Baltimore daily commercial. [volume] (Baltimore, Md.) 1865-1867, 1866-01-09
REPORT OF GENERAL HOWARD, COMMISSIONER OF THF
FREEDMEN'S BUREAU.

TO the House Of Representatives.
answer 70 the resolution of the House of Repre-
Superintendent of the Freedmens Bureau 10 inforIn
TINS House whether any real estate seized under the
Aetof the 18th of July, 1862 as enemies property
and the title of which by that ac Wa vested in 10
United States, had been assigned or allotted TO Freed
men Tor residence and homestead by order of anv
NtepaIu,nent OF the GoYcTTinent and IL so, whether
people ofcolor ordered off and by whose authorl and
also whether the abandoned plantations had been oc
cupled and thus restored and ifknOwn to the said Su
perntendent Of the Bureau to state under what nre-
tence OF authority property vested in the United
ntes unaer me eonscatlon act. was taken from the
InlteC 2tates and bestowed on conquered enemies
h4re The honor to submit the following informa-
ton:
A number of pieces Of properly seized and con-
demned under the act of July IT, 1864 are orc~nied
by freedmen, under the supervision of this Bureom
The records of this office do not show howrver
to them for homeSteadS. No DrODerty of this abor-
acter. occupied by freedmen, has been restored
70 tne former owners large number of aban-
doned plantations have been occupied by freed
mea, and in the States Of South Carolina and
been actually allotted to freedmen as hnmesteads
under the provisions of General sherman special
field order No. 10 The records Of this office show
tEat 10 Plantations so allotted have bc"n restored to
the former owners. Many + the abandoned planta-
tions occupied, but not allotted to freedmen, have
eeen restored to the former owners hut in such cases
care has always been taken to prevent suffering re-
Iulting from such actions. No property vested in the
Onlted states, under the confscatiOn of enemies
property, has been taken from lie United States and
bestowed IN conquered enemies. Evidence tia.
property has not been ibeed under the act of JuIv
4, 1904 or, II hbelled. that proceedings against it
have been dismissed by the United States Courts is
always REQUIRED before property in the hands of the
however, 20 state that the amount of properly held
as enemies property, and, the amount actually
alloteu to freedmen as hOmesteads is a very
small proportion of the amount originally in the
hands Of the bureau The real property turned over
10 II at Its organization seized for the most
part as abandoned 1t was intended not only TO aof
this to freedmen, but also to use it as a means Of
revenue. For the latter purpose it had already be-
come exceedingly useful and valuable to the Bureau
and measures had been instituted for the use of po-
tons for the former purpose. when on the 18Th OF
abandoned property should be restored to the former
GTTners when pardoned. Under these instructions
the Bureau has parted with the greater portion of
TINS property. The tenure upon it has been rendered
so uncertain that the steps taken a0 it to freed
men have been countermanded, in most instances
and the revenue has been curtailed that it is not
Respectfully submitted.
(oigned 90. UowARD, Mai. Gen,
W ashington, JanuaryS.
MR.. MORRILL's BILL FOR ISSUE OF NEW BONDS
- The bill reported to-day by Mr.. Morrill, from the
Committee Of Ways and Means provides First
that the Secretary of the Treasury shall be auho lied
to issue to the amount that may be required coupon
or registered bonds of the United States payable IN
not over forty years from date. and redeemable at
such time after date as may be fixed by him. That
such bonds may be sold and the principal and interest
may he payable in the United States or in Europe
and that such bonds as are payable the Treasury of
the United States shall bear interest not exceeding
SIX per Gentum per annum, PAYABLE semi-annualiy
and such as are made payable principal and interest
In Europe, shall bear interest not five per cent
payable seml-annually. The portion payable to the
Treasury shall be paid in the coin of the United
States and that payable IN EUROPE shall be paid in
the com or currency of the country in which they
shall be made payable The Secretary of the Treas
9ry shall fix the denomination TO be issued, and may
dispose of the bonds at the market value for foreign
notes, notes Of Naional Banks or 5sSSRtg ofhcr
obligations of the United States. and may exchange
them for any other bonds of the United States. The
bonds shall not be taxable by State OF municipal au
thority. Second. That these bonds shall be in such
form as the Secretary Of the Treasury may direct
and shall bear the written signature of the Register
OF the Treasury, other officer appointed sign the
same: and also, as evidence of lawful ISSUE the i'm
print OF a copy of the seal of the Treasury Third
Appropriatcs money for the necessary expenses of
engravlng printing, preparing issuing and selling
Tor TINS purpose in Europe. Fourth. Makes it felony
to engraVe, transfer, sell op imprint sell materials
tor such notes, except by authority of the Secretary
with penalty of twenty thousand dollars, or by i'm
prlSonment not exceeding twenty years, or both
ruin Ke-enaGts all laws against counterteitine ap-
PIcable to other issues. Sixth. Provides that the
Understanding Treasury notes shall longer be
legal tender. Seventh. Repeals the provision for a
one per centum sinking fund.
