I shall not be able to make any dividend to the shareholders this year. After paying my advances and settling with superintendents, there will not be any surplus over the needs of the current year.
Mr. F. J. W. has been quite talkative and rides his hobby to death,[155] concerning the rights of the negro to have land for nothing, etc., etc., expatiating upon the tyranny of the newly forming landed aristocracy, the gigantic speculators who are grinding the negro down, etc., etc., ad libitum. He held forth on these topics at length at a meeting of the Educational Commission about two weeks ago, and succeeded in making Professor Child and some others believe that the whole labor of the Commission for two years past had been wasted or overthrown by the recent changing policy, which had ousted them out of their promised rights and cast them out upon the merciless open jaws to devour them alive, etc., etc.
E. S. P. TO W. C. G.
April 18. Just now it would seem as if the Sea Islands were to be abandoned to the negroes and wild hogs. I had heard some things of General Birney[156] before which led me to regard him as having injudicious sympathies, and should not be surprised at any time to have him send you home as a "fraudulent coadjutor" of an unrighteous speculation, upon the representation of Pompey and John, if they should happen to gain an audience after dinner some day. Joking aside, however, I think it would be a good plan to get Colonel S. to retract some of his nonsense, and I have no doubt he will do it at your request, for he is one of the most good-natured and well-intentioned men in the world. He is very likely to have said what the negroes say he did, indiscreetly, of course, and without dreaming what effect it might have. If the people continue to refuse to receive their money, as I don't believe they will long, I would consult Mr. Tomlinson about it. I think he will sustain us in anything reasonable. I think if Mr. Tomlinson were to tell John or Pompey that they would not be allowed to take any of their cotton and would be severely punished if they attempted it, it would have a good effect. Any way I think the matter will blow over soon. It is not strange that the negroes should act like fools when they have such examples before them as we see nowadays.
FROM H. W.
April 18. At night came Mr. Soule from Beaufort with an account of the investigations going on there concerning the tax-commissioners before Judge Smith, an agent sent by the President for the purpose. Mr. Soule found that he had also been commissioned to look into the affairs of our "concern," as the Fripp Point men had sent a petition to the President to be relieved from Mr. Philbrick's oppression! Mr. Soule and Mr. Tomlinson both saw Judge Smith, and had some talk with him at the meeting, which was a public one, and he was invited to come down here, see Mr. Soule's books and investigate all the charges thoroughly. Whoever drew up the petition (of course it had been done by a white man, but who we could not tell, for his name as witness had been omitted in the copy given Judge Smith) had so overshot the mark that it was palpably absurd to all who knew the facts, and happily Mr. Soule had found Judge Smith to be a fair-minded, able, clear-sighted person, who could not have dust thrown in his eyes.
April 21. Sat waiting the arrival of Judge Smith, when about one o'clock Robert called to me that a carriage was coming. To my amazement, instead of the Judge alone or with only a friend, a great vehicle with four white horses and "sofas inside,"[157] as Rose said, dashed up to the front door with four gentlemen, Mr. Tomlinson and Mr. G. being on horseback besides. Of course I had to fly round about my dinner and get up tables large enough to seat thirteen people. By three dinner was ready and my guests at table—a very pleasant company: Judge Smith, a round, smooth-faced gentleman between fifty and sixty, active and wide-awake; Judge Cooley, the new tax-commissioner, a Westerner and also very pleasant. Judge Smith took Mr. Soule's statement before dinner, and afterwards Mr. G.'s, all simply facts and with no waste of words. C. was not questioned at all. Then Mr. G. went over to the Point for the men there, for, though the Judge was satisfied that Mr. Philbrick was not a scoundrel and all of us aiders and abetters of his iniquities, we knew the men there would never be satisfied with the statement from any of us or Mr. Tomlinson, who had been talking to them for two hours that morning. Poor things, they are much more sinned against than sinning. They came flocking over so closely upon Mr. G.'s heels as to get here nearly as soon as he did, and the session of the Court began by the examination of John Major before tea, the others crowding about the door and filling the piazza, quiet and orderly, but eager listeners. Not a single one of our