The Portland daily press., 1865-08-07
Monday Morning, August Z, 1865
A SOUTHERN PhANrERs STORY
pRFoRE ANp AFrER THE RERELI1oN.


BEFORE AND AFTER THE REBELLION.
A correspondent of the Boston Advertiser
who is making the tour of the South, write
to that journal from Charleston as follows:
"While the steamer was approaching Hill
ton Head, was sitting on deck engaged in
conversation with rebel officer, who had
been spending several months on Johnson's
Island as prisoner of war, and was now On
his way to his southern home. He was a fine.
stalwart fellow in the very bloom of manhood,
of pleasant address and an intelligent EXPIRES
sion of countenance The conversation was
soon turned upon his personal situation and
prospects. IWOuld not attach much value to
what was said, had not heard the same SEN
timents expressed by a number of southern
men, and had not reasons to believe that
they are indicative of the way of thinking oi
large and influential class of people.
He was glad to get home again, very glad
He had entered the army in 1861, and had not
been home since. For many months he had
not heard word from his family al5nseti e
II am planter" said he, "or rather was
planter before the war. My plantation is in
Georgia., south of Savannah. not far from
Darien. | have fom thousand acres of land
and about ninety negroes. ] was well of, J.
assure you. But what am l nowl My slaves
are all gone; am sure they are, Whether my
house is still standing do not know, but am
sure everything about my plantation has gone
to wreck and ruin.D 4. 3sssige
"Well, what are you going to do when you
get home?" sea
"Do? / don't know, sir, no more than the
man in the moon. May be some of my ne
groes, when they hear that have come home
viii come back to me. They were always
faithful to me. Itreated them well; lost but
one in four years, by death, of congestiye
fever" haaf3 &
''Well, then, if some of them come back to
you, you will make contracts with them, give
them fair wages, and go to work again, will
you not?e -as6t a.H Hih fe4a
He looked surprised. "How 50, make con-
tracts with them?" ~ sssi 81
"Well," said /, 'you know slavery is abolish
ed, and If you want the negroes to work for
you at all, you will have to make agreements
with them as with free laborers.r
"Yes," said he, II have heard ofthi know
that's the intention. But now, really, do you
think this is a settled thing? Now, niggere.
won't work when they are not obliged to. A
free niger is never good for anything know
the thing won't work. No southern man ex-
poets it viii. No use trying" &,
He grew quite animated Iendeavored to
convince him in as forcible language as / Icould
command that the emancipation of the slave
lie would be obliged to try. 81
He still remained incredulous. eyes, yes"
said he Il know. that's the intention. But
tell you, know the nigger. Iknow him, sir.
He isn't lit for freedom, sir. President John
son is southern man, and he knows the mig
ger too, sir. He knows them as well as ! do,
sir. He knows that the niggers must be made
to work somehow. You can't make contract
with any of them. They do not know what
contract is. They won't keep contract"
/ remarked that the system which he deem
ed impossible was carried out at a great many
places, and that where the military power OF
the government saw to it that the contracts
were fairly made the system worked well.
eyes, said he, "as long as the federal troops
are there the thing may work. But the troops
will soon be Withdrawn, won't they? And
the people of the southern states will manage
their own affairs again, won't they?"
"Maybe, by and by" said ], meeting his anx
ious eye with smile. ava 4s4eff
"Well, isn't that the policy of the admin
istration? You see, then, the thing won't
work.
tried once more to convince him that he
would have to make up his mind to treat the
negroes as free laborer, and suggested that
if he thought he could not, he ought to sell
part of his land aud keep only as much as he
could cultivate himself. The idea struck him
as absolutely inadmissible.
+ @Sell my land n said he "What shall do
if sell my plantation? have not learned
any thing with which could make a liv-
ing"
"Youmight cultivate small farm yourself,
and make a living in that way" aoasa4
"Why, / can't work. / know how to man
age plantation with slaves on it, But
can't work; never did days work in my
life, sir.V saE 4altlaA sl
'1Then sell the whole of your land and in
vest the money in some other profitable bust
ness. What is land worth down your way"
"Why, don't know. Land won't sell where
am at home. haven't got the remotest idea
what land may be worth there There never
was an acre of land sold in that neighborhood
that can remember" He meditated awhile
in silence sNo,n said he, at last, 81 can't sell
my plantation. We must make the niger
work somehow"
have now heard a good many southern
people speak about this subject, some Of them
very emphatic in their protestatlons tnat tney
accept things as they are, without any mental
reservation of the Union, aban-
donment of the right of secession, abolition OF
slavery and alI-but whenever you question
them about particulars as to their future course
you will always find this to be the burden o.
the song. sasg4 sAssa A
The nigger is free, to be sure, but he will
not work unless compelled to work, we must
make him work somehow; we understand the
matter, and we will see about that as soon as
the control Of the political power in the states
is restored, but he deplores this fact most sin
cerey. Ii the negroes were not SO .'demoral-
led as to render every attempt to restore
the Old form OF slavery dangerous, / have no
doubt the attempt would be made. But the
"demoralzation' of the coIored race does not
permit it, On the other hand, the introduc-
ton Of a bona Jfde system of free labor is a
thing wholly foreign to the southerner's ideas.
He does not know what tree labor is. The
problem he feels himself at present called upon
to solve is, how to impose as many duties upon
and grant as few rights to the negro as possi-
Bile. These are impressions have received
from my conversations with southern people,
and shall soon be able to speak more advised
lyfrom personal observation.
PETROLEUM V. Massey ON THE PoLITI-
CAL STTUATIoN-The Cincinnati Commercial
contains the following document, which will