Abbeville press. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1860-1869, 1866-06-22


Bas- The friends of 3. w. COCHRAN. an
nounce him Candidate for Sheriff at the ne1.
election.
FREEDMEN'a BUREAU--REpORT OF GEN.
ERALS sTEEDMAN AND FULLERTON.
Generals Steedman and Fullerton have sub
mltted an Interesting report of their inspection
OF the operations Of the Freedmen's Bureau in
the Military Departments of South Carolina
and Florida. and Of the condition of the Freed.
mens on the sea.islands and sec. coast under
General Sherman's order The report whilst
exposing many existing abuses in the manage
ment Of the Bureau. especially in the lower
part of the State, attributes them in q great
measure to the pernicious system which Was
innuguratsd By General Saxton, whilst it pays
ahigh compliment to the efficiency and com.
potency of Gsn, R. z. Scott the present COM
missioner.
Tho Report. We perceive, does not recon-
mend the removal Of the Bureau, but merely pro.
poses some modification in its administration, by
discontnuing the paid citizen agents. and in.
strrcting the military officers on duty TO per.
foru auch Offices as may BE- required by the
Bureau during ito existence. With regard to
the lands on the coast occupied by the freed
men under General Sherman's order, they
recommend restoration to the former owners
on the lst January next, the landowners. pay.
ing for all improvements made by the occ,.
pants the valoe to be determined by q commits
'ion to be appointed by the Government.
The Commissioners commenced their in vssti
cations at Columbia, where they met the same
abuses connected with Bureau planting which
they had encountered in Virginia and North
Carolina We make the following extracts
BUREAU PLANTING At COLUMBIA.
The first point in South Carolina where wa
commenced our investigation wa. Co;umhia
Here We found Brevet Brigadier General Eiy.
Sub Assistant Commissioner of the Bureau
who has charge of a district which embraces
an indefinite number of countica We were
unable TO obtain from him q statement of the
extent OF territory over which he presided, for
the reason that he himself did not know the
limits OF his jurisdiction. This officer II onite
extensively engaged in tho cultivation OF plan.
tations. His planting interests in the vicinity
oi Columbia required 90 much of his time that
in one instance ut least We found he had ssri
ously neglected his duties General Ely stated
10 us that he was cultivating two plantations
on government account. leased by himself as
Bureau Agent. at a cash rent of ave thousand
dollars year. On three other plantations he
stated that he had put freedmen to work and
1urnlshed them with government rations which
were TO oe PAID tor out Of their crops. One of
these Piants :,a.ls, he fterwards said, had been
rented by Wlfiiam B. Shepley. of the Twent, :.
MIN Ohio In niantry. Who had been a clerk in
his Office. He General Ely) had put the freed
men to work on the plantation, while Shepley
was away al his home. and had promised to
give them oDe.haif Of the crop.
REsuLTs OF THE sYs7Ra.
A delegation of freedmen subsequently called
on us and stated that in addition to the two
plantations which General Ely was culliva,ine
on government account he was also pluutipS
on hrs own account the farms of Robert Joiner
and A. M. Hunt This delegation further sta
ted that twenty nine colored persona. men.
women and children, suffering from smallpox,
were crowded into one room about twenty feet
by twenty.four in size and placed on the bnr.
hoor. with no bedding. while their only GOV.
ering wea the blankets they had brought with
them. These poor creatures were Left in this
CONDITION several days, some of them delirious
with only one black woman to attend them.
and without any pourishment bu, meat and
meal. A number Of respectable old color.d
reoP'e, attacked with smallpox, were thus ia
ken from their comfortable homes and placed
In this room to die Of neglect. One Of this
delegation assured us that he called to see
General Ely on several different days to inform
him OF the suffering condition of the freedmen
IN the Smallpox Hospital, and was told on each
occasion that the General could not be seen.
as he was absent attending to his plantations.
This neglect Of duty by General Ely was
complained Of in letter written by Beyerly
Nash, colored man. and published In q
CIerieston paper devoted to the interests of the
freedmen: After the publication of the letter
General Ely told Nash he did not like arch
statements made about him and wished the
freedmen to get up. some resolutions DENYING
the truth of the allegations preferred, which
they refused TO do.
The Commissioners next proceeded to
Charleston and thence to the sea islands. Ow.
ing to the removal Of the books CT the Bureau
BY General Saxton, they were unable to make
satisfactory examination of the admiuistra.
tion Of that officer, but judging from the effect
of the operations of the Bureau. on tho freed
men. in respect to their liability and dspo.i.
tion TO labor. they pronounce tito be exceed.
ingly pernicious.
The condition of affairs on the Sea Islanas
is thus set forth:
SEA IsLAsDs ~
On the 18th Of May wo left Charleston by
steamer and visited first the sea islands on tho
coast Of sonth Carolina. which have been and
still are, together with tho islands on the coast
Of Georgia, under the exclusive control Of the
Freedmsns Bureau. There are On thsss is
lands one hundred and forty.one valid pos
sessory titles to land hsld by the frssdfniisn
under the order of General. Sherman. ThSy
encuniber thirty-two plantations. situa,ed on
James, Johns, Wedmslaw and Eiisto Islands.
The number Of freedmen now on all tbs soutii
Carolina islands 10 about thirty thousand.--
They, are however, but PROPORTION of The sa.
gresats number who have occupied the ialsuds
Many Of those who frat came here remained
on the islands but Q short time and then return.
% 70 their bomsa on fha main land: ofhasa