The day book. [volume] (Norfolk, Va.) 1857-1867, 1866-06-16
parbartsms of "The Bureau

There are few better paying investments
,ban sympathy. Let the object be remote,
;r,,ost # with some of the attributes of ro-
rnsnce. and then hand round your hat. Be-
evidence is prosecuted as a profession in this
nrl;ohtened nineteenth century, and its pro-
sossors poke one hand into their own pocket,
,vborewithal to flourish moral pocket-hand-
Iarcbef before their eyes while they introduce
the other into that OF their next neighbour,
in search of fractional currency, or stray
half-pence
The negro has been favorite theme with
tbisclass of society both in England and Anne
RIGA for half a century. .,PhilantLropists"
we're sometimes honest, and enthusiastic, and
always ignorant of his true condition: but
the great mass of them keptin view the ex-
press object of lettering their own condition.
Mrs. STOWE, for example, wrote us a fine
hook. which was read all over the world, and
she made, heaven and her publishers OILY
know how much money, which has renamed
locked up in the strong box of that vrtuous
woman to the present time. Mr. WENDELL
PHILLIPS, too, with an income set down at
100000 per annum, has made himself quite
famous reputation, especially among the
strong-mindea female population, without
putting his hand into his pocket, though it is
asserted his very handsome property was ac-
cumuated by his pious ancestors in the AT
rican slave-trade, against which Virginia al
WAYS protested, before and after the founda-
tiou of the Federal Constitution. Thus we
might multiply instances ad infnit,tm.
When the negro was liberated, it seemed as if
the men of professional bcnevolence would
lind the goose dead which laid the golden
eggs; but they were far too shrewd for this.
The Freedmen's Bureau was organized, and
General HOWARD sent forth, like moral Don
QuIxoTE, with his head full of extravagant
fancies, followed not by one SANcHo, but by
an army, each mounted ON an official Dapple,
and carrying his personal wallet at his sad
dle-bow. m
One by one these trusty followers were put
into the government of Southern Barratarias,
where they ruled like so many autocrats, with
all the greed, but without the wisdom of the
fat Squire. just now, however, the physi-
clans who disguised SANcHo in his Island,
have made their appearance, and as they
move from one principaity to another, it is
curious to see how many rich dishes they or
der away from gubernatorial tables They
bring multitudes OF outrages to light. They
show us that, bond or Tree, the negro is still
the victim of-benevolence No man can
read the reports of Generals STEEDMAN and
FULLERTON without thrill of pity and in
dignation 1t appears that the former master
and the forme: slave have alike been the vic
tins to the petty tyranny and Unsuitable ava
rice of a hungry set ofinexorable officials. AT
some places the commissioners find that the
freedmen have been cruelty punished by men
whose pictures would do very we'll for Mrs.
STOWE to hang up beside her portrait Of LIE
GREE At other points, they find the freed
men have been swindled out of their scanty
earnings by the ingenuity of their benevolent
friends, who have corrupted them with whis-
key, and inhamed their minds against those
among whom fate has cast them, for good or
evil Population, oppression, wrong, inhu-
mainly, avarice, cruelty-all and more than
the most lively fancies of WILLERFoRCE ever
painted, have been brought tolight, and fanny
thing like a scrap of poetry could be admit
ted in grave official documents, the commits
sioners might, with great propriety, have
taken that famous Miltonic legend g Hail,
horrors, hail r as fit caption for their report.
10 show that we are not unjust in this de-
claration, we here quote a passage from the
report descriptive of affairs III Columbia Dis
trlct; and it should be noted that this state-
ment is made on the authority ola delegation
Of freedmen, who called upon the commission
ers for the purpose Of disclosing this shocking
lnhumanity towards the unhappy victims of
the benevolent Ely. Now, will Mr.. CHARLES
SUMNER put this down as one of the barbar
isms Of slavery, or as one Of the barbarislns of
beaurocracy2 9 Z
"a delegation of freedmen subsequently call
ed on us and stated that, in addition to the
two plantations which Gen ELY was cultiya-
ting on Government account, he was also
planting on his own account the farms of
ROBERT JOINER and A. NJ HUNT This
delegation further stated that twenty-nine
coored persons, men, women and children.
suffering from the smallpox, were crowded
INTO one room, about twenty feet by twenty
Tour IN size, and placed on the bare floor, with
no Bedding, while their only covering was
the blankets they had brought with them.
These poor creatures were left in this condi-
tlon several days, some of them delirious, with
only one black woman to attend them, and
without any nourishment but meat and bread
number of respectable old colored people,
attacked with the smallpox, were thus taken
from their comfortable homes and placed in
'h's room to die of neglect. One of this dele
galon assured us that be called to see Gen.
ELY, on several different days, to inform him
% the suffering condition of the freedmen in
sns smallpox hospital, and was told on each
o'easlon that the General could not be seen,
a t' ne was absent attending to his plantations
inns neglect of duty by Gen. Ely was COM
Rained Of in a letter written by BEVERLY
~ NASI, 9 coored man, and published in
Snarieston paper devoted to the interests of
sne freedmen. After the publication of this
ie'eer, Gen. ELY told NASH he did not like to
nave such statements made about him, and
Wished the freedmen to get UP some resolu-
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