The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1865-08-30
SOUTH CAROLINA.
TIE PLANTERS AND TIE CROPS,
The Negroes Still Refusing
to Work.
Another Speech from Governor
Perry.

i
HIS FIRST SPEECH ALL "BvMcomBE. /"
&c. Go. &c.
Our Charleston Correspondence.
CHARLESTON, g. G., August %, 1895.
TUE PLANTERS AND THE CROPS
have been the interesting topics Of discussion during
the past week The steady increase In the arrivals Of
cotton by the railroads has had corresponding increase
in the arrivals Of planters During the last few days
have conversed with quite number Of these gentlemen,
| mostly from the interior, around Camden, Columbia,
Chester York, Spartanburg and other places and have
succeeded In obtaining their general views and knowledge
OF the condition OF the crops and the working Of the
system of labor The crops they say are bad. con.
siderable breadth Of land put corn tho long
drought and deseron of the plantations by the negroes
when they first received the of their emancipation
have rendered II certain that but little than half
crop OF cotton will be made except perhaps In the
treme upper portions of the State the garrsons Of
the United States forces penetrated the different sections
ofthe State labor ceased The negroes left and Hocked
In crowds to the towns and headquarte rejoicing in
their freedom and firmly convinced that It meant free.
| dom from work.
The consequences can easily be imagined The grass
grew while the corn did not. The military were CON-
PEELED to issue general order compelling the negroes
remain upon the plantations of their former owners
until the ls Of January, 1885, as insure at least
sufcency Of food to themselves and the rest Of
the country from starvation Contracts drawn up
under the direction Of the military regulating all the de-
tails Of labor and the division Of the crop These were
submitted for approval the various post commandants
but in the majority Of the proved use
less. The negroes disregarded their agreements They
could not be made to understand that performance
at all necessary on their part They knew that the
tract guaranteed them food, clothing lodging medical
attendance, and they ''sought TO know no more
The laborers left the plantations will and planters
who should have had from sixty to seventy hands In the
field very seldom had more than twenty twenty-five
at work In many instances the freedmen refused 10
work ALL and In Some cases detachments Of two three
and four soldiers placed upon the larger plantations
to insure the performance Of contracts So long the
detachents remained and arrested and punished deln
qusns The pag succeeasd eS he moment the soldiers
We're removed idleness ruled the hour. Iii.
The has suffered still than the from
this regulary of labor and the heaviest ork that
crop, the picking season, is not yet But very
email crop Of cotton-say one-eghth OF the ordinary
yIedcan be hoped for this year. and the prospects Of
the next crop very aattering. This year the
anters had the IN before the old system OF labor
was done away with How they 10 get the seed In
at the proper for the ensuing year subject
anxious consideration.
UNCERTAINTY LABOR
TO weigh heavily the spirits and depresses the
energy Of the planters How IL 10 be regulated? BY
the military the Freedmens Bureau the StatesP II
is easy say let capital and labor regulate their
terms; but the experiment. has been seen, required
the interposition Of the military to prevent utter
failure. The difficulty has been in making the
contract, but in insuring the performance When the
has Of md
cations Of family the may then be left regulate
ITSELF but he IL yet far from appreciatng the inn
porance Of labor that other fact that with freedom
he takes upon himself the support Of his family.
In nearly every II is the abed bodied active laborcr
who has abandoned the plantation, leaving his wife and
children to be supported by the planter
Such are the general views Of the large number
planters with whom have covered They appear to
meet the questions put fairly and canddIy They
knowledge the defeat and destruction Of all their
hopes They accept emancipation fixed fact and
go to work and develop the Of the
State under the order Of society. But to regain
condition OF prosperity to cultivate their crops espe
cialy cotton they have labor upon which they can
depend The experience Of the last four months satisfies
them that the late freedman does not and cannot be
made to regard contract and H they have
the military judicial tribunals at every turn, then,
they say, awe can do nothing Time alone must deter
| mine the solution Of this difficulty.
CoMsHRcrL rRosTRATfoN
of this portion OF the South Is thus truly depicted by
| writer In the Charleston Daily Netos:--
will not besuprsng TO our readers, In and ,at
:" Learn Soye e a
or 900 900 bills in circulation the market valy not
more than twenty per cent or three insurancqompa-
nies neither continue business. or $40 90 600 In
railroads dividends can be expected. or fe thou
| sand houses in Charleston nfteen hundred bve been
burned and others almost irreparably DANCED. or
estates Of decedens and Minors and OF propoy in lti
CATION fournfths are represented by Confedere secur
ties and are therefore vaueess or our many erchsn,
assets pay the small debts against them arhe begin
ming Of the war on the many large and vabe estates
In Beaufort district and the adjacent issis al have
| been abandoned, and many have been 81 FOR taxes
or tho large cotton estates siil furtb from the
on hand At the beginning and raise during the
war (amountng In value TO at least Ssoooo0o the
larger portion has been taken or dcs,Sea t,e sne
and furniture and sverware all but oinoonsderao,e
| amount have been consumed, Destroy or mken. Of
mencement Of the war; accruing frohe sale OF pro;
perty, or the practice Of professions Se OF
tsnths have no possible value OF theebts uncoIected
few are expected be paid or the nds OF churches,
colleges charitable institutions and fees All also or
nearly ALL have been sunk OF theands OF the Stato
not held by the government little heny market value
Into this rghtful gulf Of ruin haaso been swept the
value of four hundred thousand ses estimated few
years since at 5000 900 And w. therefore % o ,he
e4o0 600 900 worth OF property ns sa'e 10 iooo ou'
It must be confessed ,ha, alpugh considerable
t,vv is man fsted and MANY othe old citizens have
returned and reopened their forn places OF business
long time must cIanse before tbgty be placed In
business non, of Wow vbere n ks before the The
emancnafion ac, MOI onlv desired immense capital
,nves,ed ir slaves hut all branches Of
business by destroying the secbty OF hey eve,y iorH
OF investment bonds, mortgss, papk sock inoIVluuM
notes-al dependent, me OF less upon tus cotton
Ger Tho s,dden amancnaJn OF the latter set all the
rest ,pn,hiino IiLa hrcks n row The State indeed 4
resernbea a vas, wreck siethDg valuable may posi-
bly, bc saved by time and arj nuL AZ prcseh., ~ ish
the dabrs e. ciasrod ~ a, tho killed and wounded dis
posed Of, something may done Atpreseh', eVen "io
extept o{ the destr1,iIo hardly realized.
covrtoR PERRY
made anothor sneecb a, a,reenville s. c., August on
his return cro,n W.shlon II Ia not regardedbere as
verv OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES The Greenvilo audience In con
sequence Of the admdon that hs nrst sgsecn % ~as n