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THE CONST! JUTiPN; AHO. jTllpaLA WS--THE GU AUDI AS'OF OUR LIBERTV ' 1 1 ; f'
Vol. xlvi;
Hillsborough; 'wc:; august 22, 1666 ; ::
.No. 2351.
!', ' .
1 .VI , - 1
1 1
t
1 : ' ' 1 " '-'" ' - " t.r.-ii.
'Ml. ':-' - . !
THE FREEDMEN'8 BCRRAU A NUISANCE.
Officii! Fpdit of Of nenW SlilmtD nd fulleon
Th Bureta Rotten Throughout, and Curta to
B rth While toil Negroee. I .'.) :
The Commiioner, Mj. General Swd
n)in'ndBrleadier Gener! Fullertn ap
pointed by the Wir Drpirtme nt to inves
tigate the condition and working of the
Freedmen'f Bureao, made, on Thursday,
the final reportof their labon. The report
is long and very interesting, giving a foil
account of the inspections made in the
States of Georgia, Alabama,' Mississippi;
Louisiana and 1 exas. We givejsume con
denied extracts from the report: ; 1
' ' ;'ot;ondu. ' '
The Bureau in Georgia, tinder th nh
geinrnt of the present able and eificient
hktistant commissioner, Brevet Major Ge
neral Tilson, has been honestly administer-
d, and has accmplihtd all the good of
which the i '"system is capable. It has been
assisted by the Governor,' by the Judges nf
the Supreme Court," byt the civil authori
tie, and to some extent by the citizens.
The amended laws of Georgia are lully as
liberal as tho,e of any Northern State, and
jlae the negro in all reipects on a perfect
equlity with the white man as to his civil
rijhts' ' u tt . i , , ' u u ,-
' " ALASAX4. ' . , , j
In this Ststa Mjor General ..Wager
Swayae, the assistant cominissiiiner, has
lurued a discreet and euiighteued policy
in administering the affairs of the Bureau,
laboring on all occasions to secure the co
operation of the civil authorities and to ob
tain fr m the judicial machinery ol the
Mate a recognition ol the rights essential
the security and well being of the freed
eopl. Tli;;pUcy of General Svayne
has produced a much more kindly feeling
towards the bureau than exists where tu
agents hste assumed to exercise judicial
powers.
Though the administration at headquar
trrs has been . satisfactory, subordinate
gents have been guilty ol considerable ir
rcguUritie. The names ol several engag
d in planting are given.
. )llSlMirri MKAfT STC4LINO.
The control of the Ireedmen's affairs in
this State is iu the hands of Mjer General
Wajd. With the exception ot some local
ities, the negroes are working indatriou
ij , and as a rule are kindly treated and do
ing well. In this, as in others we hive i
kited, the officers of the bureau formerly
impord and collected fines, and many kept
i.o records. We found a marked instance
cf this kind at Grenada, where a lurmer
agent of the bureau. Chaplain Liverwort,
did a thriving business in the way of col
lecting fines, selling ration and Govern
ment hor;s anJ mules. This officer
teeins nt only t have collected fines rang
ing from fifty cents to five dollars, from the
Irerdmen lor marrying them, but aUo at
tempted to exact fees from resident white
ministers for giving them permiiuion to
marry frrrdmen.
In cases where the negroes wcie enable
id pay the sum demanded of them for ap
proving their contracts or marking them,
the chaplain levied on their pcrsiMt pro
pertjr, m ons case teitinjra nesroe's emo-
tr wallet and jaik knife for a bJance of
lilty cents. Thiscloie driving is proba
bly to be accounted for by the lact that
VhaoUin Livemiore openly expreed hi
intention to return to litinoi wuh ten
thousand dollars in his picket. Alter he
lud been removed front his post he offered
inilitsry officer fifty dollars for hi i ti fl a
ruce to retain him in his position. Cuap
hut Iivrrmor left no olKcial papers be
in I to show the disposition he had made
I the funds received. A large anuunt of
money was also collected by the first to
"Sent at Columbus in the shape of fees
...! fines, snd so far as we could learn no
account was ever rendered of it. Thia
i lata of officers have lately been mustered
at. or have disappeared. Under the pre-
at administrstion the agents exercise no
judicial powers.
