been accomplished by this committee of conference. I mean no disrespect to the gentlemen representing the Senate, for I believe they have tried to represent the Senate. Selecting two names and striking them out because they are not of a political party to satisfy the House of Representatives! I venture to say that there is no name in the list contained in this bill that has as much support in favor of his attachment to this Union as that of George W. Jones, of Tennessee. I know that before the Committee on the Judiciary there was no such evidence in support of any single name as was given yesterday by the Senator from Ohio [Mr. SHERMAN] and the Senator from Vermont [Mr. MOR. RILL] in support of George W. Jones. For years he stood up against every influence at the South that tended to bring on the conflict, against this party to some extent, against men, that led in the efforts to bring about a clash between the two sections of the Union. And now, for no reason except that there is no evidence that he has attached himself to a political party, he is to be stricken out of this bill removing disabilities. He has not been in any of the States where the reconstruction policy has been carried out. Of course he has given no opposition to that, because he has not been there. He is a citizen of Tennessee who, so far as I know, has been living a quiet, retired, unobtrusive life, who has participated to no extent in public affairs since the war was over. I have not heard of his taking any part in any of the controversies in the southern States; he has had no opportunity to show any hostility to the party in power; but he has been leading a quiet, retired life. Now he is sticken out of this bill. I do not make an objection particularly to the other name that is named being stricken out. Perhaps the committee have some reason for that in the fact that Mr. Houston was a member of Congress, as I now understand-I did not recollect it before-and withdrew from Congress at the time his State seceded. I knew of him that prior to secession he occupied very much the same position that Mr. Jones did, that he was a conservative man, giving his influence, and all of his influence, against the schemes of the extreme men of the South. I regret now that I insisted on the name of Mr. Jones being added to the bill; it has to be yielded after the Senate by a unanimous vote put it in a unanimous vote on the testimony of Senators themselves. The question is whether we shall recede from the position we took. I hope the Senate will not do it. I shall not insist upon the other name, because there is some doubt about it in the fact I have mentioned that was brought to my attention by the Senator from Nevada-a fact not known to him until, perhaps, to-day. I do not insist about that; but in regard to George W. Jones I say there is more evidence in favor of the propriety of his restoration to the full exercise of the right of citizenship than in regard to any other name in the bill. There is not one of these men that can produce as much evidence. George W. Jones contributed not one particle to bring on this rebellion; he gave all his influence against it; while in this bill there are men who did everything they could to bring it on, whose hands are stained with northern blood, who participated in the war, fought in the battles, were in the secession legislatures, voted to take their States out; and they are to be restored while such a man as George W. Jones is to be kept out! Of course any man will have feeling about a thing of that kind. Such palpable wrongs every man ought to denounce here and everywhere. I speak, sir, because I like George W. Jones, as every man liked him that served with him in the House of Representatives, not only because of his personal qualities, but because of his devotion to the public service and its integrity. Of all the men of the South-bly not know a better man. He is incomparably above the men who went into the strife and now seek to avoid the responsibility of it by polit ical action. Compare him not with the Holdens and that class of men! It cannot be done! I ask the Senate in regard to Mr. Jones to stand by its unanimous vote of yesterday. Mr. DAVIS. Mr. President, I have not much confidence in rebels who come in and profess to be Radicals. I would give them very little if any trust except in a very special case. Now, I would suggest that the Senate reject this report of the committee of conference, and that another committee be appointed to confer with the committee on the part of the House, and that they adopt a short, plain comprehensive bill in about these terms: Be it enacted, That every red-handed rebel who took part against the Government of the United States in the late war, whose hands are still red with the blood of Union soldiers, upon taking an oath that he will support the Radical party shall be, and he is hereby, reinstated in all his rights, civil, political, and social. Mr. STEWART. Would the Senator from Kentucky vote for that bill? Mr. DAVIS. I would as soon vote for that bill as vote for the one under consideration. I think that in principle and in justice that would be about equivalent to this. Mr. STEWART. I ask for the yeas and nays upon the adoption of the report. The yeas and nays were ordered; and being taken, resulted-yeas 22, nays 7; as follows: YEAS-Messrs. Anthony, Cattell, Cole, Cragin Fessenden. Harlan, Henderson, Morgan, Morrill of Vermont, Nye, Pomeroy, Ramsey, Sherman, Sprague, Stewart, Sumner, Thayer, Trumbull, Wade, Willey, Williams, and Wilson-22. NAYS-Messrs. Davis, Doolittle, Hendricks, McCreery, Patterson of Tennessee, Ross, and Van Winkle-7. ABSENT-Messrs. Bayard, Buckalew, Cameron, Chandler, Conkling. Conness, Corbett, Dixon. Drake, Edmunds. Ferry, Fowler, Frelinghuysen, Grimes, Howard, Howe, Johnson, Morrill of Maine, Morton, Norton, Patterson of New Hampshire, Saulsbury, Tipton, Vickers, and Yates-25. So the report was concurred in. COURTS IN TENNESSEE. Mr. WILSON. I renew my motion. Mr. TRUMBULL. Will the Senator from Massachusetts allow us to dispose of two bills which have been returned from the House of Representatives with amendments? I think the Senate can dispose of them in a moment if the Chair will lay them before the body. Mr. WILSON. Very well. The PRESIDENT pro tempore laid before the Senate the amendment of the House of Representatives to the bill (S. No. 377) to change the times of holding the district and circuit courts of the United States in the several districts in the State of Tennessee. The amendment was in line five, to strike out the words "March and September" and insert "January and July." Mr. TRUMBULL. I move that the Senate concur in the amendment of the House of Representatives. It merely changes the time when a court is to be held. The amendment was concurred in. COURT OF CLAIMS. The PRESIDENT pro tempore laid before the Senate the amendment of the House of Representatives to the bill (S. No. 164) to provide for appeals from the Court of Claims, and for other purposes. The amendinent was to insert the following section after the eighth section of the bill: And be it further enacted, That it shall be the duty of the clerk of the said Court of Claims to transmit session, a full and complete statement of all the judgto Congress, at the commencement of every December ments rendered by the said court for the previous year; stating the amounts therefor and the parties in whose favor rendered, together with a brief synopsis of the nature of the claims upon which said judgments have been rendered. Mr. TRUMBULL. I move that the Senate concur in that amendment. The amendment was concurred in. EXECUTIVE SESSION. proceeded on the rideration, the Senate proceeded to the consideration of executive business; and after some time spent therein the doors were reopened, and the Senate adjourned. Messrs. Ames, Axtell, Baldwin, Barnes, Barnum, Boyer, Bromwell, Brooks, Burr, Cook, Covode, Dixon, Dodge, Driggs, Finney, Fox, Garfield, Glossbrenner, Grover, Holman, Hopkins, Asahel W. Hubbard, Chester D. Hubbard, Richard D. Hubbard, Hulburd. Humphrey, Hunter, Ingersoll, Johnson, Jones, Judd, Kelley, Laflin, George V. Lawrence, William Lawrence, Loan, Lynch, Mallory, Marshall, Miller, Morrissey, Mungen. Nunn, Orth, Perham, Plants, Poland, Pomeroy, Pruyn, Randall, Raum, Ross, Selye, Shellabarger, Sitgreaves, Taylor, Van Auken, Burt Van Horn, Robert T. Van Horn, John T. Wilson, Stephen F. Wilson, Windom, Wood, Woodbridge, and Woodward. The SPEAKER. One hundred and twenty members have answered to their names, and a quorum is present. Mr. BINGHAM. I move that all further proceedings under the call be dispensed with. The motion was agreed to. Mr. BINGHAM. I now desire to call up. the motion to reconsider the vote by which the House passed the joint resolution (H. R. No. 291) giving additional compensation to certain employés in the civil service of the GovernBut I will first yield to the gentleman from Massachusetts, [Mr. BANKS.] ment. MODIFICATION OF THE LAWS OF NATIONS. Mr. BANKS. I ask unanimous consent to present the memorial of insurance companies, ship-owners, and merchants of Massachusetts, praying