Report on the Condition of the South

by Carl Schurz

HEADQUARTERS POST OF PORT GIBSON,

Port Gibson, Mississippi, August 10, 1865.

The permission given from these headquarters, dated July 3, 1865, by
Captain Jack, provost marshal, is hereby revoked.

C.B. Clark, chief of police, under the permission, will notify the parties forming the said patrol to discontinue the practice of patrolling the roads and country armed. All arrests must be made by the proper military or civil authorities.

P. JONES YORK, Lieutenant Colonel Commanding Post.

Official copy:

J. WARREN MILLER, Assistant Adjutant General.

No. 26.

BUREAU REFUGEES, FREEDMEN, AND ABANDONED LANDS,

OFFICE ACTING ASSISTANT COMMISSIONER FOR WESTERN DIST. OF MISS.,

Vicksburg, Miss., September 28, 1865.

Colonel: I beg leave to call your attention to some of the difficulties we are still obliged to contend with, and some of the abuses still inflicted upon the freedmen, resulting from the prejudices which are still far from being eradicated. In the immediate vicinity of our military posts, and in locations that can readily be reached by the officers of this bureau, the citizens are wary of abusing the blacks; they are so because this bureau has arrested and punished people committing such offences; and the manner in which such cases have been dealt with has shown people that abuse and imposition will not be tolerated, and that such offences are sure to be punished in accordance with the enormity of the crime. But in remote localities, those that cannot well be reached by officers of the bureau, the blacks are as badly treated as ever; colored people often report themselves to the sub-commissioners with bruised heads and lacerated backs, and ask for redress, protection, to be permitted to live at their former homes, and some assurance that they will not be treated in a like manner again if they return. But nothing can be done if their homes happen to be twenty or thirty miles from any office that will protect them. A great many have thus learned that there is no protection for them, and quietly submit to anything that may be required of them, or, as is more frequently the case, they leave such places and crowd about the places where they can be protected.

A girl about twelve years of age, certainly too young to commit any serious offence, lies in No. 1 hospital now with her back perfectly raw, the results of a paddling administered by her former owner. Any number of such cases could easily be cited. In many cases negroes who left their homes during the war, and have been within our military lines, and have provided homes here for their families, going back to get their wives or children, have been driven off and told they could not have them. In several cases guards have been sent to aid people in getting their families, in many others it has been impracticable, as the distance was too great. In portions of the northern part of this district the colored people are kept in SLAVERY still. The white people tell them that they were free during the war, but the war is now over, and they must go to work again as before. The reports from sub-commissioners nearest that locality show that the blacks are in a much worse state than ever before, the able-bodied being kept at work under the lash, and the young and infirm driven off to care for themselves.

As to protection from the civil authorities, there is no such thing outside of this city. There is not a justice of the peace or any other civil officer in the district, eight (8) counties, of which I have charge, that will listen to a complaint from a negro; and in the city, since the adjudication of these cases has been turned over to the mayor, the abuse of and impositions upon negroes are increasing very visibly, for the reason that very little, if any, attention is paid to any complaint of a negro against a white person. Negro testimony is admitted, but, judging from some of the decisions, it would seem that it carries very little weight. In several cases black witnesses have been refused on the ground that the testimony on the opposite side, white, could not be controverted, and it was useless to bring in black witnesses against it. I enclose an affidavit taken on one such case. In the mayor's court, cases in which it is practicable to impose a fine and thereby replenish the city treasury, are taken up invariably, but cases where the parties have no money are very apt to pass unnoticed. One more point, and a serious one, too, for the colored people, is, that in the collection of debts, and a great many of a similar class of cases that are not taken cognizance of in the mayor's court, they have to go through a regular civil process, necessitating the feeing of lawyers, &c., which is quite a burden on a people whose means are limited. These cases have all formerly been handled by an officer of this bureau, and without any expense to the parties for fees, &c.

The prejudices of the citizens are very strong against the negro; he is considered to be deserving of the same treatment a mule gets, in many cases not as kind, as it is unprofitable to kill or maim a mule, but the breaking of the neck of the free negro is nobody's loss; and unless there is some means for meting out justice to these people that is surer and more impartial than these civil justice's courts, run by men whose minds are prejudiced and bitter against the negro, I would recommend, as an act of humanity, that the negroes be made slaves again.

I am, colonel, very respectfully, your obedient servant,

J.H. WEBER, Captain and Acting Ass't. Com'r. Freedmen's Bureau for Western Dist. Miss.

Colonel SAMUEL THOMAS, Ass't. Com'r. Bureau Freedmen, &c., Vicksburg, Miss.

No. 27.

OFFICE ASSISTANT COMMISSIONER BUREAU REFUGEES, FREEDMEN, AND ABANDONED LANDS FOR STATE OF MISSISSIPPI,

Vicksburg, Mississippi, September 28, 1865.

Dear Sir: In accordance with your request, I write the following letter, containing some of my views on the subject to which you called my attention—a subject worthy of great consideration, because a bad policy adopted now with reference to the administration of justice and the establishment of courts in the south may lead to evils that will be irreparable in the future.

You are aware that some time ago General Swayne, commissioner of the Freedmen's Bureau for Alabama, constituted the civil officers of the provisional government of that State commissioners of the bureau for hearing and deciding all cases in which freedmen were parties, provided no invidious distinctions in receiving testimony, punishment, &c., were made between blacks and whites. Governor Parsons, of Alabama, approved of the arrangement, and urged the State officials to comply with the condition, and thus do away with the necessity for military courts in connexion with freedmen affairs. I have no doubt I could have induced the governor of Mississippi to take the same action had I thought it the policy of the government. I was under the impression that General Swayne had made a mistake, and that he would defeat the very objects for which the bureau was laboring. I thought the citizens were not to be trusted with freedmen affairs until they had given some strong evidence that they were prepared to accept the great change in the condition of the freedmen. I had not the least idea that such a limited control as General Swayne now has would accomplish what the authorities desired. The protection he gives freedmen under his order is so limited, and will fall so far short of what the freedmen have a right to expect, that I did not think of bringing the matter before the government. Late orders and instructions from the President convince me that I was mistaken, and that the trial is to be made.

I have issued an order in accordance with these instructions, which I append:

[General Orders No. 8.]

BUREAU REFUGEES, FREEDMEN, AND ABANDONED LANDS, Office Ass't.
Commissioner for State of Miss., Vicksburg, Miss., September 20, 1865.

The following extracts from Circular No. 5, current series, Bureau Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands, and General Orders No. 10, current series, headquarters department of Mississippi, in reference to the same, are hereby republished for the guidance of officers of this bureau:

["Circular No. 5.]

"WAR DEPARTMENT,

"Bureau Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands, Washington, May 30, 1865.

"RULES AND REGULATIONS FOR ASSISTANT COMMISSIONERS.

"VII. In all places where there is an interruption of civil law, or in which local courts, by reason of old codes, in violation of the freedom guaranteed by the proclamation of the President and laws of Congress, disregard the negro's right to justice before the laws, in not allowing him to give testimony, the control of all subjects relating to refugees and freedmen being committed to this bureau, the assistant commissioners will adjudicate, either themselves or through officers of their appointment, all difficulties arising between negroes and whites or Indians, except those in military service, so far as recognizable by military authority, and not taken cognizance of by the other tribunals, civil or military, of the United States.

"O.O. HOWARD, Major General, Commissioner Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, &c.

"Approved June 2, 1865.

"ANDREW JOHNSON,
"President of the United States."

["General Orders No. 10.]

"HEADQUARTERS DEPARTMENT OF MISSISSIPPI,

"Vicksburg, Mississippi, August 3, 1865.

"VII. This order, (Circular No. 5, paragraph VII, Bureau Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands,) however, must not be so construed as to give the colored man immunities not accorded to other persons. If he is charged with the violation of any law of the State, or an ordinance of any city, for which offence the same penalty is imposed upon white persons as upon black, and if courts grant to him the same privileges as are accorded to white men, no interference on the part of the military authorities will be permitted. Several instances have recently been reported in which military officers, claiming to act under the authority of the order above mentioned, have taken from the custody of the civil authorities negroes arrested for theft and other misdemeanors, even in cases where the courts were willing to concede to them the same privileges as are granted to white persons. These officers have not been governed by the spirit of the order. The object of the government is not to screen this class from just punishment—not to encourage in them the idea that they can be guilty of crime and escape its penalties, but simply to secure to them the rights of freemen, holding them, at the same time, subject to the same laws by which other classes are governed.

"By order of Major General Slocum:

"J. WARREN MILLER, "Assistant Adjutant General."

In accordance with this order, where the judicial officers and magistrates of the provisional government of this State will take for their mode of procedure the laws now in force in this State, except so far as those laws make a distinction on account of color, and allow the negroes the same rights and privileges as are accorded to white men before their courts, officers of this bureau will not interfere with such tribunals, but give them every assistance possible in the discharge of their duties.

In cities or counties where mayors, judicial officers, and magistrates will assume the duties of the administration of justice to the freedmen, in accordance with paragraph VII, Circular No. 5, issued from the Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands, and approved by the President, and will signify their willingness to comply with this request by a written acceptance addressed to the assistant commissioner for the State, no freedmen courts will be established, and those that may now be in existence in such localities will be closed.

It is expected that the officers of this bureau will heartily co-operate with the State officials in establishing law and order, end that all conflict of authority and jurisdiction will be avoided.

By order of Colonel Samuel Thomas, assistant commissioner Freedmen's
Bureau for State of Mississippi.

STUART ELDRIDGE, Lieutenant, Acting Assistant Adjutant General.

I have written to Governor Sharkey, and explained to him how this order can be put in force in this State, and will do all I can to secure its success, and to aid the civil authorities to discharge their duties. I presume the legislature of this State, which is to meet in October, will take up this matter immediately, and arrange some plan by which the State authorities can take complete charge of freedmen affairs, and relieve the officers of this bureau. There is a jealousy of United States officers existing among the State officials that makes it disagreeable to perform any duty which is liable to conflict with their authority.

When General Howard's Circular No. 5 was issued, I thought it was the intention that military courts should be established for the purpose of taking the administration of justice among the freedmen out of the hands of their old masters, and placing it under the control of their friends for a short time—until the citizens of the south were reconciled to the change, and until their feeling of hatred for their former slaves had abated; that a complete restoration of rights, privileges, and property was to come after a period of probation, in which they should give some evidence of their changed feelings. I have thought much on this subject, have watched the development of feeling among the southern people, and am satisfied that the time for such a restoration has not yet arrived.

The order of General Swayne and the proclamation of General Parsons are unexceptionable in form. If justice to the freedmen can be secured by the means indicated in these documents, and if the process be not too expensive, and if ruinous delays be not allowed, then, it may be, all this movement will be good. But it seems to me that so delicate a matter cannot be smoothly managed in the present temper of Mississippi.

I am aware that it is the policy of the government; that we must trust these people some time; that the establishment of the Freedman's Bureau is (as soon as martial law is withdrawn) a violation of the spirit both of the State and federal constitutions; that the officers of the bureau have no interest in common with the white citizens of the State, and that the bureau is an immense expense to the general government, which should be abolished as soon as compatible with the public interest.

Yet, I feel that we are in honor bound to secure to the helpless people we have liberated a "republican form of government," and that we betray our trust when we hand these freed people over to their old masters to be persecuted and forced to live and work according to their peculiar southern ideas. It seems to me that we are forgetting the helpless and poor in our desire to assist our subjugated enemies, and that we are more desirous of showing ourselves to be a great and magnanimous nation than of protecting the people who have assisted us by arms, and who turned the scale of battle in our favor. We certainly commit a wrong, if, while restoring these communities to all their former privileges as States, we sacrifice one jot or tittle of the rights and liberties of the freedmen.

