Mr. SHERMAiH. The objection that I have to the bill is not so much to the expense that is involved in it that is at most but $60,000 for the pay of the officers provided for by the bill but the bill itself provides for machinery which will involve many times the expenditure of the mere salariesmentioned init. The bill authorizes these commissioners to summon witnesses. Who is to summon them? As a matter of course, marshals and constables, or some Officers of that kind. NO provision is made for them. How are those witnesses to be examined? Where are they to appear? At K what.places and times are these commissioners to ho courts where 00mp laintsare to be heard? This is the beginning of a system to extend over the Indians a quasi judicial authority. There are no times specified for courts to be held, no places, and no officers to examine witnesses. hen these witnesses are summoned they must be paid for their time and paid mileage. You have the judges of courts without the machinery of courts. on propose to pay these judges a higher salary than is aid to district judges of the courts of the U.S. It is well known that the courts of the U.S. cost about one million dollars a year, while the entire sal ary of the judges probably is not 100,000. Hg these are to be quasi judicial tribunals, as it seems they are, these things should be provided for in the bill; if they are not, then what is the use of them? There are 2 complaints made about our Indian system, and I have heard them ever since I have been a member of Congress. One is, that our treaty making system is a farce; the other is, that these agents have no one to watch over them and control them. A white man is appointed an Indian agent in a remote section of the country. There are no courtsto supervise his action; no one to protect the Indians from his action, and he is master of all he surveys. If he can make terms with the chiefs, as a matter of course he controls the Indians. The annuities are paid over to a few; and there is no control over the Indian agents provided for by this bill except the power of suspension. hat does an Indian agent care for that power of suspension? There are no criminal penalties provided in this bill for the punishment of In ian agents. If there were, how are they to be executed and enforced? There are no conrts out there, and consequently they cannot be enforced by courts. If you propose to make now a board of officers at high compensation to superintend these mattters, why not give them criminal jurisdiction? Why not provide that if an agent cheats the Indians he shall be punished by imrisonment? You do not empower this oar to inflict punishments. It seems to me, therefore, the provisions of the bill, if intended to exercise a quasi judicial authority over the tribes, is not a perfect one. After all it seems to me the truly radical objection to our system of treating the Indians is the attempt to treat them as foreign nations, making treaties with them precise y as we do with n land, France, and other foreign nations. until that idea is abandoned, you can not. make any regular system for these Indian tribes. I do not wish to commit myself against voting for this bill because I have desired to be liberal in providing for the Indians, but it seems to me this bill does not go far enough. I would also say as a verbal criticism that in limiting the salary it ought to be provided that the sale shall cover all expenses and mileage, so that {here shall be no claim for expenses of traveling. 4000 dollars a year for an agent of this kind, unless it is intended to cover all his expenses, would be out of proportion to other officers of this character. hat can however, be amended. bit.