that action may be had in favor of a modification of the laws of nations, so that whenever hostilities between belligerent nations shall have ceased for the period of one year the state of war shall be deemed at an end so far as other Governments or the citizens thereof are concerned, notwithstanding the absence of any formal treaty or declaration of peace. I ask to have the memorial referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs. Mr. WASHBURNE, of Illinois. that come in under the rule? The SPEAKER. It can. Cannot Mr. BANKS. It is an important memorial. The SPEAKER. If there is no objection it will be referred to the Committee on For eign Affairs. The Chair hears none, and it is so referred. Mr. BANKS. I ask to have it printed. Mr. WASHBURNE, of Illinois. For what purpose? Mr. BANKS. I withdraw the request. TERRITORY OF WYOMING. Mr. SPALDING. I ask to have Senate bill No. 357, to provide a temporary government for the Territory of Wyoming, printed, still remaining on the Speaker's table. No objection being made, it was ordered to be printed. Mr. ASHLEY, of Ohio, subsequently entered a motion to reconsider the order to print, saying that he desired to offer some amendment to the bill. EXTRA PAY OF GOVERNMENT EMPLOYÉS. Mr. BINGHAM. I now call up the motion to reconsider the vote by which the House passed the joint resolution on to certain em giving additional compensation to certain employés in the civil service of the Government at Washington. Mr. BINGHAM. I do not desire to. Mr. WASHBURN, of Indiana. I move to lay the motion to reconsider on the table. Mr. ELIOT. I desire to ask a parliament ary question whether the result of the motion, if carried, will not be to open to amendment the last clause of the resolution. I think it was not understood by many who voted in favor of it. The SPEAKER. If the motion to lay on the table the motion to reconsider prevails, the bill will then stand as it passed and will be sent to the Senate. If it should not prevail, and the House should then reconsider the third reading of the bill, it would then be open to amend No, it will Mr. WASHBURN, of Indiana. leave the bill open to amendment. Mr. BINGHAM. I cannot make any agree. ment about it. Mr. WASHBURN, of Indiana. I then insist on the motion. The question being put and appearing to be carried, Mr. WASHBURN, of Indiana, demanded the yeas and nays. The yeas and nays were ordered. The question was taken; and it was decided in the negative—yeas 45, nays 86, not voting 58; as follows: YEAS-Messrs. Anderson, Archer, Delos R. Ashley, James M. Ashley, Cake, Cary, Cobb, Eckley, Eldridge, Glossbrenner, Golladay, Gravely, Hotchkiss, Humphrey, Johnson, Kerr, Kitchen, Logan, McCormick, Moore, Morrell, Mungen, Myers, Nicholson, O'Neill, Paine, Pruyn, Randall, Robinson, Schenck, Smith, Spalding, Starkweather, Thaddeus Stevens, Stewart, Stokes, Stone, Taber, Thomas, John Trimble, Twichell, Robert T. Van Horn, Van Trump, Henry D. Washburn, and Woodward-45. NAYS-Messrs. Allison, Bailey, Baker, Beaman, Beatty, Beck, Benjamin, Benton, Bingham, Blaine, Blair, Boutwell, Broomall, Buckland, Butler, Chanler, Churchill, Reader W. Clarke, Sidney Clarke, Coburn, Cook, Cornell, Covode, Dawes, Delano, Dixon, Donnelly, Driggs, Eggleston. Ela, Eliot, Farnsworth, Ferry, Fields, Getz, Haight, Halsey, Harding, Hawkins, Higby, Hill, Hulburd, Jenckes, Judd, Julian, Kelsey, Ketcham, Knott, Koontz. Loan, Loughridge, Marvin, Maynard, McCarthy, McClurg, McCullough. Mercur, Moorhead, Mullins, Newcomb, Peters, Pike, Pile, Plants, Polsley, Price, Robertson. Sawyer, Scofield, Shanks, Aaron F. Stevens, Taffe, Taylor, Lawrence S. Trimble, Trowbridge, Upson, Van Aernam, Van Wyck, Ward, Cadwalader C. Washburn, Elihu B. Washburne, William B. Washburn, Welker, Thomas Williams, William Williams, and James F. Witson-86. NOT VOTING-Messrs. Adams, Ames, Arnell, Axtell, Baldwin, Banks, Barnes, Barnum, Boyer, Bromwell. Brooks, Burr, Cullom, Dodge, Ferriss, Finney, Fox, Garfield, Griswold, Grover, Holman, Hooper, Hopkins, Asahel W. Hubbard, Chester D. Hubbard, Richard D. Hubbard, Hunter, Ingersoll, Jones, Kelley, Laflin, George V. Lawrence, William Lawrence, Lincoln, Lynch, Mallory, Marshall, Miller, Morrissey, Niblack, Nunn, Orth, Perham, Phelps, Poland, Pomeroy, Raum, Ross, Selye, Shellabarger, Sitgreaves, Van Auken, Burt Van Horn, John T. Wilson, Stephen F. Wilson, Windom, Wood, and Woodbridge-58. So the House refused to lay the motion to reconsider on the table. The question recurred upon seconding the demand for the previous question on the motion to reconsider. The previous question was seconded and the main question ordered; being upon the motion to reconsider the vote by which the joint resolution was passed. The SPEAKER. The Chair has been requested by the committee of clerks in the various Departments to state to the House that the applause at the passage of the joint resolution a few days since was disapproved by them and by the clerks generally, and they wished the Speaker to state this, fearing that it might have prejudiced them in the eyes of the House. Mr. BINGHAM. I now move to lay the joint resolution on the table. Mr. RANDALL. On that motion I demand the yeas and nays. Mr. WASHBURN, of Indiana. Will the gentleman from Ohio withdraw that motion to allow me to enter a motion to reconsider the vote by which the joint resolution was ordered to be engrossed and read a third time, so that it may be amended. Mr. BINGHAM. I cannot, for the reason that the amendments would not improve it. Mr. MAYNARD. I suggest to the gentleman from Ohio that it would be only fair to let the gentleman, who has charge of the joint resolution, have an opportunity to suggest what amendments he desires. Mr. MULLINS. I object. Mr. RANDALL. Then let us vote down the motion to lay on the table. Mr. BINGHAM. I insist on my motion. The yeas and nays were ordered. Mr. WASHBURN, of Indiana. If this motion is defeated, will the joint resolution be open to amendment? The SPEAKER. A motion can be made to reconsider the third reading, and if that prevails the joint resolution will be amendable. Mr. WASHBURN, of Indiana. Then it will be amendable if this motion is lost? The SPEAKER. It will be if the third reading is reconsidered. The question was taken; and it was decided in the affirmative-yeas 68, nays 64, not voting 57 as follows: YEAS-Messrs. Allison, Bailey, Baker, Beaman, Beatty, Benjamin, Benton, Bingham, Blaine, Boutwell, Broomall, Buckland, Butler, Churchill, Reader W. Clarke, Sidney Clarke, Coburn, Cook, Cornell, Covode, Dawes, Delano, Eggleston, Ela, Ferry, Fields, Getz, Haight. Halsey, Harding, Hawkins, Hill, Hulburd. Judd, Kelsey, Ketcham, Koontz, Loughridge, Marvin, Maynard, McCarthy, McClurg, Mercur, Mullins. Newcomb, Peters, Pike. Polsley, Price, Robertson, Sawyer, Scofield, Shanks, Aaron F. Stevens, Taylor, Trowbridge, Upson, Van Aernam, Van Wyck, Ward, Cadwalader C. Washburn, Elihu B. Washburne, William B. Washburn, Welker, Thomas Williams. William Williams, James F. Wilson, and John T. Wilson-68. NAYS-Messrs. Anderson, Archer, Delos R. Ashley, James M. Ashley, Beck, Blair, Cake, Cary, Cobb, Dixon. Donnelly, Driggs, Eckley, Eldridge, Eliot, Farnsworth, Glossbrenner, Golladay, Gravely, Grover, Higby, Hotchkiss, Jenckes, Johnson, Kerr, Kitchen, Knott, Loan, Logan, Mallory, McCormick, McCullough, Moore, Moorhead, Morrell, Mungen, Myers, Niblack, Nicholson, O'Neill, Paine, Plants, Pomeroy, Pruyn, Randall, Robinson, Schenck, Shellabarger, Spalding, Starkweather. Thaddeus Stevens, Stowart, Stokes, Stone, Taber, Taffe, Thomas, John Trimble, Lawrence S. Trimble, Twichell, Robert T. Van Horn, Van Trump, Henry D. Washburn, and Woodward-64. NOT VOTING-Messrs. Adams, Ames, Arnell, Axtell. Baldwin, Banks, Barnes. Barnum, Boyer, Bromwell, Brooks, Burr, Chanler, Cullom, Dodge, Ferriss, Finney, Fox, Garfield, Griswold. Holman, Hooper, Hopkins, Asahel W. Hubbard, Chester D. Hubbard, Richard D. Hubbard, Humphrey, Hunter, Ingersoll, Jones, Julian, Kelley, Laflin, George V. Lawrence, William Lawrence, Lincoln, Lynch, Marshall, Miller, Morrissey, Nunn, Orth, Perham, Phelps. Pile, Poland, Raum, Ross, Selye, Sitgreaves, Smith, Van Auken, Burt Van Horn, Stephen F. Wilson, Windom, Wood, and Woodbridge-57, So the joint resolution was laid on the table. Mr. BINGHAM. I now move to reconsider the vote by which the joint resolution was laid on the table; and I also move that the motion to reconsider be laid on the table. Mr. WASHBURN of Indiana, and Mr. ROBINSON, called for the yeas and nays on the motion to lay the motion to reconsider on the table. The question was taken upon ordering the yeas and nays; and upon a division there were twenty-seven in the affirmative. So (the affirmative being one fifth of the last vote) the yeas and nays were ordered. The question was then taken; and it was decided in the affirmative-yeus 73, nays 57, not voting 59; as follows: YEAS-Messrs. Allison, Bailey, Baker, Beaman, Beatty, Benjamin, Benton, Bingham, Blaine, Boutwell, Broomall, Buckland, Reader