Conclusion
a loose-jointed republic where national legislation is at the beck and call of every little coterie of irresponsible voters, the Indian has been subjected to more devilish variations of human caprice than if he were at the mercy of an openly oppressive, but more consistent and centralized style of government. There is no despotism more whimsically cruel than that of men unused to power, who suddenly find themselves in absolute control of a people whose one vital interest—an advantageous foothold on good land—is in continual conflict with their own chief desire,—the possession of that same good land.
It is a boast of the American people that no flagrant wrong can long persist against an opposing public opinion; that the remedy is with the people, and the people will apply it. Now, although grounded as this Indian iniquity has always been on the very principles of "government by the people" which place the remedy in the people's hands, why has public opinion, so often aroused, failed to dislodge it?
Suppose the representative of a particularly virtuous district in New England were to take a determined stand against some unjust Indian legislation, not only threatening its success, but disturbing, possibly, other projects before Congress dependent upon a general exchange of support. And suppose the overwhelming majority in Congress which recognizes the expediency of the trading system were to punish this obstreperous member by sending him back to
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