The Bedford gazette. [volume] (Bedford, Pa.) 1805-current, 1866-05-18
THE FREEDMEN'S BCREAT---HTS NEIS-
CHEEyOVs INFLUENCE.

New England philanthropy, the hui
manitarian sentiment Of that c0nscien-
tious district, its horror of slavery and
of the crueltieS of the Southern white
man towards the negro, were the basis
and the staple of the great agitation
that forced the country into war. Now
slavery is abolished. there is no such
thing legally as property in man, but
there is kind of official guardianship
of the negro exercised by the Freed
mems Bureau. Theagents of this Bur-
eau are New England men to very
great extent, and thus it happens that
the negro has fallen into the hands of
the very men who were Mortified by
the treatment he received as a slave
from Southern white men, and every
mail from the South tells us of the bru-
talities practised toward the negro by
those tender-hearted philanthropists.
The Northern humanitarian has taken
the place Of the Southern niger driver
Of other days only to show that be can
be the more cruel of the two and Outdo
all that maudlin fiction imputed to the
other. Our correspondence on thissub-
.iect yesterday showed how a reverend
humanitarian from Massachusetts at
tached to the Freedmen's Bureau, and
managing a plantation on his own ac-
count. actually yshota negro for attempt
ing to run away" and this when slay-
cry has been abolished.
Now that the great Southern institu-
ton. has been swept away, the next
thing for the country to abolish is'the
Freedmen's Bureau. This establish
ment is the parent of untold evils in
every part Of the Southern States. 1t
is simply a great agent for the demora-
lization Of labor. 1t was originally es-
tablished in the expectation that it
would prevent many Of the evils that
it was thought would be incident to the
changed condition Of the negro; but it
fosters and keeps alive the evils it was
expected to prevent. ItWas to stand
between the negro and the planter and
soften the asperites both Ways-tO pre-
vent idIeness on the one hand and bad
treatment on the other. But all the
idleness, misunderstanding and cases
of bad treatment are traceabIe directly
to this Bureau and its agents. 1t is
corrupt through and through. 1t sells
negroes to plantersat so much per head,
and, following the plan Of the bounty
brokers, sells the same negro over and
over to different men. 1t Is not trusted
or respected by any portion of the
Southern people. Its agencies in the
various districts are looked upon as
disreputable places, and farmers who
wish to respect the government keep
away from them. The Bureau is a
constant cause Of trouble, and Southern
society will never be restored to its ma
tural condition till this bad institution
is swept away.
1t is also a great swindle upon the
country. We suppose as a people that
we have gotten rid of the great blot in
our history; that we have destroyed
the iniquitiOus system of slavery that
was our reproach before the world. But
here in this Bureau, under the cover
of philanthropy, the worst evils of that
system are perpetuated. It is undeni-
able that the operation Of this Bureau
is identical with slavery; that it treats
the negro Just as slavery did, only that
it gives the preference in possession to
another class of men. The negro has
changed owners. He has passed into
the hands Of Northern capitalists that
have political power, and the Freed
mems Bureau guarantees possession
While thus it preserves the negro in a
real slavery, it has no responsibility,
and thus it is in fact worse than the
former system Of slavery. Every un-
preiudiced account from the South a.
grees in the declaration that the Freed
mems Bureau is the great obstacle to
Incomplete reconstruction ofSOuthern
society. and there should be a great
popular movement to abolish it.-NeH
York Herdid.