W. Clarke, Coburn, Cook, Cornell, Covode, Cullom, Dawes, Delano, Donnelly, Eggleston, Eia, Ferriss, Ferry, Fields, Getz, Haight, Halsey, Harding, Hawkins, Hill, Hulburd, Judd, Julian, Kelsey, Ketcham, Koontz, Loan, Loughridge, Marvin, Maynard, McCarthy, McClurg, Mercur, Moorhead, Mullins, Newcomb, Peters, Pike, Pile, Plants, Polsley, Price, Robertson, Sawyer, Scofield, Shanks, Aaron F. Stevens, Taylor, Trowbridge, Upson, Van Aernam, Van Wyek, Ward, Elihu B. Washburne, William B. Washburn, Weiker, Thomas Williams, William Williams, James F. Wilson, and John T. Wilson-73. NAYS-Messrs. Anderson, Archer, Delos R. Ashley, Beck, Blair, Cake, Cary, Chanter, Cobb, Dixon, Driggs, Eckley, Eldridge, Eliot, Farnsworth, Glossbreaner, Golladay, Gravely, Grover. Higby, Hotchkiss, Jenckes, Johnson, Kitchen, Knott, Logan, Mailory. McCormick, McCullough, Morrell, Mungen, Myers, Niblack, Nicholson, O'Neill, Paine, Pomeroy, Pruyn, Randall, Robinson, Schenck, Shellabarger, Smith, Spalding, Starkweather, Stewart, Stokes, Stone, Taber, Taffe, Thomas, John Trimble, Lawreuce S. Trimble, Twichell, Robert T. Van Horn, Van Trump, Henry D. Washburn, and Woodward-57. NOT VOTING-Messrs. Adams, Ames, Arnell, James M. Ashley, Axtell, Baldwin, Banks, Barnes, Barnum, Boyer, Bromwell, Brooks, Burr, Butler, Churchill, Sidney Clarke, Dodge, Finney, Fox, Garfield, Griswold, Holman, Hooper, Hopkins, Asabel W. Hubbard, Chester D. Hubbard, Richard D. Hubbard, Humphrey, Hunter, Ingersoll, Jones, Kelley, Kerr, Laflin, George V. Lawrence, William Lawrence, Lincoln, Lynch, Marshall, Miller, Moore, Morrissey, Nunn, Orth, Perham, Phelps, Poland, Raum, Ross, Selye, Sitgreaves, Thaddeus Stevens, Vau Auken, Burt Van Horn, Cadwalader C. Washburn, Stephen F. Wilson, Windom, Wood, and Woodbridge-59. So the motion to reconsider was laid on the table. GREAT AND little osaGE INDIANS. Mr. CLARKE, of Kansas. I have been instructed by the Committee on Indian Affairs, who are instructed to report at any time not in the morning hour, to submit a report for action at this time. I ask that the report be read. The report was read, as follows: The Committee on Indian Affairs, to whom was referred the message of the President of the United States and accompanying documents relating to a treaty lately made by the United States with the Great and Little Osage Indians, report as flows: It appears from information before the committee that the treaty was prepared in Washington before the session of the council with the Osages, and that its terms were agreed upon by various parties in interest before submission to the Indians. Thetreaty, in substance, relinquishes by the said Osuge Indians an exceedingly valuable tract of land lying in southern Kansas, amounting to eight million acres. It does not provide for the retrocession of the said lands to the United States, but transiers the same to a railway company, known as the Leavenworth, Lawrence, and Galveston Railroad Company, at a price per acre of about nineteen cents. It transfers said lands upon said terins, with the condition that said company shall pay to the Secretary of the Interior within three months from the date of the ratification of the said treaty by the Senate of the United States $100,000 to the use and for the benefit of the said Osage Indians. The balance of the $1,600,000, the price of said lands, is made payable in annual installments of $100,000 per annum, together with interest at five per cent. per annum, secured only by the bond of the railroad company, and not even made a mor gage on the road. No provision is made in this treaty for the protec tion of the settlers upon that portion of the ceded lands known as the diminished reserve, of whom it appears there is a large number, but they are lett wholly to be dealt with according to the mercy or cupidity of the parties controlling said railway. Of thosesettlers upon another portion of the lands ceded, known as the Osage trust lands, comprising about three million two hundred thousand acres, such as occupied a "square quarter section" at the time of the date of the treaty, are allowed one hundred aud Government price. Inasmuch as these lands were sixty acres, including their improvements, at the only recently surveyed, it follows, upon the testi mony of reliable witnesses, that nearly all of these settlers will be excluded from the benefits of the proviso because very few have located upon "square quarter sections" as surveyed. It is also in evidence that other propositions more favorable to the Indians, the settlers, and the United States were submitted to the Commissioner, but were withheld from the Indians by them and refused cousideration. The following propositions were submitted to the commissioners by the Missouri, Fort Scott, and Santa Fé Railroad Company: First. A purchase of all their lands for said road at $2,000,000, $100,000 to be paid in ninety days from the ratification of the treaty by the Senate of the United States, and the other payments at the rate of $100.000 per year until the whole purchase money is paid, the whole to bear interest at the rate of five per cent. per annum from the ratification and promulgation of the treaty till paid. Second. One hundred and sixty acres of land se cured, free of cost, to every half-breed Osage, male and female, over twenty-one years of age, who may desire 10 remain on said lands and become a citizen of the United States. Third. One hundred and sixty acres secured to such settlers who may be on any portion of said lands at the date of said treaty, at $1 25 per acre, being Government price therefor. Fourth. Every sixteenth section of said lands to be donated to the State of Kansas for the endowment of her public schools. Fifth. The interest of said purchase money to be paid semi-annually, and disposed of in the treaty in a manuer satisfactory to the Indians, and so as to promote their best interests. Seth. Patents to issue to said company for said lands only in proportion to the amount actually paid. Seventh. Said principal and interest to be paid by said railroad company to the Secretary of the Interior, and the interest disbursed to the Indians by him, through the Commissioner of Indian Affairs. This proposal was accompanied by the tender of a reasonable guarantee for the fulfillment by the said company of their part of the proposed compact, and was peremptorily dismissed by the commission. It will be seen that their refusal to submit these or any other propositions to the Indians indicates a singular bias in favor of the parties who by the terms of this treaty obtain these lands at nearly half a million dollars less than the sum offered in the above proposal. It also appears that the State of Kansas is entitled by the terins of the aet admitting that State into the Union to the sixteenth and thirty-sixth sections in each township of surveyed public lands to accrue to the permanent school fund of that State; that in lieu of said scetions the State is guarantied an equivalent therefor; that a large portion of the State has been taken out of the operation of this beneficial provision tor schools by the numerous Indian reservations therein; that in the disposition heretofore made of these reservations no equivalent has been granted the State for the said sections; that at the session of the said Osage council, while deliberating upon the terms of this treaty, the State superintendent of public instruction for Kansas applied to the said commissioners to obtain some provision among the various terms of the pending treaty for the school fund of the State-representing that the lands proposed to be granted the Leavenworth, Lawrence, and Galveston Railroad Company comprised fully one sixth of the whole State, and should contribute their equal share to the permanent school fund, in accordance with the plan upon which public lands in Kansas were disposed of by the act of admission. It appears that he was refused in this reasonable prayer, It furtherappears that the said Leavenworth, Lawrenee, and Galveston Railroad Company, according to their survey, do not contemplate constructing their road upon or across these lands; that the said landsare amply sufficient in value to richly endow two or three roads if justly appropriated and disposed of; that upward of one half thereof are rich and valuable lands, and such as would readily sell to actual settlers at or more than $1 25 per acre. There are also charges before your committee that the Osages were improperly influenced to consent to the signing of said treaty; that they were very reluctant to execute it: and that at no time before or since its execution were they satisfied to sell their lands at such a price or upon such securities. It appears to your committee that the system of bartering immense tracts of Indian lands to railway companies or private parties, without protection to the settlers, and by methods calculated to bar the advance of civilization, or in any way, except by absolute cession to the United States, is too unreasonable to merit serious thought, and if such lands are to be made available for works of public improvement they should so be disposed as to give full protection to present and prospective settlers, and should accrue to the use and benefit of all the roads that they will reasonably endow. Yourcommittee