LOCHIA--WHOLKIALE PLCM)ERIXO.
The bureau in this depsrtment is more
n need of retrenchment and reform than
in any other Stae w 'av'e visited. ' afore j
money has been collected, and more mo-
nej ims ueen squanoereo in Louisiana man
in any other three. Southern; State?'.' The
expenses of the bareau.ak accounted for
lor the fiscal year ending the lst'of Jbhe,
1866, were over three hundred thousand
dollars. To meet this 'expenditure' there
were collected in taxes and rents the fol
lowing amounts : L "J 'iV '
' For school purjioaea,'"""." ., 96,387 39
Front renu, iU 1 ' 92,431 90'
Frem poll lax, i'J , . iS0,956 ll
From Corps d' Afiiius tsi,0 . ; , 23)00.4)0. .
From fiues, , , ' , 673tl0.
Totat. '
$513,448 47
Leaving a, deficitf 33 to be
paid out of the tmtional .treasury. These
expenses are n'addjtion to the tiaosporta-
tioti, ratious and quarlermasterV supplies
luruianeu oy me goveroiuenu u is .uua
cult to determinate to what use the'. fast
amount of property held by the bureau has
been appliea. At tne very lowest csii mate.
the property taken possession of ax confis-
caicu or auaouoneu amouuiea to value to
ten millivns of dollars, and ' the rents re
turned as above mentioned are less than one
percent, on the entire value. V .'. , .
The rapendiUirs of the bureau,' under
the present administjatiuQTur ageats. ci
viliati clerks and ' employees about its
headquarters alone, amount to not less
Hun 40,23S a year, exclusive of i be pay
of sUff officers aud oideriits iu the inilm
ry service.
A L'ge proportion of the money expend
ed on the Iretduirn schools, under' the ad
ministration ol the Rev. T. W. Conway,
the lateasistaut comumsionei; we are as
tisfied was squaudered. Mr. Matthew
Wluldeu, formerly chief clerk in the school
department in e ride tier before usstated
ilut in September, 1805, Capuin Pease,
the school superiutendeut, reported offi
cially that there Mere lorty schools in ope
ration and in a flourishing condition, when,
in lact, there were but two.
From the sworn testimony it will be seen
that Csplaiti Joise appointed provost
marshal of the bureau by Mr. Conway,
made the provost iuarluli's office a slav e
peu, aneliitg lieei'uien and selling them
to planters at live;dollarsahead, and shar
ing the proceeds with his special police
men who made the arret. This officer
lurther collected a large amount of money
from freed men and white persons arrestee
by him for vatious offences, and his books
only show receipts from this source amount
ing to ItJTJ.lO.
The bureau is cultivating a large planta
tion in this btate, lor whtch:it imvs ten to
filtren thousand dollars year as rent. We
can scarcely imagine the excuse for renting
land on account of the Uuited States, when
site government, through each Congress is
giving away millions of acres ol public
lands to corporations.
TLXAS KACll AUkST A. ABioLlTE MONARCH.
All the bureau agents in Texas exercine
judicial powers in both civil ami criminal
iai.es, and in the discbsrge of these arbitra
ry aud dangerous lunction, frequently ar
rest and imprison expectable citizens up
on mere rumor.
Ten of tht thirty-five amenta in this State
are cilUfii planters. One ot them, Cot.
McCoiiitagbe, agnt in Thorntvn count),
was formerly a Colonel iti the rebel srmy,
and was appointed an agent of the bureau
by General Gregory, then assistant com
missioner for the State, while still unpar
doned. So far as xi i saw, or were able to get in
formation in Texas, the fried men were
working well aud the crops were promis
ing. The wages paid -all the payments
being made in specie were better than in
any other department. , .
