Mr. SHERMAN. I do not intend to press any opposition to this appropriation, because I am deficient of informationto do so; but the facts disclosed this morning show clearly, I think, that the Indian Bureau ought to be transferred to the War Dept, or all connection with the Indians transferred to the Interior Dept. That is manifest from the statements which have been made. Here is confusion between these 2 Depts of the Government; neither seems to understand its appropriate duties in this respect. The bill of items submitted to the ommit fee on Finance is so singular that since I have read it this morning for the 1st time it strikes me as furnishing a very strong argument why gigs. pongnES 10NAL spoon. 2013 this whole subject ought to be transferred to the War Dept. The negotiations ought to be made through military Officers, the commanders of troops face to face with the Indians. Then you will have some check on the eXpend iture. The Senator will see himself that there will be no check here on the expenditure of the money about to be appropriated. In the subsistence Dept. no ration can be drawn except in pursuance of law, and there are forms and modes of checking officers, so that there is a system of accountability which it is almost impossible to overcome. It is almost impossible that frauds can be perpetrated in the subsistence Bureau of the Var Dept. So in regard to transportation; that is done under a system ofaccounts and checks, so that money appropriated for the uarterinasters Dept is certainly applied to the purposes to which it is appropriated, though sometimes frauds may er ups be committed. This appropriation, owever, will be to another Dept of the Government, for supplies of a character over which that Dept has not usuall had any supervision. These estimates provide for 6 Indian treaties with the aggre gated Indians that have been invited to participate to the amount of something like 10,000. The estimates are given in detail in the papers furnished to the ComFinance, and show that these Indians expected to be aggregated in masses, men, women, and children meetin together at 5 or 6 different forts of the U.S., from 1500 to 2000 at each fort, and they are there to be fed on pork, bread, coffee, and the ordinary rations of the Army for a certain time, and treaties of peace are to be negotiated with them. There is no mode of transporting those provisions from the settlements to the forts except by new agencies. The quartermasters Dept has its contracts for the transportation of supplies in which competition has been had, proposals have been invited, contracts have been made. But. in the transportation of these supplies there will be no compe dtion. The very necessity ofimmediate action will compel the Dept to transport these supplies at whatever cost. The expense of transporting the supplies will be almost equivdent to their ori“ual cost. One of the qbills presented here s ows corn used by one of the scouts sent out coat the Government 8 to 9 dollars a bushel, when we all know that in Iowa corn is now being burnt for fuel it is so stated in the papers; and certainly it is not worth over 20 cents a bushel.