The loyal Georgian., 1866-03-03
PROGRESS OF RECONSTRUCT
TiON.

|
South with cheering rapidity. We say at
the South, in contradistiuc'ion to what
is doing at Washington; though we be.
lieve that there. also, all is gong we'll.
1t was happy idea of G C'ngress to send
the whole subject of reconstruction to a
joint cowmitte, clothing that Committee
with ample power We trust that CON-
mittee will per>evere in k'sp'ns its own
'unsel. and will investigate thoroughly,
! fearle>sl> and deliberately Let the two
houses, meautime shut off debate on the
main question, aud let the country be pa.
tient, assured that wIse.and safe con~
cluSion will in due time be reached. We
cannot doubt that all the Southern States
will be represented in Congress before
the close Of this session.
Bat the real reconstruction is pro-
ceedIng at the South-this at Washing
ton being only the shad..w. From every
side, We hail evidences of growing ac.
cord between whites aud blacks, based
ON cons -ousness that their interests
are not antagouisIic, bnt Identical It
is morally certain that all the fair to
mtddtng, cotton that can be gro Vn in
1866 may be sold az 25 to 80 cents per
pound in gold, which affords net proft
of Is to 20 cents. In other words, the
labor of each able bodied, experi need
fel i>hand will produce, on the average.
at least $500 worth of cotton; while the
cost of hiring and feeding such field hand
will not average $3.50. Assuming that
there are to day one million negroes in
the South who can be hired to make cot.
ton, land there are more than one million
but not full Fands.) the profit on their
labor for the current year will be $3.50,
600 900. Now, there are mauy penni
less rufians and rowdles at the South,
but tn, y have not full sway there; while
the more il intelligent, reputable, property
holding class have all a deep stake in the
establishment of mutual co.fdence and
good will between whites and blacks.
And this work. with some local interup.
tt, rs, is rapidly proceeding.
We have received copy of the regu-
lations framed aud adopted by the plau>
ters of Monroe county, Alabama, for the
government of their dealings with the
freedmen: and they evince humanity
and consideration which was signall;,
wanting in those framed last spring BY
the landholders OF several sections of oil
Virginia. They might be improved;
hut, nsidering that their authors were
till lately Shareholders, and that they are
dealing with those who were then their
slaves, they are even commend4ble.
The legislature Of Tennessee, we are
assured, will review its UNIV Sc action of
last year, and accord to the freedmen
every civil rignt-such as TO sue in courts,
hold lands, give testimony, etc. And
other Southern legislatures will follow in
the footsteps of this one
Washington letters state that Gen.
Howard i in the receipt Of letters from
his subordinate in the Freeimeu's
Bureau, throughout the South, sho"ing
an improved state of feeling between ex>
masters and freedmen, and Justly ing
sanguine hopes tor the future. Hiring is
brlsk and few blacks persist in idleness
when offered pay for work. One of the
dispatches says:
The Freedmen's Bureau is in receipt
of large number of reports from the
oout showing that the negroes are com
mepcing the New Year i'll a satisfactory
manuer. Gen. Swayue writes from A'a'
bama that general Improvement coutn
'ues to be manifested the demand for
labor still exceeds the supply, an t!eed-
nen show mark d preference for living
with Northern men, OF whom there arr
about 5000 in Ihs sta e. Those plan
ters who i'll treated the freedmen last
year, Fl it almost impossible to secure
labor during this, and solne have beeu
compeIled tn abandon their farms 10 cou>
seq ence.
It. is this latter class who get up negro
Instructions on paper, aud raise the re-
ports that negr is will not work. The
fact is, they refuse to work for those ouly
whom they know as cruel and dishonest
and they are, after all but fraction.
We have met scores of ex shareholders OF
late, and every one of them had found 1t
easy to hire all the laboI he waited
generally that Of his former sslaves at
satisfactory prices. And every one OF
them obtained from his ire edmeu as much
work as he required.
Let the South have time to realize July
that slavery is dead, beyond the hope of
resurrection, aud she will come out all
right. What she mainly Me- ds are time,
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