The south-western. [volume] (Shreveport, La.) 1852-1870, 1866-07-25

THE Memo HOMESTEAD BILL-The signing Hy die
president of the bill which virtually gives to tile ne
groes all the United States lands in the southern
States seems to have attracted no attention H ,Ec
south The New York World SAYS The suppltmen-
tary homestead bill which quietly became aw thc
other day. will if the intentions OF its proect0t5 ire
carried out, produce more vital change in thf con
dition of the negro race at the south than even ie
transition from slavery to freedom. The mere ab3-
ton Of chattel slavery did not materially change the
status of the negro as laborer. lie was ombelscd
to work in the cotton field before the war by tile will
of his master, and he still works the same ground to
earn wages upon which to live. The new homt tstaad
BILL however, aims to make him freeholdef, and
thus break up what is left Of the present labor system
Of the south 1t is safe to predict that if the designs
Of the radicals who passed this bill are accomplished
in years time the amount of negro labor ilabc
for cotton cultivation large scale will be reEluped
fully onehalf
by the provisions of this bill, as it passed. In the
public lands in the States Of Alabama, Mississippi,
Louisiana Arkansas and Florida are thrown obef, IL
eighty acre homesteads to actual settlers only. Wc
the negroes permitted to occupy the lands al oce,
no poor white man who favored the rebellion Chn Sc
cure homestead until 1867 As the bill pass Pdthe
house all rebels perpetuaDy excluded, Pug TO
this the senate would not consent. The eompfoIlise
finally effected is thus explained by the Washington
correspondent Of the Boston Advertiser:
The managers the part OF the house lin :the
conference committee would not have eonsel|teJ to
the limitation of the exclusion of active rebeIs from
the benefits of the act the next six months but for
the assurance Of the freedmen's bureau that h space
of time would be sufficient accomplish the Object Of
the bill-that is to enable the loyal people (he ne
groes} of the five States enter land under it, Cen
Howard as soon the president has signed tIe biIl,
will send out special instructions to the ageut of the
bureau to take every pains to inform the colorPd peo
pe of the nature Of the act and to induce thesn 10
exercise the right Of selecting homesteads the puU
lie lands conferred by it, Tie freedmeus bur eaE has
had 10 better opportunity for nestmable usdfusness
since its establishment
1t Is easy to foretell how this will end Th@ ne
groes viii become possessed Of small treehdId will
raise their corn squashes chickens and pigs abd will
work no more in the cotton rice ard sugar fels In
other words their labor viii become unavailable for
those prodgcs which the world specially needs. Ile
history of negro communities proves that when the
blacks can live on the soil they will not work as
aborers.
The following is the amount Of public Ian to be
donated to the negroes:
In Arkansas ............. ,29s, ,ol3. .7b acres.
In Alabama ............-...- 61t5z03o.UP
In Florida ..--.. J Ia,5t 95co0. oi
Ia Louisiana ...+-.. P,Zzo, E5z'4 4P
In Mississippi ..........,..... 4,760,736. .03
In ALL fortysix million three hundred and ninety.
eight and odd acres Of which thirty million is kpoTn
10 be good arabic land. This will give nearly four
hundred thousand homesteade, and support ncsr4 Two
millions of people.
{" The title of this Ian ought to ha7e Been 4 bill
10 get sid Of the laooring classes o. the soFfh snd
make Cufes aslf-supporting nuisance.