New Orleans daily crescent. [volume] ([New Orleans, La.]) 1851-1866, 1866-09-03
au Orleans 1ailn Qreatent.
noNpAY MoRNINe. snprEMBER 5, 1869.
ssn. ta6raen ssantss; q me seHthsFn sasu-

E = /
10 MS eeeney Andrew johnson, President d The United
sS;s-In obedience To instructions; dated May 81.
1866 directing ne. while carrying out a specific
mission "examine carefully into the disposition OF
the people of the Southern States through which /
might pass, towards the government of the United
States have the honor to report uss5s Iii a.
That iii all the States visited found ne sign or
symptom Of organized disoyalty to the general
government. found the people taking onrs cur |
rency and glad to get it, anxious for NOthern |
capital and Northern labor develop the resour
oes Of their wasted country, and we'll disposed1
towards every Northern man who came among
them with that object insview.
IfE some localities heard ruyaors of secret or
gaizations, pointing to renewal Of the rebellion
On these secret dis
cover In them nothing more than charitable lnstt
buttons, having Tor their principal object the relief
of the widows and orphans of Confederate soldiers
Who had fallen in the war.
During the whole Of my travels found it to be-
as safe and as convenient to nainge with the peo-
pie Of the South, freely discussing any and every
topic that came up as in any other section o. the
United States. / was often among them nIknowri,
ana the tenor ef.their acts and conversation was
then the same as when my name and oflclai po-{{
sition were thoroughly understood:
The people Of the South may be divided into
two classes There is thesindustrious class, labor
ing earnestly to build up what has been broken
down, striving to restore prosperity to the
country, and interested mainly in the great cues
ton sof providing food and clothing for them
selves AID families. These form tue great ma
iority OF the people. Then there is another class,
an utterly Irresponsible class, composed mainly
of young men who we're the 6 bucks Y OF South
ern society before the war, aiIdGhefy spent their
time ii 1ounging round the courthouses and bars
in chicken fighting and gambling, These have
been greatly broken up BY the war; many of
them have been killed hut those who remain are
/, still disturbing elements in the community, and
are doing much mischief
&ss3 lit is this class of men and number of the
poorer whites, who have formed gangs for horse
in haV
made attacks on officers of the freedmen bureau
and have i'll treated the freedmen Its they who
afford the main pretext for saying that there Is
among the people ID the South d feeling OF hos
tilitY towards the United States government. But
they are not the representatives Of the Southern
people. They form but an insignificant minority
IN the community, and even they are aetuated not
so mach.by q feeling of opposition to the governs
ment as by d reluctance to earn their own hyell-
hood hy Honest labor and individual exertion.
That cases of authentic outrage have occurred
In the South is patent to every one familiar with
the current news Of the day. But these cases are
Few and far between, and II is both unjust anqs
ungenerous to eiaFge the zespo1stbItlty Tor snch
pie. For some malicious purpose accounts Of
these Isolated disorders have been collected and
Grouped tagetheF and sown adeast over the
North so as to give to the publie Iaind an utterly
erroneDusiFpy as to the condition OF South
ern society. Tbs fact is, that wherever disaffec
zion and turbulence have manifested themselves
outside the class To whom have above alluded,
fisere has heeu some local or specifie cause to
saceount for it, Lawlessness, like an. epidemic
has extended over particular belts Of the conn-
trg aud, Ike IN epidemic is equally tFaeeable to
some initiatory cause. Chief among these5eaHs
must be named bud government, plllage and
oppression.
E0f i've years the Southern people have been
tSls#sahieetsi If gross Inisrne. During the war
their government was military despgtisn, de
pendent solely on the dictnm OF IAN individual.
Since the var they have been leftmore or less in
chaotic state their goveFnlne selGiseyil, semi
nf
iieary the freedmen bureauan md tile PROV isiona
governments. What might have been the result
of dnseTent policy u il not altogether idle To
speculate. Every military man who served in the
South during the war will agree that the heart 81
the great mass of the people Isl not thoroughly
in the struggle. The number of assertions from
the rebel armies ahunlaIIty establishes this fact
Had the policy d wise and stafesmahille eonGiia-
ton been followed out inlnIed ately after the close
the war, ID more than probable that the con
dition and disposition OF the people would now be
fur better than they are,
But on the subjagation Of the South The ma
honal authority in the lately Tebelious States was
divided and broken. up into opposing Factions,
whose action greatly hindefed the re-establsh-
ment OF civil Law and good OrdeR SO much needed
among peopla demoralized by theme demon
alizing Of al agencies civil war. The country
Was hooded with treasury agents, who, with their
aeeomplices and imitat0rs, Heeced the people
right and left, returning into the United States
treasury for all the enormous amount of property
they seized aud coafscated barely enough to pay
me1l bureau stepped between the planter and
the laborer stirring up strife, perpetuating anita
goniam and often adding their quota Of extortion
and oppression.
QneFsry hand the people saw themselves robbed
and Wfonged By agents and self-appointed agents
processing to act under the sanction Of the United
States government. Need it be wondered at that
among q community thus dealt with, powefless to
resist and TOO weak and Frustrated for successful
complain some bitterness and ill-feeling should
arise None but brave and well meaning peo-
pie could have endured unressstiugly oil that the
South has undergone.
IN prosecuting this inquiry 4 hardly deemed it
fair 10 ASK more than what had been the actions
Of the people of the South towards the general
government. With their private opinions, their
sympat les and their prejudiees had nothing to
do Yet Tor HI more thorough understanding cf
the question made 1T part of my mission to in-
Testigate even these.
fo nd they had universally compiled wi th con-
ditions granted and accepted at the final surren-
der OF their army and cause. found that they
we're carrying out with good faith and alacrity the
requirements of the constitutional amendments
ab0lishing slavery. and that in all the States ex-
eept Mississippi and Texas, the famous eigilrghts
bill bad been anticipated BY the action Of the State
iegisIatnrAa previous to its passage by Congress.
Further than thIs. found that Id the, repudlatio
of every dollar known as the Confederate debt,
Efate authorities, and had been uniFe FsallY en-
lprsed by the people; and neither saw nor heard
any dispositien, of anything that pointed toward
adisp0sation To repudiate the national debt OF to
REVIVE the Institution OF slavery. Il
81 tsWh3lst the Southern people are Thus loyal,
aad nav ultIlled All the requirements asked q
item ly She ederal government, il is impossible
so dsguiss the fart. and the better class of eiti
zeIs 40 abt attempt 20 Disguise it, that there ID
among them q deep feeling and a strong appre-
henaon as to The cause of their long continued ex
elnslon 4fom Congress- They believe that it i
part of act plan for sperpetualhg the existence
Of the political party now In the ascendant and
that the question ot suffrage reimbursement VI rep.
Esgentatien and taxation are but excuses for still
longer delay
1has regardless Of the great interests, not only
vi Che suffering sonth but of the whole country,
hnrlened with debt aud laboring under severe
embarrassment, found the prevailing opinion
among the most Intelligent citizens, as well as
among those most ions for an early restoration
Of tho Union, to be ahat. il representation and an
equal and just cooperation i'll the administration
0f federal atiairs were much longer withheld from
The Southern States d feeling Of Indifference
would spring uIi towards taking any part liz filing
federal Offices and more particularly towards ne.
filing their seats in Gongress-that the peopieIn
fact, would stay away from The polls and allow
the elections to So by default, the great detri-
nlent Of the country at large
The feeling Of Indifference indeed IS already
Ipanffesiing itself and Is rapidly increasing Is
much 50 that were it notion a few persons in each
Southern State who haYe found 1t necessary for
sher existence TO live upon and hold Office, and