The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1866-06-13
THE FREEDMEN'S BUREAU.
General steedman's Report for south
Caroline, Florida, Bnd the Sea Islands.

CaF0ltm0, Florida, and the Sea Islands.
AUeUsTA, Ga, June a-Hon. Z. NJ Stanton,
Secretary OF War-Sir:-We have the honor to sub.
NIT the following report of our inspection of the
operations OF the Freedmens Bureau in tho military
the condition Of the freedmen's settlements on the
order;-
SOUTH CAROLINA.
We did not VISIT many OF the Bureau agents in
this State owing to the naccessbity the stations,
but confined our inspection manly 10 the districts,
the headquarters OF which are Columbia Charleston,
and Hamburg
mBrevet General Scott the present Assistant
Com missioner OF the Bureau, upon entering upon
the discharge OF his duties greatly reduced the issue
OF rations to freedmen. The supplies furnished
consisted OF pork or bacon, fresh beef, flour, or
soft bread, hard bread, corn meal, beans, peas and
hominy, sugar, vinegar, candles, soap, salt and
made by General Scout since taking charge OF the
affairs of the Bureau in South Carolina, clearly
indicates, in our Judgment that his predecessor,
General Saxton issued q much larger number of
Tations than would have been required had he pur.
'1e wSe RTU m peed
men TO labor nsC OF enc 1uIaglng them TO depend
upon the Government for support. We think there
will be no necessity for the issuing OF rations IN this
department to either reedmen or refugees" be-
yond the present season, il the policy OF General
Scot Is carried out
BUREAU PLANTING AT COLUMBIA.
The fret point in South Carolina where we com.
menced investigation was Columbia, Here
found Brevet Broader General Ely, Sub.Assistant
Commissioner of the Bureau, who has charge of
district which embraces aH indefinite number OF
counties We were unable to obtain from him
statement of the extent of territory which he
presided for the that he himself did not know
the limits Of his jurisdiction ibis officer is quite
tensively engaged in the cultivation of plantations
His p ant ng interests the vicinity OF Columbia
required so much of his time that IN one instance,
at least We found he had seriously neglected hls
General Ely stated TO us that he was cultivating
TWO PLANTATIONS on GoVernment account leased Dy
himself Bureau Agent at cash rent of five thou
sand dollars year. On lhree other plantations he
stated that he had put freedmen to work and fur
,aI
to be paid for out OF their crops OAe OF these plan
tations, he after wards said had been rented by Will
liam Is. Shepley OF the 25th Ohio Infantry who had
been clerk in his Office. He General Ely) had put
the freedmen to work on the plantation while Shep-
ley was away at his home, and had promised TO give
them one-halt of the crop.
AP PHILANTHRoPIc CHAPLAIN.
Chaplain NJ. French u. s. c. t. Bureau Mis-
sionary and Superintendent of Marriage Relations,
and Lieutenant l.. j. Lott, Sub Assistant Com mis-
sloner, having charge OF q heedmen's camp at
Charleston, are in partnership with Mrs Hanehan,
Island they furnished fifteen hundred &c doais in
money to carry the plantation, and are TO re-
ceive One-half the net profits of the undertaking.
They purchase supplies in Charleston and forward
them to the plantation. Chap ain French explained
to us that in making this agreement with Mrs.
HanehanI he was actuated solely by desire to
assist her to furnish labor for the poor freedmen;
but with even an ordinary crop he wil not receive
less than two hundred and fifty to three hundred
per cent on the money advanced.
When we called the attention OF General Scott to
the planting operations of General Eli, Chap ain
probation of the action OF these officers.
GENERAL sooTI's ADMINISTRATION.
Under the guidance of General Scott the condition
of the freedmen in Charleston has been very much
Improved and the bad feeling which had grown up
between the whites and blacks under the former
administration IS gradually wearing away. Most of
wages.
SEA ISLANDS.
On the 18th of May we left Charleston by steamer
and visited first the ISLANDS the coast of South
Carolina which have been and still are, together
with the islands ON the coast of Georgia, under tue
exclusive control OF the Freedmen's Bureau. There
are these islands one hundred and fortyon valid
possessor titles to land held by the freedmen under
the order OF Genera Sherman. They cucumber
thirtytwo plantations, situated on James, Johns,
Wadmaaw, and EdstO Islands.
Carolina islands is about thirty thousand. They
10, m, however, but proportion OF the aggregate
number who have occupied the islands since Cen
who flrst came here remained on the islands but a
short time and then returned to their homes on the
man land; others who made small crops gathered
them in and left to SEX other more profitable en-
ployment'
There are no land grants under General Sher.
mans order on Port Royal Island bat the freed
people hold and are cuItiyating a considerable por-
ton OF this island under tax titles Some of them
made their third crop last season on these lands;
but Notwithstanding the advantages thus enjoyed,
they are nearly all Of them now in destitute cIrcum
stances Their present Impoverished condition is
attribu able to the iact that their crops were pur
chased by Beaufort storekeepers and Others at
o fourth OIL their Iea value. These thrifty traders
many OIL whom maze their advent at Beaufort with
the army purchased the Sea Island cotton of the
freedmen at ten cents a pound in tue seed aud have
this season already secured mortgages on large
proportion OF the ireedmen's growing crops, In
From st. Ca'hariDe's we went to Sapelo Islands
which is cultivated exclusively by Messrs. Dickson
and Nc Bride. The freedmen here are wOrklny the
land for twO-thirds OF the crop, and so lar as we
cOu perceive, were well treate0 and cared for, and
will make money Ii they can he protected from the
bad influence of an unprncipled man who anne
among them last year with a permit from Captain
KetcLam, Bureau agent under General Saxton,
bOuPht Their cotton at ten cents pound in the seed
and paid them mainly in whisky. This vicious man
has exerted such evil influence these freed.
men TO MAKE them dissatisfied with exceedingly
liberal contract. On
ST sIMoN's ISLAND
there eighteen valid land grants encumberng four
plantations. There are betw cen five and hundred
freedmen on the island, most of whom are working
tor wages, are well fed and appear to be perfectly
contented On two of the plantations they were
sured by the Bureau agent that these freedmen relied
confidently on being larry dealt with by their en-
plOyers Our visit 10 this island satisfied us that the
freedmen there were doing exceedingly WELL
oeECHEE RIVER SETTLEMENT.
This settlement, embracing originally several hum
dred freed people, the largest colony on the ast
under CT neral Shermans order was last year under
the control OF Rev. Mr.. Tiffany, agent OF the
Bureau appointed to that position by General
SaXton,
ON taking charge of this settlement Mr. Tiffany
hired twenty five freedmen as a guard, armed them
with United States muskets, and used thom to pre-
United States officers who had not Mr. Tfiany's pass
were halted and refused the use of the Govern
ment boat to cross the Ogechee ryer This guard of
twenty-five men, who served the entire season, were
to be paid out Of the proceeds of the crop raised
by the freedmen of the settlement. Mr. Tiffany gave
them certificates for the amount due them, which
certificates they still hold but are unable to get
eli her rice or money
WHAT BECAME OF THE RICE CROP.
=, AL the freed people Of this colony were supplied