Fayetteville observer. [volume] (Fayetteville, Tenn.) 1850-1966, 1865-12-21
The Freedmen.
FAYErrEv1LLE, Dec. 18th, 1866.

lishment of the civil authorities in
Tennessee, 4 have been made May
or of Fayetteville. and l find it /
extremely difficult to apply the
laws In force before the war, to
the people of color as they now
come before me. The punishment
to be inflicted on colored people
before the war, for nearly every Of
fence, against the laws or ordinan-
ces of Incorporated towns, was
whipping or fine, to be paid by the
master in lieu Of stripes, to the ne
gro; and really there were SO few
free negroes in this, country that
very few of our laws are made to
apply to them in any way.
In cases of small pilfering, for
instance, taking two or three sticks
of wood from a neighbor's wood
pile, shirt or pair Of socks from
a clothes-line, or rail OF two from
a fence ON a cold night for fire.
wood, or taking pig or shoat, or
a chicken or two, and a hundred
other such like offences, we, in this
small town, have no way of pun
fishing, and must bind ovel to court,
three or four months hence
When we bind over to court no
jone will 60 security for their APP
pearance, and the consequence is,
they must be confined in the
county Jail at great expense, doing
nothing, until the regular term of
the Circuit Court.
| Now, it seems to me that some
power could be given to the May.
or and Recorder Of towns to take
cognizance of such cases, and pun.
ish by fine, and when the defend
ent is unable to pay the fine and
cost in money, let the amount be
discharged in work, repairing
streets, bridges, &c. ! would linn
it the jurisdiction of such courts
to the smallest amount and the
plainest cases. / would also give
it cognizance of vagrancy, to loaf
ing, spunging on industrious PEG
pie, and all kinds of drunkenness
and rioting in a small way, and
keeping late hours, singing, dane
ing and frolicking so as to disturb
quietly, orderly people.
There is nothing more common
in this town at present than fol
cur freedmen to have three ard, In
some cases, five or six women fol
wives, each, or the majority, claim
ing him as their husband-no one
can tell who or which has the
best right to him, and it is utterly
impossible (since they are. all free
land have to support themselves
for him to do justice by, and sup
port, them all; and it would moi
be right, in every case, to require
him to do SO, for, in nine cases out
of ten, each of the women have
as good claim upon four or five
other men as they have upon him
You will certainly have to leg
islate on this subject. 1t comes
up before you, land you cannot evade
it. You aciH haze to alloao them t.
be aoitnesses, to certain extent
and in time, IF they remain here)
the children must be educated
When they were in bondage 'igno
rance was bliss to them, and the
only safety to their masters
Now, being free, the more they
Iare enlightened the better il
will be for them and the white
people also, who have to live in the
same country with them.
i | believe the prejudice IL
the minds of the people here
against negro schools is stronger
than any other. l do not know
why, but l believe that numbers
of sensible men and women in this
country would rather see them ir
the witness stand in court, with full
right to testify in all cases, than
to see the negro child goto school
This prejudice must be overcome
and negro schools must be protect
ed by law, and parents compelled
to send their children to them
Honest negroes must be protected
in their persons, property, anc
rights, and in order to do that, the
evil-doers must be punished, anG
the lazy-loafer made to work.
"He that will not work, neither
shall he eat" If he does eat, he
must necessarily do it at the ex'
pense of some Of his working
neighbors, and this should not be
allowed.
But for all these and a great
1ao1o Al L