Daily Ohio statesman. [volume] (Columbus, Ohio) 1855-1870, 1866-05-18
WHY THE NEGROES NEED ASSISTANCE.

WHY THE NEGROES NEED ASSISTANCE.
A majority of the negroes to whom this
subsistence has been furnished are undoubt-
edly able to earn living If they were re-
moved to localities where labor could be
procured. The necessity for issuing ra-
tiOns TO this class of persons results from
their accumulation in large numbers in
certain places, where the land is unproduc-
tive and the demand for labor Is limited.
AS long as these people remain In the pres
ent localities, the civil authorities refuse to
provide for the able-bodied, and are unable
to care for the helpless and destitute among
them, owing to their great number, and
the fact that very few are residents of the
counties in which they have congregated
during the war. The necessity TOR the re-
lief extended to these people, both able
bodied and helpless, by the Government
will continue as long as they remain i'll
their present condition, and while ratiOnS
are issued to the able bodied they will not
voluntarily change their localities to seek
places where they can procure labor.
EVERY THING DEPENDS UPON THE AGENTS.
In those districts of Virginia where the
affairs of the Bureau have been faithfully
aud impartially administered by men of
sound judgment and discretion, there has
been no conflict between the agents of the
Bureau and the citizens. In all such dis
tricts the agents are acting in harmony
with the civil officers of the State, and are
assisted and supported in the performance
of their duties by the. citizens But in
many places where the agents are not men
of capacity and integrity, very unsatis-
factory condition of things exists. This
originates in the arbitrary, unnecessary
and offensive interference of the agents of
the Bureau with the relations between the
planters and their hired freedmen, causing
veXatiOus delays in the prosecution of la
Dor, and imposing expense and costs in
suits before themselves about trivial mat
ters that could readily be adjusted by the
friendly advice of a sensible man. o. The eff
feet produced by the action OF this class of
agents is bitterness and antagonsm be-
tween the whites and freedmen, a'grOwing
prejudice against the Government among
the planters, and expectations on the part
of the freedmen that can never be realized.
Where there has been no such interference
or bad advice given to the freedmen by the
agents of the Bureau, there Is a growing
feeling of kindness between the races, and
good order and harmony prevail, ,,.,. ..,..
SPECIMEN OF THE DECISIONS OF THE BUREAU.
AS an evidence of the manner in which
this arbitrary power Is exercised, we would
state chat an agentof the Bureau, presiding
i'm Freedmen's Court in Accomac county,
decided a question of title to land as fol-
lows: A colored man, who was freed twen-
ty years ago by his master, and who was
permitted through the Kindness of this mas
ter to make his home on the plantation
wherever he chose, set up claim to ten
acres thereof around a cabin in which he
had lived for ten years, The agent decided
that the colored man had acquired title to
the ten acres by adverse possession, and
forbade the owner of the plantation, from
bringing the question again before his court,
or any other court, on pain Of imprison-
ment. .f.t,,., .... -....... 49,.
NEGRO DIVORCE CASE.
These agents exert the, widest latitude In
the exercise Of their judicial functions,
irving questions involving title to real
estate, contracts, crimes, and even actions
affecting the martial relations. We wit
messed the trial OF divorce case before the
! sub-agent at Charlottesville. The trial oc-
cupied about ten minutes, and resulted in a
| decree of DIVORCE. hnG .rrf-.i.I .s. ..
rn'3 PAST SERVICES OF THE BUREAU, 5ls
AT the close of the war, in the chaotic
condition in which society was left in the
entire absence of all civil authority, the
| iudicious and sensible officers of the Bureau,
| supported by the military, exercised a good
| influence, and added much to preserve, Or
4 der and assist in the organization of free
labor. The restoration OF civil law and the
recognition of the civil rights of the freed
! nIenl as evidenced by the changes made by
the Legislature in the laws of Virginia