therefore conclude that said treaty is in violation of the rights of the settlers and of justice to the Indians; that it is unjust to the tax-payers of Kansas, because it places in the power of a corporation the means to prevent the speedy settlement of about one sixth of the State; that it is unjust to the State of Kansas, in that it ignores the school interests as guarded by the act of admission, and operates injuriously upon the prospective growth and settlement thereof; that it is unjust to the nation, because the lands granted are sufficient to endow various roads, and are ample to secure the building of the whole line from Fort Leavenworth to Galveston bay; that it is destructive of the railroad system of Missouri and Kansas, and while of no benefit or advantage to the Government, it accomplishes no result except to extravagantly enrich the persons controlling the company in whose interest it was executed. Appended to this report are respectfully submitted a protest of the Governor, secretary of State, auditor of State, State treasurer, attorney general, and superintent of public instruction of the State of Kansas, marked A. Also the affidavit of Z. R. Overman, a representative of the settlers upon the lands sold, marked B; affidavit of Solomon Markham, also representing the settlers, marked C; affidavit of General Charles W. Blair, marked D; affidavit of George H. Hoyt, marked E; together with a copy of the provisions of said treaty, The committee recommend the adoption of the following resolutions, and that copies of the same be furnished for the information of the Senate. SIDNEY CLARKE, Resolved, (as the sense of the House of Representatives,) That the treaty concluded on the 27th of May, 1868, with the Great and Little Osage tribe of Indians, both in its express terms and stipulations, and in the means employed to procure their acceptance by the Indians, is an outrage on their rights; that, in transferring to a single railroad corporation eight million acres of lands, it not only disregards the rights and interests of other railroad corporations in the State of Kansas, and builds up a frightful land monopoly in defiance of the just rights of the settlers and of the people of the United States, but it assumes the authority. repeatedly denied by this House, to dispose of those lands by treaty otherwise than by absolute cession to the United States, and for purposes for which Congress alone is competent to provide. Resolved, That this House docs hereby solemnly and earnestly protest against the ratification of said pretended treaty by the Senate, and will feel bound to refuse any appropriations in its behalf, or to recognize its validity in any form. Resolved. That a copy of the foregoing resolutions be transmitted to the Senate of the United States. The following are the documents accompanying the report: (A.) EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT, TOPEKA, KANSAS, June 9, 1868. To the Senate of the United States: The undersigned, executive officers of the State of Kansas, most respectfully memorialize your honorable body against the ratification of the treaty recently concluded with the Osage Indians, whereby they agree to cede the lands now held by them in this State to the Leavenworth, Lawrence, and Galveston Railroad Company, on the following grounds, to wit: 1. That the Usages were induced to conclude the treaty by threats and-false representations, whereby they were made to believe that it was the design of the State authorities to make war upon them, and either kill them or drive them from their reservation. 2. That the price agreed to be paid is grossly inadequate to the value of the lands; that a much larger price was offered; that the payments are extended over a long series of years; and that the final consummation of the treaty would be a flagrant robbery of the Indians. 3. That no provision is made in the treaty for the benefit of schools, or in the interest of the settlers who have gone upon the lands and made improvements, but that both these interests are remitted to the tender mercies of speculators and monopolists. 4. That the lands thus ceded comprise nearly one fifth of the area of the entire State, the whole of which will be withheld from settlement and development, except upon such terms as the monopolists may dictate. 5. That the success of this fraud will tend to retard immigration, thus militating against the best interests of the State, as well as of the country at large. 6. That the persons who will derive the chief benefits of this treaty are strangers to the State, and in no wise identified with its interests. 7. That they believe the whole system of permitting or encouraging the Indians to cede to private corporations is pernicious; that in extinguishing Indian titles the Government should become the purchaser, permitting the settlers to procure titles at the minimum rate, withdrawing from sale when the aggregate of the purchase-money shall have been realized, and then allowing the preemption and homestead laws to operate as in other cases. For these and other reasons which might be enumerated, the undersigned respectfully request the Senate to negative the treaty recently concluded with the Osages, and which has been or will be submitted for their consideration. S. J. CRAWFORD, Governor. Secretary of State. State Treasurer. P. McVICAR, Z. R. Overman, of lawful age, first being duly sworn, deposes and says he is a citizen of the State of Kansas, and resides upon a portion of the lands known as the diminished roserve of the Great and Little Osages; that he was selected by the settlers upon the said reserve and by the settlers upon the lands known as the Osage trust lands to attend a council thereafter to be held between the representatives of the several bands of the Great and Little Osage Indians and certain commissioners of the United States for the purpose of effectuating a treaty between the said Indians and the United States; that the said council was held in the month of May last, and a treaty was signed by the chiefs and head men of the said tribe and the commissioners of the United States on or about the 27th day of May last; that prior to and at the signing of said treaty afliant was in attendance upon the sessions of the said council; that he is personally well acquainted with the chiefs, head men, and braves of the said bands; that the commissioners of the United States produced at said council a draft of a treaty already prepared, being the same treaty. in form and substance afterward executed by the parties respectively, and which is now pending the action of the Senate of the United States. Affiant further deposes and says that it was evident from the hearing of the said commissioners, and from their proceedings at the said council, that they intended to make the said treaty exclusively for the benefit and in the interest of the Leavenworth, Lawrence, and Galveston railroad, represented by one William Sturges, of Chicago, and disregarding the rights of the settlers, the rights of the Indians, of other railroads, and the State of Kansas; that tho said commissioners claimed that the said treaty was agreed upon in Washington before the session of the council, and could only pass and be ratified by the Senate of the United States as drawn and presented. Affiant further says that the said Indians did not want to sell their lands; did not want to sell to a railroad company, but to the Government of the United States if forced to part with them, or otherwise, to parties making the best and highest bid for the lands; that the sessions of the council were secret, and white men were excluded therefrom unless attached or belonging to the party of the said commissioners; that the Indians wanted certain white men for counsel present at the conferences, but were refused unless they would take such counsel as were assigned them by the commissioners; that Professor P. McVickar, superintendent of public instruction for the State of Kansas, applied to the said commissioners to have certain lands in each township set apart to the permanent school fund of the State, as guarantied to the State of Kansas in the act of admission, and the said commissioners wholly refused to allow said lands, or any equivalent therefor, to be so devoted to the State. And affiant further says that the Indians of the said tribe of Great and Little Osages complain that they were forced to sign the said treaty by threats that the United States would withdraw its protection from them, and that their presents, gifts, or annuities would be withheld from them, and by divers other intimidations and influences, and that if they had not so been influenced they would not have signed the said treaty, and are still and remain greatly dissatisfied; that there is a large population of white settlers upon both the diminished reserve and the trust lands of the said Osages; that these settlers entered upon the said lands with the full knowledge and voluntary consent in writing of the chiefs and head men of the said Indians; that there has been no survey of the diminished reserve, and that the trust lands have only been recently