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| John Tyler and "Indian Affairs"
by John Tyler
FROM THE MESSAGES AND PAPERS OF JOHN TYLER
SPECIAL SESSION MESSAGE.
WASHINGTON, June 1, 1841...
I beg leave particularly to call your attention to the accompanying
report from the Secretary of War. Besides the present state of the war
which has so long afflicted the Territory of Florida, and the various
other matters of interest therein referred to, you will learn from it
that the Secretary has instituted an inquiry into abuses, which promises
to develop gross enormities in connection with Indian treaties which
have been negotiated, as well as in the expenditures for the removal and
subsistence of the Indians. He represents also other irregularities
of a serious nature that have grown up in the practice of the Indian
Department, which will require the appropriation of upward of $200,000
to correct, and which claim the immediate attention of Congress.
WASHINGTON, D.C., September 1, 1841.
To the Senate of the United States:
I submit to the Senate, for its consideration and constitutional action,
a treaty concluded at Oeyoowasha, on Minneesota (or St. Peters) River,
in the Territory of Iowa, on the 31st day of July last, between James
Duane Doty, commissioner on the part of the United States, and the
Seeseeahto, Wofpato, and Wofpakoota bands of the Dakota (or Sioux)
Nation of Indians.
The accompanying communication from the Secretary of War fully sets
forth the considerations which have called for the negotiation of this
treaty, and which have induced me to recommend its confirmation, with
such exceptions and modifications as the Senate may advise.
JOHN TYLER
DEPARTMENT OF WAR, August 31, 1841.
The PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES.
SIR: I transmit herewith a treaty concluded with certain bands of
the Dahcota Nation of Indians, commonly called Sioux, which has been
received at this Department from His Excellency James D. Doty, governor
of Wisconsin, who was appointed a commissioner on the part of the United
States for the purpose of negotiating the treaty; and I desire to submit
the following facts and opinions inducing me to request its favorable
consideration:
It was known on my entering upon the duties of the Department of War
that some provision must speedily be made for the Winnebago Indians in
the Northwest. By the treaty with those Indians in 1837 it was provided
that they should move temporarily upon a narrow strip of country west of
the Mississippi River, called the neutral ground, from the object of its
purchase in 1830. That strip of country is only 40 miles in width, 20
miles of it having been purchased from the Sac and Fox Indians and 20
miles from the Sioux, the object of the purchase having been to place a
barrier between those tribes, which had been for many years at war and
parties of which were continually meeting and destroying each other upon
or adjacent to the country purchased.
When the delegation of Winnebago chiefs was in Washington negotiating
a sale of all their lands east of the Mississippi River, in 1837, a
permanent location for those Indians was not fixed upon, and a temporary
expedient was adopted, and acceded to by the Indians, by which they
agreed, within eight months from the ratification of the treaty, to move
upon and occupy a portion of the neutral ground until they should select
a permanent home.
Owing to the small extent of country thus temporarily assigned to the
Winnebagoes, utterly destitute of all preparation for the reception of
them, slenderly supplied with game, and, above all, the circumstance
that the Sac and Fox Indians were continually at war with the Sioux,
the object of the purchase having utterly failed, the neutral ground,
so called, proving literally the fighting ground of the hostile
tribes—owing to all these circumstances the Winnebagoes were extremely
reluctant to comply with the treaty. It was in part a dictate of
humanity to give them more time for removal than that allotted in the
treaty, in the hope of effecting their permanent removal beyond the
Missouri or elsewhere; but as no steps were taken to select their future
home, and as the white settlers in Wisconsin were fast crowding upon the
Indians, overrunning the country, as usual, in search of town sites,
water privileges, and farming districts, it became absolutely necessary
to make some efforts toward carrying the treaty into effect. Owing to
the excited state of the Indians and the apprehension of disturbance,
the Eighth Regiment of Infantry, in 1840, more than two years, instead
of eight months, after the ratification of the treaty, was ordered upon
the Winnebago frontier, the greater part of the Fifth Regiment being
already there, and in the presence of that force the Indians were
required to comply with the treaty. They reluctantly removed from the
banks of the Wisconsin River and crossed the Mississippi, but did not
go to that portion of the neutral ground agreed upon, which commenced
20 miles from the river, but instead of it they spread themselves along
the bank of the Mississippi, some of them recrossing that river and
ascending the Chippewa and Black rivers. Only a small portion of the
tribe has yet removed to the portion of the neutral ground assigned to
them, and it is perhaps fortunate that local attachments have not been
formed, since, from the position of the country, it was not and never
could have been intended as their permanent home.
After a careful examination of the country in the Northwest the
importance of providing for the Winnebago Indians, though immediate,
became secondary in a more national and wider prospect of benefits in
future years by arrangements which presented themselves to my mind as
not only practicable, but of easy accomplishment.
A glance at the map and at the efforts hitherto made in emigration will
show an extensive body of Indians accumulated upon the Southwestern
frontier, and, looking to the numbers yet to be emigrated from within
the circle of territory soon to become States of the American Union, it
will appear upon very many considerations to be of the utmost importance
to separate the Indians and to interpose a barrier between the masses
which are destined to be placed upon the western frontier, instead of
accumulating them within limits enabling them to unite and in concert
spread desolation over the States of Missouri and Arkansas to, perhaps,
the banks of the Mississippi.
