David Josiah Brewer

“ The circumstance that one is called a court and its decisions called judgments cannot alter its character nor enlarge its power. . . . Congress cannot extend the appellate power of this court beyond the limits prescribed by the Constitution, and can neither confer nor impose on it the authority or duty of hearing and determining an appeal from a commissioner or auditor, or any other tribunal exercising only special powers under an act of Congress ”

“ We do not feel called upon to enlarge upon it. It is enough now to hold that Congress, in giving to the Indian territory courts jurisdiction of appeals from the action of the Dawes Commission, did not place the decisions of these courts beyond the reach of further investigation. Hence the act of Congress of July 1, 1902, creating the Choctaw and Chickasaw citizenship court, and giving to it power to examine the judgments of the Indian territory courts, and determine whether they should not be annulled on account of irregularities, was a valid exercise of power. ”

“ He made no application to transfer his case, but chose to abide by the outcome of the case against the ten representatives of his class. The answers to these subordinate questions fully dispose of the main question. ”