people came up. John Major is a discontented, conceited fellow, who has never worked for Mr. Philbrick, though his wife and children have, and he headed the petition. It was splendid to see how quickly the Judge saw through him, when he has been only a week in the Department, and could hardly understand what he said; but he showed the man pretty plainly what he thought of him, telling him, when he said the Government could not find him out [know him] that it had found him out, that it had his name in Washington, and that if he thought Secesh times were so much better, the Government loved him so well it would let him go back to his old master! After tea came 'Siah and Pompey, two very different men,—intelligent, hard-working, and honest, the former particularly truthful and reliable, men whom we all respect,—and it was a fine sight to see these men, only two years out of slavery, respectfully but decidedly standing up for what they thought their rights in a room full of white people. 'Siah only said that he thought he ought to have fifty cents for what he is now paid forty for[158] (about four hours work), but that he had given his word to Mr. Philbrick for this year and he would stand by it. He says he never signed the paper, or saw it, but that he answered the question the two officers asked him and told his name. Pompey afterwards stated that the two officers asked who owned the adjoining plantations and that one,—and that on being told that Mr. Philbrick had bought them all, said: "Then we need not go any further"—which looks like malice aforethought. The paper was, apparently, written at Hilton Head and there signed with the men's marks—if so, it is a forgery. Pompey's great difficulty seemed to have arisen from a misunderstanding of statements made by Mr. Philbrick, in which he considered that Mr. Philbrick took back his word, and so he had lost confidence in him and was ready to appeal to any one who promised to see him righted and relieved from his "confusion." He says, and all the men say so too, that Mr. Philbrick promised when he bought the land to sell it to them when the war was over for what he gave for it, and that when he was here last he told them he should ask them ten dollars an acre. This they all stand to, and cannot be convinced they have made a mistake, but have lost their faith because he has broken his word,—and outsiders have fanned the flame, telling them that if they did not work for Mr. Philbrick for what he chose to pay them,—and that he was paying them nothing,—he would turn them out of their homes, and more to the same effect. It was a most interesting occasion, and it was pleasant to feel that there was a man of so much sense in the Department. He tried to pacify the men, and then privately told Mr. Soule that he should advise Mr. Philbrick to pay the fifty cents.
The next day the gentlemen departed, Mr. Tomlinson going to the smaller Philbrick plantations to make the newly-ordered written contracts with the people. By the terms of a circular issued April 1 by General Saxton, each superintendent was ordered, before April 15, to make to his general superintendent and to sign a statement of the agreement existing between himself and his laborers. The general superintendent was then ordered to visit the plantation, explain the contract to the negroes, and affix to it the names of all who agreed to the terms of it; any laborer who objected to the terms was warned to leave his employer or stay with him at his own risk. H. W. records the reception given to Mr. Tomlinson by the Pine Grove people.
April 22. They were silenced, but not convinced, but agreed for this year. Mr. Tomlinson had trouble with the people at Mr. Folsom's and Mr. Harrison's both. He had meant to do the job here, but could not, as C. was away. C. did not expect any difficulty, and I suspect that he was right, for just after all had gone, two of our men, "Useless" Monday, the stuttering cow-minder, and Hacklis, the sulkiest-looking man on the place, came up and, with the brightest smiles and cheeriest manner, began to ask me so earnestly how I was, that I felt as if I were not honest if I did not mention that I had a slight headache. "Mebbe de confusion make you sick, sorry for dat. Not one our people come up yere. We bery sorry for dat,"—and much more of regret, and assertion that "so long as Mass' Charlie on de place dey satisfy." Old Monday wished to know if the milk satisfied me, and was very much delighted when I told him that if he had not sent some up the night before I should have had none for the gentlemen's breakfast, and kept exclaiming, "I glad for dat," as if he had wished to express his sympathy by deeds as well as words. Then Hacklis said, "Come, let's go," as if they had come up simply to assure me that our people would give no trouble. I was touched.
The end of the story was a month later.