The Nashville daily union. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1862-1866, 1866-05-20
The Freedmen's Bureau and GeneT.
al HOward's Explanation.

| The Freedmen's Bureau and GeneT-
al Towards Explanation.
We publish to-day a letter from Ma
ior General Q. o. Howard, Commission
er of the Freedmen's Bureau, in which
| that officer attempts an explanation in
regard to charges made about the
workings of the Bureau in the South
ern States. We also give letter from
Assistant Commissioner ,Whittlssey, in
charge Of the Freedman's Bureau in Ra-
leigh, North Carolina, in which he &C
| knOWledges, the fact that a freedman
was brutality shot by one of the attaches Of
the Bureau; but neglects to say anything
about other charges preferred in the
| report Of Generals Steedman and Full
! lerton. 1t will be seen that General
| Howard admits one of the main accu
sations that is, that the chief and sub.
ordinate and representatives of the Blu
| reau in certain localities were running
plantations" and furnishing ratlOns to
their negro hands at government eX-
pense, for their own personal benefit
/ Nor does he deny or explain the charge
/ that the same officers were bartering
away the services of the fl eed negroes
and allowing them to be sent away
| from home associations and separated
| from family ties, under circumstances
| Of as much cruelty as ever character
lied similar acts on the part of the late
rebellious shareholders. The Commits
sioner, when he refers to the high per
sonal character of Rev. Horace James,
one of the managers of the Bureau in
Southern State, neglects to mention an
other reverend gentleman, Rev. Mr..
Fitz, also a bureau uperintendent,
whose inhuman conduct toward the poor
blacks under his charge is only rivalled
by the Andersonville atrocities. He en-
! tirely ignores the existence of the spe
cific charges of corruption, malfeasance
and cruelty alleged in the report of
! Generals Steedman and Fullerton, and
dismisses the whole report under the
sweeping declaration that the friends
of the Bureau may rest assured that
every shadow of accusation of compli-
| city IN the crime on the part Of the Of
fcerB of the Bureau in North Carolina
rs utterly without foundation" Cen
erals Steedman and Fullerton are men
of honor; they bear military reputa,
| ton beyond reprOach, and no soldier
| can ever do so against whom a charge
of a wilful want of veracity can fairly
| rest Gen. Howard is surely commit
| ting q breach of military etiquette
when he makes public statement of
this kind against officers who speak
from knowledge of facts obtained on
| the spot, while the Commissioner him.
self is delivering gympathizing speeches
to negroes in this city, far from the
scene of operations The General says
nothing about Gen. Ely, of the Bureau,
running five plantations in South Caro-
lima at government eXpense-an inter
esting fact that is just being ventilated.
In short, Gen. Howard seems to have
adopted the plan of the radical news
papers, and by raising a hue and cry
| about Generals Steedman and Fuller%
ton combining their investigations to the
| opponents of the institution as far as
they have gone to screen the misdeeds
! of those into whose hands the admin
| istration of the concerns of the Bureau
in the Southern States is intrusted.
The whole system is bad one badly
managed. 1t reminds US of the time
when Warren Hastings was the British
Governor General in India History
tells us that Hastings was unscrupu-
lous and cruel, but resolute He de-
populated whole districts by his exac-
| tiOns. and committed acts of signal in
! Justice But, like the radicals in Con-
gress, success followed him. He de-
| feated opposition in his council, over
awed the minority, refused to obey the
orders of the Board of Directors of the
East India Company, and was denied
the support of the home government
Edmund Burke, in 1856, brought arti-
cles of impeachment against him. lie
was charged with numerous acts of op-
preston, with desolating whole regions
of British domain, with peculation and
corruption, with exciting useless wars,
and with various acts dishonoring the
British name. But he so sdroitly man
aged to fatter the British that public
opinion changed in his favor, and in
stead of the charges being sus-
tanned, they were all dismissed.
II would no doubt be the same with
our radical Congress, were charges
brought against any officer of the Freed
mems Bureau, from the highest to
the lowest No matter how plain a
case Of cruelty, POPULATION, corruption
or oppression could be made out against
any of the officers of the Freedmens
Bureau; no matter how clear case OF
dishonoring the American name, which
| these men are continually doing; no
matter how shamelessly they may work
for the eternal Acknowledgement of the
Union, the radicals in Congress would
raise a cry, at is an opposition trick,
and the delinquent would be allowed
to 30 scot free. 1t is the duty of these
men to see that the law of Congress,
imperfect and bad as it may be, Is
properly and humanely enforced; that
injustice is not done; that the public
good and resources are not made 70
subserve private ends, and that, IN
stead of keeping up irritation and har-
RAISING the feelings of a conquered but
proud and brave people, they do all IN
their power to restore harmony be-
tween the North and the South, and
nlant the Union upon a firmer founda-
! ton than ever. Without they do this,
and unless they can furnish better evil
dences of the beneficial workings of
Inc system than those now before the
publio. the whole SYSTEM must even
tnally be abandoned.-NH0 York her
| Gld
BANDS or RoBBERs.-The Memphis
/ post IF tba 18Th iDst SAWS