The Charleston daily news. [volume] (Charleston, S.C.) 1865-1873, 1866-05-21

The following very interesting letter is from the
p On Of the Herdlds correspondent who il travel
Ii ng with Generals srEEpMAN aud FuLhERroN: |
CuAgLEsroN s. c., May 49, 1866. |
From North Carolina Generals Steedman and
Fullerton haye carried their investigation OF tho
Freetimenb Bureau Into tho Palmetto State, havo
and start to-day fur a srven'days' tour of inquiry
among the sea- aislands, where tho peculiari.Ies OF
he system of government tdenoniinstehthe freed- |
mons Buresa are, or have beeh pretty Stroniiiy
developed. ,rPerhap. ought not 80 have aeed theI
term ''systom' riu this :o"nnection "jystrhi;,'
action, is one of tho fow, vi rtues that the Freed
mons Bureau ,ioea nHt pessess: Indeed, l have
my doubts whtth.r ths bnreauitselt has any ex-
isfence ID tanSlole entity, or whether il liz not
myth of G2uSress, or ahjileous nightmare OF the
southern psop;e. Formpre than n rnonth have
boon folluWing this wi-f the-wisp. ~ have pur-
suad 1t from Richmond to Charleston, and h&ve
not predetermined it's form or figure.
ESs zee. WHAT Is :sTHE BUREAU"
In Virginia file Bureaubneans court composed
States army; the second representative chosen |
by the ttizens Of the DISTRICT tho third a repre-,
ssntativo elected by the freedmen, all three of
them being, as q rule, man OF Sound common
sonse and honesty, neither spectators nor tauat.
ics, but anxious III tho main to act fairly by all
parties. Hence i'll Virginia tue Bureau, though
army Ut occupation, had aroused no violent pas
sions OF anta2onism= Norfolk only being laid on
ono side as an exceptional case.
In North Carolina the Bureau means one-man
poHer-as Governor Holden pnt it-a tribunal
composed Of one man. who is judge. juror, sheriff
and constable; who makes arrests, imposes fnes
decides kiiotty questions Of title to land teven
though he should happen to be, as was Chaplain
Claws OF Goldsboro, 80 ignorant OF law as not to
know a civil from criminal CASEY, picks out the
best cotton lands in the State and farms them on
his own hook, with the best labor he can get in O
abor market over which his official position gives
him entire control, and who; if he happens to be
placed in charge; of o negro settlement consi-
ernor," aud tortures, dseces aud impri.ons the
freedmen at his pleasure. Hence in NORTH Caro-
y lima the Bureau il hated by both whites and
SIsss, sS,.S a9d is proving almost IN unmilsated
In South Carolina the Bureau means neither a
threein m powsr nor a one;man power, but sim
eicept to fomeiie Ill feeling and to collect CHI arges
f9r the proypst c9uLts 70 dispose of Soon after
their respective powers between Generals. Gill,
more and Saxton led to the establishment of pro-
yost courts, by whose agency tho judicial .bnsi-
IN and around 'CharIesl6n there isconfusion, and
continued clhstIfng betweel'the military author
es q sHs sGsssH dssa Shf eHe e
ORtheconselidationo OF beth III tpne.. s, ',.I
i The po wers and mode oS' administration of the
Efesdmsn's Bareaun thess three Statas,: it will
" thus be- seep differ as: widely asdo the organic
lsXs oi paharey s9d Massaehnsetts, ~! aqd to ts!k
nsn Ssss rae Elreushosat
ths sopth y t2 SReak q sggetthipS tnatdoes not
afy HE ssSassfae 1s1Gss ss s
character Of tho agent yh6 .sd6nisters it; i
change, OF ofRSars., This .is one Of it's GREATEST
ueskneases, aud one cs the strongest arguments
against It's permanent contnuance; -, .s. ~,
sENTIniENrs Of THE CITIZENS. :,
Afew Of the reprcsent tative citizens of Charles.
ton waited upoit tdenerai steedman last evening
t. They told the same story we have heard every
where. .Eoloutraaes, NO burning Of schoolhouses
the freed@en and nd disposition to s act saaiIy And
l. indulgahtly towatds >themi The cxrebel general
James Conner, who was present, eaid that the Bu
reau vas dpng serious injury to the class it was
desig6ed to benefit in this way. While the Bu
, reap was in existence the fresdmen would not
employing white laborers. cannot tell how ia,
thia may be thefosse! RI only know of Que instance
Of the kiass s sea issad planter Mr. Johnfah e,
five hundred dollars for transportation, and wher
he g. thSm M airy TO- wort sns{ slrpck for highe,
oolored labor. IL was maintained by aapther gen
# shsn Gsss s nSera s s;fss ns4
tuiion, ten to ono fe%sE ds9thse, and ten TO hn
!, less Imposition on tie npsFuea than in district
that in KefshGw district, where there was no Bu
t Kehu, the fr.ea9sn made their own, coutracts All
fi cWsro getting on. much better thare than else
i'"'isTI': :" THE SEA :IsLAND5 As THEr WE'RE.
Or the present staisof .S4on the Sea Island
I shall Sc better abe' to snsak. in my next, hY
,hlehtiIE cfng thess Sa ahds in august last, give
:fhat th5S and had hlr slIh5 lisS previously pre-
~ ~ vailed piiieE Genepal SaXt6na ADMINISTRATION
~ afairs. Frauds and raaeaies, Of every descrit
i,.rtion fnom pstty isrccny upwands we're perpetrt
tied under the shadow Of taa FYsedmens Burea,
GThenogroes' instigatca by:mscrupilous civla
agents of the Bureau, %hD,f Told them they had
- right to tho lahd, and mdst Keep every white ma
of THE island fSrnied an armeii org anizatio1 an
' arreated every white man who attemhted TO lant
r Il Armed bandsof uogrotB made predatory feray
tibet m ain land, and droveoff aEthe cattle tht
St,lFh FhafFs ssypav 1pk
apart for tho freedmen Under General sherman
pfier, we're universally left uneultiyated In Ja
-. uary .ia4t General Beeehet found but two acr
listed optn tor planting ip the whole Edisto Islau
.t.and it WAS only by stoppi The supply of ration
and placing'the alternative nf work starvatif
before the'negroes that he could get them TO tai
- hoe in hand Thess same it'forty -aore" 'Afo
Hthehts wer6 found Of most elastic dimensions! I'll
smaeas was three an d haf sSses and the LAR
-. along between these two ppints. Dozens of n
,.Rroes holding land! orders for one island we
found In. possession Of lata another i-lald, al
u. che greatest difficulty experienced in dispo
So" eessihg thema' Gen! Beecher suppressed it
-, armed lswlcssgess, ,Snd was in fsif way
~"-1 Bureau Bill passed Cnnsrcsa and again thrt
everything .iso, con fusion and renewed tho la
! lessnnsss Snca tho yctoiot that meastire by t
:. President tho state iof .affairs has improve
n thonp ii tho 'islaids attn far frbin beiDg in
isatiefactory condition Frbm ninety to hundr
plantstfois' on The four islands are in fair work.
order!' The frtedmen arc getting over tho idea
;'' find they are not opPresseH aad ate beginning
act up,, TO their cont The great IRA What
hero as everywhere i'll tho South, arc want
= = esp.tal and too much ofthe Bureau. .. -,