, 1864-02-02
THE. MISSISSIPPI FREEDMEN.


priscs until this case is definitely detormin-
cd.
THE MISSISSIPPI FREED MEN.
Heartless and Cruel Conduct Of tbs
Contractors.
A Reform Loudly Demanded.
from the n. 7. Independent, Jan. ISL
Adjt- Gen. Thomas went out West last
spring to organize negro regiments, ind to
put In operatlon free labor plantation sys-
covered all questions relating to the enlist
ment, employment, government and subsist-
ence OF the freedmen In the Mississippi Val
ley, and that Lis authority was ample for all
purposes. He raised about twenty regi-
mente, devised and issued to the public \
lions, md established certain regulations for
their management. He has since made re-
port, which pronounces his experiment ia
complete success" all the lessees, says
Gen. Thomas, made rFoft on their outlay,
and Of that we presume there Is no doubt.
OF the few laborers whom they employed, he
speaks as follows:
to scale n1ed upon by t!e Board Of Commissionefs
s Ell
and mo:e atundantly fed than thes were when held
s:tsa ssfa L Ssy g g.
every proper means 70 elevate this unfortunate race
no expense to the Government, but hare Supported
y ;s snd families Thsy ReEset,y sSnssn
eiass'Sf sss9z 1ssaid "a
So far Gen. Thomas. Nov look at the 9th
CT side Of the picture.
James E. Yeatman, President ofthe Western
Sanitary Commission, has recently visited
| the plantations md camps Of the freedmen
along tie Mississipp', and has made report
| OF his observations, which is published in
pamphlet. Mr.. Y<atman'6 relation to the
| sani1ary Commission is q guarantee OF his
| character, and he ia further qualified to judge
On such subject by experience previously
| ton plantation near Millikcn's Bend. His
report embraces mass Of testimony on other
points, but we extract only part Of what
touches the plantations:
"nr. Li:t,eleld, who Is The sic.an Of the 1nhrn
t. !tsIlls5sd rs @tns Sospsel; q apPsss e
"a asa 10
81 sss r.
noGs %aofs M rcay ;n Ro2ry
freedmen, Herson jackson. working nr Ftons pl1nt-
d s6andopsa plantations: thst tbey saasaty @ ads
lax. to e. A. f. a. Ten;as iaon Eat he has been
sseE = II ssas slixsd b!t sEa5 e Pays fsr hs
nj eoS9s ess AP a
6S5 SHAT, I 10 1 Pa1 r.
hins snd iaSose4s as
Caye smllar !sti1nony. Konc receiTe mola.ses sce
hsas ssa only when they choose to make
arc F5sa
Il sSss sissss IL; assS .s5
Rsa ana
Cd hsy soa
6slr.: Thsy % rssiiss DIT may p nee inea@
shsya sss sa ss ss s aso s
1 psssr tatn aa
~ IL 1esqi. ,s6of; seT e vii seaie 4
Ssa;i.s m eniy isseiEs So: psE 5esa
EeTae th:a this IL does ID h!s u ps; month
81 Pe
days which le may york sha: = q CENTS per
81 o Il. r.
hor Was there ever q greater lnlquttJ Than this7"
OF the lessecs to whom the negroes are en-
trusted b(r. Ycatman says:
The parties 1eatins plantations and employing these
negroes DO It fro motive either Or loyalty Or hu.
e asls n he9
t1opoy o. from 1e s2il Thsre arc. ot course, e1ee
sharke" as !ley are teTmcd. who harc tnraed asiio
. s 'tss aeEsS
proves has laid open to them.
There is a camp at Young's Point, in which
arc {, leo men, women and children, crowded
in miserable novels, destitute Of ali comforts
and d. ing at the horrible rate Of thirty, fifty,
and scycnty-fve dny. The number on tile
Mississippi is estimated ut moro than ., 900,
Zone properly cared for, the majority not
cared for at all: God gave them to the Gov
trnnent to bc freed, educated, lifted into
rew life. Tie Government put them in the
lIards Of guardians, from whose carelcssncss
ind cruelty come Of them even seek refuge
:gain in slavery. The problem OF cmancfpa-
tion is made doubly complex. for the negro
Is almost taught to doubt the benefits Of free
dom.