Entertaining these views, it was determined to open negotiations with
the Sioux Indians north and northwest of the purchase of 1830, the
neutral ground, so called, with the purpose of purchasing sufficient
territory beyond the reasonable limits of Iowa to provide a resting
place for the Winnebagoes, intending to treat also with the Sac and Fox
Indians and with the Potawatamies north of the State of Missouri, and
thus enable our citizens to expand west of the Missouri River north of
the State.
It is difficult to state in a condensed report all the reasons now
imperatively urging the adoption of these measures. Besides the absolute
necessity of providing a home for the Winnebagoes, the citizens of Iowa
and of Missouri are crowding upon the territory of the Sac and Fox
Indians and already producing those irritations which in former times
have led to bloody wars. It is not to be for a moment concealed that our
enterprising and hardy population must and will occupy the territory
adjacent to that purchased in 1837 from the Sacs and Foxes, and the only
possible mode of its being done in peace is by another purchase from
those Indians. But the position of the Potawatamies will then become
relatively what that of the Sac and Fox Indians now is, with the
difference that access to their country by the Missouri River will
hasten its occupancy by our people. The only mode of guarding against
future collision, near at hand if not provided against, is by emigrating
not only the Sac and Fox Indians, but also the Potawatamies.
Great efforts have been made to induce those Indians, as also the
Winnebagoes, to move south of the Missouri, but without effect, their
opposition to it being apparently insurmountable, the Potawatamies
expressing the most decided aversion to it on being urged to join other
bands of Potawatamies on the Marais de Cygne, declaring that they would
rather at once go to California, being determined not to unite with
those bands, but to maintain an independence of them. By the purchase
from the Sioux no doubt is entertained that their prejudices may be
advantageously accommodated, for among the objects in contemplation
before adverted to it is to my mind of primary importance so to dispose
of those Indians as to enable this Government to interpose a State
between the Northern and Southern Indians along the Missouri River,
and thus, by dividing the Indians on the frontier and separating the
divisions, prevent a combination and concert of action which future
progress in civilization might otherwise enable them to effect in the
prosecution of revenge for real or imagined grievances.
Great importance is attached to this view of the subject, but scarcely
less to the means provided by the treaty for inducing the remnants of
other Northern tribes to remove to a climate congenial to their habits
and disposition.
From the earliest efforts at emigration certain Northern Indians have
strenuously objected to a removal south of the Missouri on account
of the climate; and where tribes have been induced to dispose of all
right to live east of the Mississippi within the United States, many
individuals, dreading their southern destination, have wandered to the
north and are now living in Canada, annually in the receipt of presents
from the British Government, and will be ready without doubt to side
with that power in any future conflict with this Government. In this
manner considerable numbers of the Delawares and Shawnees and other
Indians have disappeared from our settlements—a fact of great
importance, and which I apprehend has not been heretofore sufficiently
considered. There are many Potawatamies and Ottawas, as also Winnebagoes
and Menomonees, who may be easily induced to move into Canada by
seductive bribes, in the use of which the British Government has always
displayed a remarkable foresight.
Of the Chippewas and Ottawas now in the northern part of Michigan
it is believed there are over 5,000 under treaty obligations to remove
to the Southwest, the greater portion of whom openly declared their
determination to cross the line into Canada and put themselves under
the protection of the British Government in preference to a removal
to that country. These Indians may be accommodated by the arrangements
in contemplation, not only to their own satisfaction, but under
circumstances promising the greatest permanent advantages to the
United States, and separating them from all inducements and even the
possibility of entering the British service. I am not without hope,
also, that through this treaty some suitable and acceptable arrangement
may be made with the New York Indians by which they may be removed with
safety to themselves and benefit to the people of that State. The very
peculiar situation of these Indians is well known; that while they are
under treaty obligation to remove, the treaty being by the Constitution
the supreme law of the land and perfecting in this instance the title
of the land they occupy in a private land company, there is yet every
reason to sympathize with them and the highest moral inducements for
extending every possible relief to them within the legitimate powers of
the Government. I have been assured from sources entitled to my fullest
confidence that although these Indians have hitherto expressed the most
decided aversion to a removal south of the Missouri, there will probably
be no difficulty in persuading them to occupy a more northern region in
the West. I have every reason for believing that a benevolent interest
in their behalf among a portion of our own people, which, it is
supposed, has heretofore presented an obstacle to their emigration, will
be exerted to effect their removal if a portion of the Sioux country can
be appropriated to them.
It will be perceived, therefore, that a multitude of objects thus rest
upon the success of this one treaty, now submitted for examination and
approbation.
Of the Sioux Indians I will but remark that they occupy an immense
country spreading from the Mississippi north of the neutral ground west
and northwest, crossing the Missouri River more than 1,200 miles above
the city of St. Louis. They are divided into bands, which have various
names, the generic name for the whole being the Dahcota Nation. These
bands, though speaking a common language, are independent in their
occupancy of portions of country, and separate treaties may be made with
them. Treaties are already subsisting with some of the bands both on the
Mississippi and Missouri. The treaty now submitted is believed to be
advantageous, and from its provisions contemplates the reduction of
those wandering Indians from their nomadic habits to those of an
agricultural people.