The mayor of this city has had complete charge of all municipal affairs since the issue of General Slocum's Order 10, (quoted in the order I have before given.) He has been compelled to admit negro testimony by the provisions of that order. In cases that come before him, when it is necessary to admit it he goes through the form of receiving it, but I have yet to hear of one instance where such evidence affected his decision. The testimony of one white man outweighs (practically) that of any dozen freedmen.

The admission of negro testimony will never secure the freedmen justice before the courts of this State as long as that testimony is considered valueless by the judges and juries who hear it. It is of no consequence what the law may be if the majority be not inclined to have it executed. A negro might bring a suit before a magistrate and have colored witnesses examined in his behalf, according to provisions of general orders and United States law, and yet the prejudices of the community render it impossible for him to procure justice. The judge would claim the right to decide whether the testimony was credible, and among the neighbors that would surround him, in many places, he would be bold, indeed, if he believed the sworn evidence of a negro when confronted by the simple assertion or opposed even to the interest of a white man. I recently heard a circle of Mississippians conversing on this subject. Their conclusion was, that they would make no objection to the admission of negro testimony, because "no southern man would believe a nigger if he had the dammed impudence to testify contrary to the statement of a white man." I verily believe that in many places a colored man would refuse, from fear of death, to make a complaint against a white man before a State tribunal if there were no efficient military protection at hand.

Wherever I go—the street, the shop, the house, the hotel, or the steamboat—I hear the people talk in such a way as to indicate that they are yet unable to conceive of the negro as possessing any rights at all. Men who are honorable in their dealings with their white neighbors will cheat a negro without feeling a single twinge of their honor. To kill a negro they do not deem murder; to debauch a negro woman they do not think fornication; to take the property away from a negro they do not consider robbery. The people boast that when they get freedmen affairs in their own hands, to use their own classic expression, "the niggers will catch hell."

The reason of all this is simple and manifest. The whites esteem the blacks their property by natural right, and however much they may admit that the individual relations of masters and slaves have been destroyed by the war and by the President's emancipation proclamation, they still have an ingrained feeling that the blacks at large belong to the whites at large, and whenever opportunity serves they treat the colored people just as their profit, caprice or passion may dictate.

Justice from tribunals made up among such people is impossible. Here and there is a fair and just man. One in a hundred, perhaps, sees the good policy of justice; but these are so few that they will not, at present, guide public sentiment. Other States may, in this matter, be in advance of Mississippi; I suspect they are. If justice is possible, I feel sure they are.

I fear such tribunals would be very expensive for the poor freedmen. Fees are heavy in this State. Unless they can get justice inexpensively, we might as well deny them all remedy before courts at once. Indeed, I think that would be rather more merciful than the arrangement proposed, as they would then trust nobody, and would be less defrauded. Long delays in the course of procedure would be ruinous to most of them. How could a freedman appeal a suit for wages, or respond adequately to an appeal, when he is starving for want of the very wages which are withheld from him?

It may be claimed that officers of the bureau can watch such cases and see that justice is done the freedman. I say they cannot do it. Political power is against him, and will destroy any officer who fearlessly does his duty in this way. He will be charged with interference with the civil authority, with violating some constitution or some code; his acts will be so twisted and contorted before they reach Washington, that he will get nothing for his pains but censure and dismissal.

I can say without fear of contradiction, that there has not occurred one instance of interference with civil authorities on the part of military officers in this State, unless they saw first that every law of justice was violated to such an extent as to arouse the indignation of any man born in a country where human beings have an equal right to justice before the tribunals of the land. Yet, if I am not mistaken, there is a growing impression, supported by this same political power in the south, that the officers in this State are tyrannical, meddlesome, and disposed to thwart the faithful efforts of the noble white people to reorganize the State.

Many delegations of the citizens of this State have visited Washington for the purpose of getting their property returned, or of obtaining some other favor. They, in order to accomplish their desire, represent the feeling of their friends at home as very cordially disposed toward the United States government, and say that they all acquiesce in the freedom of the negroes. A little examination into the condition of affairs in this State will show that this is not the case, and that what the people do is only done in order that they may be restored to power so as to change the direction in which affairs are tending. I am afraid the profuse loyalty of the delegations to Washington is being taken as the sentiment of the masses, and is directing legislation and policy.

It is idle to talk about these people working out this negro problem. People who will not admit that it is best, or even right, to educate the freedmen, are not the proper persons to be intrusted with the administration of justice to them. I have no hesitation in saying, that if the question of educating the colored people were to-day submitted to the whites of this State, they would vote against it in a body. Nine-tenths of the educated and refined class, who are supposed to have higher and nobler feelings, would vote against it.

I have been called on by persons of this class, and asked to suppress the religious meetings among the colored people because they made so much noise! When I remonstrate with them and talk of religious freedom, and of the right of all to worship God in the manner most suited to their convictions of right, these gentlemen hold up their hands in horror at the idea. What would magistrates selected from these people do in reference to such complaints? Suppress the meeting, of course.

A similar and much stronger prejudice exists against the establishment of schools for the negro's benefit. If federal bayonets were to-day removed from our midst, not a colored school would be permitted in the State. The teachers, perhaps, would not be tarred and feathered and hung, as they would have been in old times, but ways and means innumerable would present themselves by which to drive them out.

The white citizens both of Vicksburg and Natchez have requested me not to establish freedmen schools inside their city limits, yet over one-half the population of these cities is composed of freed people—the class who are doing the work, toiling all day in the sun, while the white employers are reaping the benefit of their labor through superior knowledge, and are occupying their elegant leisure by talking and writing constantly about the demoralization of negro labor—that the negro won't work, &c.

It is nonsense to talk so much about plans for getting the negroes to work. They do now and always have done, all the physical labor of the south, and if treated as they should be by their government, (which is so anxious to be magnanimous to the white people of this country, who never did work and never will,) they will continue to do so. Who are the workmen in these fields? Who are hauling the cotton to market, driving hacks and drays in the cities, repairing streets and railroads, cutting timber, and in every place raising the hum of industry? The freedmen, not the rebel soldiery. The southern white men, true to their instincts and training, are going to Mexico or Brazil, or talk of importing labor in the shape of Coolies, Irishmen—anything—anything to avoid work, any way to keep from putting their own shoulders to the wheel.

The mass of the freedmen can and will support themselves by labor. They need nothing but justice before the courts of the land, impartial judges and juries, to encourage them in well-doing, or punish them for the violation of just laws, a chance to own the land and property they can honestly obtain, the free exercise of their right to worship God and educate themselves, and—let them alone.

The delegates to Washington think that it is their duty, peculiarly, to see the President and arrange the affairs of the negro. Why don't they attend to their own business, or make arrangements for the working of the disbanded rebel army in the cotton fields and workshops of the south? There are to-day as many houseless, homeless, poor, wandering, idle white men here as there are negroes in the same condition, yet no arrangements are made for their working. All the trickery, chicanery and political power possible are being brought to bear on the poor negro, to make him do the hard labor for the whites, as in days of old.

To this end the mass of the people are instinctively working. They steadily refuse to sell or lease lands to black men. Colored mechanics of this city, who have made several thousand dollars during the last two years, find it impossible to buy even land enough to put up a house on, yet white men can purchase any amount of land. The whites know that if negroes are not allowed to acquire property or become landholders, they must ultimately return to plantation labor, and work for wages that will barely support themselves and families, and they feel that this kind of slavery will be better than none at all.

People who will do these things, after such a war, and so much misery, while federal bayonets are yet around them, are not to be intrusted with the education and development of a, race of slaves just liberated.

I have made this letter longer than it should have been, and may have taxed your patience, yet I do not see how I could have said less, and expressed my views on the subject.

I am, general, very respectfully, your obedient servant,

SAMUEL THOMAS, Colonel, Assistant Commissioner B.R.F. and A.L. for Mississippi and N.E. Louisiana.

General CARL SCHURZ.

No. 28.

Mobile, Alabama, September 9, 1865.

Colonel George D. Robinson, 97th United States colored troops, states as follows:

I was sent out to Connecuh, Covington, Coffee, Dale, and Henry counties, to administer the amnesty oath. I was at Covington myself, having officers under my orders stationed in the other four counties. I travelled through Connecuh and Covington; about the other counties I have reports from my officers. A general disposition was found among the planters to set the colored people who had cultivated their crops during the summer adrift as soon as the crops would be secured, and not to permit the negro to remain upon any footing of equality with the white man in that country.

In none of the above-named counties I heard of a justice of the peace or other magistrate discharging the duties of an agent of the Freedmen's Bureau, nor did I hear of any of them willing to do so. I deem it necessary that some officers be sent out there to attend to the interests of the freedmen, in order to avoid the trouble and confusion which is almost certain to ensue unless the matter is attended to and regulated.

I returned from Covington yesterday, September 8.

GEO. D. ROBINSON, Colonel 97th United States Infantry.

No. 29.

MEMORANDUM OF A CONVERSATION BETWEEN WILLIAM KING, ESQ., OF SAVANNAH, AND CARL SCHURZ.

Savannah, July 31, 1865.

Question by Mr. Schurz. What are the ideas of the people in this State as to the future organization of your labor system?

Answer. It is generally conceded that slavery is dead, but it is believed that the negro will not work unless compelled to. Money is no inducement that will incite him to work. He works for comfort, that is, he wants to gain something and then enjoy it immediately afterwards. He has no idea of the binding force of a contract, and it is questionable whether he ever will have.

Question. So you consider the contract system, as it is now introduced here and there, a failure.

Answer. In a number of cases that I know of it is a failure. The negroes are not doing the work they have contracted for. I know other cases in which they have remained with their former masters, work well, and produce fair crops.

Question. In what manner, then, can, in your opinion, the free-labor system be made to work here?

Answer. The negro must be kept in a state of tutelage, like a minor. For instance, he may be permitted to freely choose the master for whom he wants to work; he may bind himself for a year, and, for all practical purposes, the master must act as his guardian.

Question. You think, then, something more is necessary than a mere contract system by which the negro is only held to fulfil his contract?

Answer. Yes. The negro ought to be held in the position of a ward.

Question. Do you not think the negro ought to be educated, and do you believe the people of this State would tax themselves for the purpose of establishing a general system of education?

Answer. I think it would be well to have the negro educated, but I do not think the people of this State would tax themselves for such a purpose. The people are too poor and have too many other things to take care of. We have to look for that to the people of the North. The North having freed the negroes, ought to see to it that they be elevated. Besides, the poor whites are not in favor of general education at all. They are themselves very ignorant, and look upon education as something dangerous. For them we must have a system of compulsory education, or we cannot get them to send their children to school. A good many of the Hardshell Baptists among them look upon school-teachers as the emissaries of the devil.

Question. How far do you think the people of this State would be prepared to grant the negro equality before the law? Would they, for instance, give him the right to testify in courts of justice against white men?

Answer. I think not. It is generally believed that the negro has no idea of the sanctity of an oath.

Question. Do you not think such disabilities would place the negro under such disadvantage in the race of life as to deprive him of a fair chance?

Answer. This is the dilemma, in my opinion: either we admit the negro's testimony in courts of justice, and then our highest interests are placed at the mercy of a class of people who cannot be relied on when testifying under oath; or we deny the negro that right, and then he will not be in a position to properly defend his own interests, and will be a downtrodden, miserable creature.

Question. Do you not think vagrancy laws and police regulations might be enacted, equally applicable to whites and blacks, which might obviate most of the difficulties you suggest as arising from the unwillingness of the negro to work?

Answer. Perhaps they might; but the whites would not agree to that. The poor whites hate and are jealous of the negro, and the politicians will try and please the whites so as to get their votes.

Question. Do you think it would be advisable to withdraw our military forces from the State if the civil government be restored at an early date?

Answer. It would not be safe. There are a great many bad characters in the country who would make it for some time unsafe for known Union people, and for northerners who may settle down here, to live in this country without the protection of the military. The mere presence of garrisons will prevent much mischief. The presence of the military is also necessary to maintain the peace between the whites and blacks, and it will be necessary until their relations are settled upon a permanent and satisfactory basis.

