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.