The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1866-08-10


From corps dAfrlque tax. $4,000 90
From fines Observation-Disclosures. 673 10
Total s25s, 44s Al
onai treasury These expenses in addition 10 the
transportation, ratons and Quarermasters supplies fur
nished by the government It is difficult to determine
to what use the vast amount OF property held by the
Bureau has been applied At the very lowest estimate,
the property taken possession Of consca,ed or aban
doned amounted in value to millions OF dollars and
the rents returned above less than per cent
the entire amount
The expenditure Of the Bureau under the present
minstraton, for agents, civilian clerks, and employees
about its headquarters alone amount 10 not less than
$40 year exclusive OF the pay Of staff officers, and
orderes in the military service.
large proportion Of the money expended on the public
schools under the administration Of the Kev. W. Con-
way, late Assistant Commissioner satisfied
squandered Mr.. Matthew Whildon formerly chief clerk
in the school department. in evidence given before and
1865 Captain Pcase tho school superintendent reported
officially that there forty schools In operation aud
in iloarshing condit on, when in fact there but
two. 1t was also sworn to before us that the
books apd records which would have shown
this report to be Inaccurate were destroyed in Captain
Peases Office and others substituted We OBJ.
ect for the fabrication Of this false report unless
to account for payments made to persons who not
engaged in teaching. On examining the pay roll No
had been certified and approved names had been added,
and the totals erased and changed on every page We
found also discrepancy OF several hundred dollars be-
tween the pay roll for this month and the labor rols
from the sworn testimony also hereto Appended II will
be seen that Captain Morse appointed Provost Marshal
Of tho Bureau by Nc, Conway, made the Provost Maj
shal's ONCE slave pen, arrestng freedmen and selling
them 10 planters IS head and sharing the proceeds
with his SPECIAL policemen who made the arrests This
ofcer further collected large amount Of money from
freedmen and white persons arrested by him for various
offences. aud his books only show receipts from this
source amounting to 1878 10.
The Bureau Is cutvatng large plantation in this
State, for which SIS 900 year rent We
scarcely imagine the for renting land account
or the United States when the government through each
Congress giving away m Hons Of acres Of public lands
Major General Absaom Baird is the Assistant Commits
soner for Louisiana and also in military command of
the department when visited It, He has undoubtedly
improved upon the administration Of Mr.. Conway.
Texas.
The facilities for travelling in Texas being so limited
and the State large found IL impossible to make
such investigation would enable TO report fully
upon tho condition Of affairs in this department The
with few agents stationed in the most accessible and
popuous portions OF the State As to the condition Of
information, either from the agents of tho Bureau
from any other source. We visited Richmond and
districts, who were there in attendance OIL court mar
tia.
Al Richmond Captain Sloan the agent Of the Bureau
Is engaged in planting in conjunction with h,s former
clerk, Captain Porter and an excaptain OF the rebel
army. Captain Mitchell. Captain sioan denied under
oath that no had been Interested In the plan
tason Of Mcssrs Porter mche but Major Pearson,
commanding the troops at that post and DR. Boyd post
surgeon both subsequently swore before that Captain
Sloan had told them rep atcdly he interested In the
| farm and had mentioned to them the amount he ex-
pected 70 realize by t. Complaints made to by
other persons that Captain Sloan had employed tho
powers Of the Bureau 70 take negroes from their plan
ations and place them hts We append the tcs
mony taken in this case tmarked c.
Among the agents We mot at Houston was Lieutenant
G. Hardenbrook, First Veteran Reserve Corps
agent at Beaumont Jefferson county, who stated that the
freedmen ding we'll In his district and that tho
disposition Of tho people was very fair Most Of the
ten 10 fifteen dollars month. He subsequently men,
toned that he had recently arrested Do tor Houston
the doctor had no did regard his parole: but
finding IL impossible TO obtain evidence aga INST
m ocer n rSpor Ds10 % hsp aesss
OF his equally absurd this, satisfying us no
was utterly Inconsistent for hts position Having heard
uniayorable reports from the Branham district,
amncd the agent aptan A. Craig of the Seventeenth
Veteran Reserve who stated that hts predecessor
Lieutenant Arnold Of the Twelfth III nois cavalry had
kept his records and left nothing the Office lis,
OF contracts and file OF orders. and he could cvo
nformatin about his Official We satisfied that
most OF the complaints against Captain Craig were
All the Bureau agents in Texas exercise judicial powers
In both civil md mna cases and in the discharge OF
these arbitrary and dangerous functions frequently arrest
and imprison respectable citizens upon mere ruuor
Captain Sloan the Bureau officer al Richmond before
all dcd to. whites Galveston out OF his district arrested
respectable citizen and put him prison the plea that
hc wanted him witness in which he only
knew from would be brought before him Ten Of
the twenty i've agents in this state citizen planters
One of them, Colonel Mct onnaghec agent IN Wharton
county was formerly a colonel In the rebel army and
appointed agent Of the Bureau by General Gregory
then Assistant Commissioner Tor the state while still
pnrdoned
We heard many rumors with respect 10 General
Gregory himself being engaged In planting but in
vrstgation concluded that these
founded. While believe General Gregory 10 have
been honest in his administration, think his extreme
view and policy produced III feeling aud bitterness be-
tween the whites and blacks
20 far saw or were able TO get information In
Texas the freedmen wera working we'll and the crops
were very promising The wages paid, all the payments
being made In specie were better than In any other de-
Brcvct Major General j. D Kiddoo Is the present
Assistant Commissioner
Summary.
In pursuing this investigation which has now ex-
tended over four months we have found extreme dim
Guilty complying that portion OF our instructons
which requires US 10 report upon the operation OF tie
NO settled mode Of administration. There IL entire
absence OF system uniformity in ia constitution In
one State is officers exerise judicial powers; in
Joining State all cases referred TO the civil authorities
while In third State the Bureau officers collect the cases
and turn them over to the military provost
OF the Bureau have attempted regulate the rate OF
wages; one form Of contract between employer and
employed Ia prescribed In State while In another
different form Is adopted In Louisiana the expenses
OF the frcedmens schools have been wholly paid by
". IN o,ner states the schools are partially
some localities the Bureau officers interfere abI,rar "
between the planter and the freedman favor OF tho
freedman; In othcr localities tho Bureau used as
OF coercng the freedman favor OF the planter
The expenditure OF tho Bureau varics a. much az ts
mode Of administration In one State the expenses
over 5000 year; In smother State with an equal
population the expenses are not more than $50 coo
In some States the expenses have been met bv iaxes
levied and collected from the people, In other States
the cost 10 entirely borne by tho United States Treasury
QrARrmrisxrs' Acoousrs
We found u impossible TO investigate the accounts Of
the Bureau quartcrmasfes for the that where
the funds used received from taxes, rents fines
and sales or abandoned property there Of
asceraning the amounts received except from the per.
sonal statements OF the officers themselvee while
qusrermsster in the army drawing bis funds from the
government, has the amount charged mp to him and
obliged TO account for II In his return, the ocsenc ~
the administration Of tho quarcrmasers department OF
the bureau and the absence Of all check upon the officers
give security except the personal honesty OF the men
thcmseves VIC examined the accounts Of Brcve, Brga-
der General Whlttlcsey Bureau Qusrermaster Of tho
Department OF Mississippi who satisfied that he bad
honesly administered the Affairs Of his department md
had accounted for all the money received but whether
his predecessor, who collected large amount from
taycr and sales paid to General whttesey
all the money IN hrs hands belonging 10 tho Bureau
unable 70 determine We do not make this state.