Daily Richmond Whig. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1865-1869, 1866-04-19
VIEWS OF Ex-GOvERNoR WISE.


Generals steedman and Fullerton were recently
in this city, on tour OF observatOn-sent, it was
understood, by the President. They were accOmpa-
MED by a corps Of reporters, one of whom, over the
signature of Russell" communicates to the New
York World the particulars of certain interviews
with leading citizens. We make an extract from
his letter:
Ex-Governor Wise now came in and was presen-
ted to General Steedman, who expressed himself
glad to have the opportunity of discovering the
views Of Mr.. Wise on the condition of affairs in gen
eral, and the workings of the Freedmens Bureau IN
particular. -EN'l 49,
1--WE knew said Governor Wise, lust the size
Of the elephant you getting by the freeing OIL
the slave. Take AccOmao County, for Instance we
had, for thirty years before the war, geep
in the emancipation of the blacks, and had about
thirty-four hundred of them on our hands who
could nv the use Of the oyster tongs for two days
obtain sufficient to last them the rest of the week,
which they spent in frolic.
..If the State Of Virginia had never owned a
slave she never could have been whipped. There
would have been no war, had there been no slaves.
Take away the bayOnet, and ! will stake my life
that the vote of the people of Virginia will be
against slavery by majority that would astonsh
you. .........
The class that causes trouble now is the same as
are the men. The negro despises them; still he
will listen to them and buy their whisky" Then
with considerable emphasis the Governor remarked: :
I" tell you General the negro is an aristocrat. He
can tell gentleman he knows him by instinct
Field hands speak Of not the more intelligent
body servant; he is far above the animal that we
used as an overseer at the cost of four times what
free labor now costs us
~ have respect for an intelligent negro. Old
Tom Griffin asked me to take Brunswick stew
Il 20 4, ga
and do YOU suppose that will not be treated like
gentlemanl If you do you are lorOEg. 20 .... r...
. The late demonstration, you may be sure, was not
calculated to please us, and do assure you that
hardly respectable darkey engaged in it. The
greater portion of the negroes came from the ceun-
try, some as far as thirty miles.
With reference to the Bureau FreedmensO the
Governor was disposed to think that it had been
as well managed here as it could be by men unac-
quainted with the people and the country.
True, some of the younger men had been iniiu-
enced by these same animals that we had spoken OF
before the Oveseer and the parsons that came along
with the army had made trouble by telling the ne
groes what they never knew before, that is, that
thew had been shamefully abused and it is to just
these men that we are indebted for the length of
time that it has taken to get the negroes at work
again. The negroes should have superintendent;
Int why not men that understand the negro and
the country better than any stranger possibly
cam
general Terry had the impression that the break
inc out of a war with France would result in the
going over of large number OF the men that COM
Dosed the late Southern army to the flag of France.
told him that would stake my life against any
sncb movement. The sight of the old flag was in
itself something that an American could not but
feel.
had too much white in it for The State flag of
Virginia were the cOlOrs that used; and it made
nv blood boil to see the old flag arrayed against
MS. felt that they were our colOrS, and the only
colors too, that an American could fight under with
any heart.
ernor Wise was asked by General Steedman what
the result of the removal ofthe from that court
to the civil courts would be.
The Governor thought favorable, saying that,
the negroes have always had the same rights and
protection that the whites have had and perhaps
even more Then, too, " said the Governor, "how
many courts have you in the siXty-fOur thousand
snuare miles of land that Virginia contains Negroes
that live in remote sections cannot travel forty or
fifty miles to settle a case that involves but few
dollars The sooner these things can be referred to
civil courts, and all military power removed, the
sooner will things assume prosperous and cheering
condition The Freedmans Bureau has its advan-
tages but it has the sembance of a military power
kept over us, and this you know can hardly be
pleasant"
lately occurred in Accomack County, on the Eastern
Shore.
A negro that had been freed long years since and
had lived on his old masters land and used it, now
came before the Freedmans Court, over which a
lieutenant of the Veteran Reserve Corps presided,
and laid claim to this land. The lieutenant gave as
his decision: That this land should belong to the
negro and his wife during their life time, and no APP
peal should be made from this decision,
have given verbatim the different conversations,
that persons may be able to see and understand the
Sc and feeling of the different
classes.
At one o'clock a number of citizens had confer
ence with Generals Steedman and Fullerton. Among
them were General Anderson, of the Tredegar Works,
General johnson, General Haight, Judge Meredith,
and Mr.. Grant The interview, an exceedingly pleas
ant one was prolonged for nearly two hours. The
different gentlemen freely expressed their views on
all subjects but chiefly referring to the operations
of the Freedmen's Bureau.
So far as the rights of the negro was concerned,
he would receive his rights just distinctly by the
civil courts as by the Bureau; and the people would
feel stronger interest in their protection. The Bu
reau is looked upon part of the military occupa-
ton but its officers have been kindly treated SO lar
as their observation had extended.
The gentlemen were glad TO say that the negro
had behaved much better as a freedman than they
had expected, and after the idea that freedom con-
sisted of ideness had worn OIL, were Industrious
Their labor as freedmen was more cheap than as
slaves. They are paid Saturday night and oil.
They have one little objection: that is, the free
dom with which the darkies roam about the coun-
try with firearms, shooting, seemingly just to hear
the noise, anything they can find, from sheep to
snow-bird The arms are mostly obtained from SOL
dierS or stolen from citizens
The Vagant act was abolished by General Terry
and there seems to be an impression that particu
lar benefit has been derived from the adjustment,
as darkies wandering over the grounds of private
citizens cannot be made to desst from their little en-
jOyment