This memorandum was read by me to Mr. King and approved by him as a correct reproduction of the views he had expressed.

C. SCHURZ.

No. 30.

What the planter wants before he embarks his capital and time in the attempt to cultivate another crop.—Suggestions submitted by a committee at a meeting of planters, November 24, 1864.

First.—Above all, he wants an undoubted guarantee that the labor and teams, corn and hay, with which he begins the cultivation of another crop shall be secured to him for at least twelve months. From past experience, we know that, to be reliable, this guarantee must come from the government at Washington.

Second.—Some mode of compelling laborers to perform ten (10) hours of faithful labor in each twenty-four hours, (Sundays excepted,) and strict obedience of all orders. This may be partially attained by a graduated system of fines, deduction of time or wages, deduction of rations of all kinds in proportion to time lost, rigidly enforced. But in obstinate cases it can only be done by corporal punishments, such as are inflicted in the army and navy of the United States. In light cases of disobedience of orders and non-performance of duty the employer should impose fines, &c. The corporal punishment should be inflicted by officers appointed by the superintendent of "colored labor," who might, from time to time, visit each plantation in a parish, and ascertain whether the laborer was satisfied with his treatment, and whether he performed his part of the contract, and thus the officer would qualify himself by his own information to correct any abuse that might exist, and award equal justice to each party. The plan of sending off refractory laborers to work on government plantations is worse than useless. A planter always plants as much land as he believes he has labor to cultivate efficiently, neither more nor less. If less, a portion of his laborers are idle a part of their time; if more, his crops must suffer from the want of proper cultivation. If the laborers do not work faithfully, and their work is not judiciously directed, either from want of skill on the part of him who directs the labor, or from the refusal or failure of the laborers from any cause to do the work as it ought to be done, the crops must suffer. If, then, a portion of labor necessary to cultivate a certain amount of land is abstracted by sending it to work anywhere else, the crop must fail in proportion to the amount of labor abstracted. It must therefore be apparent to all that the amount of prompt, faithful, and well-directed labor, necessary to cultivate a given quantity of land efficiently, must be available at all times, when the cultivator deems it necessary, or the crops must necessarily, to a greater or less extent, prove a failure.

Third.—The rate of wages should be fixed—above which no one should be allowed to go. There should be at least four classes of hands, both male and female. If the laborer should be furnished, as this year, 1864, with clothing, shoes, rations, houses, wood, medicine, &c., the planter cannot afford to pay any more wages than this year, and to some hands not so much. Wages should not be paid oftener than once a quarter. As long as a negro has a dime in his pocket he will go every Saturday to some store or town. Besides, if the men have money once a month they are constantly corrupting the women, who will not work because they expect to get money of the men. If the laborers are to pay for all their supplies, some think higher wages could be paid; but it would be necessary to require the negro to supply himself with at least two suits of clothes, one pair of shoes, a hat, and four pounds of pork or bacon, one peck of corn meal a week, vegetables at least twice a week, for a first-class hand. The laborer should pay for his medicine, medical attendance, nursing, &c.; also, house rent, $5 a month, water included; wood at $2 a cord in the tree, or $4 a cord cut and delivered. Instead of money, each employer should be required to pay once a week in tickets issued and signed by himself or agent, not transferable to any one off the premises of him who issues them, redeemable by the issuer quarterly in current funds, and to be received by him in the purchase of goods, provisions, &c., which he sold at current prices.

Fourth.—A law to punish most severely any one who endeavors, by offering higher wages, gifts, perquisites, &c., &c., to induce a negro to leave his employer before the expiration of the term for which he has engaged to labor without the consent of said employer.

Fifth.—Wages to be quarterly. One-half to be retained to the end of the year, unless it is found that more than half is required to maintain a man and his family.

Sixth.—Lost time to be deducted from wages daily; fines to be charged daily; rations, of all kinds, to be docked in proportion to the time lost during the week, if rations are to be supplied.

Seventh.—Fines to be imposed for disobedience of any orders.

Eighth.—During sugar-making the laborer should be required to work at night as well as during the day. For night-work he might be allowed double wages for the time he works.

Ninth.—The negroes should not be allowed to go from one plantation to another without the written permit of their employer, nor should they be allowed to go to any town or store without written permission.

Tenth.—That the laborers should be required to have their meals cooked in a common kitchen by the plantation cooks, as heretofore. At present each family cook for themselves. If there be twenty-five houses on a plantation worked by one hundred hands, there are lighted, three times every day, winter and summer, for the purpose of cooking, twenty-five (25) fires, instead of one or two, which are quite as many as are necessary. To attend these twenty-five fires there must be twenty-five cooks. The extravagance in wood and the loss of time by this mode must be apparent to all. Making the negroes pay for the wood they burn, and for fencing lumber of any kind, would have a tendency to stop this extravagant mode of doing business. They should also be fined heavily or suffer some kind of corporal punishment for burning staves, hoop-poles, shingles, plank, spokes, &c., which they now constantly do.

Eleventh.—None but regularly ordained ministers should be allowed to preach. At present on every plantation there are a number of preachers. Frequent meetings are held at night, continuing from 7 or 8 p.m. until 1 or 2 o'clock a.m. The day after one of these long meetings many of the laborers are unfit to labor; neither are the morals of the negroes improved by these late meetings, nor the health. The night meetings should break up at 10 p.m., and there should be but one a week on a plantation. Some of the preachers privately promulgate the most immoral doctrines.

Twelfth.—A police guard or patrol should be established under the control of the superintendent of free labor, whose duty it shall be, under their officers, to enforce the rules and regulations that the superintendent of free labor may think best to adopt for the government of the laborers and their families on plantations and in private families.

Thirteenth.—The laborers are at present extremely careless of the teams, carts, wagons, gear, tools, and material of all kinds put in their possession, and should therefore be held accountable for the same. Parents should be held liable for things stolen or destroyed by their children not over twelve years of age.

Fourteenth.—Foremen should be fined whenever they fail to report any of the laborers under them who disobey orders of any kind. The foreman at the stable should be required especially to report neglect or ill treatment of teams by their drivers, and he should be held liable for all tools and halters, &c., put in the stable.

Fifteenth.—The unauthorized purchase of clothing or other property by laborers, or others domesticated on plantations, should be severely punished, and so should the sale by laborers or others domesticated on plantations of plantation products without a written permission be punished by fine, imprisonment, and obstinate cases by corporal punishment. The sale or furnishing of intoxicating liquor of any kind to laborers or others domesticated on plantations should be severely punished.

Sixteenth.—The possession of arms or other dangerous weapons without authority should be punished by fine or imprisonment and the arms forfeited.

Seventeenth.—No one, white or colored, with or without passes, should have authority to go into a quarter without permission of the proprietor of said quarter. Should any insist upon going in, or be found in a quarter without permission of the proprietor, he should be arrested at once by the proprietor.

Eighteenth.—Fighting and quarrelling should be prohibited under severe penalties, especially husbands whipping their wives.

Nineteenth.—Laborers and all other persons domesticated on plantations or elsewhere should be required to be respectful in tone, manner, and language to their employers, and proprietors of the plantations or places on which they reside, or be fined and imprisoned.

Twentieth.—The whole study, aim, and object of the negro laborer now is how to avoid work and yet have a claim for wages, rations, clothes, &c.

No. 31.

OAK FOREST, NEAR TIGERVILLE STATION,

N.O. and O. Railroad, December 1, 1864.

Dear Sir: The earnest desire you have manifested to make the negro laborer under the new order of things successful, makes me the more disposed to offer every assistance in my power to that end. I have no prejudices to overcome; I would do the blacks all the good in my power consistently with their welfare and the welfare of the country; I owe them no ill will, but I am well satisfied that it will demand the highest skill and the largest experience combined to make the new system work successfully, when hitherto all others, including our own two years' experience, have signally failed. No namby-pamby measures will do. We may have more psalm singing, more night preaching, greater excesses in the outward manifestation of religion, but depend upon it there will be less true morality, less order, less truthfulness, less honest industry. It is not the experiment of a few only, or of a day, but of an institution, if anything, for millions; the mixing in industrial association of separate races hitherto distinct; of systems fundamentally changed and not of mere individuals, and the man who does not rise to the height of the great argument fails before he starts. It is not to listen to babblers, to professional philanthropists, to quacks and demagogues: it demands a manly, masculine, vigorous exercise of executive power, adapted to the circumstances of the case. Nobody is absolutely free, white or black. I have been a slave all my life; you have been the same. We were subject to discipline from childhood, and the negro as well, and must continue to be subject to wholesome restraints all of us.

It is well to consider that the measures of the government have rendered labor scarce. It would be safe to say there is not half a supply; that every sort of inducement will be held out to get labor away from present situations; that the inclination of all who are unincumbered is, to get to the city and its neighborhood. Every planter has some already there, living most unprofitably. I have half a dozen, some under the agreement of the present year. Concentration is the order of the day, and none but those who can command the largest sum of money will be able to carry on plantations with any hope of success. I take leave to add some suggestions, believing you will receive them with the same friendly spirit in which they are offered. I am still surrounded by my own servants, and would like to see the system so ordered that they would still find it to their advantage to remain in their present comfortable homes.

Wages, rules, and regulations should be fixed and uniform: nothing left to discretion.

A penalty should be inflicted on every employer who deviates from the established rates, maximum rates.

No field crops should be raised by hired laborers. The evils attending this are numerous and insurmountable.

Wages should be extremely moderate on account of the unsteadiness of labor and exceeding uncertainty of crops of all sorts, but especially of cane and cotton.

Cooking for hands should be confined absolutely to one kitchen, and a charge made for all wood taken to their houses; a certain supply should be allowed, and no additional quantity permitted at any price: otherwise no plantation can long stand the enormous, wasteful consumption of fuel.

All necessary expenditures for the blacks, old as well as young, should be borne by themselves. White laborers are all liable to such charges, and why not wasteful and improvident blacks? They should be early taught the value of what they consume as well as the other costs of living.

About keeping stock the rule should be absolute.

No travelling about, day or night, without a written sanction from the proper person. The violation of this order by a commanding officer has brought the small-pox on my place and already eight grown hands have died with it, and there are not less than twenty invalids besides: this is one of the evils.

Medicine and professional attendance a charge to the patient, as well as all educational arrangements.

Every ploughman or woman, and teamster, to be obliged to feed and curry his or her team once at least every day.

Payments beyond proper and prescribed supplies to be small, the smaller the better, and still better if withheld till the crop is made and saved; but settlements by tickets should be made weekly. (A share in the crop is the best for both parties.) I do not perceive the utility of "home colonies;" they belong to the class of theories more than anything else. Families should be kept together and at the "homes" to which they have been accustomed, if possible, and made to support themselves, all who are able to do so. At present there are many who will not do this because they are made a charge on the master or employer. Vagrants should be punished; work is a necessity. But I only put down a few particulars to impress upon your mind as they occur to me.

I know the difficult task you have undertaken. You have a giant to manage, and you will have to exercise a giant's strength. You have no less than to revise the teachings of all past history. You have to accomplish what has never been accomplished before. Neither in the east nor in the west has the African been found to work voluntarily; but the experiment is to be tried anew in this country, and I shall lend my assistance, whatever it is, to help on in the road to success, if that be possible. I have tried it two years under the military without success, or the prospect of it. If, however, I can in any way assist you to gain the meed of success, both my own interest and my kind feelings towards you combine to prompt me to renewed efforts in the cause.

I remain, very respectfully and truly, yours,

T. GIBSON.

Hon. B.F. FLANDERS.

P.S.—The great desideratum in obtaining labor from free blacks is its enforcement. How is this to be done? Formerly the known authority possessed by the master over the slave, prevented in a great degree the exercise of it. The knowledge now, on the part of the blacks, that the military authority has forbidden any authority over them, increases the very necessity of the power which is forbidden. This is palpable to any one who sees with an experienced eye for a day. There can necessarily be no order, day or night, no fidelity, no morality, no industry. It is so, speculate and theorize as we may. I wish it were different; it is a great pity to witness these deplorable effects.