surveyed; that very few of the settlers upon the trust lands are located on a square quarter section "as surveyed, and consequently get one hundred and sixty acres, including their improvements, at Government price; that no protection was promised or guarantied in any form to the balance of the settlers upon either the trust lands or the diminished reserve; that fully half of the eight million acres included in the said lands bartered by the terms of the said treaty to the Leavenworth, Lawrence, and Galveston railroad-controlled by the said William Sturges-are first class and very valuable lands, fully equal to the best lands in Kansas: that the settlers thereupon are willing to pay $125 per aere for the said lands; that athant fully believes from the number of settlers already locating upon said lands that four million acres of said lands could be disposed of by the Government of the United States within four years from the date hereof. Z. R. OVERMAN. Solomon Markham, of lawful age, being duly sworn, deposes and says that he is a citizen of Kansas, and resides near the Catholic Mission, so called, in Neosho county, Kansas, and upon lands lately belonging to the reservation of the Great and Little Osage Indians; that he was sent by the settlers upon the Osage lands to the city of Washington to secure through the Congress of the United States a sale of such lands transferred or receded to the United States or other parties by the said Osages to the settlers upon said lands on just and reasonable terms; that the late treaty executed on Drum Creek, in Osage county, by certain commissioners of the United States with the said Osage Indians is a fraud upon the people of Kansas and the whole country; that the said treaty works deep injustice to a large number of worthy and industrious people who have located their homes and families upon the said lands, for the following among other reasons, namely: because the said settlers are left to the mercy of the parties controlling the Leavenworth, Lawrence, and Galveston Railroad Company for the location, amount, and price of their lands; that no guarantees are given them that any railway will be constructed through or upon said lands or any portion thereof; that the Osages had agreed and were willing to sell their lands to the Government so that the Government might dispose of them to actual settlers upon terms just and reasonable; that no part of said lands were set apart to the permanent school fund of the State, in accordance with the plan upon which Kansas was admitted. And affiant says that more than one half of the eight million acres bartered away by the terms of this treaty to the railroad owned or controlled by Mr. William Sturges, of Chicago, are valuable lands equal to any in the United States, and ought not to be put in title and possession of any man; that within four years, if thrown open to actual settlement, every acre would be disposed of easily at the price of $1 25; that the proceeds of the lands upon any just and reasonable method would build three railways instead of one, as proposed in this treaty: that alliant is informed and believes that the sale of these lands ostensibly to the Leavenworth, Lawrence, and Galveston railroad is in fact a sale to William Sturges, of Chicago, who controls the said company, and who is endeavoring to obtain said lands for the purpose of a vast speculation, and that the said treaty was executed in fraud of the settlers, the Indians, the people of Kansas, and the whole country, and various other railway companies who offered more for the lands than did the said Sturges and company. SOLOMON MARKHAM. Subscribed and sworn to before me this the 16th day of June, 1868. E. M. CHAPIN, Justice of the Peace. Statement relative to the Osage Treaty. A treaty was concluded on Drum Creek, in the Osage nation, about the 27th of May last, between the chiefs and braves of the Osage Indians and Hon. N. G. Taylor, commissioner of Indian affairs, Hon. Thomas Murphy, superintendent of the central superintendency, Colonel A. G. Boone, and Major Snow, agent of the Osages, representing the Government, with Judge Blackledge as secretary of the commission. The treaty conveys the whole of the Osage lands, comprising eight million acres, (being fifty by two hundred and fifty miles,) to the Leavenworth, Lawrence, and Galveston Railroad Company for $1,600,000, payable as follows: $100,000 in cash within three months from the ratification of the treaty, and the remaining $1,500,000 in the bonds of the company, payable $100,000 each year for fifteen years, and bearing interest at the rate of five per cent. per annum. It is really a treaty by and between the Osage Indians and the railroad company, to which the Government becomes a party by permitting it to be done in the interest of the company, and without protecting the rights of the Indians by providing any security for the payment of the money other than the bonds of said company. These bonds are really the only security the Indians have. It is true that the treaty provides that patents shall be issued only in proportion to the amount paid; but the railroad company does not wish patents to issue until they are ready to sell, which will not be until the road is completed to a point opposite to said lands, and may not be for the next ten years. In the mean time the Indians will hold the bonds, but be utterly destitute of money-their lands sold, but they without means to purchase others in their stead. It is scarcely to be expected that the Cherokees or Creeks will sell them lands for these bonds, or that the Government will purchase and pay for lands for them, taking these railroad bonds as security for payment. If the interests of the Indians are to be consulted, the representatives of the Government should have provided some tangible security for the payment of the money as it became due, either by the indorsement of the Government or otherwise; and they should have permitted the sale to be made to the company offering the highest price for the lands, other considerations being equal. The subjoined correspondence will show that the commissioners were determined the treaty should be made in the interest of the Leavenworth, Lawrence, and Galveston Railroad Company, and on the terms proposed by its representatives or made not at all. These lands comprise nearly one fifth of the whole State of Kansas, and are the last body of lands out of which railroads can be endowed. There are enough to endow three roads reasonably well; and if they are to be disposed of for the benefit of railroads the interests of the railroad system of the State should be taken into consideration, and the roads of southern Kansas, in which the lands lie, should haye their fair proportion. Especially should the Missouri, Fort Scott, and Santa Fé railroad be endowed, as it has its initial point at Sedalia, on the Missouri Pacific, and runs southwesterly, via Fort Scott and Osage Mission, through the whole length of these lands, two hundred and fifty miles, in the direction of Santa Fé. This road has no grant or endowment of public lands, while the Lawrence and Galveston road already has eight hundred thousand acres along its line in the State of Kansas, donated to it by the liberality of Congress; and its surveyed line does not run within twenty miles of the lands ceded to it by the recent treaty. The treaty makes no provision for the half-breed Osages who may desire to remain on said lands and become citizens of the United States. It makes no increase in the State endowment of schools, and makes but insufficient and incomplete provision for the hardy pioneers who are the out-posts and advance guard of the civilization rapidly moving to the West. The trust lands (so called because ceded in trust by a former treaty) are embraced in this treaty, the former one, so far as it applies to them, being abrogated by the new arrangement. They comprise a tract of twenty miles, north and south, running the whole length of the tract; and the treaty provides that settlers on the lands, at the date of the treaty, may have one hundred and sixty acres, including their improvements, at Government price, on a square quartersection. As the survey is just completed, and as nearly all the settlement there was made prior to said survey, it follows that few have their improvements on a square quarter; and as they are not permitted to cross section or quarter section lines to fill out their one hundred and sixty acres, but few will derive any benefit from the provision. Indeed, it seems expressly made with a view to cut off as many of the settlers as possible, under the color and show of apparent fairness. No provision whatever is made for the settlers on the remaining portion of said land-being thirty by two hundred and fifty miles in extent-but they are left wholly to the tender mercies of the railroad company. It is proper to add in this connection that the directors of the Missouri, Fort Scott, and Santa Fé Railroad Company, besides the protection they offered to the settlers, were and are willing, if their company receive all or any portion of these lands, that an express provision