In the spring of 1844 a delegation headed by John Ross arrived in Washington. In a communication[476] to the Secretary of War they inclosed a copy of a letter addressed to them by President Tyler on the 20th of September, 1841, previously alluded to, promising them a new treaty to settle all disputes arising under the treaty of 1835. They advised the Secretary of their readiness to enter upon the negotiation of the promised treaty, and submitted[477] a statement of the salient points of difference to be adjudicated, involving (1) a fair and just indemnity to be paid to the Cherokee Nation for the country east of the Mississippi from which they were forced to remove; (2) indemnity for all improvements, ferries, turnpike roads, bridges, etc., belonging to the Cherokees; (3) indemnity for spoliations committed upon all other Cherokee property by troops and citizens of the United States prior and subsequent to the treaty of 1835; (4) that a title in absolute fee-simple to the country west of the Mississippi be conveyed to the Cherokee Nation by the United States; (5) that the political relations between the Cherokee Nation and the United States be specifically defined; (6) that stocks now invested by the President for the Cherokee Nation be guaranteed to yield a specified annual income, and (7) that provision be made for those Cherokees residing east of the Mississippi who should evince a desire to emigrate to the Cherokee country west of that river. FEUDS BETWEEN THE ROSS, TREATY, AND OLD SETTLER PARTIES. At this period delegations representing the anti-Ross parties were also in Washington, and their animosities, coupled with the frequent and unsavory reports of the events happening in the Cherokee country, determined the President to conclude no new treaty until the true cause was ascertained and the responsibility fixed for all this turbulence and crime.[478] The Old Settler and the Treaty parties alleged that grievous oppressions were practiced upon them by the Ross party, insomuch that they were unable to enjoy their liberty, property, or lives in safety, or to live in peace in the same community. The Old Settler delegation alleged that the act of union, by virtue of which their government was superseded and they were subjected to the constitution and laws of the Ross party, was never authorized or sanctioned by the legal representatives of their people. _Per contra_, the Ross delegation alleged that the Old Settler and the Treaty parties enjoyed the same degree of security and the same fullness of rights that any other portion of the nation enjoyed, and that the alleged dissatisfaction was confined to a few restless and ambitious spirits whose motto was "rule or ruin."