Disease is scattered broadcast; my own stock has been for some time consumed, except a few milch cows. The sugar from the sugar-houses has been sold in quantities in every direction. The cotton of one plantation has been sold to the extent of half the crop to a white man, and only by the merest accident discovered in time to be detected. My neighbor's hogs have been taken from the pen, killed and brought home for consumption; his cattle the same. These things are within my knowledge by the merest accident, but there is absolutely no remedy, because their testimony is as good, if not better than mine, and this they know perfectly well. In a case of sugar-selling, I had the oath of a disinterested white man to the fact, and the black and white man identified by the witness. When this witness was through with his testimony, the negro man, the interested party, the accused himself, was called up by the provost marshal, and of course he swore himself innocent, and so he was cleared. In the case of the cotton not a negro can be brought to confess, notwithstanding the confession of the white man and the surrender of the cotton. How, then, can good order, good morals and honest industry be maintained when immunity from punishment is patent to their understandings?

I know no remedy adequate to the circumstances but an always present power to enforce law and order, and this now requires the constant presence of the bayonet. Which is the best, a regular military government, or the quiet, humane exercise of just so much authority as the case demands, by the master, who has every motive, human and divine, to exercise humanity and protect his slave from injustice and injury?

The past, or rather the present year, we had nothing but blank orders, and these are of no avail whatever without enforcement; and this brings us back to the starting-point again, and the bayonet again, and so it is to the end of the chapter. Moral suasion will not do for whites who have had freedom as an inheritance, and education within their reach. How then can it be expected that he who has been predestined by the Almighty to be a servant of servants all the days of his life, shall be capable of at once rising to motives of human conduct higher than those possessed by the white man?

All that my reason teaches and the experience I have had, and the history I have read, bring me to the same conclusion: you must utterly fail unless you add the stimulus of corporal punishment to the admonitions of the law; but as this would be somewhat inconsistent with the freedom which our solons have decreed, I must only confess my inability to prescribe the orthodox remedies according to the received dogmas from the inspired sources of knowledge at the north above all the lessons I have learned heretofore, and entirely above everything I expect to learn hereafter.

No. 32.

FREEDMEN'S BUREAU,

Shreveport, La., August 1, 1865.

Sir: At the date of my last monthly report, (July 2d,) the free-labor system in western Louisiana was an experiment. No contracts between the planters and freedmen had then been entered into, and the difficulties to be met with and overcome by the contracting parties were new to each. The herculean task of removing the objections which the freedmen offered to signing a "contract," and of eradicating the prejudice existing among the planters against countenancing the employment upon their plantations as free men of those whom they had so long and firmly held in bondage, devolved upon the agents of the bureau.

The objection presented by the freedmen consisted chiefly in the fact that they had no confidence whatever in the word of their "old masters." Said they, in substance, "We cannot trust the power that has never accorded us any privileges. Our former oppressors show by their actions that they would sooner retard than advance our prosperity." While in nine cases out of ten the freedmen eagerly and readily acceded to fair terms for their labor when the matter was explained by a government agent, exactly in the same ratio did they refuse to listen to any proposition made by the planter alone.

Their readiness to comprehend their situation and to enter into an agreement to work when enlightened by an agent of the bureau, or, in exceptional cases, when the planters sought in a kind and philanthropic spirit to explain to them their relations to society and the government, is conclusive proof that the disposition to be idle formed no part of the reason for their refusing to contract with their former masters.

With these facts in view, it will be readily perceived that the only feasible mode of success was to send agents into the country to visit every plantation. This was undertaken; but with no funds to procure the services of assistants, and with the difficulty of obtaining the right class of men for these positions from the army, the progress made has not been as rapid or the work as effectual as it would have been under more favorable circumstances. Partial returns have been received, as follows:

From Bienville parish 248 contracts.
" Bossier parish 14 "
" Caddo parish 172 "
" DeSoto parish 246 "
" Marion county, Texas 206 "
—-
Total received 886 "
===

Returns are yet to be received from the parishes of Claiborne, Natchitoches, Winn and Sabine, and from Harrison county, Texas. These will all be given in by the 15th inst., and I shall then be able to determine the exact number employed upon each plantation and laboring under the new system. Regarding the average number employed upon each plantation in the parish of Caddo as a basis for an estimate, the returned rolls will foot up a list of 7,088 names, and the whole number of freedmen contracted with during the month of July in the district under my supervision will not probably exceed 20,000, or fall short of 15,000.

During the month a sufficient length of time has elapsed to render judgment to a certain extent upon the workings of the new system. That it has not satisfied a majority of the planters is a conclusion which, from their disposition at first, was evident would be arrived at. That the freedmen have accepted the arrangements devised by the government for their protection so readily and have worked so faithfully, is a matter for congratulation.

The planters at first expected that, though the power to "control" the persons of the laborers had been torn from them by the stern requirements of war, the agents of the bureau would, through the military, confine the negro to their plantations and compel him to labor for them. In this way it was thought that the same regime as pursued in times of slavery could be kept up, and it was this idea which prompted a planter, noted for his frankness, to remark "that the people of the south desired the government to continue this supervision for a term of years." Finding that their ideas of the policy of the government were erroneous, and that they could not exercise this "controlling power" either directly or indirectly, and that the freedman was to be placed, as nearly as the circumstances surrounding his situation would permit, upon the same grounds as the white laborer, it is but a logical sequence that the planters should be disappointed and dissatisfied with the work performed by the freedmen.

In this place it may be well to notice that the country is yet in a very unsettled condition. After a four years' war which has sapped it of all its resources, and after a life-long servitude for a hard taskmaster, the negro is liberated from bondage, and he finds the people of the country in no condition to offer him the most advantageous terms for his services. This, with the natural desire experienced by all mankind for a period of repose after that of incessant and forced labor, is one of the causes which have contributed to render the freedmen negligent and inconstant at their work.

Reports are constantly brought to this office by the negroes from the interior that freedmen have been kidnapped and summarily disposed of. These obtain circulation and credence among all classes, and, whether true or not, operate disadvantageously to the interests of both the planters and the freedmen.

Again, the threat of shooting the laborers, so frequently made by the planters, is very unwise, and usually has the effect of causing a general stampede from the plantation where the threat was made. The fact that the body of a negro was seen hanging from a tree in Texas, near the Louisiana line; and of the murder in cold blood, in the northern part of the parish of Caddo, of Mary, a colored woman, by John Johnson, the son of the proprietor of the plantation where the woman worked; and that instances have repeatedly occurred similar to a case presented at my office, where an old man had received a blow over his head with a shillalah one inch in diameter, which was so severe as to snap the stick asunder; and also the fracturing of the skull and the breaking of the arm of a helpless, inoffensive colored woman by a vindictive planter in the parish of Natchitoches; and the statement of one of my agents, who says that "upon half the plantations the freedmen are not well clothed and their rations are scanty;" and of another who has visited every plantation in ward No. —, parish of ——, who reports at the close of the month as follows: "The freedmen in my ward are very poorly clothed and fed, although no particular complaints have been made as yet;" should all be taken into consideration in arriving at conclusions in regard to the disposition of the freedmen to work, and before judgment is rendered upon the complaints of the major portion of the planters; and it is also useless to disguise the fact that among the freedmen, as among all classes of people, there are many ill-disposed as well as idle persons, and a few of these upon each plantation create dissatisfaction among the others.

Notwithstanding the complaints of the planters and the above-named facts, the existence of which would cause a disturbance among any class of laborers in the world, the majority of the planters have been eager to contract with their former slaves, for the reason that after their plantations had been visited by an agent of the government, and an agreement had been made upon the prescribed forms, the freedmen worked better than before. This is a matter of significance, and its bearing is readily seen. Having noticed the disapprobation of the larger portion of the planting community, and the causes which led to their complaints, I desire to call your attention in this connexion to the report of one of my most experienced agents. It is as follows:

"In all cases have the employees given satisfaction where their former masters are at all reasonable. I would mention the case of Jacob Hoss as an example: he contracted with his former slaves in the latter part of May for one-fourth of all his crops; they have been steady and industrious, and have decidedly the finest cotton and corn in the district." Mr. Hoss has 200 acres of cotton, 400 of corn, and 8 of potatoes. Your attention is also solicited to the testimony of the liberal few who have taken the amnesty oath with the intention to keep it. One says: "The freedmen in my neighborhood are laboring well where they are well paid." Another, a large land proprietor, states that "he could not ask his hands to work better." The same gentleman also states that "he would not have the freedmen upon his plantation made slaves again if he could."

The testimony is concurrent that, where liberal wages are paid and the freedmen are kindly treated, no difficulty is experienced with them, and that they labor honestly and industriously. The complaints which have been presented at the office for consideration are very nearly in a direct ratio of the two classes, but the wrongs of the freedmen are by far the most aggravated, as they suffer in almost every conceivable way. It has been necessary to fine and assess damages upon several planters for beating their laborers, and also to punish several freedmen for violating their contracts and for other misdemeanors. The following is a literal copy of a document brought to this office by a colored man, which is conclusive evidence that there are those who still claim the negro as their property:

"This boy Calvin has permit to hire to whome he please, but I shall hold him as my propperty untill set Free by Congress.

"July the 7, 1865. E.V. TULLY."

The spirit of the above also made its appearance in another form in the action of the police jury of the parish of Bossier, which was an attempt to revive at once the old slave laws, and to prevent the freedmen from obtaining employment from the plantations of their former masters. The gist of the enactment alluded to is contained in the paragraph directing the officers on patrol duty "to arrest and take up all idle and vagrant persons running at large without employment, and carry them before the proper authority, to be dealt with as the law directs."

As soon as this matter came under the observation of the bureau, the facts in the case were represented to Brevet Major General J.P. Hawkins, commanding western district of Louisiana, and at the same time a request was made that the restrictions imposed upon the freedmen in this section by General Orders No. 24, headquarters northern division of Louisiana, be revoked; and the general issued an order, dated July 31, which removes the said restrictions, and prohibits the parish police juries, established by the civil authorities, from arresting freedmen unless for positive offence against the law. This breaks down the last barrier to the enjoyment of liberty by the freedmen in western Louisiana, and I feel highly gratified that it has been accomplished without referring it to higher authorities, as our mail facilities are so irregular that at least two months would have been consumed by the operation.

Upon the 10th of July the freedmen's hospital was opened for the reception of patients, and enclosed please find a copy of the hospital report for July, marked 1. This is a necessary as well as a charitable institution, as the city authorities have as yet taken no measures to provide for the indigent sick.

Since the establishment of the bureau here, it has been found necessary to issue rations to freedmen, as follows:

To citizen employees 46 To helpless and infirm 236 To sick and hospital attendants 1,169 ——- Total issued 1,451 =====

The number fed by the government to-day is as follows:

Men 7
Women 6
Children 10
—
Total number infirm and helpless rationed 23

Number sick at hospital 40 Number hospital attendants 24 Number citizen employees rationed 1 — Total number supplied with rations 88 ==

None but the helpless and infirm and sick have been fed at the expense of the government, and these only in cases of absolute necessity. Many planters who abandoned their homes on the Mississippi and carried away their slaves to Texas have returned to this city, and with a coolness amounting to audacity have demanded transportation for their former slaves to various points from the mouth of the Red river to Lake Providence. Finding that the officers of the government would not oblige them in this particular, they left behind the aged and infirm to provide for themselves as best they could. This and the abuses on plantations have caused the principal suffering among the freedmen, and have brought many to the city who otherwise would have remained upon the plantation, but, all things being considered, comparatively few have congregated about town. There has been such a demand for day labor in the city that I have deemed it a false philanthropy to feed those who temporarily sought refuge from oppression.

The permanent residents are orderly and industrious, and desire very much to have schools established for their children. I cannot here refrain from mentioning the fact that the presence of negroes in town possessing free papers is extremely disagreeable to the citizens.