SlXXARY. f
In pursuing this investigation, which hss
now extended over four months, we have
found extreme difficulty in complying with
that portion of our instructions which re
quires ui to report upon the operations of
the bureau and its mode of administrstiun.
The bertau hal no settled node of admin
istration. trre is an entire sbience ot
system or uniformity, inf.sconstitution.
In one State its officers 'exercise judicial
powers, in an adjoining State all cases are
referred to the civil authorities; while in
a third State the bureau officers collect the
cases and turn them over to the military
provost courts to dispose of In some de
partments the officers of -the bureau! have
attempted to- regulate the- rate of Wages;
one form of contract between employer and
employed is prescribed n one State while
in another & different form is adopted, In
Louisiana the expenses of the freedmen's
schools have been wholly paid by the go
vernment; io the other States the schools
are partially; sell supporting, and in Texas
they are entirely so; i In some localities
the bureau officers interfere arbitrarily be
tween the planters and thefreedmen i'n fa
vor of the Ireedmen j in other localities the
bureau is used as a means of, coercing the
freedmen in favor of the planter. - The ex
penditure of the bareau varies as much ss
its mode of administration. ' In one State
the expenses are over three hundred thous
and dollars a year; in another State, with
an equal population, the expenses are not
more thnn fifty thousand. ! In Some States
the expenses have been met by taxes levied
on and collected from the people; in other
States the cost is entirely borne by the
United States Treasury. ' ''' -
The official report of Colonel Reno,
United States army Provost Marshal Ge.
neral of the Bureau of Louisiana, shows a
deficit of upwards of (seven thousand do.
lars in the accounts of tie officers who were
engsged in the collecting of taxes in New
Orleans, which deficit Col. Reno says he is
unable to explain in consequence of the
loose manner in which the books were kept.
We are of the opinion that at the close
of the war, and for some time after the
cessation ol hostilities, the Freedmen's Bu
reau did good. The people of the South,
having at first no faith in the negroes work
ing under a free labor system, were desi
rous of getting rid'ol them, and during the
summer of 1865 judicious bureau and mili
tary officers did much toward restoring or
der sndjharuviny, and inducingthe people of
the bo'ith to resume the cultivation ot their
plantations by employing the freedmen.
Before the close of 1865 there was an entire
revolution in the sentiments of the people
of the South with regard to negro labor. A
feeling of kindness sprang up towards the
freed man, reoultmg, perhaps, mainly from
the conviction, that his labor was desirable,
profitable and the only labor to be hid.
The necessity of the bureau then ceased.
Since then, whde it has been beneficial in
some localities, it has been productive, in
the "ggregste, of more harm than good. It
has occasioned and will perpetuat; discord
as long as it exists, though administered
by the purest and wisest men of the nation.
The freedmen regard its presence as evi
dence that they would be unsafe without
it, and the white people consider it an im
putation upon the official action of all their
courts and magistrates, as w ell as upon the
priva'e conduct ol their cititens. Both
races are thus made suspicious and bitter
by an agency winch, in the present reorga
nized condition of civil zuvernuient and so
ciety in the Southern States, is powerless
i advance the interests of either.
speech of governor orr,
pcinl Dctpatch to the Natim si Iiitctligencrr.
Philadelphia, August 13. A purling was held lo
niabt at the National fiuatda' Ha!lljlhs Democrats.
