Mr. TRUMBULL. Iain a member of the ComIndAffrs, and was present when this bill was considered, and I gave it my assent upon this consideration: I have always heard it chared since I have had any connection with pubIic aliairs, that the Indians of the country were wroned and cheated by traders and those who ha to deal with them. Ever since I have been a member of Congress, I have heard imputations against the Commissioners of Indian Affairs. I do not speak of any particular one, but general impututions against the Commissioner, sometimes even reaching as high as the SecyInterior, and against the superintendents and the Indian agents all over the country. until it has come to be almost a reflection on the character of any man the moment he accepts an Indian agency. An honest man, it would seem, could not accept the position of Indian agent without being suspected at once of having some design of defrauding or cheating the Government or the Indians. I do not. know how much truth there is in this. I think such suspicionsought not to exist. They are very unjust to honest men, and if they are true, the perpetrators of these wrongs and outrages ought to be fereted out. It has been said that we had no means of knowing whether these Indian agents were honest or dishonest; that they acted in fact for both parties, for the Government of the U.S., and for the Indians with whom they dwelt; that they furnished them supplies; and they were often in company, it was said, with licensed traders, and made fortunes in that way. The Indians had no way of knowing whether they got what they were entitled to when supplies were furnished them flour, meat, or anything else, whatever itmight be. They were cheated in the weight and never knew it. If goods were furnished, they were deceived as to the quantity or the quality of the goods. They did not know that they were deceived, and if they did know that they were deceived, they had no means of communicating with the Government except through the very persons who had practiced the {mud I hope, for the credit of the country and of the Officers, that these various imputations are not true. I do not know that any of them are true. I have not been sufficiently familiar with the transactions of the Indian Bureau to know the facts in regard to these various charges that I have heard ever since I have been connected with public life; but I suppose, having heard so much, there must be something in this; and whether there is or not, I think it important that we should have some check upon the parties who disburse our money. We have these checks in all the other Depts of Government s, so that if a dishonest man obtains a position, his accounts are overlooked by some ody else. The object of these checks is to make it difficult for a dishonest man to prac tice his dishonesty without detection. we do not seem to have any such system of checks in our conduct of Indian affairs. Mr. President, it is one of the very difficult problemsto know how to deal with these Indian tribes. The Government of the U.S. has been dispoeed to treat them as wards, as children dependent upon it, and we have undertaken to provide for them, and to preserve eace among them. We have not been ver ortunate in. this, and I question very muc whether our whole policy in regard to the Indians in making what we call treaties with them is not wrong, and whether we ought not to take them under our care, and by legislation, Without attempting to get up treaties in any shape, brin them within our jurisdiction, and extend our laws over them. owcver, that is not the policy of the Government, and unless we change the policy it is desirable to perfect it, and have the In an laws fairly a ministered. Here was a proposition to have 5 supervising boards in no way connected with the Indian Bureau. I insisted upon it in committee that these boards should not be dependent at. allupon the Indian Bureau; should have no connection with the ComIndAff, or the superintendents or the agents, but they should go out independent, handle no money, simply seeing whether the laws of the U.S. relating to the Indians are executed, whether the 9. outs do their duty, whether the superinten cuts do their duty, whether the Indians get what the Government proposes to give them, whether in money or in supplies of any kind, farmin utensils, or whatever else we agree to furnis the Indians with. It involves some expense; $50,000, it is said, will be the annual expense. Suppose it to be $50,000 or $60,000; we pay out millions to these people, and if atithe of the rumors which are in circulation in regard to the squandering of the money appropriated by the Government for the benefit oi the Indians be true, we shall save more than it all the very 1st year. I thought, in consideration of these constant complaints in regard to the administration of this ranch of the public service that it was desir able to inaugurate some system that would relieve the officers charged with the execution of these laws from these imputations if they were honest, and would remove and bring to justice those who were dishonest. Therefore gave my assent to the bill. There were some of the features of the bill that did not entirely meet my approbation. I have, however, no special objection to them. I thou t it might be difficult to carry some of them into practical effect; but I favored the design of the bill. I allude now particularly to the provision that one of these inspectors shall be selected from the number to be recommended by the various religious denominations. Theidea is a good one, and if it can be carried out it is very esirable. You would then have a person appointed, notby reason of his belonging to any particular party, or as a reward for political service, but a person who should be selected by some of the reigious denominations, If it can be carried into etfect I think it a very good provision. If these religiom; association which nicctannually in the U.S. would designate some suitable person among their niimberas a [it person to go among the Indians, who are really the subjects of our bounty. whom we are trying to civilize and Christianize as wen as to protect, I have no doubt he might accomplish much good. I shall, therefore make no objection to that provision in the bill. I am in favor of it if it can be made practicable, and I do not know but that it can be; a majority of the committee thought it could.