The tax collected of planters has thus far been sufficient to defray office and printing expenses. The hire of a surgeon and nurses for the hospital, amounting in July to $204.46, is the only bill which it is necessary to refer to you for payment. All the property and money which has come into my hands on account of the bureau has been accounted for to the proper departments, according to regulations.

By Special Orders No. 140, dated at headquarters northern division of Louisiana, June 21, 1865, Chaplain Thomas Callahan, 48th United States colored infantry, was assigned to duty with me as my assistant, and he has had charge of the department of complaints. He is a very capable and efficient officer, and his services are very valuable to the bureau.

Again, I have occasion to return acknowledgments to Brigadier General J.C. Veatch for his cordial assistance in aiding me to carry out the measures of the bureau, and also to Colonel Crandal and Lieutenant Colonel McLaughlin, post commandants, for valuable aid; and to Brevet Major General J.P. Hawkins we are indebted for that which makes the colored man in reality a free man.

Believing that with proper management and kind treatment the freedmen in western Louisiana will be found to be as industrious as laborers in other sections of the country,

I have the honor to be, with much respect, your obedient servant,

W.B. STICKNEY, Lieutenant and Assistant Superintendent Freedmen.

THOMAS W. CONWAY, Assistant Commissioner Bureau of Freedmen. &c.

No. 33.

FREEDMEN'S BUREAU,

Shreveport, Louisiana, August 26, 1865.

Sir: I have the honor to report, in accordance with orders, that in the district under my supervision, comprising eight parishes in Louisiana and two counties in Texas, and an area of about 13,764 square miles, 3,105 contracts have been made, and 27,830 laborers enrolled since the first of July. The work of making contracts is now nearly completed, but the returns for the month of August from the officers acting in the different parishes have not as yet been received. From the data already collected it will be safe to estimate the whole number of laborers working under the contract system in the district at not less than 32,000, 25,000 of whom are in Louisiana.

The experience of two months has demonstrated the fact that the negro will work well when he is well paid and kindly treated; and another principle in the nature of the contracting parties has been equally as clearly elucidated, i.e., the planters are disposed to pay the freedmen the least possible sum for their labor, and that for much compensation the freedmen make an offset by making as little as possible. To acknowledge the right of the negro to freedom, and to regard him as a free man entitled to the benefits of his labor and to all the privileges and immunities of citizenship, is to throw aside the dogmas for which the south have been contending for the last thirty years, and seems to be too great a stride for the people to take at once, and too unpalatable a truth for the aristocratic planter to comprehend, without the interposition of the stern logic of the bayonet in the hands of a colored soldier. Duty to my government compels me to report the following well-authenticated facts:

1. Nineteen-twentieths of the planters have no disposition to pay the negro well or treat him well.

2. In the same proportion the planting aristocracy proffers obedience to the government, and at the same time do all in their power to make trouble.

3. The planters evince a disposition to throw all the helpless and infirm freedmen upon the hands of the government possible, in order to embarrass us and compel us to return them to slavery again.

4. A majority of the planters desire to prevent the success of the free-labor system, that they may force Congress to revive slavery, or, what is more, a system of peonage.

5. The belief is general among the planters that without some means of "controlling" the persons of the laborers they cannot succeed; and for this reason they desire to have the military force removed, and the privilege of enacting such laws as will enable them to retain this power.

6. To defraud, oppress, and maltreat the freedmen seems to be the principle governing the action of more than half of those who make contracts with them.

7. The lives of the freedmen are frequently threatened, and murders are not of uncommon occurrence.

8. The life of a northern man who is true to his country and the spirit and genius of its institutions, and frankly enunciates his principles, is not secure where there is not a military force to protect him.

About the 15th of July Corporal J.M. Wallace, of company B, forty-seventh Indiana Veteran volunteer infantry, was on duty with this bureau, and engaged in making contracts upon Red river, in the parish of Caddo. He visited Mr. Daniel's plantation, and, as it is stated, started for Mr. White's place, but never reached it. Being absent unaccountably, a sergeant and a detail of four men were sent to look him up, but could find no trace of him. Without doubt he was murdered. He was a young man of unexceptionable habits and character, and was highly esteemed by the officers of his regiment. The circumstances of the case are such as to lead to the belief that the planters in the vicinity connived at his death. Captain Hoke, another agent of the bureau, was stopped by a highwayman within eight miles of Shreveport. One of my assistants reports as follows: "In the northern part of this parish (Cuddo) there are men armed and banded to resist the law." These facts prove that the presence of a military force is needed in every parish. Instead of the present system of districts, I would recommend that the officer for each parish report direct to headquarters at New Orleans for instructions, and that each officer be furnished with at least twenty men, ten of whom should be mounted. I apprehend that at the commencement of the next year the planters will endeavor to load us down with the aged and infirm, and those with large families. To meet this and other difficulties that may arise, I recommend that at least five thousand acres of land be confiscated in every parish, and an opportunity given the freedmen to rent or purchase the land, and that every facility be afforded planters in the lower part of the State to obtain laborers from western Louisiana. Another remedy has been suggested, and as it meets with my approval I quote the recommendations of the officer in his own words: "Let the white troops on duty in this department be mustered out; they are greatly dissatisfied with remaining in the service after the close of the war; let black troops be mustered in their stead. In urging this matter, I suggest that the government has the first right to the services of the freedmen, and he needs the discipline of the army to develop his manhood and self-reliance. Such a course of recruiting black soldiers will act as a powerful restraint upon the abuses practiced by the planters on the freedmen, and will also compel the payment of better wages. If the planter wishes the services of a shrewd, enterprising freedman, he must out-bid the government. Lastly, the country needs the soldiers. Politicians may say what they may; western Louisiana is no more loyal now than when the State adopted the ordinance of secession."

The statistics given at the commencement prove that we have experienced less difficulty with the freedmen than could have been expected. At times it has been necessary to adopt stringent measures to stem the tide of freedmen that seemed to be setting in toward Shreveport, and many of them have such vague ideas of the moral obligations of a contract that it has been necessary to strengthen them by imprisonment and hard labor; but the great and insuperable difficulty which meets us at every step is, that the planters and the freedmen have no confidence in and respect for each other. The planters inform us that they are the best friends of the negro, but the freedmen fail to see the matter in that light. I am well assured that as a general rule the old planters and overseers can never succeed with the freedmen; that there must be an entire change in either laborers or proprietors before the country will again be prosperous. The plan of renting lands to the freedmen, as proposed by a few planters, I am of the opinion will prove very profitable to both parties. While, as a general rule, there is constant difficulty between the freedmen and their old masters and overseers, my agents and northern men have no trouble with them; and should the planters employ practical farmers from the north as business managers, it seems to be well demonstrated that the free-labor system, as it now is, with but slight modifications, would be a grand success. In this connexion I cannot refrain from noticing the assertion of a southern politician to the effect "that were the freedmen enfranchised, nine out of ten of them would vote for their old masters," which assertion every freedman will pronounce a wilful and malignant falsehood.

The country is full of arms, and their use upon the freedmen is so frequent, and the general disposition of the people such, that I would strongly recommend, as a measure to secure the safety of life and property, that all classes of arms be taken from the citizens, not to be returned until an entirely different disposition is evinced.

The system to be made binding for the next year should be published as early as the 15th of October, and the matter of contracting be commenced as soon thereafter as the parties desire to do so. I would respectfully suggest the propriety for calling of such statistical matter upon the back of the contract as will enable the officer in charge of the educational interests to determine the whole number of freedmen residing in the different parishes, and also the number of children of school age.

The establishment of schools will be met by the most venomous opposition, and a military force will be required to protect the teacher and scholars from insult and injury unless the tone of public sentiment improves very rapidly.

The civil authorities, so far as my knowledge extends, are not willing to grant the freedmen the rights to which their freedom entitles them. In fact it became necessary, as will be seen by a former report, for the military authorities to interfere to prevent their being virulently oppressed. In consequence of this I have kept an officer constantly on duty adjusting the difficulties arising between the whites and negroes, but important cases have been referred to the military authorities.

Chaplain Thomas Callahan, the officer referred to above, in his last report says:

"To many of the planters the idea of a negro's testimony being as good as a white man's is very unpleasant, and occasional attempts are made to bully and browbeat a colored witness upon the stand. The attempt is never made twice. Once I pitted a lawyer against a negro witness, held the parties on the cross-examination, and the lawyer was badly beaten. Some of the freedmen can conduct a case with uncommon shrewdness."

I cannot urge upon your attention too strongly the importance of keeping an officer in every parish and of providing him with a sufficient guard to command respect and enforce obedience to the laws. The presence of a military force, with judicious and discreet officers to command it, is the only means of securing to the freedmen their rights and of giving proper security to life and property.

With many thanks for that encouragement which has supported and cheered me through every difficulty, I have the honor to be, with much respect, your most obedient servant,

W.B. STICKNEY, Lieutenant and Assistant Superintendent of Freedmen.

THOMAS W. CONWAY, Assistant Commissioner, &c.

No. 34.

Ordinance relative to the police of recently emancipated negroes or freedmen within the corporate limits of the town of Opelousas.

Whereas the relations formerly subsisting between master and slave have become changed by the action of the controlling authorities; and whereas it is necessary to provide for the proper police and government of the recently emancipated negroes or freedmen in their new relations to the municipal authorities:

SECTION 1. Be it therefore ordained by the board of police of the town of Opelousas, That no negro or freedman shall be allowed to come within the limits of the town of Opelousas without special permission from his employers, specifying the object of his visit and the time necessary for the accomplishment of the same. Whoever shall violate this provision shall suffer imprisonment and two days' work on the public streets, or shall pay a fine of two dollars and fifty cents.

SECTION 2. Be it further ordained, That every negro freedman who shall be found on the streets of Opelousas after 10 o'clock at night without a written pass or permit from his employer shall be imprisoned and compelled to work five days on the public streets, or pay a fine of five dollars.

SECTION 3. No negro or freedman shall be permitted to rent or keep a house within the limits of the town under any circumstances, and any one thus offending shall be ejected and compelled to find an employer or leave the town within twenty-four hours. The lessor or furnisher of the house leased or kept as above shall pay a fine of ten dollars for each offence.

SECTION 4. No negro or freedman shall reside within the limits of the town of Opelousas who is not in the regular service of some white person or former owner, who shall be held responsible for the conduct of said freedman; but said employer or former owner may permit said freedman to hire his time by special permission in writing, which permission shall not extend over twenty-four hours at any one time. Any one violating the provisions of this, section shall be imprisoned and forced to work for two days on the public streets.

SECTION 5. No public meetings or congregations of negroes or freedmen shall be allowed within the limits of the town of Opelousas under any circumstances or for any purpose without the permission of the mayor or president of the board. This prohibition is not intended, however, to prevent the freedmen from attending the usual church services conducted by established ministers of religion. Every freedman violating this law shall be imprisoned and made to work five days on the public streets.

SECTION 6. No negro, or freedman shall be permitted to preach, exhort, or otherwise declaim to congregations of colored people without a special permission from the mayor or president of the board of police under the penalty of a fine of ten dollars or twenty days' work on the public streets.

SECTION 7. No freedman who is not in the military service shall be allowed to carry firearms, or any kind of weapons, within the limits of the town of Opelousas without the special permission of his employer, in writing, and approved by the mayor or president of the board of police. Any one thus offending shall forfeit his weapons and shall be imprisoned and made to work for five days on the public streets or pay a fine of five dollars in lieu of said work.

SECTION 8. No freedman shall sell, barter, or exchange any articles of merchandise or traffic within the limits of Opelousas without permission in writing from his employer or the mayor or president of the board, under the penalty of the forfeiture of said articles and imprisonment and one day's labor, or a fine of one dollar in lieu of said work.

SECTION 9. Any freedman found drunk within the limits of the town shall be imprisoned and made to labor five days on the public streets, or pay five dollars in lieu of said labor.

