The Van Buren press., 1866-03-10

| cent for the benefit Of our disabled sol
diors and sailors 1t has never founded
schools for any class of our own people
not even for the orphans Of those who
have fallen in defence of the Union, Dut
has left the care of their education to the
much more competent control oi TIC
States, of communities, of private asso
Citations and individuals. 1t has never
deemed itself authorized to eXpend mon
ey for the rent or purchase of homes for
the thousands, not to say millions, oil
the white race who are honestly tolling
from tlay to day for their subsistence.
! A system for the support of INDECENT per-
SONS in the United States was never contem-
plated by the authors Of the Constitution
Nor can any good reason be advanced Why'as
a permanent establishment, it should be foun-
| ded for one class or color of our people more
than another. Pending the war. many reiu-
gees and freedmen received support from the
government. but it was never intended that
they should hcncctorth be fed, clothed, shel-
tered and educated by the United States. Thf
| idea on which the slaves were assisted to free,
dom was that on becoming free they would
be u self-sustaining population Any lcglSa
tion that shall imply they are not eXpectedto 70
attain sclt-suStaining condition must nave
tendency injurious alike to their character
and their prosperity.
The appointment of an agent for every
county and parish, will create an immense pa
trOnage, and the expense OF the numerous OF
ticers and their clerks to be appointed by the
President, will be great in the beginning with
Il tendency steadily to increase. 1hc apprO-
priations asked BY the Freedmen's Bureau
ne now established for the year 1866 amount
to Sll, ,l75,000. 1t may be safely estimated the
cost to be incurred under the pending bill viii
require double that amount-morc than the
entire sum expended in any one year under
the administration of the second Adams.
If the presence of agents in every parish
and county is to be considered as q war mca-
sure, opposition or even resistance might be
provoked, so that to give effect to their juris-
diction. troops would have to be stationed
within reach of every one of them, and thus
a large standing force be rendered necessary
! Large appropriations would therefore be re-
qured to sustain and enforce military jurs-
diction in every county and parish from
the Potomac to the Rio Grande.
The condition of our fiscal abyss is encour-
aging, but in order to sustain the present mea-
sure of public confidence, it is necessary that
we practice not merely customary economy,
but rs far as possible, severe retrenchment.
In addition to the objections already stated,
, the fifth section of the bill proposes to take
away land from its former owners Withontan
legal proceedings being first had contrary to
that provision OF the Constitution which de-
clares that - No person shall be deprived of
} life liberty or property without due process
of law" 1t does not appear that lands to
which this section refers may not DE owned by
minors or persons of unsound mind, or by
those who have been faithlcss to all their obli-
| I,rat ne ri pf | , Iii
any portion Of the land be held by such per-
sons, it is not competent for any authority to
deprive them Of it, IL on the other hand, it
) be found that the property was liable to con-
Iiscation, even then it cannot be appropriated
, to public purposes. until, by due process OF
law it shall have been declared forfeited to
the government.
There are still further objections to the bill
on grounds seriously affecting the class of
, persons to whom it is designed TO bring relief.
1t will tend to keep the mind of the freedman
in state of uncertain expectation and rest
lessness. while to those among whom he lives
it will be source of constant and vague ap-
prchcnsion. Undoubtedly the freedman
should be protected by the civil authorities
especially by the exercise Of all the COnstitu-
tional powers of the Courts OF the United
States and of the States. His condition is not
80 exposed as may at first be imagined. Heis
in portion of the country where his labor
cannot well be spared. Competition for his
services from planters, from those who are
constructing or repairing railroads, or from
other States. will enable him to command al
most his own terms. He also possesses II per-
, feet right to change the place of abode, and II
he does not find in one community or State a
mode of life suited to his desires or proper
remuneration for his labor he can move to an
other, where labor is more esteemed and bet
ter rewarded.
In truth, SsovCs,i, eacH state. lHunccu
by its own wants and interests. will do what
is necessary and proper to retain within its
borders all it, labor that is needed for the de-
, velOpment of its own resources. The laws
that regulate supply and demand will main-
tain their force, and the wages of the laborer
{ will he regulated thereby. There is no dan
ger that the great demand for labor will not
operate in favor of the laborcr. neither is suf-
fcicnt consideration given to the ability of
, the freedom to protect and take care of them
selves. IL is no more than justice to them to
believe that rs they have received their free
dom with moderation and forbearance.so they
will distinguish themselves by their industry ;
and that they will feel and soon show to the
world that in q condition OF freedom they are
sclt-sustaining. and capable of selecting their
employment and their own places of abode
of insisting for themselves OH u proper remit
ncration aud Of establishing and maintaining
their own aSylums and schools. It'll earnest
" hoped that instead Of wasting away they
: will. by thcroWn efforts establish for them
selves, u condition OF responsibility ana pros
pcrity. 1t is certain they can attain to that
condition only through their own merits and
lcXcrtions. -.