Gen. Thomas' report is dated Oct. Is; Mr..
fentman's Dec. 18th, 1868. Their statements
are Eo irrcconci1ebly at variance that re can
only conclude Gen. Thomas to have been
based Oh the representation Of l.is lessees.
Mr. Yeatmans'. We know, were gathered
from personal observation, and have not been
contradicted. Painful to the country and dis
creditab1e to the Government as they are,
tEcy are scarcely more than might have been
anticipated by my ono who understood Gen.
Thomas system at the outset That system
was never framed for the benefit Of the no.
gro. Like Gen. Banks' in Louisiana, which
tn terms Wa8 mado to depend on the accord
of the Government and the planters, this was
meant to stimulate the production Of cotton,
and 10 relieve the military authorities from
the maintenance Of IN emancipatcd popula-
tion- Tic welfare Of the negro was an nfter-
thought, or was consulted mainly In defer
ence to the growing phi1anthroplc sentiment
OF the North. Like tho apprenticeship ex-
pertinent in Jamaica, It placed the negro in
the lands Of irresponsible guardians, who
supervision nor By their % own intcsests ii soa rom
1fight5ully abusing their trust The slavc-
owner hid invested capital In his human
chattc1, and there was limit beyond which
1t WINS not profitable to abuse him. The
Government, and suffers no loss whether he
oveEWorks or starVes them, and evidence ia !
abundant that many Of the 1esseea have done
9th. It fs not apprenticeship in name, like
:}amaica q, but it differs mainly in the substi-
tuition Of graspfng and heartless speculators
With inconsfderab1e notifications, this sys-
ten ten Iemslns in operation to-day, and is sus.
tanned BY the Government. Gen. Thomas |
pfoclai1ns It q success, but 1t must be sup-
posed that he has not had time to examine in !
to the real condition Of the freedmen. He |
found his experiment . success financially, |
and took the rest for granted. He found ne |
ETo 1eseees skillfully managing their planta~ |
Ho3s and producing even = higher grader
OF cotton tsan their white competitors, and |
Justly recognizes their merits. But he seems
not to hare suspected the abuses which Mr.
9eatman has pointed out, and not to have
been aware that the etipulations which he |
had originally made in behalf Of the freedmen
had been dfsregarded md derided by the les
secs. Had he known thcfacts, be never would /
have recommended the renewal Of the exist
ing leases.
The Government can not afford to let this
go on. Mr.: Yeatman's report has been wide-
y circulated, and the facts nre in possession
Of the people. We take it for granted that
the present system will be abandoned. To
retain It In the face Of such an exposure is.
or ought to be, impossible, and fs at any rrate
Inconsistent with the supposition that the
Government means to do it's duty. It is not
merely a question Of abuses-Which under
my organization must be expected-it Is the
y stem itself which Is inherently vicious.
The construction Of another should be placed
q the hands of some one Who will not regard
he negroes as live stock, who will not con
'ider either the profit Of speculation or the
production Of cotton crop as the first OBJ
cct, but who will understand that be Is
:harged with the welfare Of liberated race,
whom ne have kept enslayed for two hundred
ears, and to whom We owe euch recompense
s 1t Is still possible to give. 4
A RARE GEH.-We were shown yesterday,
ays the Harrisburg Telegraph, at the Iewely
establishment Of George McCalls, a rare old
EN-, fashioned as Watch-seal, which has at
ached TO 1t story at once illustrating the
nproVidence and the vice Of an arch traitor.
he seal is wrought from mineral only
aun6 IN tim North nF Hnr&1.z5 -,1f.l 4. 1..1I |