may be incorporated into the treaty to the effect that the price of Government lands shall be the price of these lands-that is to say, $2.50 per acre within ten miles of their road on either side, and $125 per acre beyond-the settler to take his lands upon such showing of occupation and improvement as would entitle him to the benefit of the preemption act of September 4, 1841, and its amendments. Justice to the settler imperatively demands that this provision should be made in the treaty, let the lands be disposed or otherwise as they may. It may be further stated that the Indians knew they had been offered a higher price for their land than this treaty provides-that this higher price was offered them by men whom they knew and in whom they had confidence, with some of whom they had had dealings for twenty-five years, and they were naturally anxious to sell to the best advantage, and to men whom they thought they could trust; but they claim that the commissioners informed them that the Government would not permit them to sell to any company except the Leavenworth, Lawrence, and Galveston Company. The truth of this is corroborated by the fact that the commissioners, all of them, without exception, stated repeatedly to white men, in reply to urgent entreaties to divide the lands among two or three roads, that no treaty could or would be ratified by the Senate unless the whole of the lands were given to this one company. It was publicly represented, too, by those who assumed to speak by the authority of the commissioners, that this treaty was drawn up and agreed upon in Washington, before the commission went out; that it was drawn with the approval of leading members of the administration, and leading members of the Senate, of both political parties; that the combination or "ring" was too powerful to be withstood, and that the treaty would have to be made and confirmed as originally drawn.. The chiefs repeatedly asked permission to have certain white men in whom they had confidence, as their counsel, present at their conference with the commissioners, to advise and counsel with them; but the commissioners refused, unless they would take such counsel as they (the commissioners) chose to provide, which they were not willing to do. It is certain that for over two weeks the Indians refused to sign the treaty, no one, apparently, being in favor of it; and that all at once, apparently without any sufficient cause, they all signed it. They claim that they were forced to do it by threats and intimidation on the one part, and fair promises on the other in case of compliance. It is more than probable that these threats were made by outside parties in the interest of the railroad company, and not countenanced by the commissioners; but there was so much apparent identity of interest between them that it was difficult for even an observant white man to tell who represented the Government and who the railroad company, and it is, therefore, not at all wonderful that the Indian failed to detect the difference between them. Certain it is, that one commissioner, at least, publicly stated to the Indians that their annuity goods, due them by the provisions of a former treaty, would not be delivered to them till they signed this treaty; and that, seemingly, in pursuance of this threat, said goods were reloaded into the wagons which had brought them to the council grounds; and it is equally certain that said goods were not distributed until after the treaty had been signed. The Indians claim that they were threatened with the displeasure of the Government if they refused to sign; that they were told that the Government would not protect them against the Arrapahoes unless they made the treaty; and Commissioner Boone did state in public council that if the Osages would sign this treaty they (the commissioners) would go out on the Plains and conclude a peace between the Osages and Arrapahoes. The Indiansrepresent that they were told that unless they signed this treaty they would get no presents, no annuity goods; that the Government would not pay them for the land already purchased of them, and that the Governor of Kansas would turn the militia of the State out against them, and they would kill and drive them off their lands, taking them without any payment whatsoever; and when they filed to the Plains they would be decimated by the Arrapahoes, and between the two enemies they would gradually be extinguished. It is not claimed that these threats were made or countenanced in any way by the commissionershonorable men would stoop to no such miserable subterfuge-but it is susceptible of proof that such threats, and probably worse ones, were made to the Indians by white men who were in daily association with the commission, and who professed to speak by their authority. It is known to the writer of this statement that outside parties stated that the commissioners had resolved to remove the representatives of the Missouri, Fort Scott, and Santa Fe Railroad Company by military force from the Osage reserve, on the pretext of interfering with the treaty: and that this was communicated to the friends of that road with a view of inducing them to intermit their efforts to get from the commission a fair proportion of these lands; but the friends of that road had too high a respect for the commission to believe that they had ever authorized such threats, and therefore gave no credence to them. Attention is invited to the correspondence copied below. CHARLES W. BLAIR, President Missouri, Fort Scott, and Santa Fé Railroad Company. No. 1. OSAGE NATION, May 18, 1868. SIR: I have the honor to propose to you, and through you to the commission appointed to treat with the Osage Indians for their trust lands and diminished reserve, that the lands comprised therein be acquired by the United States Government and offered for sale, in a body, to the highest bidder, thus leaving it open to the competition of all companies who desire to purchase the same, hereby pledging myself that the railroad company I represent will offer for the whole of said lands at least the sum of $2,000,000, giving any guarantee of payment that the Government may require, which sum is $500,000 more than that proposed to be paid by the Leavenworth, Lawrence, and Galveston Railroad Company. Should it be against the policy of the Government to purchase lands except under condition of immediate transfer to parties or companies who can make the required payments, we respectfully request your commission to create the trust in the treaty for the benefit of our company, we to pay therefor the sum of $2,000,000. I would also state that our railroad company is properly incorporated, traverses the whole length of these lands from East to West, and is in the hands of men of capital and influence. We propose, also, to accept all the terms and conditions of the treaty as already drawn and prepared by the commission, and, in addition, to secure the rights of the half-breeds, protect the settlers, and make liberal donations for school purposes, changing the treaty only by substituting the name of the Missouri, Fort Scott, and Santa Fé Railroad Company for that of the Leavenworth, Lawrence, and Galveston Railroad Company, for which change we offer more than a half million dollars in addition to the amount proposed by Mr. Sturgis. Our company is composed of and supported by men of large capital and influence, (the Governor of the State being one of the directors,) who are abundantly able to give all the guarantees required by the treaty, or which may be imposed by the Government, such guarantees to be given prior to the submission of the treaty to the Senate for ratification. I also make this proposition: for the purpose of harmonizing conflicting interests and advancing the interest of the North and South, as well as the East and West national thoroughfare, I am content that the treaty may include both roads, giving the Leavenworth, Lawrence, and Galveston Company two thirds of said lands, and securing to the Missouri, Fort Scott, and Santa Fé Railroad Company one third of the same, being equal in proportionate value, and divided by blocks of sections from north to south, two blocks to their road and one to ours, alternately, through the whole length of said lands, east to west, we to take ours by express stipulations in the treaty to our road by name, and on the same terms and conditions of payment and otherwise as are imposed on the other company. All these propositions seem to me fair and just, and the acceptance of any one of them will secure the cordial cooperation of myself and friends in favor of the speedy completion of the treaty, by the exertion of all the influence we can command in its behalf. vant, I am, Colonel, very respectfully, your obedient serCHARLES W. BLAIR, President Missouri, Fort Scott, and Santa Fé Railroad Company. Hon. N. G. TAYLOR, Commissioner of Indian Affairs. P. S.