If some of the provisions seem not such as might be desired, it will be
recollected that many interests have to be accommodated in framing an
Indian treaty which can only be fully known to the commissioner, who
derives his information directly from the Indians in the country which
is the object of the purchase.
It is proper to add that I had instructed the commissioner expressly not
to take into consideration what are called traders' claims, in the hope
of correcting a practice which, it is believed, has been attended with
mischievous consequences; but the commissioner has by a letter of
explanations fully satisfied me that in this instance it was absolutely
necessary to accommodate those claims as an indispensable means of
obtaining the assent of the Indians to the treaty. This results,
doubtless, from their dependence upon the traders for articles, in a
measure necessaries, which are for the most part furnished without
competition, and of the proper value of which the Indians are ignorant.
To compensate in some degree for the article in this treaty providing
for the payment of traders' claims, very judicious guards are introduced
into the treaty, calculated effectually to exclude that source of
interest adverse to the Government in all future time within the
purchase under this treaty.
There are other articles in the treaty which I have not been able fully
to realize as judicious or necessary, but for reasons already stated
they deserve respectful consideration.
Notwithstanding the article stipulating that a rejection of any of the
provisions of the treaty should render the whole null and void, I would
respectfully recommend such modified acceptance of the treaty as in the
wisdom of the Senate may seem just and proper, conditioned upon the
assent of the Indians subsequently to be obtained, the Senate making
provision for its reference back to the Indians if necessary.
It will be seen that the treaty provides for a power of regulation in
the Indian Territory by the United States Government under circumstances
not hitherto attempted, presenting an opportunity for an experiment well
worthy of mature consideration.
I ought not to dismiss this subject without adverting to one other
important consideration connected with the integrity of our Northwest
Indians and Territory. The Sioux treaty will effectually withdraw from
British influence all those who are a party to it by making them
stipendiaries of the United States and by operating a change in their
wandering habits and establishing them at known and fixed points under
the observation of Government agents, and as the British can only have
access to that region by the way of Fond du Lac, one or two small
military posts in a direction west and south from that point, it is
believed, will completely control all intercourse with the Indians in
that section of country.
Very respectfully, your obedient servant,
JNO. BELL
FIRST ANNUAL MESSAGE
The war with the Indian tribes on the peninsula of Florida has during
the last summer and fall been prosecuted with untiring activity and
zeal. A summer campaign was resolved upon as the best mode of bringing
it to a close. Our brave officers and men who have been engaged in that
service have suffered toils and privations and exhibited an energy which
in any other war would have won for them unfading laurels. In despite
of the sickness incident to the climate, they have penetrated the
fastnesses of the Indians, broken up their encampments, and harassed
them unceasingly. Numbers have been captured, and still greater numbers
have surrendered and have been transported to join their brethren on the
lands elsewhere allotted to them by the Government, and a strong hope is
entertained that under the conduct of the gallant officer at the head of
the troops in Florida that troublesome and expensive war is destined to
a speedy termination. With all the other Indian tribes we are enjoying
the blessings of peace. Our duty as well as our best interests prompts
us to observe in all our intercourse with them fidelity in fulfilling
our engagements, the practice of strict justice, as well as the constant
exercise of acts of benevolence and kindness. These are the great
instruments of civilization, and through the use of them alone can the
untutored child of the forest be induced to listen to its teachings.
JANUARY 27, 1842.
To the House of Representatives:
I transmit herewith a report* of the Secretary of War, in answer to
the resolution of the House of Representatives of the 9th August, 1841.
JOHN TYLER.
*Relating to the origin of the Seminole war, slaves captured during said war by United States troops, etc.
WASHINGTON, April 11, 1842.
To the Senate of the United States:
I herewith transmit a memorial66 which I have received from the
Choctaw tribe of Indians and citizens of the State of Mississippi, with
a request that I should communicate the same to Congress. This I do not
feel myself at liberty to decline, inasmuch as I think that some action
by Congress is called for by justice to the memorialists and in
compliance with the plighted national faith.
JOHN TYLER
WASHINGTON, April 28, 1842.
To the Senate of the United States:
I submit to the Senate, for the constitutional action of that body, a
treaty concluded on the 11th day of August last with the Minda Wankanton
bands of the Dakota or Sioux Nation of Indians, with the papers
necessary to an understanding of the subject.
JOHN TYLER
WASHINGTON, April 28, 1842.
To the Senate of the United States:
I submit to the Senate, for the constitutional action of that body, a
treaty concluded with the half-breeds of the Dakota or Sioux Nation on
the 3ist day of July last, together with the papers referred to in the
accompanying communication from the Secretary of War as necessary to a
full view of the whole subject.
JOHN TYLER
WASHINGTON, May 10, 1842.
