Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1865-12-28

finding them suitable homes and occn'
: nation. among the planters of TennesseG
s and Kentucky. Tennessee has expressed
among the first Of the Southern States
: tine renewal of public confidence, and the
e planters and farmers have been able 70
( absorb to great extent the labor found
: in their midst.
l Gen. Fisk reports that he has met
r with great success in breaking up the
/ camps, and in supplying the freedmen
with work at good wages, and tnat ne
2 has done so mainly by associatng the
/ planters and the freedmen with his sub
agents in commissions organized for the
purpose of settling local disputes, making
} 1 labor contracts, and removing from the
J military courts questions that otherwise
would have 10 be adjudicated by military
J officers.
, Gen. Fisk was chosen for his fitness
for the work assigned him, and has ad-
ministered the affairs of his district so as
to meet my appreciation.
In August Gen. Fisk issued ratlons 10
three thousand seven hundred ana
eighty-five freedmen. and TO three thou
sand seven hundred and seventy-seyen
refugees, making a total number OF per-
sons of seven thousand five hundred and
sixty-two. In September, he had re-
dHced the issues to freedmen 10 two
thousand nine hundred and eighty-four.
! He reports that at the end of October
there were seventy-five schools, two
hundred and sixty-four teachers, and
fourteen thousand seven hundred and
sixty-eight pupils.
Missouri and Arkansas.
What has been, said with reference to
Kentucky and Tennessee, will apply III
a great measure to Missouri and Arkan-
sas. These States formed one organiza-
tion of the Bureau, to which Brighten
/ J. W. Sprague was assigned as Assistant
Commissioner but as Missouri has be-
come free State, and good laws have
been passed, protecting the rights Of
/ freedmen, the operations of the Rureau
! have been Withdrawn from Missouri,
and Gen Sprague has, now, only charge
| of Arkansas.
Gen. Sgrague is assOciating with the
military agents, citizens of known re-
spectability, as agents of the Bureau, and
| finds in most cases that they act with
fairness toward the freedmen. As it is
considered advisable, as far as possible,
| to cultivate trust and confidence between
| the planters and freedmen, as the surest
protection for their material interests, l
! have encouraged this plan, and look for
good results, wherever it is tested in good
/ faith.
! In Arkansas, the active demand for
! labor is, in a great measure, settling the
| condition of society, and by cultivating
| her cotton fields, the negroes are insured
employment and good wages, and the
/ contracts that are made are usually full
J filled.
Gen. Sprague has secured the cooper
alton of Gen. Reynolds, the Department
( Commander, and of the Provisional Gov |
ernor of the State. !
While instances Of broken faith, and |
even cruelty toward the negro are re-
ported, aud while do not advocate the /
entire transfer of the administration of |
freedmen's affairs to the hands Of civil |
ians, have been pleased with the course |
of Gen. Sprague, as indicated above, and !
consider that he has discharged his du- /
ties with ability and fidelity.
Concluding Remarks. !
In addition to the information derived |
through correspondence with Assistant |
Commissioners, have the reports Of in
spections and also the criticisms OF mill |
tary officers referred to me from other |
Bureaus.
In accordance with Special Order |
number one hundred and one, from the !
President, requiring personal inspection /
and correction of abuses in the /
Southern States, | visited Virginia,
North Carolina, South Carolina,
Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Louisiana,
Mississippi and Tennessee, and then 1
returned, reaching Washington Novem-
Der eighteenth. have sent special In
speotor Col. G. II. Howard and Lieut.
Col. Strong, each being BrigadierG Gen
eTal by brevet), to visit those localities, !
that I could not reach in persGn from
want of time before the meeting of Con-
gress. The reports of these inspections /
would be too extended to be embodied in
this. l will simply add the general con-
elusion to which L have come.
First That free labor, notwithstanding
the sudden emancipation, and the thOus-
ands of causes of disturbance Incident TO
the war, viii prove successful but In /
order to hasten this result, every effort /
must be made by officers of the Govern
ment, and all Others concerned, to secure
confidence between the holders of prop
erty and the freedmen, and restore that /
confidence wherever ii has been impalred.
On the part of the freedmen, they are
looking for Justice and privileges with
perhaps TOO exalted notions; yet their
confidence cannot be obtained without q
reasonable extension 10 them of the rights
and privileges of free men. On the part of
the property holders, great complaint is
made OF want of security of labor, the
majority seeking some compulsory pro-
cess that is, some substitute for slavery.
There are Sc many examples of complete
SUCCESS OF free labor, that l bring them
as an answer TO such complaints, and /
believe that the causes of complaint are
due as much TO the prejudice of the en-
plOyer, and want of practical knowledge
Of any other system than the one under
which he has been brought up, as to the
ignorance and suspicion OF the laboreF,
l therefore earnestly advocate equality
before the law, trusting 10 time and
education to overcome prejudice and ig-
n0fanee.
Second. That this Bureau, or some sub
stltute for it, Of u natiOPal character,
viii have to be continued for the follow
ing reasons:
1st. 1t viii require at least a year from
January, eighteen hundred and 'sixty-six,
to bring to close the land division,
whatever disposition is made of the lands.
The faith of the Government having
been pledged as to leases and contracts
for the coming year, it woald be unwise
TO commit them TO any State agencies.
I'd, The Government has set Che
slaves free, and bound itself to make
that freedom an undisputed fact. Some
guaranty, beyond any existing ordinance
in any State visited, is essential to Sc
cure the actual and continuous protection
of life and property TO the freedmen.
Where legislation Is constrained, as it
now IS in the Southern States, for the
most part, from several causes, there is
danger OF the statute law being In ad-
vance OF public sentiment 50 that where
there is the most iheTality, i'll eonse-
hfa. ilralr -, sE
ernment protection should be immedi-
ately Withdrawn.
Where the Bureau fails To Afford this
protection, 1t is yet a means nj exnosing
to the GoverpAent, and to the public'
Sc:s 2, o. lhltlslce and oppression; and in
us ~ it affords moral check against
their commission.
Third. a want of mutual confidence
between the white employers and the
eolored employees actually exists to a |
large extent. This can usually be traced
10 circumstances connected with the war. |
aud II IL increased by the peculiar preju-
dloes and education of all persons under
the slavery system.
The Bureau officers actually do restore
this confidence, as a general rule, when
fairly met
With scarcely any exceptions, the
heeuLlen expressed the utmost conf
denee in their agents, and are only alien
aled where agents prove themselves un-
true to their interests.
Wherever the planters have taken ad-
vantage Of the aid afforded by the Bureau.
the best results have followed. This
work viii require timefo for its completion.
4th. Education is absolutely essential
to the freedmen to ct them for their nayy
duties and responsibilities. / ind many
enlightened and learned men in eyery
state advocating the necessity arr wis
dom of establisbiRg systep, of ed,Ics- ~
ton; yet believe the majority of the
ed,Ias Miiles ;people to sc utterly opposed to
edueatlng the negroes. The opposition
Is g great that the teachers, though thew
may be tho purest Christian people, are.
nevertheless, visited publicly and pri-
vately with undisguisea marks Of odiun,.
This Bureau fesrlessly superintends and
fosters these schools, which it is believed
VIII IN time hA THAR ct,a.a-s -