[18] _Massachusetts Acts of 1869_, Chapter 463. [19] "A method was also provided through which his title might be established. This was through Commissioners which were to be appointed by the Probate Court who were to act under the direction of the Court and determine all necessary questions and make their report from which the Court could make its order or decrees. Any person who deemed himself aggrieved had the right to appeal to the Supreme Judicial Court. The right of the Indians became vested and forcible the moment the statute took effect." See a statement from the present Attorney General of Massachusetts, dated December 1, 1919. [20] "Section 5, chapter 463 of the Acts of 1869 provided that the general agent of the board of state charities shall take charge of the house, and all property connected therewith, in the town of Webster, belonging to the Commonwealth and permission was given him to lease the same to persona heretofore known as members of the Dudley tribe of Indians, upon terms substantially like those upon which they have heretofore occupied it; or to sell the same at public auction under the direction of the state board of charities and pay the proceeds of such lease or sale into the Treasury of the Commonwealth." Statement of present Attorney General of Massachusetts, submitted December 1, 1919. [21] Samuel A. Drake, _History of Middlesex County. Massachusetts_, pp. 194, 280. [22] John W. Cromwell, _The Negro in American History_, 98-103. [23] These facts were obtained from Mr. Butler himself. [24] This list was obtained from the office of the Attorney General of Massachusetts. DOCUMENTS To meet the demand for an enlargement of the liberty granted the Indians and the mixed breeds living on the reservations, the Massachusetts Legislature enacted in 1861 the following measure intended to offer every ambitious one of these groups a way of escape from the wardship of the State and at the same time safeguarding the interests of those who objected to having turned loose upon society a large number of dependents who could not function as persons having a permanent attachment to the community and primarily concerned with the welfare of the body politic. COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS. IN THE YEAR ONE THOUSAND EIGHT HUNDRED AND SIXTY-ONE. AN ACT CONCERNING THE INDIANS OF THE COMMONWEALTH _Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives, in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:_--