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5

already been authorized by treaty or by previous acts of Congress, than are provided for in the Act of 1887, with larger quantities are to be allotted under said last [[?]] act. And section five  requires that patents -- with the twenty-five years restriction -- shall issue, for all lands so allotted.

It is true that no special mention is made in said act of those Indians already holding [[underlined]] smaller [[/underlined]] allotments (under 
former laws or treaties) that are provided for by the act of 1887. But this was probably for the reason that it was not deemed necessary --  since the whole tenor of the act indicates
clearly an intention to require the new allotments to embrace the old. It is evident that either the 
new allotments to previous holders of eighty acre tracts must embrace those tracts, or else such holders must be allotted the full quantities provided for the said act of 1887, in [[underlined]] addition [[/underlined]] to their respective eighty acres, already held under previous statutory or treaty provisions. [[but?]] such a construction -- as that [[test?]] suggested -- would seemingly be at war with the evident purpose of said act of 1887 to mete out even-handed justice to all the members of the different tribes: at least as far as was consistent with the protection of rights already vested.

^[[ [[?]] Indian [[?]]
Sept.17.1887.
[[Refer to Senator]]
[[illegible]]
]]

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