to
call the attention of Congress to the subject, and in view of the fact
that it is conceded that the appropriation proceeded upon a false basis
as to the amount of lands to be paid for and is by $50,000 in excess
of the amount they are entitled to (even if their claim to the land is
given full recognition at the rate agreed upon), I have not felt willing
to approve the deed, and shall not do so, at least until both Houses of
Congress have acted upon the subject. It has been informally proposed by
the claimants to release this sum of $50,000, but I have no power to
demand or accept such a release, and such an agreement would be without
consideration and void.

I desire further to call the attention of Congress to the fact that the
recent agreement concluded with the Kiowas and Comanches relates to
lands which were a part of the "leased district," and to which the claim
of the Choctaws and Chickasaws is precisely that recognized by Congress
in the legislation I have referred to. The surplus lands to which this
claim would attach in the Kiowa and Comanche Reservation is 2,500,000
acres, and at the same rate the Government will be called upon to pay to
the Choctaws and Chickasaws for these lands $3,125,000. This sum will be
further augmented, especially if the title of the Indians to the tract
now Greer County, Tex., is established. The duty devolved upon me in
this connection was simply to pass upon the form of the deed; but as in
my opinion the facts mentioned in my special message were not adequately
brought to the attention of Congress in connection with the legislation,
I have felt that I would not be justified in acting without some new
expression of the legislative will.

The report of the Commissioner of Pensions, to which extended notice is
given by the Secretary of the Interior in his report, will attract great
attention. Judged by the aggregate amount of work done, the last year
has been the greatest in the history of the office. I believe that the
organization of the office is efficient and that the work has been done
with fidelity. The passage of what is known as the disability bill has,
as was foreseen, very largely increased the annual disbursements to the
disabled veterans of the Civil War. The estimate for this fiscal year
was $144,956,000, and that amount was appropriated. A deficiency
amounting to $10,508,621 must be provided for at this session.
The estimate for pensions for the fiscal year ending Ju