Baton Rouge tri-weekly gazette & comet. [volume] (Baton Rouge, La.) 1865-18??, 1865-09-21

TOOiH lOT tuo Iollu"luB oAu@Sbo iIoLu I'LL
address of similar import made not long
since to a collection of freedmen at Al
bany, Ga, by DR.. French, of the Freed
mems Bureau for Georgia:
DIVISIONS OF THE LAND.
You ask me how much will your friends
help you, and how much will the Gov
eminent do for you? Some of you have
very high expectations, and am sorry to
say some expectations that cannot be real
lied. | am told by some of your former
masters that you are expecting the Gov
eminent to give you portion of the land
and of the stock on their plantations. In
different places some OF your brethren have
asked me if this were not so, and seemed
sadly disappointed when told them this
could not be done. Your masters tried
very hard, making great and noble sacri
fees, to establish separate independence.
They poured out their money like water.
They gave their brave SONG by thousands.
The great amount of labor and sacrifices
Of your masters and mistresses for this
cherished object, rebounds to their honor;
yet they have failed of their object, and
after losing their money and thousands of
their beloved sons, the Government has
now deprived them of all their slaves. But
how is it with you What have you lost
Only your chains. What have you gained
Blessed be God, you have gained your
freedom, and the freedom of all your race
henceforth and forever. Loud bursts of
applause and many halleluJahs).
Ali that is left to your m asters, is their
plantations and their manly character.
They have their lands, but no sons or
knowledge of their own TO work. them. So
you see, they are dependent on you to cui-
tivate their fields for their own support,
and you are dependent on them for the use
of their lands to raise support for you
and your families.
Some Of you may think that Providence
has dealt more generously with them than
with You. But look at it again. They
have lost their independence. they have
lost their money, they have lost all their
negroes, and more than all, more than
hundred thousand graves are filled with
beloved fathers, sons and brothers; and
they would gladly give all that is left to
them by the Government, if the graves
would only give back their treasure-while
you, having lost nothing, absolutely moth
ing worth naming, have gained q treasure
in your freedom, worth "a life of toll and
sacrifices. Whose condition is best4 Who
would exchange places with them Let
every man aud woman who feel that
Providence has given them the best end of
the bargain raise their hands. ITO this
both men and women ioyfully threw up
their hands).
You see, then, that the Government, on
the one hand, leaves the land and the
stock with your masters; while to you it
simply gives Your freedom.
This seems to place you out in the cold;
but be not discouraged; the Government
has really compiimented you in this. 1t
has faith in you too, that you will make
your freedom success, 30 far as your sup
port is concerned. To encourage you will
tell you how the old hen manages with
her family. As soon rs the little chicks
are Matched, she gets them on their feet
and shows them how to scratch. When
she has fully learned them the trade Of
scratching, without one grain Of corn, or
one bug laid up for their next dinner, she
takes last look of them, and off she runs,
checking as she goes. Now, little chicks,
scratch or die { Peals Of laughter and
displays ofiyory). Did you ever see lit
tie chick that did not scratch out living.
While the Government has lands to give
you, it will, through the Freedmen's Bu-
reau, furnish you protection-schools for
your children, and, as far as possible, make
provision for the aged and the infrm, aud
will exercise general care over you, until
you can take care of yourselves, when
Uncle Sam will say to all his black
CHOW, scratch OF die ~ tSen-
sation and approbation).
HOMES.
Homes for your families you must have.
All christian families have homes. Where
4o-
Selves If you refuse to work, or are idle,
you will never have home; but, if indus
trious, economical and disposed to i'm
prove your time, making yourselves useful
on the plantations, or in the blacksmith,
or wagon shops of others, or Of
your own setting up; if you are women,
and will make yourselves useful as nurses,
seamstresses, cooks, laundresses, and in
the field, there will be full demand and
good pay for your labor. If in addition to
this, you will be orderly, honest in all your
dealings, truthful, you need not fail get
ting homes. There will be room enough
for all the industrious, economical and
useful people on the plantations; but none
for the idle, lazy and dishonest ones; but
for them the Government will make plenty
Of room in the jails. We hope better
things Of you all, and therefore shall not
advise the Government to order the lum-
Der for the jails yet.
For your encouragement | must tell
that l have heard some masters say they
intend to give certain ones among their
first rate chance, because they
are Industrious, love their families and
would do we'll for both their masters and
Those masters who doubt
whether servants would be honest or work
if they had good chance, say they intend
to send North for their laborers. One says
he intends to get Irish workmen; another
says he must have some Dutchmen to work
for him. Some Of your mistresses gay they
will send North for house servants. |
have no fears us to this. The Northern
people have grown so rich during the war
that they can afford to pay twice as much
as your ID asters or mistresses for help; and
Northern laborers are afraid to bring their
families into this warm climate. So you
see if you are really industrious and make
yourselves useful in every opening and
situation in life you have nothing to fear.
The South is warm and better adapted to
you, and have no fears for you, that you
cannot, by industry and economy, make
this country more fourishlng, more profit
able, more pleasant both for your masters
and yourselves, now that you are free,
than it has been made by slave labor, if