certain bounds, asking them to meet him here on the 25th day of
July. Some of you were unable to come so soon, and he has
therefore, at the instance of those who were here, waited till
to-day to open the talk. I believe that now you are all arrived,
and ready to proceed to business.

"It will be the duty of the Commissioner to talk to you on the
particular details of the treaty, and I will give place to him
presently, but there are one or two things of a general kind which
I would like, before I close, to bring to your notice, for you to
think about among yourselves.

"First. Your Great Mother, the Queen, wishes to do justice to all
her children alike. She will deal fairly with those of the setting
sun, just as she would with those of the rising sun. She wishes
order and peace to reign through all her country, and while her arm
is strong to punish the wicked man, her hand is also open to reward
the good man everywhere in her Dominions.

"Your Great Mother wishes the good of all races under her sway. She
wishes her red children to be happy and contented. She wishes them
to live in comfort. She would like them to adopt the habits of the
whites, to till land and raise food, and store it up against a
time of want. She thinks this would be the best thing for her red
children to do, that it would make them safer from famine and
distress, and make their homes more comfortable.

"But the Queen, though she may think it good for you to adopt
civilized habits, has no idea of compelling you to do so. This she
leaves to your choice, and you need not live like the white man