To the Senate and House of Representatives:
The season for active hostilities in Florida having nearly terminated,
my attention has necessarily been directed to the course of measures to
be pursued hereafter in relation to the few Indians yet remaining in
that Territory. Their number is believed not to exceed 240, of whom
there are supposed to be about 80 warriors, or males capable of bearing
arms. The further pursuit of these miserable beings by a large military
force seems to be as injudicious as it is unavailing. The history
of the last year's campaign in Florida has satisfactorily shown that
notwithstanding the vigorous and incessant operations of our troops
(which can not be exceeded), the Indian mode of warfare, their dispersed
condition, and the very smallness of their number (which increases the
difficulty of finding them in the abundant and almost inaccessible
hiding places of the Territory) render any further attempt to secure
them by force impracticable except by the employment of the most
expensive means. The exhibition of force and the constant efforts
to capture or destroy them of course places them beyond the reach of
overtures to surrender. It is believed by the distinguished officer in
command there that a different system should now be pursued to attain
the entire removal of all the Indians in Florida, and he recommends
that hostilities should cease unless the renewal of them be rendered
necessary by new aggressions; that communications should be opened by
means of the Indians with him to insure them a peaceful and voluntary
surrender, and that the military operations should hereafter be directed
to the protection of the inhabitants.
These views are strengthened and corroborated by the governor of the
Territory, by many of its most intelligent citizens, and by numerous
officers of the Army who have served and are still serving in that
region. Mature reflection has satisfied me that these recommendations
are sound and just; and I rejoice that consistently with duty to Florida
I may indulge my desire to promote the great interests of humanity and
extend the reign of peace and good will by terminating the unhappy
warfare that has so long been carried on there, and at the same time
gratify my anxiety to reduce the demands upon the Treasury by curtailing
the extraordinary expenses which have attended the contest. I have
therefore authorized the colonel in command there as soon as he shall
deem it expedient to declare that hostilities against the Indians have
ceased, and that they will not be renewed unless provoked and rendered
indispensable by new outrages on their part, but that neither citizens
nor troops are to be restrained from any necessary and proper acts of
self-defense against any attempts to molest them. He is instructed to
open communications with those yet remaining, and endeavor by all
peaceable means to persuade them to consult their true interests by
joining their brethren at the West; and directions have been given for
establishing a cordon or line of protection for the inhabitants by the
necessary number of troops.
But to render this system of protection effectual it is essential
that settlements of our citizens should be made within the line so
established, and that they should be armed, so as to be ready to repel
any attack. In order to afford inducements to such settlements, I submit
to the consideration of Congress the propriety of allowing a reasonable
quantity of land to the head of each family that shall permanently
occupy it, and of extending the existing provisions on that subject so
as to permit the issue of rations for the subsistence of the settlers
for one year; and as few of them will probably be provided with arms, it
would be expedient to authorize the loan of muskets and the delivery of
a proper quantity of cartridges or of powder and balls. By such means it
is to be hoped that a hardy population will soon occupy the rich soil of
the frontiers of Florida, who will be as capable as willing to defend
themselves and their houses, and thus relieve the Government from
further anxiety or expense for their protection.
JOHN TYLER
WASHINGTON, May 16, 1842.
To the Senate:
Having directed hostilities in Florida to cease, the time seems to have
arrived for distinguishing with appropriate honors the brave army that
have so long encountered the perils of savage warfare in a country
presenting every imaginable difficulty and in seasons and under a
climate fruitful of disease. The history of the hardships which our
soldiers have endured, of the patience and perseverance which have
enabled them to triumph over obstacles altogether unexampled, and of the
gallantry which they have exhibited on every occasion which a subtle
and skulking foe would allow them to improve is so familiar as not to
require repetition at my hands. But justice to the officers and men now
in Florida demands that their privations, sufferings, and dauntless
exertions during a summer's campaign in such a climate, which for the
first time was witnessed during the last year, should be specially
commended. The foe has not been allowed opportunity either to plant or
to cultivate or to reap. The season, which to him has usually been one
of repose and preparation for renewed conflict, has been vigorously
occupied by incessant and harassing pursuit, by penetrating his hiding
places and laying waste his rude dwellings, and by driving him from
swamp to swamp and from everglade to everglade. True, disease and death
have been encountered at the same time and in the same pursuit, but
they have been disregarded by a brave and gallant army, determined on
fulfilling to the uttermost the duties assigned them, however inglorious
they might esteem the particular service in which they were engaged.
To all who have been thus engaged the executive department, responding
to the universal sentiment of the country, has already awarded the meed
of approbation. There must, however, in all such cases be some who,
availing themselves of the occasions which fortune afforded, have
distinguished themselves for "gallant actions and meritorious conduct"
beyond the usual high gallantry and great merit which an intelligent
public opinion concedes to the whole Army. To express to these the sense
which their Government cherishes of their public conduct and to hold up
to their fellow-citizens the bright example of their courage, constancy,
and patriotic devotion would seem to be but the performance of the very
duty contemplated by that provision of our laws which authorizes the
issuing of brevet commissions.
Fortunately for the country, a long peace, interrupted only by
difficulties with Indians at particular points, has afforded few
occasions for the exercise of this power, and it may be regarded as
favorable to the encouragement of a proper military spirit throughout
the Army that an opportunity is now given to evince the readiness of the
Government to reward unusual merit with a peculiar and lasting
distinction.
