Prescott journal. [volume] (Prescott, Wis.) 1861-1871, 1865-07-01
Address Of the cSIOFed Freedmen from
Richmond.

WASHINGTON, June 16, 1S66.-In &c
cordance with resolution passed at {
meeting of colored peoplein Richmond
q delegation of colored men waited upon
the President to-day, and were received
by him with kindness and attention.
The object of the delegation, like that
of the meeting, was to make known tC
the President, and through thepress, to
the country, certain grievances which
the freedmen of Richmond a1ege they
are suffering from a collision between
the military and civil authorities. The
members of the delegation were instruc'
ted by Mr.. Van Vleet, President OF the
Richmond Union League, and one OF
their number, named Chester, read the
President an address, In which was set
forth list of their sufferings, chief OF
which was the interference of the pro-
vost guard and local police with the IL
berry of colored men. After stating
that they represented men of wealth
from the sum of two hundred dollars to
twenty thousand dollars, and that had
ever been loyal, serving the Union for
ces as scouts and guides, and after a re-
capitulation of the services of colored
men In the armies of the United States,
the address-written, not by negro,
but by Mr.. Van Vleet-went on to say
how disappointed the people of the
South felt of the issue to them of the
war. The address also states that the
position of the colored people Is worse
than il was when they We're slaves and
living under slave law. It states that
under the old system they had the pro-
lection of their masters, s'who We're
financially interested in their physical
welfare. But their old masters" contin-
ues the address, shave become their
enemies, and are seeking, not only to
Cypress them, but to tbwart the designs
of the federal government. They claim
that they cannot appeal to the laws of
Virginia for protection for the old me-
gro laws still prevail, and, worse still, as
they claim, the oath of a colored man
against a white man viii not be receiv-
ed In the courts; so that they have no
where to go for protection, and hence
apply to the President, or, as they say,
ito the power tnat set them Free" The
address next complains of the difficult
ties they are experiencing in regard to
their church property, which are two
fold. In the first place, by the laws of
Virginia, colored churches were COM
PEELED to accept of white preachers de-
voted TO Southern institutions in the
second place, their church property,
according to the law there, must be
dedicated to white trustees. They say
the first evil may, perhaps, be remedied
in time !; but chow 20 get possession of
thor own church property passeth their
understanding" From this they pass
to more practical grievances, saying !:
'sIn the city of Richmond the militia
ny and police authorities win not allow
US to walk the streets by day or night in
the regular pursuit of our business or
on our way to church, without pass,
and passes do not In all cases protect
us from arrest, abuse, violence and i'm
prisonment. They add that the police,
IN conjunction with the provost guard,
have taken them from their workshops
and dwellings and put them into prison
simply because they had no passes, and
that even if they had passes the guards
would not recognize them as genuine or
sufficient. They state, too, that many
q husband whose wife had been sold
from him under the old system, and
many wife who had lost her husband
IN the same way, has come TO Richmond
searching for the missing one, and been
placed In Jail for lack of passes, whose
necessity they were not appraised of.
They further assert as grievance, that.
. few days ago, General Gregg, whose