Baltimore daily commercial. [volume] (Baltimore, Md.) 1865-1867, 1866-04-17

loyal to use the term in its propeTsense
PGTPle 4l the United statesIthat to say, they
port and sustain it'll think they are so yet should
nakethls remarS, however-thep people came up freely
andYoIqntarly, and did all that they supposed was
required They met with freat cheerfuness ali hedc-
mands of the President. What changes may have oc-
CURED since left cannot telbut do notthink any
material changes have taken place. Still, you know
when men do all that is required ofthem and ali that
they thlnk Is right pressure does not in any degree
cohtrlp9te TO their loyalty, and have been very
much arald that the condition of things here would
shake their confidence in the Government Their
the Government there. A large majority of our Doo
pie were opposed to secession and believe that If
the question had been submitted to the people, they
meyer would nave adopted it.
but the POLITICIANS got us in hand and forced
tEo Us out OF the Union, and as a general thing,
1aVor OF coming back again, and to them is to he
aadded added 70 the number who became satisfied of the
folly OF their course Coy. Sharkey then gave a his
tuition OF mississippi. The amended Constitution
was not submitted to the people. did not think it
necessary, as w so well satisfied with the temner
and disposition Of the people. The members of the
eo1nnlyention were fairly and freely elected
e Inc freedmen have gone to work with great deal
OF ZEAL and the people are hopeful and expect re-
turn OF prosperity. have letter from one section
that there was not discOntented man, that they
nad buried secession out of sight The freedmen as
Iearn from all parts OF the State, doing remark
ably we'll have heard from one of the counties Of
the State IN which there is not one idle freedmen
However there is no Disgusting the fact that the
rfeeomens Bureau and the coored troops there
nave done more mischief than anything else-
There are men in the Bureau there who are discussed
70 speculate on white and black. They encourage
the black men and discourage the white men, and
wherever there is negro garrison freedmen gather
around It, and OF course crimes and depredatiCus are
committed. verify believe if when was there all
Of the troops could have been withdrawn | could
nave mad order throughout the State The mortality
among tne freedmen continues as great as ever They
nave contracted diseases and habits which take a
great many of them off. We are all kindly disposed
towards the negro. I think after the experiment
which mas been made the people prefer the Union to
tne Coniederacy. never cOuntenanced or aided Sc
shared NV o1vn santimonts tI II Va - tT peOpI99
rather remain in the Union than take the chances in
he ConIederacy even were 1t possible to establish it
now. Inc people do not expect pay for their slaves
and we have repudiated most of our debt, and may
say with confidence that mono of our people expect
4 dollar OF the debt of the rebellion to be paid
There mas been no emigration from tho State.
1here is no organization of home guards that know
OIL organized TWO companies of militia for each
county, Tor individual protection, to suppress crime
and protect the people. The general feeling of the
people towards the freedmen is that ought to ele
QuestiOn-If you have no objection, please state
what you know about persons elected to Congress
from Mississippi?
Answer-Eknow Mr. Alcorn my colleague in the
U. ). Senate, was an old Whig, and was very much
opposed to the rebellion and to the party that brought
1t about. The Representatives elect to the House.
were without exception opposed to secession. They
all belonged to the antseceSsion party. Several of
these gentlemen engaged in the rebellion after it
brought about. ColonelS Reynolds and Pierson had
commanded regiments in the Confederate service
when the State went out. I suppose they felt that
they must go with their State.
In regard to Governor Humphrey there was no
man more opposed to secession. He did not ever
believe that the Confederates could establish and
mately got into the rebellion by accident, you might
say. lie went with company as captain. and was
h h @ Ve ~ 20 W oG EeieIh. DGIns popular IN the army
ne was elected Governor. lie Is good man. [ re-
gret to that the rest of the State Government is
IN inc hands Of the conservatives. had no CONVEX
sation with Colonel Hamilton, stating, in june '65
that the slate was made out; that the South was to
have its own way. the object of which to give the
m James Johnson 0 tRe Seorra testified
that affairs are improving there now. The people
are becoming better satisfied time elapses and the
passions sqbside We have a few bad men among
US. Hostility to the freedmen is abating. 1t would
be good policy to withdraw the black troops; their
presence Is irritating. majority of people are
wiling to submit. 1t is natural that they should
prefer tor office men who have operated with them
Mr. j then states that all of the Senators and mem
bers elect have been in the civil or military service
OF the Confederate Government.
He adds. the people are opposed to negro suffrage
in any form. The Freedmen's Bureau should
be continued at present. If the power of the Fede-
raj Government and its influence were withdrawn
from Georgia. think majority of the people would
express preference for Confederacy. Sufficient
time has not elapsed for the eradication of those
ideas. But this is mere matter of speculation and
law, there will be no need of the Freedmen's Bu-
reau.
The evidence in regard to Arkansas is voluminous,
but all OF the same tenor. General Blunt Gen. An
drews, and several civilians testify They all agree
that the State is thoroughly reconstructed. The order
is better than it has been for forty years. More cot
ton will be raised tkis season in that State than in
any other.
DR.. Jos. P. Hambleton, of Georgia. testifes that he
thinks the people hope some time to be paid for their
slaves and thinks they believe they viii be relieved
from Federal taxation. II says he in the rebel
army, and regrets that he could not do more than
he did.
Major General Swayne, of the Freedmen's Bureau,
testfes to Alabama and believes the people more
disloyal now than when the war closed The troops,
he believes, should be retained.
?, Generals Chettain and T2rbel and Messrs. W. F.
Downs revenue agent.) j. B. Tebetts and J. II.
Mathews, civilians, testify with regard to Alabama
and Mississippi but their evidence is substantially
the same tenor as that already given.