I therefore nominate to the Senate the persons whose names are contained
in the accompanying list for brevet commissions for services in
Florida. That the number is large is evidence only of the value of the
services rendered during a contest that has continued nearly as long as
the War of the Revolution. The difficulty has been to reduce the number
as much as possible without injustice to any, and to accomplish this
great and mature consideration has been bestowed on the case of every
officer who has served in Florida.
JOHN TYLER
WASHINGTON, May 24, 1842.
To the Senate of the United States:
I transmit herewith to the Senate a treaty recently concluded with the
Wyandott tribe of Indians, and request the advice and consent of the
Senate to the ratification of the same as proposed to be modified by the
War Department.
JOHN TYLER
WASHINGTON, June 10, 1842.
To the Senate of the United States:
I submit herewith a treaty concluded at Buffalo Creek on the 20th day of
May last between the United States and the Seneca Nation of Indians, for
your advice and consent to its ratification, together with a report on
the subject from the War Department.
JOHN TYLER
SECOND ANNUAL MESSAGE.
The vexatious, harassing, and expensive war which so long prevailed with
the Indian tribes inhabiting the peninsula of Florida has happily been
terminated, whereby our Army has been relieved from a service of the
most disagreeable character and the Treasury from a large expenditure.
Some casual outbreaks may occur, such as are incident to the close
proximity of border settlers and the Indians, but these, as in all other
cases, may be left to the care of the local authorities, aided when
occasion may require by the forces of the United States. A sufficient
number of troops will be maintained in Florida so long as the remotest
apprehensions of danger shall exist, yet their duties will be limited
rather to the garrisoning of the necessary posts than to the maintenance
of active hostilities. It is to be hoped that a territory so long
retarded in its growth will now speedily recover from the evils incident
to a protracted war, exhibiting in the increased amount of its rich
productions true evidences of returning wealth and prosperity. By the
practice of rigid justice toward the numerous Indian tribes residing
within our territorial limits and the exercise of a parental vigilance
over their interests, protecting them against fraud and intrusion, and
at the same time using every proper expedient to introduce among them
the arts of civilized life, we may fondly hope not only to wean them
from their love of war, but to inspire them with a love for peace and
all its avocations. With several of the tribes great progress in
civilizing them has already been made. The schoolmaster and the
missionary are found side by side, and the remnants of what were once
numerous and powerful nations may yet be preserved as the builders up
of a new name for themselves and their posterity.
WASHINGTON, December 14, 1842.
To the Senate of the United States:
I transmit to the Senate a treaty recently concluded with the Chippewa
Indians of the Mississippi and Lake Superior, with communications from
the War Department in relation thereto, and ask the advice and consent
of the Senate to the ratification of the said treaty.
JOHN TYLER
WASHINGTON, December 14, 1842.
To the Senate of the United States:
I transmit to the Senate a treaty recently concluded with the Sac and
Fox Indians, with communications from the War Department in relation
thereto, and ask the advice and consent of the Senate to the
ratification of the said treaty.
JOHN TYLER
WASHINGTON, January 31, 1843.
To the House of Representatives:
In compliance with a resolution of the House of Representatives of the
24th instant, requesting me to communicate answers to certain queries
therein contained respecting instructions given to the commissioners
appointed to adjudicate claims arising under the Cherokee treaty of
1835, I transmit herewith a report from the War Department, accompanied
by a copy of the instructions referred to.
JOHN TYLER
WASHINGTON, January 31, 1843.
To the House of Representatives:
At the last session of Congress a resolution was passed by the House of
Representatives requesting me to cause to be communicated to the House
"the several reports made to the Department of War by Lieutenant-Colonel
Hitchcock relative to the affairs of the Cherokee Indians, together with
all information communicated by him concerning the frauds he was charged
to investigate; also all facts in the possession of the Executive
relating to the subject."
A resolution of the same import had been passed by the House of
Representatives on the 18th of May last, requiring the Secretary of
War to communicate to the House the same reports and matters. After
consultation with me and under my directions, the Secretary of War
informed the House that the reports referred to relative to the affairs
of the Cherokees contained information and suggestions in reference
to the matters which it was supposed would become the subject of a
negotiation between that Department and the delegates of the Cherokee
Nation. It was stated by him that the nature and subject of the report,
in the opinion of the President and the Department, rendered its
publication at that time inconsistent with the public interest. The
negotiation referred to subsequently took place, and embraced the
matters upon which Lieutenant-Colonel Hitchcock had communicated his
views. That negotiation terminated without the conclusion of any
arrangement. It may, and in all probability will, be renewed. All the
information communicated by Lieutenant-Colonel Hitchcock respecting the
Cherokees—their condition as a nation and their relations to other
tribes—is herewith transmitted. But his suggestions and projects
respecting the anticipated propositions of the delegates and his views
of their personal characters can not in any event aid the legislation of
Congress, and in my opinion the promulgation of them would be unfair and
unjust to him and inconsistent with the public interest, and they are
therefore not transmitted.
