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Joint Memorial to the Congress of the United States. 1835 177 (1835)

handle is hein.slavery/ssactsal0189 and id is 1 raw text is: value, and4urn them over to the retailer of ardent spirits, who will complete the
;wol k of degradation and ruin, which the? speculator has conmencei ; and the p
Indian, linked to the habit of intoxication, and pennyless, friendless and degraded
will have little else to do than look around for a miserable gravE, in the land of hii
fatrers.I The government cannot desire this, and the voice of humanity cries alouj
against it.
Your memorialists would further represent, that the grantingofreservations, with
a right on the part of the government to supervise the contract by which they ari
disposed of, is attended with great expense and trouble: as is known in relation to
the Creek reservations, opens adoor for the indulgence on the part of the buyer,
of the worst passions of the human heart-to fraud and perjury of the me.t unmitij
gated character. In every point of view, therefore, in which this subject has been
viewed,thesystem of granting reservations is fratight with evil ; and your memo-
rialists would therefore respectfully suggest, that the Indians abould be urged to
consult their interests, by receiving ,p fair eqjuivalent in full extinguishment of their
whole title to their lands, and that no reservations be granted, but that they may
go in a body to join that portion of their tribp who have gone before them ; and they
most respwtfully ask that a treaty be made with them, conformably thereto, and
as in duty bound, they will ever pray, &c. Tiherro;o ,
Resolved, That the Executive of this State be required to forward a copy of this
mneiorial to tird President of the United States and each of the Senators in Coqgress.4
Approved, Jan. 9, 1836.
JOINT MIMOPTIAL to the Co)ngjres of the Ujnited States.
Tin memorial of the Sena. and 1 House of Representatives of the State of Ala-
hama, respectfully represents to your honorable body, that, in addrersing your hon-
orable on the subject of the present memorial, they are inspired with a confidence
in the justice of the cause which they design to advocatn, and therefore respectfully
plresent their claims for vonsideration. At a past session of Congres, a bill to ap-
propriate for a limited time the proceeds of the sales of the public lands of the U.
States, and for granting lands to certain States, passed both houses, and would have
beceme a law, had not the President of the United States, with that fearless course
Iand clear sighted policy, for which his whole life has been marked with such pecu-
liar distinction, refused it his sanction. Your memilorialists look forward with al-
most an absolute certainty, that other attempts vill be made by the friends of this'
measure to force upon the country a system, so ruinous to the citizens of the new
State.4, and so destitute of interest to the General Governmenut.  The advocates of
this measure contend that no reduction ought to be made in the pi-ice of the public
lands, and that te Ionies hereafter to be received for them should be distributed
among the States fwr the purposes of education, internal improvement, and coloniza.
tion of free persons of color, upon the western coast of Africa. Your memorialists
will not discuss the power of the General Government to grant to the States the
proceeds cf the public lands ; but it is obvious, if the monies of the United States
arising from the sales of the public lands can be granted to the States, for the pur-
poses of internal improvement, colonization of free persons of color, they can he
granted for any other purpose, or, to circet any other object : hence the most dan-
gerous powers would be given by construction to the General Government, a con-
struction against which the republicans have contended from the first formation of
the constitution ofthe United States, and which, if sanctioned, will finally destroy the
rights of the States, and will make the United States one great consolidated govern-
ment. The Stlates in which the lands lie are to receive ten per centmin upon the
amount of sales, and the balance is to be distributed among the several States, in tihe
ratio of the'c federal representative population. Your memotialists believe that
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