Daily Ohio statesman. [volume] (Columbus, Ohio) 1855-1870, 1865-11-08
General TIII.on and the Freedmen.

General TiiIsOm ana ane Freeumems
We print elsewhere in this mornings
STATESMAN the material portions of q
speech delivered in the Hall of Represents
tiyes at Milledgeville, before the members
of the Georgia Constitutional Convention,
on the evening of the 9th of October, by
General TILLsoN, Agent of the Frecdmen's
Bureau for that State. The General no
doubt went South full of Abolition ideas
and Negro-equality predictions; but he
has evidently changed his views, If we may
Judge from, this speech OF his which we
copy from the Cincinnati Commercial.
The Generals speech undoubtedly indi-
Gates the policy Of the Government toward
the Freedmen of Georgia. He gives 1t as
his opinion, after having abundant con-.
tact" with the Negro, and after "knowing
him thoroughly by experience" ''that the
task of making him useful and industrious,
Is far more difficult than to make the White.
Man treat him with kindness and JUSTICE
He proposes that the Negro shall have the
privilege of making his own contract for
labor with his employer, and If he fail to
work according to the contract, "he shall
be made 10 do So" General T. not only says
that the Negro shall be made TO toork, but
that .stse Planter shall haze the pooer to make
him., He says the minors shall be appren-
tieed to masters; and the, aged are to be
supported by their children, or become
paupers. ............ ....-
We have read this speech of General
TuLsos's with more than ordinary care
and interest, for we believe he is an honest
and a sincere man; but we are unable to
see wherein the condition of the Freedman
"a any better than the condition of the
slave used to be-the policy indicated In
this speech, certainly makes the condition
of the former worse by far than that of the
latter. The transfer of the Negro from bis
original owner to the Freedmen's Bureau,
seems to be only a change of masters, and
change greatly to the disadvantage OF
the colored man. From the Generals own
admissions, we infer that it will not be long
before the Negro will wish himself from
under the reign of the Freedmen's Bureau
back under the milder and more human
control of his old master. OF course.
slavery is not to be re-establisheo
for nobody desires that but Gen.
eral T.'s admissions, after his abundant
contact" with the Negroes of the
South, and after 'knowing them thorough
ly by experience" overwhelmingly refute
and destroy all the theories of the negro
worshipers at the North, leaving the
friends of negro-equality no ground to
stand upon. If these people could all avail
themselves of the Generals experience
and observation" they too would learn
that they have long been laboring under
strange delusion respecting the African.
The Commercials reporter states that Cen
eral STEEDMAN was present when this
speech was delivered. We should like to
know what he thought of it-especially
that part of it that relates to Negro Suf-
fragel 1t will be remembered that STEED-
MAN undertook to "lead of" in favor Of it,
in his Toledo speech last spring, before he
had talked with President JOHNSON on the
subject; but, as he failed to 'strike ile," he
has, we believe, subsidized on the Negro
question!
As CoGGEsHALL, Of the Journal, wants to
bea "compromise" candidate for U. S. Sem
ator, we would suggest the propriety OF his
defining his position as to the Negro, and of
telling US what he thinks of General TILL
SON and his speech. By doing this early,
he may "head of" BABER!