-I would respectfully request that this proposition be filed and preserved with the papers of the commission for further reference. C. W. B. No. 2. OSAGE NATION, May 20, 1868. SIR: As it is anticipated or feared that representations may or have been made to your commission that the Missouri, Fort Scott, and Santa Fé Railroad Company is irresponsible or unable to furnish to the Government the proper guaranties of payment, in case they acquire any or all of these lands by treaty, I have the honor to propose to you, as security for such guaranties as may be required, the bond of S. A. Williams, B. P. McDonald, and C. F. Drake, who are worth over one hundred thousand dollars; or I am willing to give you here, on the ground, as collateral security for such guaranties, the draft of the banking-house of A. McDonald & Brother, on New York, for the sum of $50,000. This security is offered as a pledge of our entire good faith, as well as our ability to comply with any condition of payment which may be imposed on our company in case said lands are granted to it. Very respectfully, your obedient servant, CHARLES W. BLAIR, President Missouri, Fort Scott, and Santa Fé Railroad Company. Hon. N. G. TAYLOR, Commissioner of Indian Affairs. Reply to Nos. 1 and 2. OSAGE COUNCIL GROUND, OSAGE NATION, May 20, 1868. SIR: Your communication of the 18th instant, addressed to me as Commissioner of Indian Affairs, making various propositions in reference to the purchase of the Osage lands, was received and laid before the commission. I was instructed by the commission to reply that, for various reasons satisfactory to it, neither of your propositions is accepted. With sentiments of high personal respect, I have the honor to remain, your obedient servant, N. G. TAYLOR, President Osage Commission. General C. W, BLAIR, President Fort Scott and Santa Fé Railroad Company. No. 3. OSAGE NATION, May 25, 1868. SIR: As you stated, in your public council with the Indians, that all future consultations between the commissioners and Indians were to be private, from which all others were to be rigidly excluded, and thus other parties can only reach the Indians through you, I have the honor to request permission to call them together in council with the representatives of the Missouri, Fort Scott, and Santa Fé Railroad Company, with a view of submitting to their consideration a treaty with said company on the following basis: First. A purchase of all their lands for said road at $2,000,000-$100,000 to be paid in ninety days from the ratification of the treaty by the Senate of the United States, and the other payments at the rate of $100,000 per year until the whole purchase money is paid, the whole to bear interest at the rate of five per cent, per annum from the ratification and promulgation of the treaty till paid. Second. One hundred and sixty acres of land secured, free of cost, to every half-breed Osage, male and female, over twenty-one years of age, who may desire to remain on said lands and become a citizen of the United States. Third. One hundred and sixty acres secured to such settlers who may be on any portion of said lands at the date of said treaty, at $1 25 per acre, being Government price therefor. Fourth. Every sixteen th section of said lands to be donated to the State of Kansas for the endowment of her public schools. Fifth. The interest of said purchase money to be paid semi-annually, and disposed of in the treaty in a manner satisfactory to the Indians, and so as to promote their best interests. Sixth. Patents to issue to said company for said lands only in proportion to the amount actually paid. Seventh. Said principal and interest to be paid by said railroad company to the Secretary of the Interior, and the interest disbursed to the Indians by him, through the Commissioner of Indian Affairs. As this council has now been in session about two weeks, and the Indians have thus far declined to treat, although all other propositions have been withheld from them, except that of the Leavenworth, Lawrence, and Galveston Railroad Company, it is now but fair that they should have an opportunity of considering another proposition which gives them a larger sum of money for their lands, protects the settlers on the same, secures a home to the half-breeds, enlarges the State endowment for school purposes, and which is quite as fair to the Government as the proposition so long considered and rejected. If the responsibility of the company is doubted. I again offer, as before, as a guarantee of good faith and pecuniary ability, the bond of men worth $100,000 or the draft of a responsible banking house on New York for $50,000, to be forfeited in case the company fail to comply with the requirements of the treaty. I have also the honor to request that this proposition be filed with the papers of the commission for further reference. Very respectfully, your obedient servant, CHARLES W. BLAIR, President Missouri, Fort Scott, and Santa Fé Hon. N. G. TAYLO2, Commissioner of Indian Affairs. Reply to No. 3. OSAGE COUNCIL GROUND, OSAGE NATION, May 26, 1868. SIR: Your communication addressed to me, of yesterday's date, was handed to me half an hour since by Colonel Wilson. I have the honor in reply to inform you that, having, immediately on its receipt, submitted your letter to the commission, it instructed me, unanimously, to respond that this commission, having been appointed and commissioned by the President to treat with the Osage Indians, has no power to transfer that authority to others, nor any disposition to do so. We have pleasure in adding that present indications are entirely favorable to a successful termination of our labors. With sentiments of high regard, I have the honor to be, very truly, your obedient servant, N. G. TAYLOR, President Osage Commission and Commissioner Indian Affairs. General CHARLES W. BLAIR, President Fort Scott and Santa Fé Railroad Company. (D.) District of Columbia, Washington county, ss: Before the undersigned, a notary public in and for the District of Columbia, personally came Charles W. Blair, of lawful age, who, being duly sworn, deposes and says, that the correspondence copied in the accompanying printed statement is a true copy of the correspondence that passed between him and Hon. N. G. Taylor, Commissioner of Indian Affairs. He further states that the facts embodied in the printed statement accompanying said correspondence, so far as the same are stated of his own knowledge, are true, and, so far as stated on the information of others, he believes to be truc, both in substance and in fact. CHARLES W. BLAIR. ney general of the said State; that since the execution of the treaty between the United States and the Osages of southern Kansas, at Drum Creek, on or about May 27, A. D. 1868, numerous complaints have been lodged in his office relating to the said treaty and the action of the commissioners of the United States. And affiant avers upon information and belief that gross deceit was practiced upon the said Osage Indians by the said commissioners; that the said Indians were informed or caused to be informed by the said commissioners that the United States would not protect them or give them their presents or annuities unless they consented to sign the particular treaty brought by them from Washington; that other induceinents were held out to the said Indians, and, among others, the promise to secure peace between them and their enemies, the Arrapahoes. Affiant further avers that the lands conveyed by the terms of said treaty to the Leavenworth, Lawrence, and Galveston Railroad Company comprise about eight million acres, equal to about one sixth of the area of the whole State of Kansas, and nearly double the area of the State of Massachusetts; that he is familiar with that section of the State of Kansas, having frequently traversed it; that more than half the said lands are first class and very rich and valuable lands-well watered and timbered along the waters of the Neosho and the valleys of the Verdigris rivers, together with numerous tributaries; that the said lands are desirable in every respect, and are being fast settled upon by a thrifty and industrious people; that abandonment of those settlers, by this treaty, to the cupidity of speculators and non-residents, has caused a very bitter feeling to pervade the people of the whole State; that a large portion of these lands would readily sell for $1 25 per acre within three or four years; that the proceeds of their sale, upon any just or reasonable terms, would construct not only the Leavenworth, Lawrence, and Galveston railway to and beyond the limits of Kansas, but would also build the Fort Scott and Santa Fé and the Union Pacific, southern branch, railways. And affiant says that Kansas is entitled to the sixteenth and thirty-sixth sections of land in each township, or an equivalent therefor, for the permanent school fund of the State; that a large portion of the State has been absorbed by Indian reservations; that in the retrocession or transfer of these reservations no equivalent has been granted the State for said sections; that Professor McVickar, superintendent of public instruction for Kansas, applied to the commissioners to obtain a portion of said Osage lands for the uses of the school fund, and his application was refused. And afliant says all the above facts, together with various other material evidence, be