowed to be adjudi-cated under the amendments contained in Senate bill 897 such judg-ments alone would cover a sum equal to about three-fourths of such trust funds. While funds to the credit of some tribes wouldnot be affected, yet the funds of other tribes would be entirely extinguished, thereby inflict,ing upon the present generation of Indians, who are struggling to better their condition, pnnishmeut for crimes committed by their ances-tors while in a state of savagery. December 27,1893,I submitted a report on H. R. bill No. 1954 (6 to repeal chapter 538 of volume 24 of United States Statutes at Large." Said chapter is the act of March 3, 1891, already referred to, which among other things transferred to the Court of Claims the duty of inquiring into and finally adjudicating Indian depredation claims. My report stated that I considered it wise that the final adjudication of these claims should continuo in the Court of Claims, hut that some other provisions of thatact were open to serious objection. I cited partici~larlyt he fact that that aot does uot afford the Indians the protection againstthe use of their annuity and trust funds which has been earnest.1~an d persistently recommended by this ofice. Section 6 provides that judgrner~lsa gainst the Indians shall be paid by deductions from annuities due the tribes, or if no annuities are due or ivailable, then from any other funds due the tribe^ arising from the sale of their lands or otherwise, etc. The injustice, to the Indians of t,his arbitrary use of their funds, s ~th~e idmp ortance of leaving to the Secretary of the Interior some discretion as to reserving from such payments funds needed by the Indians for their civilization, support, education, eta.: were fully discussed in t,he reports of this office for i89l and 1892. The act of Congress approved July 28,1892, providing for the pay-ment of jndgrnents of the Court of claim^ in certain Indiau depreda-tion claims to the amount of $478352.62, authorized their payment. from the U. S. Treasury after the deductions from tribal funds required to be made by said section 6 should have been certified by the Secre-tary of the Interior with the proviso that-- S00h dednctiona shall be made according to the discretion of the Secretary of the Interior, having dne regard to the educational and other necessary requirement8 of the tribe or tribe8 affected. And with the further proviso tbat- The amonuts paid shall bo reimbursed to the United States et such times and in suoh proportions as the Seoretary of the Interior mny decide to be for the interests of the Indian service. Since July 28,1892, judgments have been rendered in the Court of Claims amounting to over $550,000, and the deficiency act, approved August 23, 1894 (Public, No. 202), appropriated $175,000 for the pay-ment of certain of these judgments in the manner provided in the act of July 28, 1892. |