[Sub-Enclosure.]

Statement of Claims of the Cayuga Indians.

The Cayuga Nation of Indians formerly resided in the State of New York, one of the United States of America, where they owned valuable lands now composing the County of Cayuga. By a treaty made by and between the People of the State of New York and the said Cayuga Indians then residing in the said State, in 1789, the said State of New York were bound to pay the said Cayuga Indians the sum of five hundred dollars annually in silver.

That the said State of New York afterwards agreed to pay to the said Cayuga Nation of Indians, in consideration of the cession of all of their lands to the said State in 1795 the annual sum of one thousand eight hundred dollars, payable to the said Cayuga Nation of Indians, the above two sums being understood consolidated into one sum of two thousand three hundred dollars, to be due and payable on the first of June of each and every year forever, to the United States Indian Agent for the time being, and by him to the said Indians.

It was provided that every payment should be endorsed upon the back of the parchment of the treaty. The parchment is now in the possession of the Chiefs of the Cayuga Indians on the Grand River, County of Brant, and divers payments are endorsed on the back of the said parchment in accordance with the terms of the said Treaty.

After the peace succeeding the war of 1812 and the resumption of the business intercourse between the said countries, the Cayuga Chiefs residing in said County of Brant demanded of the United States Agent the several annuities then due to them from the State. The payment was declined by the then Agent of the United States. on the ground that the said Cayuga Nation of Indians forfeited their annuity in consequence of having fought on the side of Great Britain in the war of 1812. The said Cayugas then petitioned the Executive Government of the State of New York, praying for their recognition of their right to the annuity. His Excellency

Governor Hunt referred this petition to the Legislature of the State then in session. The Legislature by a resolution referred the said petition and the accompanying papers to the Commissioners of the Land Office of the State of New York for examination of the various treaties of the Cayuga Indians with the State, and to make their Report to the Legislature whether there was any treaty existing which was binding upon the State with the Cayuga Indians on the said Grand River. The officers composing the Commissioners of the Land Office are The Lieutenant Governor, the Secretary of State, the Comptroller, the Treasurer, the Chief Surveyor and Engineer, the Attorney-General and the Honourable the Speaker of the Assembly.

The Committee reported that there was a treaty between the State of New York and the Cayuga Nation of Indians which was binding upon the State, and that the Indians, or the greater portion of them residing in Canada were entitled to a share of the said annuity. The report stated, among other things, that the contract of Treaty existing between the State and the said Indians must be regarded in the light of private contract which the war did not abrogate.

That some years ago General Strong, an attorney of Buffalo, undertook to press the claim and was authorized and recognized as counsel for the said Cayuga Indians, and brought the matter before the Courts and Legislature, and evidence was taken by a Commission, and although he succeeded in having the claim recognized by the Senate of the State on two occasions (in 1890, 1891) the Bills were defeated in the Assembly.

That about three quarters of the Cayuga Nation reside on the said Grand River. Nevertheless the State of New York have paid all of the said annuity to those of the said Nation living in the United States, but not in accordance with the terms of the Treaty. The terms of the said Treaty as to the mode of payment having been changed without the sanction or knowledge of the Cayuga Indians residents of Canada.

A

Personal.

EXHIBIT 301.

The Secretary of State to the British Ambassador.

Department of State,

WASHINGTON, December 20, 1897.

His Excellency The Right Honorable

Sir Julian Pauncefote, G. C. B., G. C. M. G.,

etc., etc., etc.

MY DEAR SIR JULIAN:

Referring to your communication of the 14th instant, enclosing a copy of the Minute of the Canadian Privy Council relative to the claim of the Cayuga Indians, who are established in Canada, that they should be paid certain annuities by the State of New York, and asking my views as to whether favorable consideration would be given to an official presentation of the claim, I beg to say that the matter would seem to be a proper one for communication to the Government of the State of New York for consideration and such action as may be due, but this Department is quite unable to say whether the conditions which led to the failure of the relief bill in 1890 and 1891 still exist.

I am, my dear Sir Julian,

Very sincerely yours,

EXHIBIT 302.

JOHN SHERMAN.

SIR,

The British Ambassador to the Secretary of State.

WASHINGTON June 9, 1898.

Acting under instructions from Her Majesty's Principal Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs I have the honour to bring before you the claim of the Cayuga Indians residing in Canada to a distributive share in certain annuities payable to the Cayuga Tribe by the State of New York.

The particulars of this claim are fully stated in an extract from an approved Report of the Canadian Privy Council which I transmitted unofficially to Mr. Secretary Sherman in a letter of the 14th December last, with the view of ascertaining what prospect existed that the claim, if presented officially, would be favorably considered by your Government. Mr. Sherman replied in a personal letter of the 20th of that month that "the matter would seem to be a proper one for communication to the Governor of the State of New York, for consideration and such action as may be due," adding, however, that the Department of State was unable to say whether the conditions which led to the failure of the measures previously introduced in the Legislature for the satisfaction of the claim still remained in existence.

It may be useful to supplement the statement of the case contained in the Privy Council Report with a few brief observations.

The annuities in question are payable by the State of New York under the Provisions of Treaties concluded in 1789 and 1795 with the Cayuga Nation. In the course of the enquiries in regard to present claim made by the State Authorities, a question seems to have been raised whether the Cayugas resident in Canada are the "posterity" of the Cayugas with whom the original Treaties were concluded, in the sense in which that Term is used in the Treaties. On this point it is to be observed that a silver medal presented by Washington to the Head Chief of the Cayuga Nation of Indians, as also the duplicate original of the Treaty of 1795, are in the custody of O-ya-geht-te, Chief of the Nation, who resides with the Cayuga Indians in Canada; and various payments made prior to the war of 1812 are endorsed on the back of this document in accordance with the Terms of the Treaty. It would seem difficult to doubt that the Indians who are in possession of these evidences of title are the representatives of the original Tribe with which the Treaty was made.

After the war of 1812 payment of the Annuity to the Canadian Cayugas was declined on the ground that they had forfeited their rights by siding with Great Britain. That ground of refusal is however, clearly untenable, since Article 9 of the Treaty of December 24, 1814 expressly provides that the United States shall restore to all Indian Tribes with which they were then at war "all the posses

sions, rights, or privileges which they may have enjoyed or been entitled to previous to such hostilities." Moreover, the Land office of New York appear to have decided that the Treaty with the Indians, being in the nature of a private contract, was not abrogated by the war.

Lastly, I would point out that the Indians claim has twice obtained recognition in the State Legislature. A Bill making an appropriation in favour of the claimants was, in 1890 and 1891, adopted unanimously by the Senate-though afterwards defeated in the Assembly.

The time has now come when in the opinion of Her Majesty's Government this long standing claim should be formally represented to your Government, and I venture to submit it to you in the full confidence that the matter will receive your favorable and careful consideration, and that such steps will be taken as the justice of the case may be found to require, to make good to these Indians the rights of which they have so long been deprived.

The Right Honorable Lord Pauncefote, G. C. B., G. C. M. G., etc., etc., etc.

EXCELLENCY:

Referring to previous correspondence with your Embassy concerning the claim of the Cayuga Indians against the State of New