Mr. HIGBY. I withdraw the motion. Mr. Speaker, there seems to be a disposition on the part of a portion of the House, I do not know but a majority of it, that this whole matter in reference to the care and custody of Indians should be transferred to the War Dept. In general terms I exPressed myself some what in doubt yesterday whether it should be continued where it is now, in the hands of the interior Dept. If we will abandon the reservation system entirely, leave the Indians to go wild, as many tribes do now, I think the decidedly better plan would be to transfer this whole subject to the War Dept, as it would simply then be a matter of distrib uting the annuities that are devoted to the Indians, and as the War Dept would then be more immediately the guardians of the Indians they would be more obedient to that Dept. I think under the circumstances that would be the best plan that could be devised. But it is a fact, and an important fact, that the reservation system has been introduced very largely, especially in the States and some of the Territories. In my own State I have to speak more particularly of those portions which I canvassed in 1805 the Indians that have been so extremely troublesome and that have occasioned the Government so much expenditure of money in order to subdue them and bring them to peace, are now upon our reservations and are now living and being supported by the Government under the reservation system. Several 1,000 Indians in the State are cared for in that way. I desire to call the attention of the Gentfrom Ohio, [Mr. SchoNCK,) who has introduced a substitute proposing to transfer this business to the War Dept, to this point. It was said here yesterday that by transferring this to the War Dept the expense would be very much lessened; that the officers now in the military dept would take all the care of the Indians and superintend all the manual labor, and would not receive any additional compensation there for, and the Government would thus get rid of employing other superintendents and agents. Now, let me ask the Gentfrom Ohio, who will have an opportunity to speak on this subject, to give the House some information upon it. On those reservations in California and Nevada which I have visited, and I presume it is the same elsewhere, the Indians are . upon some of the best lands in those States, not simply for occupancy and residence, but for cultivation and producing food for their sustenance and support. There has to be a superintendent in the State who has more or less acquaintance with agriculture, and he must give his attention and his supervision, in going from reservation to reservation through out the State, to these matters as well as to the distribution of the annuities that are voted annually to the Indians. An agent is also placed in the reservation. There may be 500, 1,000, or 1500 Indians on the reservation. The reservation is dealt with as a farm is dealt with, provided these men who have the super vision do their duty. In one reservation in Round valley, California, there were less than 1000Indians when I visited it, but the had raised in the years 1864 and 1865 j. their own hands, assisted by some 2 or 3 men who are under pay at the rate of 50 dollars a month, and an agent at $1, 800 a year, full supplies of provisions. They raised some 4,000 bushels of wheat in 1864. They had a large crop then on the ground. Those who were examined on the reservation report that in everything it was carried on like a farm by a man who understood his business. Now, sir, these Indians have been producing everything they needed, so that the Government has had to make no purchases of food nor incur any expense for transportation to the reservations. I found on every one that I vis ited, with one exception, that they were prospering. In the exceptional case the Government came into possession so late in the year that they could not get their crops in in sea son. I was told by the agent there that they would have nearly or quite enough to last them through the year. But in all the other reservations there was abundance raised by the Indians for their own support; that the laborers would simply want the agents to superin tend and care for them, and they would raise abundance for themselves, and those who are emloyed by the Government to look after them. It is not so favorable in the State of Nevada, because the reservations there had not been cared for. But all the information that I could obtain went to the point that with proper care, in the 1st place furnishing them with tools and seeds, and in the 2nd place receiving a rope.r administration of Indian affairs, they were ready to go to work and produce all they would need for their own support. In my own State it so happened that in the year 1865 the administration of the Indian dept was in a very flattering condition. It was in a far better condition than would have been found to be the case in other portions of the Union. It happened to be in a far better condition than it.during former years. As I remarked yesterday, in some of those years while the Government was making large appropriations and was exhibiting great benev olence there was no beneficence in that benev olence, for the simple reason that the Indians got little or nothing of what the Government was appropriating. Now, it is for the reason that the Indian system is not properly arranged that this bill has been introduced by the ComIndAffrs, in order to see if we cannot bring such a stringency into the system that it will be more properly carried on and the Indian more fairly dealt with by the agents of the Government. It seems to me that if this whole matter should be turned over to the War Dept it will result in an increased expenditure; or at least the same expenditure will be incurred in order to care for the Indians and keep them engaged in agricultural pursuits. The whole testimony which has been taken goes to show that there is no more difficulty in obtaining labor from the Indians than there would be in obtaining labor from so many whites. In every examination that I made on every reservation the testimony was universally the same: that there was no difficulty in obtaining labor from the Indians to raise all that was necessary from the reservation. The only thing the Indians want to be assured of is that they will not be robbed of what they raise when it is produced from the soil; that is the only assurance they ask. They make good laborers on those conditions. If the Indian can have the grain he raises to make into bread, can have his vegetables to eat, and if there is a surplus can be allowed the benefit of it to obtain clothing and other comforts, that is all he wants; and under that system he becomes a good laboring, man. I saw scores of them entirely naked, working in the harvest field as hard as any other laborers would have worked. They were working there with great willingness. The only trouble was that the Government was charged with not furnishing them with sufficient clothing. Whether the clothing was not furnished by the Government, or if furnished it by some means failed to reach them, I do not know. It was ascertained that in some cases the clothing was furnished by the government, but never reached the Indians. Now, if the War Dept would relax its stringent rules so that the men in the military can become agriculturists, and look after the Indians with care in that regard; and not only that, but will also look after the mechanical, the moral, and intellectual interests of the Indians; then it would be immaterial to me where the management was placed. All that I want is that the Dept which shall have the care of these Indians shall do the best for the Indians. It is for that reason that I am in favor of the bill reported by the ComIndAffrs. I think if that bill should pass it will result in a vast improvement upon the lax system that is now in operation. think it would be far better for the Government to pass this bill and try it at least for a time. Let us have this supervisory power in the different districts, whose duty it shall be to make annual examinations, who shall have power to remove any man whom they may find there not performing his duty, and who will have Pool. to find out and prevent frauds, if any are being practiced there. That cannot be done under the Present system. It seems to me this bill obe a vast improvement upon the system now existing. any change would be for the better. lmost I am inclined to the opinion that if we do not make some improvement in this system we better give up entirely the reservation system, for it is nothing but a mockery now. It is a notorious fact that, with the system pursued in my own State during the years i865 and 1866 the reservations might be made self supporting. This was but a man; it was not the system. We want some one to see that the Indians receive not only all that the Government has appropriated for them, but see also that they have proper care and attentions on their reservations. We must do either one thing or the other. We must either have more stringency in the system, which I think this supervisory board would provide, or we must give up the reservation system entirely. If the control of this dept goes into the War Dept we must either give up that system, unless we can have some such board as this who will look after the Indian, teach him agriculture, and make him a laborer. I ask the Gentfrom Ohio [Mr. SchoNok] to tell me how, under a military jurisdiction, you are going to give the Indians that information in regard to agriculture and the methods by which he shall subsist himself. I will now yield the floor to the Gentfrom Ohio, [Mr. SchENck] –