will be able to produce in case reasonable time is allowed him before the ratification of the said treaty by the Senate of the United States, and further saith not. GEORGE II. HOYT. Subscribed and sworn to before me, this the 16th day of June, 1868. E. M. CHAPIN, Justice of the Peace. Articles of a treaty made and concluded at the Osage council ground, on Drum creek, in the Osage nation, in the State of Kansas, on the 27th day of May, A. D. 1868, by and between the United States, represented by Nathaniel G. Taylor, Commissioner of Indian Affairs; Thomas Murphy, superintendent of Indian affairs for the central superintendency; George C. Snow, agent for the Indians of the Neosho agency, and Albert G. Boone, special agent, (commissioners duly appointed by the President of the United States for the purpose,) and the Great and Little Osage tribe of Indians, represented by their chiefs, councilmen, and head men duly authorized to negotiate and treat in behalf of said tribe, as follows: ARTICLE I. The tribe of the Great and Little Osage Indians are desirous of removing from Kansas to a new and permanent home in the Indian Territory, and of making an advantageous and absolute sale of their lands in the State of Kansas. They desire, moreover, to so dispose of these lands as to aid in the speedy extension of the Leavenworth, Lawrence, and Galveston railroad to and through the Indian Territory, it being the only road now in process of construction running directly through the said Territory which is to be the future home of themselves and their race, and for the further reason that it will give them in their new home the means of transit and transportation, and will tend to promote among them and their brethren the arts and habits of civilized life. The Government of the United States is willing that the company constructing said railroad may become the purchasers of said lands on terms favorable to the Osages and the settlers, because said railroad has received from the United States no money subsidies, and only an inconsiderable land grant, and because when constructed it will become a great trunk line from the Missouri river to the Gulf of Mexico, and with its branches will open to settlement vast and fertile districts, now too remote from railroads and navigable waters to be susceptible of advantageous settlement and cultivation. It is, therefore, agreed that the Leavenworth, Lawrence, and Galveston Railroad Company, a corporation duly organized under the laws of the State of Kansas, shall have the privilege of purchasing the present reserve of the Osages in Kansas, and also the strip of land lying along the north border of the present reservation, ceded to the United States in trust by article second of the treaty betweeen the United States and the Great and Little Osage Indians, concluded September 29, 1865, on the following terms and conditions: said company shall, within three months after the ratification and promulgation of this treaty, pay to the Secretary of the Interior $100,000 in cash, and shall execute and deliver to him its bonds for the further sum of $1,500,000, bearing interest, payable semi-annually, at the rate of five per cent. per annum; the interest on said bonds to commence when the Osages remove from their present reservation, which date shall be fixed, and notice thereof given to the company, by the Secretary of the Interior. One hundred thousand dollars of said bonds shall become due and payable each and every year after the date of execution thereof, so that the last $100,000 of said bonds shall become due and payable in fifteen years from the date of execution thereof. And if said company shall pay the said sum of $100,000, and deliver its said bonds, bearing interest for $1,500,000, as above provided, and shall, one year thereafter, pay $100,000 of said bonds, and interest on the whole of said bonds from the date when said interest shall have begun to accrue, and shall have built and equipped not less than twenty miles of said railroad from Ottawa, Kansas, in a southerly direction, then patents shall be issued to it by the Secretary of the Interior for an amount of said lands to be designated under his direction equal in value to one fifteenth part of the lands which are herein authorized to be sold to said company, deducting and excepting, however, from said amount of land the lands which shall have been, between the date of the purchase by said company and that date, purchased by settlers as hereinafter provided. And if said company shall, annually thereafter, pay $100,000 of said bonds, and interest as thereinbefore provided on all the remaining bonds, and shall, each and every year thereafter, build and equip not less than twenty miles of said road until the same shall have reached the southern boundary of the State of Kansas, it shall, at the date of each of such annual payments, receive patents for a like amount in value of said lands, to be selected under the direction of the Secretary of the Interior, deducting and excepting from said amount the lands which shall have been, between the date of the next preceding payment and that date, preempted and paid for as hereinafter provided; and on payment of the lust of said bonds and interest, as herein provided, it shall be entitled to receive patents for all the remainder of said lands herein authorized to be sold to it. The whole of said lands, if purchased by said company, shall be appraised, at its expense, by three disinterested appraisers to be appointed by the Secretary of the Interior, whose compensation shall not exceed ten dollars per day, in full for services and expenses, and whose appraisal, when approved by the Secretary of the Interior, shall govern in ascertaining the relative value of the amounts of land from time to time selected and paid for, as hereinbefore provided. When said company shall make its first payment and deliver its bonds to the Secretary of the Interior, as above provided, he shall execute and deliver to it a certificate setting forth the fact that it has elected to purchase the lands herein provided to be sold, and is entitled to the possession and use of the same; which certificate shall be evidence of the right of said company to the possession and use of the said lands so long as it shall comply with the conditions of purchase therein prescribed as against all persons except Osages or other persons connected with the nation as may have authority from the Secretary of the Interior to remain temporarily on said lands. But such certificate shall not authorize the taking of any timber or stone from any of said lands, except from such as shall have been selected and paid for as herein provided. None of said lands shall be subject to taxation except such as shall bave been patented to said company, or selected and paid for as above provided. And whenever any patent shall issue to said railroad company for any part of said lands it shall contain the condition that said company shall sell the lands described in said patent, except so much as may be necessary for the operation of said road, within five years from the issuance of said patent. But if the said company shall fail to pay the said sum of $100,000 first above mentioned, and to deliver its bonds for $1,500,000, as above provided, within three months from the ratification and promulgation of this treaty, then it shall have no exclusive right of purchasing said lands, but the lands shall then be surveyed under the direction of the Secretary of the Interior. and appraised by three disinterested appraisers, to be by him appointed, and offered for sale to actual settlers for a period of one year from the promulgation of this treaty, at not less than its appraised value, under such rules and regulations as the Secretary of the Interior may, from time to time, prescribe. And at the expiration of said year, should any of said lands remain unsold, the Secretary of the Interior shall cause the same to be sold in a body for cash, at not less than its appraised value. The proceeds of such sales, as they accrue, after deducting the expenses of survey and appraisement, shall be invested by the Secretary of the Interior for the benefit of said Indians, as hereinafter provided. The Secretary of the Interior may proceed to sell the said lands in a body on the most advantageous terms: Provided, however, That the same conditions and terms shall be observed as herein stipulated: And provided further, That said lands shall not be sold for less than the price herein agreed to be paid therefor. In the event that after sufficient notice has been given no sale can be made of said lands in the manner last aforesaid, and if the said company shall. after paying said sum of $100,000, and delivering said $1,500,000 of bonds, fail to make payment of any portion of the principal or interest remaining due within thirty days from the date when the same shall become due and payable, said company shall forfeit all its right to any portion of said lands not heretofore selected and paid for. And all of said lands herein provided to be sold to said company which shall remain unpaid for shall thereupon be sold by the |