The Secretary of War further stated in his answer to the resolution that
the other report referred to in it, relating to the alleged frauds which
Lieutenant-Colonel Hitchcock was charged to investigate, contained such
information as he (Colonel Hitchcock) was enabled to obtain by ex
parte inquiries of various persons whose statements were necessarily
without the sanction of an oath, and which the persons implicated had
had no opportunity to contradict or explain. He expressed the opinion
that to promulgate those statements at that time would be grossly unjust
to those persons and would be calculated to defeat rather than promote
the objects of the inquiry, and he remarked that sufficient opportunity
had not been given to the Department to pursue the investigation or to
call upon the parties affected for explanations or to determine on the
measures proper to be adopted. And he hoped these reasons would be
satisfactory for not transmitting to the House at that time the reports
referred to in its resolution.
It would appear from the report of the Committee on Indian Affairs, to
whom the communication of the Secretary of War was referred, and which
report has been transmitted to me, together with the resolutions of the
House adopted on the recommendation of the committee, and from those
resolutions, that the reasons given by the Secretary were not deemed
satisfactory and that the House of Representatives claims the right to
demand from the Executive and heads of Departments such information as
maybe in their possession relating to "subjects of the deliberations
of the House and within the sphere of its legitimate powers," and that
in the opinion of the House the reports and facts called for by its
resolution of the 18th of May related to subjects of its deliberations
and were within the sphere of its legitimate powers, and should have
been communicated.
If by the assertion of this claim of right to call upon the Executive
for all the information in its possession relating to any subject of the
deliberation of the House, and within the sphere of its legitimate
powers, it is intended to assert also that the Executive is bound to
comply with such call without the authority to exercise any discretion
on its part in reference to the nature of the information required or to
the interests of the country or of individuals to be affected by such
compliance, then do I feel bound, in the discharge of the high duty
imposed upon me "to preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of
the United States," to declare in the most respectful manner my entire
dissent from such a proposition. The instrument from which the several
departments of the Government derive their authority makes each
independent of the other in the discharge of their respective functions.
The injunction of the Constitution that the President "shall take care
that the laws be faithfully executed" necessarily confers an authority
commensurate with the obligation imposed to inquire into the manner in
which all public agents perform the duties assigned to them by law. To
be effective these inquiries must often be confidential. They may result
in the collection of truth or of falsehood, or they may be incomplete
and may require further prosecution. To maintain that the President
can exercise no discretion as to the time in which the matters thus
collected shall be promulgated or in respect to the character of
the information obtained would deprive him at once of the means of
performing one of the most salutary duties of his office. An inquiry
might be arrested at its first stage and the officers whose conduct
demanded investigation may be enabled to elude or defeat it. To require
from the Executive the transfer of this discretion to a coordinate
branch of the Government is equivalent to the denial of its possession
by him and would render him dependent upon that branch in the
performance of a duty purely executive.
Nor can it be a sound position that all papers, documents, and
information of every description which may happen by any means to come
into the possession of the President or of the heads of Departments must
necessarily be subject to the call of the House of Representatives
merely because they relate to a subject of the deliberations of the
House, although that subject may be within the sphere of its legitimate
powers. It can not be that the only test is whether the information
relates to a legitimate subject of deliberation. The Executive
Departments and the citizens of this country have their rights and
duties as well as the House of Representatives, and the maxim that the
rights of one person or body are to be so exercised as not to impair
those of others is applicable in its fullest extent to this question.
Impertinence or malignity may seek to make the Executive Departments the
means of incalculable and irremediable injury to innocent parties by
throwing into them libels most foul and atrocious. Shall there be no
discretionary authority permitted to refuse to become the instruments
of such malevolence?
And although information comes through a proper channel to an executive
officer it may often be of a character to forbid its being made public.
The officer charged with a confidential inquiry, and who reports its
result under the pledge of confidence which his appointment implies,
ought not to be exposed individually to the resentment of those whose
conduct may be impugned by the information he collects. The knowledge
that such is to be the consequence will inevitably prevent the
performance of duties of that character, and thus the Government will
be deprived of an important means of investigating the conduct of its
agents.
It is certainly no new doctrine in the halls of judicature or of
legislation that certain communications and papers are privileged, and
that the general authority to compel testimony must give way in certain
cases to the paramount rights of individuals or of the Government. Thus
no man can be compelled to accuse himself, to answer any question that
tends to render him infamous, or to produce his own private papers
on any occasion. The communications of a client to his counsel and
the admissions made at the confessional in the course of religious
discipline are privileged communications. In the courts of that country
from which we derive our great principles of individual liberty and the
rules of evidence it is well settled—and the doctrine has been fully
recognized in this country—that a minister of the Crown or the head of
a department can not be compelled to produce any papers or disclose any
transactions relating to the executive functions of the Government which
he declares are confidential or such as the public interest requires
should not be divulged; and the persons who have been the channels of
communication to officers of the State are in like manner protected
from the disclosure of their names. Other instances of privileged
communications might be enumerated if it were deemed necessary. These
principles are as applicable to evidence sought by a legislature as
to that required by a court.
The practice of the Government since its foundation has sanctioned the
principle that there must necessarily be a discretionary authority in
reference to the nature of the information called for by either House
of Congress.
The authority was claimed and exercised by General Washington in 1796.