SECTION 10. Any freedman not residing in Opelousas who shall be found within the corporate limits after the hour of 3 p.m. on Sunday without a special permission from his employer or the mayor shall be arrested and imprisoned and made to work two days on the public streets, or pay two dollars in lieu of said work.

SECTION 11. All the foregoing provisions apply to freedmen and freedwomen, or both sexes.

SECTION 12. It shall be the special duty of the mayor or president of the board to see that all the provisions of this ordinance are faithfully executed.

SECTION 13. Be it further ordained, That this ordinance to take effect from and after its first publication.

Ordained the 3d day of July, 1865.

E.D. ESTILLETTE, President of the Board of Police.

JOS. D. RICHARDS, Clerk.

Official copy:

J. LOVELL, Captain and Assistant Adjutant General.

No. 35.

An ordinance relative to the police of negroes recently emancipated within the parish of St. Landry.

Whereas it was formerly made the duty of the police jury to make suitable regulations for the police of slaves within the limits of the parish; and whereas slaves have become emancipated by the action of the ruling powers; and whereas it is necessary for public order, as well as for the comfort and correct deportment of said freedmen, that suitable regulations should be established for their government in their changed condition, the following ordinances are adopted, with the approval of the United States military authorities commanding in said parish, viz:

SECTION 1. Be it ordained by the police jury of the parish of St. Landry, That no negro shall be allowed to pass within the limits of said parish without a special permit in writing from his employer. Whoever shall violate this provision shall pay a fine of two dollars and fifty cents, or in default thereof shall be forced to work four days on the public road, or suffer corporeal punishment as provided hereinafter.

SECTION 2. Be it further ordained, That every negro who shall be found absent from the residence of his employer after 10 o'clock at night, without a written permit from his employer, shall pay a fine of five dollars, or in default thereof, shall be compelled to work five days on the public road, or suffer corporeal punishment as hereinafter provided.

SECTION 3. Be it further ordained, That no negro shall be permitted to rent or keep a house within said parish. Any negro violating this provision shall be immediately ejected and compelled to find an employer; and any person who shall rent, or give the use of any house to any negro, in violation of this section, shall pay a fine of five dollars for each offence.

SECTION 4. Be it further ordained, That every negro is required to be in the regular service of some white person, or former owner, who shall be held responsible for the conduct of said negro. But said employer or former owner may permit said negro to hire his own time by special permission in writing, which permission shall not extend over seven days at any one time. Any negro violating the provisions of this section shall be fined five dollars for each offence, or in default of the payment thereof shall be forced to work five days on the public road, or suffer corporeal punishment as hereinafter provided.

SECTION 5. Be it further ordained, That no public meetings or congregations of negroes shall be allowed within said parish after sunset; but such public meetings and congregations may be held between the hours of sunrise and sunset, by the special permission in writing of the captain of patrol, within whose beat such meetings shall take place. This prohibition, however, is not intended to prevent negroes from attending the usual church services, conducted by white ministers and priests. Every negro violating the provisions of this section shall pay a fine of five dollars, or in default thereof shall be compelled to work five days on the public road, or suffer corporeal punishment as hereinafter provided.

SECTION 6. Be it further ordained, That no negro shall be permitted to preach, exhort, or otherwise declaim to congregations of colored people, without a special permission in writing from the president of the police jury. Any negro violating the provisions of this section shall pay a fine of ten dollars, or in default thereof shall be forced to work ten days on the public road, or suffer corporeal punishment as hereinafter provided.

SECTION 7. Be it further ordained, That no negro who is not in the military service shall be allowed to carry fire-arms, or any kind of weapons, within the parish, without the special written permission of his employers, approved and indorsed by the nearest or most convenient chief of patrol. Anyone violating the provisions of this section shall forfeit his weapons and pay a fine of five dollars, or in default of the payment of said fine, shall be forced to work five days on the public road, or suffer corporeal punishment as hereinafter provided.

SECTION 8. Be it further ordained, That no negro shall sell, barter, or exchange any articles of merchandise or traffic within said parish without the special written permission of his employer, specifying the articles of sale, barter or traffic. Anyone thus offending shall pay a fine of one dollar for each offence, and suffer the forfeiture of said articles, or in default of the payment of said fine shall work one day on the public road, or suffer corporeal punishment as hereinafter provided.

SECTION 9. Be it further ordained, That any negro found drunk within the said parish shall pay a fine of five dollars, or in default thereof shall work five days on the public road, or suffer corporeal punishment as hereinafter provided.

SECTION 10. Be it further ordained, That all the foregoing provisions shall apply to negroes of both sexes.

SECTION 11. Be it further ordained, That it shall be the duty of every citizen to act as a police officer for the detection of offences and the apprehension of offenders, who shall be immediately handed over to the proper captain or chief of patrol.

SECTION 12. Be it further ordained, That the aforesaid penalties shall be summarily enforced, and that it shall be the duty of the captains and chiefs of patrol to see that the aforesaid ordinances are promptly executed.

SECTION 13. Be it further ordained, That all sums collected from the aforesaid fines shall be immediately handed over to the parish treasurer.

SECTION 14. Be it further ordained, That the corporeal punishment provided for in the foregoing sections shall consist in confining the body of the offender within a barrel placed over his or her shoulders, in the manner practiced in the army, such confinement not to continue longer than twelve hours, and for such time within the aforesaid limit as shall be fixed by the captain or chief of patrol who inflicts the penalty.

SECTION 15. Be it further ordained, That these ordinances shall not interfere with any municipal or military regulations inconsistent with them within the limits of said parish.

SECTION 16. Be it further ordained, That these ordinances shall take effect five days after their publication in the Opelousas Courier.

Official copy:

J. LOVELL, Captain and Assistant Adjutant General.

At a meeting of the citizens of the parish of St. Mary, held at the court-house in the town of Franklin, on Saturday, the 15th instant, P.C. Bethel, Esq., was called to the chair, when a committee was appointed to report upon certain matters submitted to the consideration of the meeting, which committee reported by their chairman the following, which was unanimously adopted:

REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE.

The committee appointed for the purpose of embodying the views and objects of the meeting of the citizens of the parish of St. Mary, assembled at the court-house of said parish on the 15th day of July, A.D. 1865, to deliberate concerning the discipline of colored persons or freedmen, respectfully report that they recommend to the town council of the town of Franklin the adoption of the ordinance of the board of police of the town of Opelousas, passed on the third day of the present month, with such alterations and modifications as may suit the wants and necessities of this locality; also the ordinance of the same board of police passed on the same day, relative to the town of Opelousas; which ordinances are herewith presented for reference. And they furthermore recommend to the police jury of the parish of St. Mary, whenever convened, to make such regulations with regard to the discipline and management of the freedmen or colored population for the entire parish as may be most conducive to the quiet, tranquillity, and productiveness of said parish generally. The committee further recommend to all well-disposed citizens to co-operate with the authorities and with each other in producing a return to civil rule and good order within the shortest delay possible, that the State of Louisiana may be restored to her proper condition as regards internal political stability and tranquillity, as well as the representation she is entitled to in the councils of the nation, which representation is more important to her now than at any previous period of her history.

W.T. PALFREY, Chairman.

Proceedings of the Mayor and Council of the town of Franklin.

Friday, July 28, 1865.

Pursuant to call of the major commanding, the mayor and council met this day. Present: A.S. Tucker, mayor; Wilson McKerall, Alfred Gates, John C. Gordy, and J.A. Peterman, members of the council.

The following was unanimously adopted, viz:

ORDINANCE relative to the police of negroes or colored persons within the corporate limits of the town of Franklin.

SEC. 1. Be it ordained by the mayor and council of the town of Franklin, That no negro or colored person shall be allowed to come within the limits of said town without special permission from his employer, specifying the object of his visit and the time necessary for the accomplishment of the same. Whoever shall violate this provision shall suffer imprisonment and two days work on the public streets, or shall pay a fine of two dollars and a half.

SEC. 2. Be it further ordained. &c., That every negro or colored person who shall be found on the streets of Franklin after ten o'clock at night without a written pass or permit from his or her employer, shall be imprisoned and compelled to work five days on the public streets or pay a fine of five dollars.

SEC. 3. No negro or colored person shall be permitted to rent or keep a house within the limits of the town under any circumstances; and any one thus offending shall be ejected and compelled to find an employer, or leave the town within twenty-four hours. The lessor or furnisher of the house kept as above shall pay a fine of ten dollars for each offence: Provided, That the provisions of this section shall not apply to any free negro or colored person who was residing in the town of Franklin prior to the 1st January (1865) last.

SEC. 4. No negro or colored person shall reside within the limits of the town of Franklin who is not in the regular service of some white person or former owner, who shall be held responsible for the conduct of said negro or colored person; but said employer or former owner may permit said negro or colored person to hire his or their time by special permission in writing, which permission shall not extend to over twenty-five hours at any one time. Any negro or colored person violating the provisions of this section shall be imprisoned and forced to work for two days on the public streets: Provided, That the provisions of this section shall not apply to negroes or colored persons heretofore free.

SEC. 5. No public meetings or congregations of negroes or colored persons shall be allowed within the limits of the town of Franklin, under any circumstances or for any purpose, without the permission of the mayor. This prohibition is not intended, however, to prevent negroes or colored persons from attending the usual church service, conducted by established ministers of religion. Every negro or colored person violating this law shall be imprisoned and put to work five days on the public streets.

SEC. 6. No negro or colored person shall be permitted to preach, exhort, or otherwise declaim to congregations of colored people without a special permission from the mayor, under the penalty of a fine of ten dollars or twenty days' work on the public streets.

SEC. 7. No negro or colored person who is not in the military service shall be allowed to carry fire-arms or any kind of weapons within the limits of the town of Franklin without the special permission of his employer in writing, and approved by the mayor. Any one thus offending shall forfeit his weapons and shall be imprisoned and made to work five days on the public streets, or pay a fine of five dollars in lieu of said work.

SEC. 8. No negro or colored person shall sell, barter, or exchange any articles of merchandise or traffic within the limits of Franklin, without permission in writing from his employer or the mayor, under the penalty of forfeiture of the said articles and imprisonment and one day's labor, or a fine of one dollar in lieu of said work.

SEC. 9. Any negro or colored person found drunk within the limits of the town shall be imprisoned and made to labor five days on the public streets, or pay five dollars in lieu of said labor.

SEC. 10. Any negro or colored person not residing in Franklin who shall be found within its corporate limits after the hour of three o'clock p.m. on Sunday without a special written permission from his employer or the mayor, shall be arrested and imprisoned and made to work two days on the public streets, or pay two dollars in lieu of said work.

SEC. 11. All the foregoing provisions apply to negroes or colored persons of both sexes.

SEC. 12. It shall be the special duty of the town constable, under direction of the mayor, to see that all the provisions of this ordinance are faithfully executed.

SEC. 13. Whoever in Franklin shall sell or give to any negro or colored person any intoxicating liquors, or shall exchange or barter for the same with any such negro or colored person, without special permission from the mayor or employer of said negro or colored person, shall, on conviction thereof before the mayor or justice of the peace in and for the seventh ward of the parish of St. Mary, pay a fine of twenty-five dollars and costs of prosecution, and in default of the payment of said fine and costs the person thus offending shall suffer imprisonment in the parish jail for ten days.

A.S. TUCKER, Mayor.

R.W. McMILLAN, Clerk.

Approved: GEO. R. DAVIS, Major Third Rhode Island Cavalry, Commanding Post.

[Telegram.]

New Orleans, August 10, 1865.

The ordinance relative to the "Police of negroes or colored persons within the corporate limits of the town of Franklin," dated Friday, July 28, 1865, and signed by A.L. Tucker, mayor, being in violation of the emancipation proclamation, the orders of the War Department, and the orders of these headquarters, you will prevent their enforcement and arrest any person attempting to carry them out. The negroes are as free as other people. This ordinance, if enforced, would be slavery in substance, which can never be. Attend to this matter with all the vigor at your command. I have consulted General Canby, who concurs with me in the matter.

