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6. June 16th Visited the convention on Illinois River. This is composed of Old Settlers and new, in order to form some plan of Union. The principal chiefs of the old settlers have not attended, nor were they a party in calling this convention. They declined every proposition for a union except on the ground that the new settlers would come directly under their laws, not as a community , but as individuals. Many of their subjects, however, whether a majority, or a minority, I cannot tell, have united in their convention, and thus both parties have chosen a committee to act united by -- forming the basis of a government for the whole people. This is objected to by some of the old settlers and their principal chiefs partly, I presume, on the supposition that the late emigrants do not unknown in a national capacity, having lost that instance by their forcible removal from their own country, by the United States and their exit onto a country over which they, that is, the old settlers held entire jurisdiction. But the Eastern Cherokees say that although they were compeled to have their country, come to this, yet this whole removal was