In 1825 President Monroe declined compliance with a resolution of the
House of Representatives calling for the correspondence between the
Executive Departments of this Government and the officers of the United
States Navy and others at or near the ports of South America on the
Pacific Ocean. In a communication made by the Secretary of War in 1832
to the Committee of the House on the Public Lands, by direction of
President Jackson, he denies the obligation of the Executive to furnish
the information called for and maintains the authority of the President
to exercise a sound discretion in complying with calls of that
description by the House of Representatives or its committees. Without
multiplying other instances, it is not deemed improper to refer to the
refusal of the President at the last session of the present Congress to
comply with a resolution of the House of Representatives calling for
the names of the members of Congress who had applied for offices. As no
further notice was taken in any form of this refusal, it would seem to
be a fair inference that the House itself admitted that there were cases
in which the President had a discretionary authority in respect to the
transmission of information in the possession of any of the Executive
Departments.
Apprehensive that silence under the claim supposed to be set up in the
resolutions of the House of Representatives under consideration might be
construed as an acquiescence in its soundness, I have deemed it due to
the great importance of the subject to state my views, that a compliance
in part with the resolution may not be deemed a surrender of a necessary
authority of the Executive.
Many of the reasons which existed at the date of the report of the
Secretary of War of June 1, 1842, for then declining to transmit the
report of Lieutenant-Colonel Hitchcock concerning the frauds which he
was charged to investigate have ceased to operate. It has been found
wholly impracticable to pursue the investigation in consequence of the
death and removal out of the country of those who would be called upon
to testify, and in consequence of the want of adequate authority or
means to render it effectual. It could not be conducted without expense.
Congress at its last session prohibited the payment of any account
or charge whatever growing out of or in any way connected with any
commission or inquiry, except military and naval courts-martial and
courts of inquiry, unless special appropriations should be made for the
payment of such accounts and charges. Of the policy of that provision of
law it does not become me to speak, except to say that the institution
of inquiries into the conduct of public agents, however urgent the
necessity for such inquiry may be, is thereby virtually denied to the
Executive, and that if evils of magnitude shall arise in consequence
of the law I take to myself no portion of the responsibility.
In relation to the propriety of directing prosecutions against the
contractors to furnish Indians rations who are charged with improper
conduct, a correspondence has been had between the War Department and
the Solicitor of the Treasury, which is herewith transmitted in a
conviction that such prosecution would be entirely ineffectual.
Under these circumstances I have thought proper to direct that
the report of Lieutenant-Colonel Hitchcock concerning the frauds
which he was charged to investigate be transmitted to the House of
Representatives, and it accordingly accompanies this message. At
the same time, I have to request the House to consider it so far
confidential as not to direct its publication until the appropriate
committee shall have examined it and expressed their opinion whether
a just regard to the character and rights of persons apparently
implicated, but who have not had an opportunity to meet the imputations
on them, does not require that portions at least of the report should
not at present be printed.
This course is adopted by me from a desire to render justice to all and
at the same time avoid even the appearance of a desire to screen any,
and also to prevent the exaggerated estimate of the importance of the
information which is likely to be made from the mere fact of its being
withheld.
The resolution of the House also calls for "all facts in the possession
of the Executive, from any source, relating to the subject." There are
two subjects specified in the resolution—one "relative to the affairs
of the Cherokee Indians," and another "concerning the frauds he
[Lieutenant-Colonel Hitchcock] was charged to investigate."
All the papers in the War Department or its bureaus relating to the
affairs of the Cherokee Indians, it is believed, have been from time
to time communicated to Congress and are contained in the printed
documents, or are now transmitted, with the exception of those portions
of Lieutenant-Colonel Hitchcock's report hereinbefore mentioned, and
excepting the correspondence with the Cherokee delegates in the
negotiations which took place during the last summer, which are not
supposed to be within the intent of the resolution of the House. For
the same reason a memorial from the Old Settlers, or Western Cherokees,
as they term themselves, recently presented, is not transmitted. If
these or any other public documents should be desired by the House,
a specification of them will enable me to cause them to be furnished
if it should be found proper.
All the papers in the War Office or its bureaus known or supposed to
have any relation to the alleged frauds which Lieutenant-Colonel
Hitchcock was charged to investigate are herewith transmitted.
JOHN TYLER
THIRD ANNUAL MESSAGE.
In regard to the Indian tribes residing within our jurisdictional
limits, the greatest vigilance of the Government has been exerted to
preserve them at peace among themselves and to inspire them with
feelings of confidence in the justice of this Government and to
cultivate friendship with the border inhabitants. This has happily
succeeded to a great extent, but it is a subject of regret that they
suffer themselves in some instances to be imposed upon by artful and
designing men, and this notwithstanding all efforts of the Government
to prevent it.
WASHINGTON, January 26, 1844.
To the House of Representatives:
I transmit herewith a report of the Secretary of War and accompanying
papers, containing the information respecting the Indians remaining at
present in Florida, requested by a resolution of the House of
Representatives of the 10th instant.
JOHN TYLER
WASHINGTON, February 7, 1844.
To the Senate of the United States:
I transmit to the Senate of the United States, in answer to their
resolution of the 9th of January last, a report[1] from the Secretary
of State and a report[2] from the Secretary of War.
JOHN TYLER.