THOMAS W. CONWAY,
Ass't. Comm. Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, &c., State of Louisiana_.

Lieutenant S.E. SHEPARD, Provost Marshal, Parish of St. Mary, Brashear City, or Franklin, La.

Official copy:

D.V. FENNO, First Lieutenant and A.A.A. General.

No. 36.

BUREAU REFUGEES, FREEDMEN AND ABANDONED LANDS, OFFICE ASSISTANT COMMISSIONER FOR STATE OF MISSISSIPPI,

Vicksburg, Miss., September 28, 1865.

General: I enclose a copy of the city ordinances. You will see that negroes who sell vegetables, cakes, &c., on the street are required to pay ten dollars ($10) per month for the privilege of doing so.

To illustrate the workings of this ordinance I will give you an actual occurrence in this city.

About a year ago an old negro man named Henderson, crippled with over-work, about seventy years of age, was sent to me for support by the military authorities. I issued him rations for himself and wife, an old negro woman, incapable of doing anything but care for herself. I continued this till about January 1, 1865, when the old man came to me and informed me that if I would allow him to sell apples and cakes to the soldiers on a corner of the street near my office, under a large tree that grew there, he thought he could care for himself and make enough to support himself and wife. I immediately gave him permission and an order to protect him. I had but little faith in his being able to do it, as he was compelled to go on crutches and was bent nearly double, owing to a severe whipping his old master had given him some years ago.

He commenced his work, and, much to my surprise, made enough to support himself, and asked for no more assistance from me.

When the city authorities took charge of the city matters the marshal of the city ordered him to pay the ten dollars per month for the privilege of supporting himself or desist from such trade.

The old man told him that all his profits would not amount to ten dollars per month, and that in some months he did not make that amount of sales, but, as Colonel Thomas provided him with a place to live, he could barely support himself by such trade. The marshal of the city informed him that the tax must be paid by all, and that Colonel Thomas could take care of him, as it was his duty to do so.

The old man came to my office and told me the whole affair. I wrote a letter to the mayor setting forth the whole case, and that the collection of this tax on such old cripples would compel me to support them, as they could not pay the city ten dollars per month and make their support. In fact, ten dollars per month is the common wages for negro labor. The mayor refused to allow the negro to continue his sales, and I was compelled to take charge of him. I would have refused to allow the city authorities to interrupt him had it not been for General Orders No. 10, from headquarters department of Mississippi, allowing the mayor to take charge of such matters.

You will see by the city ordinance that a drayman or hackman must file a bond of five hundred dollars in addition to paying for his license. The mayor requires that the bondsmen shall be freeholders. The laws of this State do not, and never did, allow a negro to own land or hold property. The white citizens refuse to sign any bonds for the freedmen.

The white citizens and authorities say that it is for their interest to drive out all independent negro labor; that the freedmen must hire to white men if they wish to do this kind of work.

I am, general, very respectfully,

SAMUEL THOMAS,

Colonel, Assistant Commissioner Freedmen's Bureau, State of Mississippi.

Major General C. SCHURZ.

Proceedings of the City Council.

At a regular meeting of the board of mayor and council of the city of
Vicksburg, held at the City Hall, on Monday, August 7, 1865: Present—T.J.
Randolph, mayor; Messrs. Stites, Royall, Johnson, Bender, Spengler,
Manlove, and Porterfield, councilmen.

Mr. Stites introduced the following ordinance, which was read; and, on motion of Mr. Bender, the rules were suspended, the ordinance read a second time; and, on motion of Mr. Manlove, the rules were again suspended, the ordinance read a third time by its title, and passed.

Mr. Johnson called for the ayes and noes on the passage of the ordinance, which were taken:

Ayes—Stites, Royall, Bender, Spengler, Manlove, and Porterfield—6.

Nay—Johnson—1.

AN ORDINANCE to raise revenue for the city of Vicksburg.

SEC. 1. That there shall be assessed, levied, and collected upon the landholders, freeholders, and householders of the city of Vicksburg, for the year commencing July 9, 1865, upon the ad valorem worth of all houses, lots and parts of lots, and lands, and on all goods, wares, and merchandise, on all moneys loaned at interest in said city, whether by a resident or nonresident or a corporation, a general tax of fifty cents on every one hundred dollars' value thereof; that said valuation or assessment shall be assessed from the 9th day of July, A.D. 1865, and shall be for one year, but the tax so assessed shall be payable in advance.

SEC. 2. That on all goods, wares, and merchandise, produce, &c., contained or sold on board any flatboat, or other water craft, there shall be assessed, levied, and collected upon the ad valorem worth a general tax of fifty cents on every one hundred dollars' value thereof.

SEC. 3. That there shall be assessed, levied, and collected a poll tax of two dollars upon every male inhabitant of said city over the age of twenty-one years.

SEC. 4. That the rate for license for the houses, business, &c., be assessed as follows, payable as set forth in section 1: On all family groceries, porter-houses, eating-houses, oyster houses, and restaurants, per year $40; on all auction stores, per year, $200; on all public auctioneers, $50; on all banks, brokers, and exchange offices, $500; on all insurance companies having agents in this city, $100; on all express companies, $200; on all wholesale and retail stores and commission houses, $50; on all drays and carts, $20; on all hacks, $25; on all private boarding-houses having ten or more boarders, $20; on all hotels, $100; on all rooms where billiard tables are kept for playing, $200; on all rooms where bagatelle or pigeonhole tables are kept for playing, $25; on all alleys known as ten-pin or nine-pin alleys, $200; on all livery stables, $50; on all wagon yards, $40; on all barber shops, for each chair, $40; on all manufactories of ale, porter, or soda-water per year, $75; on all bakeries, $25; on all theatres, circuses, animal shows, or any public performance or exhibition where compensation is paid in money, each day, $25; on all bar-rooms, or other places where vinous or spirituous liquors are sold in less quantities than one gallon, per year, $500; on all confectionary, fruit or ice cream, soda water or vegetable stores, $50; on all cigar stores, $50; on all shops where fresh meat is sold, $50; on all street peddlers of goods, wares, or merchandise, fruit &c., except from market carts from the country, per month, $10; on all live stock sold in this city, one-half of one per cent, ad valorem.

SEC. 5. That all ordinances in any way conflicting with the provisions of this ordinance be, and the same are hereby, repealed.

SEC. 6. That this ordinance take effect from and after its passage.

Vicksburg, Mississippi, August 7, 1865.

Mr. Stites introduced the following ordinance, which was read; and, on motion of Mr. Bender, the rules were suspended and the ordinance read a second time; and, on motion of Mr. Manlove, the rules were again suspended, the ordinance read a third time by its title, and passed.

AN ORDINANCE to regulate the mode of obtaining licenses within the city of Vicksburg.

SEC. 1. That, before license shall be granted to any one to keep a family grocery, porter-house, oyster-house, eating-house, or restaurant in this city, the person or persons so applying shall execute a bond in the penal sum of $500, with one or more securities, payable to the mayor of the city of Vicksburg and his successors in office, conditioned that he, she, or they will keep an orderly and well-conducted house, and will not permit any riotous or disorderly conduct, or any gaming in or about the same, and will not sell any vinous or spirituous liquors to any one in less quantity than one gallon during the continuance of his or her license.

SEC. 2. That before any person or persons shall be licensed to retail vinous or spirituous liquors within this city, he, she, or they shall produce before the board of mayor and council of said city the written recommendation of five freeholders of his or her neighborhood, setting forth that he or she is of good reputation and a suitable person to receive such license.

SEC. 3. That no license to sell vinous or spirituous liquors as aforesaid shall be delivered to any person until he or she shall have first produced the receipt of the treasurer of the city for the amount of tax assessed for such license, and shall also have executed a bond in the penal sum of $1,000, with one or more good and sufficient sureties, payable to the mayor of the city of Vicksburg and his successor in office, conditioned that he, she, or they will keep an orderly and well-conducted house, and will not permit any riotous or disorderly conduct, or any gaming, in or about the same.

SEC. 4. That the bonds provided for in this ordinance shall be submitted to, and approved by, the board of mayor and council before said license shall be issued.

SEC. 5. That if any person shall retail any vinous or spirituous liquors within this city in less quantity than one gallon without first having procured license to do so, pursuant to the provisions of this ordinance, or in any way violate the provisions of this ordinance, he shall, upon conviction before the mayor of the city, be fined in a sum not less than one hundred nor more than five hundred dollars.

SEC. 6. That before issuing license to any person or persons for the privilege of running a public dray, cart, or hack in this city, the party so applying shall first file with the mayor of the city a bond, with good and sufficient security, to be approved by the mayor, in the penal sum of $500, conditioned for the faithful performance of their duties as public carriers.

SEC. 7. That all ordinances in any way conflicting with the provisions of this ordinance be, and the same are hereby, repealed.

SEC. 8. That this ordinance take effect from and after its passage.

Vicksburg, Mississippi, August 7, 1865

Mr. Johnson introduced the following ordinance, which was read; and on motion of Mr. Manlove, the rules were suspended and the ordinance read a second time; and on motion of Mr. Bender, the rules were again suspended, the ordinance read a third time by its title, and passed:

AN ORDINANCE to amend the market ordinance.

SEC. 1. That from and after the passage of this ordinance it shall not be lawful for any person or persons to sell or expose for sale in the market-house of Vicksburg, after the hour of 9 o'clock a.m., any lemonade, ice-cream, cakes, pies, fruit, or vegetables, or other articles usually sold in market, under the penalty of $10 for each and every offence.

SEC. 2. That it shall not be lawful for any person or persons trading in the market to buy or bargain for, during market hours, or receive from any person or persons not renting a stall in the market, any meat, fish, poultry, butter, eggs, vegetables, or fruits, and offer the same for sale in the market again within ten days, under a penalty of $10 for each and every offence.

SEC. 3. That it shall not be lawful for any person or persons to buy from any person on their way to market, within the city, during market hours, any of the articles named in the second section, or prevent such person from going to market with aforesaid articles, under a penalty of $10 for each and every offence.

SEC. 4. That it shall be the duty of the day police of each ward to arrest and bring before the mayor all persons found violating any section of the above ordinance.

SEC. 5. That all ordinances or parts of ordinances conflicting with this ordinance be, and the same are hereby, repealed.

Mr. Porterfield introduced the following ordinance, which was read; and on motion of Mr. Manlove, the rules were suspended and the ordinance read a second time; and on further motion of Mr. Manlove, the rules were again suspended, the ordinance read a third time by its title, and passed:

AN ORDINANCE regulating ferry-boats, &c.

SEC. 1. That all ferry-boats crossing the Mississippi river and landing in the city limits shall pay the sum of $25 per week.

SEC. 2. That this ordinance shall be in force from and after its passage.

On motion of Mr. Manlove, the following resolution was adopted: Resolved, That hereafter it shall be lawful for the city marshal to charge for prisoners committed to workhouse for board, per day, sixty cents.

On motion of Mr. Spangler, the following resolution was adopted: Resolved, That the city marshal notify the owners of property to have their side-walks and gutters repaired on Washington street, between second corner of East to Depot street, in thirty days; and if not done, the city marshal have it done, at the expense of the property.

On motion of Mr. Manlove, the following resolution was adopted: Resolved, That the mayor be authorized to pay the policemen the amounts due them respectively to date, according to the report by the city marshal.

On motion of Mr. Spangler, the following resolution was adopted: Resolved, That the overseers of street hands' pay shall be $100 per month.

On motion of Mr. Manlove, the following resolution was adopted: Resolved, That the salary of the city marshal shall be $1,200 per annum, the salary of the deputy marshal be $900 per annum, and the salary of the policemen $60 per month, all of which shall be paid monthly.

On motion of Mr. Manlove, the following resolution was adopted: Resolved, That a committee of two be appointed to receive proposals to publish the proceedings of the city council to the third Monday in March next, and also inquire on what terms the city printing can be done, and report to next meeting of this council.

