Rutland weekly herald. [volume] (Rutland, Vt.) 1859-1877, 1866-03-22


the Government will seize the occasion
TO attempt It's destruction,
Gen. Saxton, who has long been in
command in South Carolina and Flon'
da, testihes that it is "yital TO the safety
aud prosperity OF the two races in the
South that the negro should be imme-
diately put in possession ofall his rights
as a man." that many of the freedmen
are sufficiently intelligent to compre-
bend the great questions Of public
policy" and these will lead aud guide
others.
Hon. John Coyodr, formerly 81 menu
Der Of Congress from Pennsylvania, tcs-
titled that he was sent by the Secretary
OF War to the Southern States last sum-
mer to examine matters connected with
the interests of the Government, lie
spent considerable time in visiting vaIj-
Gus places and in conyersing with all
classes of people. Just previous to his
arrival In New Orleans, Gov. Wells, who
had been elected by :he Union men in
louisiana, returned from visit to Wash
ington and at public meeting he made
an address in which he said he had seen
the President "who was a Southern man
and d democrat and that Mr.. Johnson
would be bulwark between the South
and Northern abolitiOnism and fanati-
cism" and claimed that his adminiStra-
tion would be "a very different thing
from that of Mr.; Lincoln" The Gov
ernor went to work Immediately to re-
move Union men from Office and to I'LL
their places with returned rebel officers
and men of the worst class" He stated
that he procured list of these remov-
ais and they were more than one hun
dred in number. OF 1000 voters who
registered their names, less than one
half took the oath of allegiance to the
| United States. Gov. Wells told Mr..
| Covode that the United States must pay
| for their slaves and must remove them
| from the country. When he replied that
he had visited many parts Of the State
and everywhere found that the freedmen
were needed for labor as hired servants,
the Governor said eve can import labor
from abroad and from the North" In
regard to the desire Of the black to re-
ceive education, he testified that he was
told in Memphis that from 200 to 500
black men in every regiment stationed
there had feared to read since they en-
listed, and that in the city Of New Or
leans, $1,000 colOred children were re-
ceiving instruction. We visited many Of
the scGools and found them prosperous.
He stated that colored men pail taxes in
that city on $14,000,0vQ worth OF prop
erty and that many OF them were men
of superior business capacity and intel
ligence, and every where, he found them
capable OF judging Of the difference be-
tween rebel and Union candidates for
Office, and were true to the Government,
He further stated that if the 'rebel elc-
ment were then allowed to vote in the
South, every member returned to Con.
gross would be hostile to the policy OF
the Government, not only as regards tho
payment Of the national debt, but in
reference to the emancipation of the
negroes" He was told distinctly that
che could not expect them to help pay
our debt-that is, the national debtor
pension our soldiers for whipping them
and that they should have the power
some day, to defeat the payment Of the
interest on the debt aud to destroy the
public credit" and that men from the
North and West would unite with them
in this undertaking.
A large mass Of testimony, of the same
tenor, was taken and has been published
The country will now judge whether
Congress is justified in delaying the adj
mission Of members from these States
and whether such men as Morrill, Of our
State, Fessenden Of Maine, Grimes OF
Iowa and Boutwell, Of Massachusetts
should be denounced as radicals who
are actuated by desire to Establish q
military oligarchy." T.
ISsCoEiunonuS