[1]Stating that there has been no correspondence with the British Government relative to presents, etc., by that Government to Indians in the United States.
[2] Transmitting a letter from the Commissioner of Indian Affairs relative to presents, etc., to Indians in the United States by the British Government
WASHINGTON, February 12, 1844.
To the Senate of the United States:
I herewith transmit to the Senate articles of agreement between the
Delawares and Wyandots, by which the Delawares propose to convey to the
Wyandots certain lands therein mentioned, for the ratification and
approval of the Senate, together with the accompanying documents, marked
A and B.
My mind is not clear of doubt as to the power of the Executive to act in
the matter, but being opposed to the assumption of any doubtful power,
I have considered it best to submit the agreement to your consideration.
JOHN TYLER
WASHINGTON, April 29, 1844.
To the Senate of the United States:
I transmit to the Senate a report of the Secretary of War, prepared
in compliance with the request contained in a resolution of the 10th
instant.*
JOHN TYLER.
* Proceedings under act of March 3, 1843, for the relief of the Stockbridge tribe of Indians in the Territory of Wisconsin.
WASHINGTON, December 18, 1843.
To the House of Representatives:
I received within a few hours of the adjournment of the last Congress a
resolution "directing payment of the certificates or awards issued by
the commissioners under the treaty with the Cherokee Indians." Its
provisions involved principles of great importance, in reference to
which it required more time to obtain the necessary information than
was allowed.
The balance of the fund provided by Congress for satisfying claims under
the seventeenth article of the Cherokee treaty, referred to in the
resolution, is wholly insufficient to meet the claims still pending. To
direct the payment, therefore, of the whole amount of those claims which
happened to be first adjudicated would prevent a ratable distribution of
the fund among those equally entitled to its benefits. Such a violation
of the individual rights of the claimants would impose upon the
Government the obligation of making further appropriations to indemnify
them, and thus Congress would be obliged to enlarge a provision, liberal
and equitable, which it had made for the satisfaction of all the demands
of the Cherokees. I was unwilling to sanction a measure which would thus
indirectly overturn the adjustment of our differences with the
Cherokees, accomplished with so much difficulty, and to which time is
reconciling those Indians.
If no such indemnity should be provided, then a palpable and very gross
wrong would be inflicted upon the claimants who had not been so
fortunate as to have their claims taken up in preference to others.
Besides, the fund having been appropriated by law to a specific purpose,
in fulfillment of the treaty, it belongs to the Cherokees, and the
authority of this Government to direct its application to particular
claims is more than questionable.
The direction in the joint resolution, therefore, to pay the awards
of the commissioners to the amount of $100,000 seemed to me quite
objectionable, and could not be approved.
The further direction that the certificates required to be issued by the
treaty, and in conformity with the practice of the board heretofore,
shall be proper and sufficient vouchers, upon which payments shall be
made at the Treasury, is a departure from the system established soon
after the adoption of the Constitution and maintained ever since. That
system requires that payments under the authority of any Department
shall be made upon its requisition, countersigned by the proper Auditor
and Comptroller. The greatest irregularity would ensue from the mode of
payment prescribed by the resolution.
I have deemed it respectful and proper to lay before the House of
Representatives these reasons for having withheld my approval of the
above-mentioned joint resolution.
JOHN TYLER
FOURTH ANNUAL MESSAGE.
I refer you to the report of the Secretary of War for an exhibition of
the condition of the Army, and recommend to you as well worthy your best
consideration many of the suggestions it contains. The Secretary in no
degree exaggerates the great importance of pressing forward without
delay in the work of erecting and finishing the fortifications to which
he particularly alludes. Much has been done toward placing our cities
and roadsteads in a state of security against the hazards of hostile
attack within the last four years; but considering the new elements
which have been of late years employed in the propelling of ships
and the formidable implements of destruction which have been brought
into service, we can not be too active or vigilant in preparing and
perfecting the means of defense. I refer you also to his report for
a full statement of the condition of the Indian tribes within our
jurisdiction. The Executive has abated no effort in carrying into effect
the well-established policy of the Government which contemplates a
removal of all the tribes residing within the limits of the several
States beyond those limits, and it is now enabled to congratulate the
country at the prospect of an early consummation of this object. Many of
the tribes have already made great progress in the arts of civilized
life, and through the operation of the schools established among them,
aided by the efforts of the pious men of various religious denominations
who devote themselves to the task of their improvement, we may fondly
hope that the remains of the formidable tribes which were once masters
of this country will in their transition from the savage state to a
condition of refinement and cultivation add another bright trophy to
adorn the labors of a well-directed philanthropy.
WASHINGTON CITY, February 13, 1845.
To the Senate of the United States:
I transmit herewith, for the advice and approbation of the Senate, a
treaty with the Creek and Seminole tribes of Indians, concluded on the
4th day of January last.
JOHN TYLER
WASHINGTON, February 26, 1845.
To the Senate of the United States:
In compliance with the resolution of the Senate of the 3d instant,
I herewith transmit the information* called for.
JOHN TYLER.
* Operations of the United States squadron on the west coast of Africa, the growth, condition, and influence of the American colonies there, and the nature, extent, and progress of the commerce of the United States with the same. |
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