The mayor appointed Messrs. Manlove and Bender on said committee.

On motion of Mr. Bender, the board adjourned till Thursday evening,
August 10, at six o'clock.

T.J. RANDOLPH, Mayor.

No. 37.

FREEDMEN'S BUREAU, STATE OF MISSISSIPPI,

_Office State Superintendent of Education,

Vicksburg, Miss., September_ 28, 1865.

General: At the request of Colonel Thomas, I beg your attention to a few considerations touching the turning over of the care of the freedmen in Mississippi to the State authorities, so far as the transfer bears upon the religious and educational privileges of the colored people. Perhaps no one who has been less engaged in caring for the education and the moral interests of these people can fully appreciate the facts that I intend to lay before you, or understand them as having the intensity of meaning that I see in them.

I have seen a good deal of the people of Mississippi, and have purposely sounded them as to their feelings with regard to the effort to educate the blacks. The general feeling is that of strong opposition to it. Only one person resident in Mississippi before the rebellion has expressed himself to me as in favor of it, and he did not propose to do anything to aid it; and, to show how much his favor was worth, he said he regretted that he was not able to prevent the negroes from having shouting meetings, and that he would keep them from going off the plantation to meeting now if he could, as he formerly did. Aside from this gentleman, every native Mississippian and Irishman with whom I have conversed opposes the instruction of freedmen. Some disguise their opposition by affected contemptuous disbelief of the negro's capacity. All the facts that we can give them, however rich and suggestive, are received with sneering incredulity and the assurance that they know the negroes better than we do. A little persistence in giving this class of men facts disproving their assertions usually makes them angry, and leads them to declare that if the negroes can learn, the greater the damage that will be done them, for the education will do them no good, and will spoil them. Others take this last-mentioned ground at first, and say that a learned negro is a nuisance; for, while he is ignorant, stupid, and loutish, he may be compelled to labor; but as soon as he comes to know something the white people cannot make so profitable use of him.

Some manifest great spite when this subject is mentioned. They say we are trying to make the negro equal with them. Many do not hesitate to say that he ought to be kept uneducated in order that he may not be superior to ignorant white men.

I have discovered that many object to the negro women's being educated lest they should be led to respect themselves, and not so easily be made the instruments of the white man's lust.

The people of Vicksburg have asked Colonel Thomas to prevent the establishment of colored schools within the city—they would probably say, to preserve the peace of the city; but I feel sure it is because the sight of them gives pain. And if their removal ever becomes necessary to the peace of a place, the fact will illustrate public feeling sufficiently.

I have heard more than one person say that he would kill a colored teacher if he ever saw one.

The children of a community generally express the public feeling, and we may usually learn from them what the feeling is, even when the parents, from prudence, seek to conceal it. Children often exaggerate, but they get their bias at home. The children of Mississippi throw stones at colored scholars, and are only restrained by fear from mobbing colored schools.

My memorandum book contains such information as to points in the interior of the State as I can gather from officers, and from any reliable source, to guide me in locating teachers. Some of these memoranda are: "Garrison withdrawn; school impossible." "No resident federal officer; a teacher could not be protected." "People much prejudiced; protection cannot be guaranteed." Such things are said in regard to every place not under northern protection. I think I do not overstate in saying that I do not know a single northern man in Mississippi who supposes a colored school possible where there is no federal sword or bayonet. Some northern men do not regret this fact, perhaps; and this makes their testimony on this point more valuable.

White churches recover their houses of worship which the blacks helped to build, and which they have repaired extensively during the last two years, and remorselessly turn the blacks out without any regard to their rights in equity, their feelings, or their religious interests.

I may state here that there is such a general expression of contempt for negro religion, and such a desire to suppress it, if possible, that it seems as if the whites thought it a piece of terrible impertinence for the blacks to worship the same God that we do. The white people also fear, or affect to fear, that opposition to their plans, and even insurrection, will be hatched at the meetings of colored people. The Nemesis of slavery still holds her whip over them. From this source arise the occasional reports of intended insurrections; and these reports are intended, often, to cause the prevention of meetings, at which the colored people may consult together, and convey information important to them.

In view of all these things, I have no doubt but that, if our protection be withdrawn, negro education will be hindered in every possible way, including obstruction by fraud and violence. I have not the smallest expectation that, with the State authorities in full power, a northern citizen would be protected in the exercise of his constitutional right to teach and preach to the colored people; and shall look for a renewal of the fearful scenes, in which northerners were whipped, tarred and feathered, warned off, and murdered, before the war.

I meant to make this letter shorter, but could not. I hope I need not assure you, general, that I am not conscious that any part of the above comes of enmity to the south. I certainly should rejoice to see my opinion of the state of feeling in Mississippi falsified by patent facts.

I have the honer to be, general, your obedient servant,

JOSEPH WARREN, Chaplain, State Superintendent of Education.

Major General CARL SCHURZ.

No. 39.

OFFICE ASSISTANT COMMISSIONER BUREAU REFUGEES, FREEDMEN AND ABANDONED LANDS FOR STATE OF MISSISSIPPI,

Vicksburg, Mississippi, September 30, 1865.

General: I see by the papers of a late date that Dr. Murdoch, of Columbus, Mississippi, has made a speech at General Howard's office, in which he makes strong promises of the hearty co-operation of his fellow-citizens in the education of the freedmen in the State.

The officer of this bureau at that place, Captain Hubbard, writes that "the citizens of the place are so prejudiced against the negroes that they are opposed to all efforts being made for their education or elevation; that the people will not give rooms, or allow the children of their hired freedmen to attend the schools; that the citizens of the place have written a letter to the officer saying that they would respectfully ask that no freedmen schools be established under the auspices of the bureau, as it would tend to disturb the present labor system, and take from the field labor that is so necessary to restore the wealth of the State." This is signed by half a dozen citizens purporting to represent the people, and certainly gives us a different idea of the case from that stated by Dr. Murdoch.

I am, general, very respectfully,

SAMUEL THOMAS, Colonel, Assistant Commissioner for Mississippi.

Major General CARL SCHURZ.

No. 40.

To the Voters of Wilkinson county:

Fellow-Citizens: When I consented, some days ago, to be a candidate for the State convention, I confess that, with some of my personal friends, I was vain enough to believe that I was sufficiently well known to the people of Wilkinson county to make it unnecessary for me to publish my political creed. But, to my surprise, it is rumored, to the prejudice of my humble claim upon your suffrage, that I am an "unconditional, immediate emancipationist—an abolitionist."

In the freedom of casual, friendly conversation, it is certainly not unreasonable that I may, as any other man, be misunderstood. I cannot think any of my fellow-citizens capable of misrepresenting me purposely. But certain it is I am misunderstood if any man believes me to favor the policy that wrongs and impoverishes my country. It does occur to me, fellow-citizens, that the charity, at least, if not the good sense of those who know me, would contradict any such insinuation. True, I only claim to have done my duty, but my record for the last four years, I trust, is sufficient proof of my fidelity to the interests of the south and all her institutions. Can any man believe me now in favor of, and ready to advocate, the abolition of an institution for which I have contended so long, and which I am as fully persuaded to-day, as ever, was the true status of the negro? Surely not.

But, fellow-citizens,—what I may, in common with you all, have to submit to, is a very different thing. Slavery has been taken from us. The power that has already practically abolished the institution threatens totally and forever to abolish it. But does it follow that I am in favor of this thing? By no means. And, certainly, you who know me will not demand of me any further assurance than my antecedents afford that I will, as your representative, should you elect me, "do all and secure all" I could for the best interest of the State, and the rights and interests of a free people.

I have thought, and have said, and do now repeat, that my honest conviction is, we must accept the situation as it is until we can get control once more of our own State affairs. We cannot do otherwise and get our place again in the Union, and occupy a position, exert an influence, that will protect us against further and greater evils which threaten us. I must, as any other man who votes or holds an office, submit, for the time, to evils I cannot remedy.

I want it distinctly understood that I do not run on "Mr. Burruss's platform," or any other man's, save my own.

Should you send me to the convention I will go committed, as I think an honest man can only commit himself, i. e., according to my best judgment, and with an intention to guard all the blessings we now enjoy, to the extent of my ability, exert myself, as I have said, to secure all I can for the interest of our State. If I cannot be trusted, then choose some other man, who may have shown himself hitherto, and is now, more truly your friend, and who is, in your judgment, more capable of representing you.

W.L. BRANDON.

Wilkinson County, August 6.

No. 41.

OFFICE ACTING ASSISTANT COMMISSIONER BUREAU FREEDMEN, &c., FOR SOUTHERN
DISTRICT OF MISSISSIPPI,

Natchez, Miss., September 25, 1865.

General: In obedience to your request, I have the honor to submit the following as the result of my observations during the past year among freedmen:

The opinion and feeling among the negroes throughout this district, comprising the counties of Claiborne, Copiah, Lawrence, Covington, Jones, Wayne, Jefferson, Franklin, Pike, Marion, Perry, Greene, Adams, Wilkinson, Amite, Hancock, Harrison, and Jackson, and Concordia and Teusas parishes, Louisiana, are almost unanimous on one point, viz: they will remain this year on their old places for a support, and such remuneration as the crop raised can give them, but next year they will leave and make other arrangements. They say that they have tried their old masters, know what they require, and how they will be treated, and that, as they are now free, they will try some other place and some other way of working. They take this view not because they are tired of work, or because they want to be idle, but because they are free, and want to find out in what their freedom consists.

To contend with the results of this opinion will be the great work flung upon the hands of some one next year. And not only will they have to see that the laborers are properly settled, but they must provide for the crippled, the helpless and the children. The planters cannot be made to support those who are too feeble to give any return, and who only remain because they are too old or too young to get away. What, then, is to become of them?

As to those who can labor, there will be no difficulty—the demand for laborers will far exceed the supply. The great trouble will be to keep the negro in the State, and to provide assistance for those who are unable to take care of themselves. Another want to be provided for is that of education. If we are to have good, industrious, and law-abiding people, we must provide some means for their education. It is intended to place a teacher in every town in which schools can be established and protected. From conversations with intelligent citizens, whom I feel assured, represent the feelings of a large class of people, I think that for some time the equality of negroes and whites before the law, as regards testimony, will be merely an equality in name.

Citizens say that their legislature may, and probably will, make laws receiving the testimony of negroes in all cases, as a means of inducing the government to re-admit them to a full exercise of their State jurisdiction and representation, but that no southern jury can ever be found that, when it comes to a case where twenty negroes testify one way, and two white men testify the other, will not decide in favor of the white, and virtually throw out the negro testimony. Of course this matter of testimony will settle itself with time, and a negro's word obtain the same credit from his individual character as among whites, for the whites, having cases that they are dependent upon negro testimony for, will in the course of time be brought by their own interests to take and demand the full benefit of the law; but for some time, although legally admitted, it will in fact be excluded.

The report of Captain Warren Peck, a copy of which I have the honor to enclose, gives a very fair view of what the result would be, were the officers of this bureau removed.

When I took charge here I found a perfect state of terror among whites and blacks; but now that officers are thickly distributed over the district, complaints are few, and the laborers are well, and, so far as possible, comfortably fixed for this year. Out of a negro population of over 75,000, only 649 receive rations from the government as destitutes.

I feel no hesitation in saying that it is imperatively necessary to give the system of free labor a fair trial, and to secure to the freedmen all the benefits contemplated by the emancipation proclamation; that officers or agents should be retained whose duty it is to look after the interests of this large class of people, and see that they are gradually accustomed to manage their own business and protect their own interests.

I have the honor to be, general, very respectfully, your obedient servant,

GEORGE D. REYNOLDS, Major 6th United States Colored Heavy Artillery, and Acting Assistant Comm. Bureau of Freedmen, &c., Southern Dist. of Mississippi.

Major General CARL SCHURZ.

No. 42.