Daily Ohio statesman. [volume] (Columbus, Ohio) 1855-1870, 1866-06-15


tend them, and without any nOurishment
but meat and meal. A number of respect
able old colOred people attacked with small
poX, were thus taken from their comlorta-
BILE homes and placed in this room to die of
neglect. One of this delegation assured us
that he called to see General Ely on several
different DAYS to inform him of the suffer-
ing condition Of the freedmen in the SMALL
pOX Hospital, and was told on each occa-
sion that the General could not be seen, as
he was absent attending to his plantations.
This neglect Of duty by General Ely was
complained of in letter written by Bev-
erly Nash, a cOlored man, and published in
Charleston paper devoted to the interests
of the freedmen. After the publication of
the letter General Ely told Nash he did not
like such statements, made about him, and
wished the freedmen to get up some resO-
lutiOns denying the truth of the allegations
preferred, which they refused to do.
GENERAL sAXToN AND HIS RECORDS.
From Columbia we proceeded to Charles
ton. the headquarters of the Bureau for
South Carolina, where we met Brigadier
General Il, X. Scott, the Assistant Commits
sioner. We found him to be an energetic
and competent officer, laboring to correct
the mistakes and blunders of his predeces-
sOr Although he has been on duty in this
departmentibut short time, he has produce
ed marked change for the better in the
administration OF the affairs of the Bureau.
We called at his Office for the purpose of
examining the records of the Bureau, but
were informed that ali the books, papers,
records and documents pertaining to the af-
fairs of the freedmen prior to the establish
nent of the Bureau, and all the records re-
lating to the administration of the Bureau
in South Carolina, from its organization to
the time that General Scott assumed charge
of affairs, had been carried off by General
SaXtOn and that he had left only a file of
his own general orders in the office. Cen
eTal SaXtOn gave as reason for this pro-
ceeding that it was necessary for him to
have the books and records to make him
all right at Washington" In the absence
of the official documents, we were, of
course, unable to institute any close exam
inatiOn into the conduct of the officers of
the Bureau who had been on duty in South
Carolina prior to General Scott's admins
tratiOn, and we could only judge of their
conduct by the condition in which we found
the freedmen in those places where the pol
icy of General SaXtOn had been fully car
rted out, and where its effects were still ap-
parent. Reasoning from these data we are
convinced that the effect OF the operations
of the Bureau on the freedmen in respect to
their liability and disposition to labor and
support themselves, under the administra-
ton OF General SaXton, was exceedingly
perniciOus, especially on the Sea Islands;
to which we will allude further in our ac-
count of the freedmen's settlements there
on and on the seaboard.
A PHILANTHROPIC CHAPLAIN.
Chaplain NJ. French, U. S. G. T, Bureau
Missionary and Superintendent of Marriage
Relations, and Lieutenant L. j. Lott, Sub
Assistant Commissioner, having charge of
a freedmen's camp at Charleston, are in
partnership with Mrs. Hanehan, of Char
lesion, in cultivating a plantation on Edisto
Island. They furnished fifteen hundred
dollars in money to carry on the plantation,
and are to receive one-half the net profits
of the undertaking. They purchase sup
plies in Charleston and forward them to the
plantation. Chaplain French explained to
us that in making this agreement with Mrs.
Hanehan he was aCtuated solely by a desire
to assist her to furnish labor for the poor
freedmen; but with even an ordinary crop
he will 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
Ely, Chaplain French and Lieutenant Lott,
of these officers.
GENERAL SCOTS 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 admin
istration is gradually wearing away. Most
of the freedmen are now at work, and re-
ceive good wages.
NUMBERING FREEDMEN LAME EXCUSES.
We visited Edgefeld Court House, near
the center of the district of which Lieuten-
ant Colonel Devereaux has charge, the
headquarters of which are at Hamburg, on
the Savannah river, opposite the city of
Augusta, Ga. There have been number
of brutal outrages committed in this dis
trict by band of outlaws, who, through
the apparent neglect of the agent of the
Bureau, or the inability or unwillingness of
the citizens to bring them to justice, have
escaped punishment, and are still at large.
A number of intelligent and influential
citizens in Edgeield, in conversation with
us, strongly condemned the conduct of the
villains who had murdered unoffendng
freedmen. These citizens stated that the
murders were committed by band of men
from the States of Texas, Kentucky and
lGlneSSBe, WlO nuu Dtell Ill bll6 IGDGl ARMY
and were prevented by their crimes from
returning to their respective homes, and
who had taken to the road for livelihood
and were stealing horses from white peo.
pie and Tobbing and numbering colored
men because they were detenseless. We
asked the citizens why the murderers were
not arrested and punished by the civil au-
thorities. Their reply was that they were
in doubt as to their authority to act; that
the Freedmen's Bureau, with the military
support, was the superior power, claiming
exclusive authority to arrest and pun
ish persons committing outrages upon
freedmen, and that as long as this
state of things existed they were
powerless to punish crimes of this
character. They evinced much Indignation
at what they termed the injustice of por-
tion of the press in holding them account
able for crimes and barbarities which they
said were as revolving to them as to any
other portion of the American people,
while the power to punish the perpetrators
was withheld from them. They also as
sured us, with unanimity, that hereafter,
although their Civil Government was still
partially paralyzed, every effort would be
made to punish all persons guilty of COM
hitting outrages on freedmen. ,-........
We learned that six or seven freedmen
had been murdered by the band of outlaws
referred to, during the months of March
and Aprik and although a month had
elapsed since the last of these crimes was
committed, and action had been taken in
the matter by General Sickles, the investi-
CATION of the same by the Bureau agent was