THE NEW MEXICAN GRNERAL-A RAD RECORD
The General X. Clay Crawford who is reported to
be al Brownsville, Texas, with his Chief Of Staff Col
A. f. Reed, raising an American division for Mexi-
CO, IS citizen of Tennessee vino was about year or
eighteen months ago dismissed the service by court
martial upon ch !TEes OF stealing money from bank
III kOgersriIle, Tennessee. lie some wears aao
at West Point as Il cadet; was dismissed after two
years Stuuy; subsequently went 70 Nicaragua with
walker. and ABOUT the outbreak q the was
IN the Virginia penitentiary for some offenSe lie
Was Captain OF battery of artillery in the Union
SGTElce fTartG!eEt!y secured 4 muster IN as Lieut.
Colonel OF the regiment, and held appointments as
Colonel OF that regiment and also of colUrcd rcgi-
ment to neither of which he was mustered up to the
ume of his dismissal His Chief of STAFF was Lieut.
colonel OF a colorcd regiment and dismissed
some time last summer by court martial for gross
ofenSe. 1t is not believed, by those qualified to
judge that Crawford or Reed have recruited single
man.
pppr-r D r,rr-- ,rro,-
ne state Educational Convention OF Illinois
held ut Joliet last week when, ON mo ion of the
uuanira ousy resolution il favor Of the RGrcau of
Educatl n proposed by Mr.. DOnneily, OF Minnesota,
and called uDon their Representatives in Congress 10
of the tate Normal University 10 confer with the
State Educational Convention; Similar resolutions
Conventions OF Michigan and Indiana. National
Educational Convention: TO meet in this city, is
talked Of to take action in reference 10 popular ed
uCGtiOn in the southern States.
~ EXPENSES or TIE NAVAL ACADEMY.
ihe expenses OF the Naval Academy at Annapolis
as appears from a communication OF the Secretary Of
the Treasury presented to the House to-day, amount
to the aggTeEne of Sll50,sZ920 since the year 1915
purten ince from the third quarter # 95to June 50,
1863 is $,gS,76S 65 and for salaries from the fIs;
quarter oi 1910 to june 80, 1865, S252,ODO.55.
The first shad of the season was brought
into Fredericksburg Va, last week. 1t was caught
in Potomac Creek
The Richmond reporters who were gar
roted wish to have it understood that the ten cents
of which they were robbed was specie
Mr.. Peter Ormrod, Manchester cotton
spinner, has taken upon himself the task of repair
ing his parish church at a cost of Sl500G0
The ''locar' Of the Galveston Ns,pS, Of
alate date, thus sums up the news of the day: "No
robbefes, burglaries murders such like little mat
tiers of interest The town i, dry"
"A Charleston editor having received from
Northern city proposition TO publish certain ad-
Vertisements and take his pay in hoop pskirs replies
thus:
The Boston transcript says: ''The first
week of Governor Andrews administration witnessed
a mob to break up John Brown meeting-durng
the last, bells and cannon announce the death of
slavery
The Washington Literary Society of Wash
ington College, Lexington the Oldest college in vir
gnia, is lamentng the loss of letter from General
Washington to the trustees ofthe college, taken away
uring the war and never returned.
Boston has fewer foreign-born inhabitants
in proportion to its population than any other of
the principal cities Of the Union except Philadelphia
and Baltimore. The Western cities have the largest
number.
The President has notified some gentle
men who called upon him to see him about the New
York COllectorShip. that there was no immediate
necessity for making an appointment He indicated
that it would be two or three weeks and perhaps
longer. before he could find time to take up the
question.
"A private letter received in London says
that the Pope makes little secret of his intention to
leave Rome if the French troops really withdrawn
and will in all probability accept the offer
of the British government lately received to provide
for him an asylum in Malta
I'VE are almost naked-our families escaped the |
flames with only what they had on. and nearly nine
months have passed since then. Hoop-skirts will |
not cover our nakedness. Perhaps if you were to |
make some proposal to accompany them with cloth |
sufficient to fill up the interstces, they might be
made servceable."
Lawyers will be interested in case be-
fore the London Courts. In giving Judgment on |
question of pleading lately, Sir James Wylde set aside
reputed dct,m of his predecessor and ruled that
testatCr cannot depute to another the task of making
his will for him, but he both must know and approve
of the contents of the instrument to render it valid
An officer recently returned from tour
through the State of Georgia represents the sockade
at AndcrsOnville still standing and the cemetery
IN good condition. There is at present garrison of
about twenty men guarding it. Threats have re-
Gently been made by returned Confederate soldiers to