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Show 68 REPORT OF THE COMMISSIONER OF INDIAN AFFAIRS. These reqniremonta follow, as far a6 practicable., t he p- nbliahed regalations govern-ing the prsitice of the ~eneralL and office with regard to railwaia over the publio lands, and they are, of oourss, subject to mo~lificatiunb y any special proviaions in a right-of-way act. INDIAN DEPREDATION CLAIMS. The number of Indian depredation claims of record in this office is 8,007. At the date of the last annual report there were 4,260 claims remaining in the office to be disposed of in accordauce with the act of March 3,1891 (26 etats., 851). Since then, up to June 30,1898, the papers on file in 62 claims have been transmitted to the court and 6 claims have been reported as having been previonsly transmitted to Congress. There remain, therefore, 4,192 claims to he disposed of in accordauce with the act aforesaid. Considerable work devolves upon the oflice in the care and custody of the papers, making transfers of claims to the court with reports thereon, keeping proper records, and furnishing miscellaneous informa-tion to interested parties. During the past year there have been more calls than usual for information by attorneys, claimants, and othersinter-ested in the prosecution of Iudiau depredation claims. In the last annual report it was stated that $1,120,680.29 had been appropriated by Congress for the payment of judgments of the Court of Claims rendered in pursuance of the act of March 3,1891. By act of July 7, 1898, $331,771.55 was appropriated for the same purpose, making the total amount appropriated for the payment of judgments of the Court of Claims $1,452,451.84. The records of the office show that up to June 30,1898, judgments have been paid and charged against those appropriations amounting to $1,144,863.77. Afew small judgments have been paid aud charged against the tribal funds of different tribes in accordance with the sixth section of the act of March 3,1891. At the last session of Congress there was introduced House hill No. 6712, <'To amend an aot entitled 'An act to provide for the adjudic% tion and payment of claims arising from Indian depred&tions,' approved March 3,1891." The first paragraph of the act of March 3,1891, now in force, providing for the adjudication of claims, reads as follows: All olaims for property of citizens of the United States taken or destroyed by Indiana belonging to any band, tribe, or nation in amity with the United Statetes, without just came or prorooation on the part of the owner or agent in charge, and not returned or paid for. The proposed amendment snbstantially provides for adjudicating three classes of claims not provided for in the act of Mareh 3,1891, viz: (1) All claims for property of any i'inhabitant" of the United States; (2) claims for property merely "damaged," and (3) claims against Indians not "in amity" with the United States. In ofiice report on this bill dated May 6, 1898, after reciting the |