After the aJopti.n of rrluthn exprrtaive of ih
principles of those present, O.wrrnor James I On,
of 8Hith Csiiiiina, ws iutro Jut r J sm! spoke f ubtisn
tially as follows: ,
Pillow Cmms: I esteem myself fortU'
nate upon the prevent occasion with being
honored with an invitation to address you
on the oprnir r id your campaign ih this
State. Ten years ago I stood before you
with the late 'lamented Douglas, when we
then cave to vou our oninions of the brin.
ciples of the Democratic party, I would to
God that he again stood before you, Hhce
the great changes which have occurred. A
golf has yawned ; but now that gulf bas been
dosed, and wr hate come here to form a
union between the conservative men ef the;
North and of the South. 1 wilP merely
glance at a few points to show you that the ;
professions made by the people of the South
since they have laid down their arias are.
honest and wholesouled. The war began :
on the part of the South,, through the peo
ple believing they had the right to secede.
Vou did not agree to that. War resulted i
the South was conquered, and the interpre
tation you gave to the Constitution has been
established firmly as the legal one. That
decision 'was pronounced on the field of bat
tle by the highest tribunal, and the decree
is incontrovertible. 'The nationality of our
Government 'has been established. The
South has surrendered the principles she .
believed, and is willing to accept your in
terpretation. No man would. reopen the.
dreadful contest to see whether the decision
was the right one, but, all are willing to
abide by it forever.. By this war the peo-
pie oi me owum nave, 10 a very urge exienr.
been stripped of their , property. ' , Their
banks are gone and their credit cone. In'
many localities the great stand point oleivl
law has been lost; Thus the people of ike,'
South Have tar more need of a stable govern
ment than you have, and it is mad tell to
charge that they will not fulfil their oath's to
support this Government. Although your
puoiie aeoi nas o:en contracted in defeat-,
ins a settion of country from which 1 come.
yet 1 would feel that any repudiation of ths
ueui would De a dishonor to my own integ
rity. This is my Government ; it too is mr
children's and grand children's Govern
ment. As a participant in the rebellion I
am now for this Government, and its honor
is my honor. I desire it to stand before all
the nations of the earth in all the glory, and
pnue, sou prosperity oi a great nation ot
the world. Fellow citizens, we have been
knocking at the door for eight long months,
asking Congress that the best, the intel
lectual, and leading men of the South shall
be admitted into Gongress to represent us
there. If we are not to be trusted now.
when are we to be trusted? Ih it just or
right that we should be excluded from these
privileges; 2o, for the right of representa
tion Is regarded as one ot the most sacred
rights iu this country. Is U just and fair
or generous that we should be excluded
trout legislation while taxes are imposed
upoii us without our consent? I am a dele
gate from South Carolina to the Conven
tion, ai.d I hope they will be successful in
formings party to stand against the mad
policy of the Radicals in Congress. When
the Convention adjourns and sends forth
the results ol its deliberations, 1 trust that
all right-minded men will be able to agree
to their dreds.
Further addresses by Montgomery Bair
anJ others were greeted with applause.
Alter which the meeting adjourned.
BvxMjsa." The Goldsboro' iN'ewssays
that acouioaiiv of Federal cavalry, nassiii''
through Y ayne and Greene counties, a few
days since, committed acts of vandalism
only equaled by the worst done by Sher
man's army. Among the cniet sutterera
was a Mrs, Gardner, who not - only had
much property destroyed, but one ol the
plunderers struck her with a sword. It is
to be hoped that the military authorities
will at once take the necessary steps for
the punishment of the guilty wretches. We
had hoped that, with the termination of the
war, there would be an end to ' bumming.''
Aoriccltcral CoLiKCs. Gov. Worth
hat received from Washington, land scrip
to the amount of 190,080 acres to go towards
the establishment of an Agricultural Col
It ge tn this Stale. Virginia, North Caroli
na and Georgia are the only Southern States
which have availed themselves of 'his act
of Congress passed July 2, 1862, and
which provides that the land be selected
fiora toy oi the public lands of the United
States at Si 25 per acre.
The planting cotton in Illinois is thus
far a success. Accounts from that State
ssy. that the crops are promising. One
Slanter has two hundred acres of cotton un
er cultivation.