Daily Richmond Whig. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1865-1869, 1866-01-26
A. Ae, OF the Legislature Set Aside by General
Terry,

Terry.
S,pal ',vs AGO. the following act was after du
....h,rtfou, passed by the Legislature:
wurrs,s. it s., represented 10 the present Genera
assembly, that there ud;h Late been great lncreAs
oil t.. and d.-orl.,!y persons ia some parts OF tina
Commonwealth, Who are deemed rOgucS and Nagd
.radS and. unless some stringent laws are pas~eC
O., restrain aud prevent such yagrdncy and d!eneSs
tie state viii be oyeWuu IA dissoiute and aban
dOuel characters % the great deirment oil the pup
.Ic veal. for remedy whereof
/. Be q Enacted By t3c General ASsem0ty Ina
the ovefs-crs of tie poor or other officers having
charge of the poor ortiz special county ponce or any
one or more OF such persons shall be ana are hereby
. empowered aud r.gu.Ud, upon discovering any va
rant or warrants within their respective counties Ol
-,uosttoa, Ia make information tfereOi 70 any
,rl.t. Of the u-Irc OF their county or corporation
AMI % r,ou.Ic "a warrant Tor experimenting such va
Grant or warrants. % be brought before hun or SOmt
other Justice; and IT, upon due examination, il
shall appear that the person or pcrSous are within
ST., true dr>aup,iouut yigrant, a. hereinafter men,
toned SUCH justice shall hy warrant under his hand
nrer such vdgrIut or Migrants In bc employed IN Ia
hOr iOr any tam not exceeding three mohtLs and by
.uy constable OF such county or cOparIton, be hired
uut Tor the best wages that can be procured, 10 he
applied except as hereafter provided for the Use u
;ir vIgraut cor his family ordered by the justice
/ And % any vagrJnt or Migrants shall during such
/ iime o; service without sufficient cause, run away
tom the person So employing him or them, he al
they shall be IppTchendci on the warrant OF jus
zee aad returned o. The cu>,ody Ol such hIrer who
shall have free OF any further hire the services o
-li yagTiut tor one month u addition To the orlgl-
nal term of hiring. AMI said employer shall then
have the power % authorized by the justice 10 work
I AHA yIsILut, confined with ball and chain OF
should said hircr decline u receive again SAID Va
rlut then said vIgrInt shall be taken by the ON
Ger upon the order OF justice 10 rue poo' OF WORK
hod>c % there he any such ga saIu county "' cO'PO-
.f.n ana i delivered % the OverSeer or superiu-
,u,.pt who shall work said vagr0nt for the benefit
,r said county or corporation OF Il authorized 10y
the iu,t.re % work him confined with ball aud
ruau tor the period for which lie would have had 10
~.rve his late employer had he consented 10 receive
MIN lgdil. or should there be, when sad runaway
VACANT is sPpcheuded, any public work go
mr. ON in said county or corporation, then SAID
warrant, upon the order OF a justice, shall be
delivered over bv said officer 10 the superintendent
Us such public work, who shall, for the last-men-
tunri period work said vasrant on said public
WORKS. confined with ball and chain, il 50 author
lied by the justice. But il there be no poor or work
house in said county or corporation, and no public
work then progress therein, then, IN thar event said
Justice may cau~, said vugrant to he delivered 10
ANY person who will take charge of him, said per-
-rl have his services free OF charge except MAIN
tnIIuse. Tor like aforementioned period, and said
person 80 receiving said yJ"rant is hereby empow-
.:cJ 10 authorized by the Justice TO work said va
-riut confined with ball aud chain: or should no
-.cG person he found, then said vIgrant Is to he
committed 10 the county Jail there To be confined
,ur the Ike period and fed on bread and water.
>. The following described persons shall he liable
o. the pcnJitcs imposed by law upon Migrants:
First an persons who shall unlawIully return into
any county or corporation whence they have been
i-rsiiy removed
second All persons who not having whcrewlh
O. maintain themselves aud their families, live idly
aII without employment, and refuse to work for the
.,.lIl and common wages given TO other laborcTS IN
the Ike work in the place where they then are.
Third. An persons who shall refuse to perform
the work which shall De allotted 10 them 10y the over
@ccrS of the poor as aforesaid.
Fourth. All persons going about Itom door to
lp.r, or placing themselves IN streets highways M
,.uer roads tp beg aims aul all other persons wan
Jyriug abroad aud begging.
Filth. All persons who shall come from any place
without tins Commonwealth 10 any place within it,
tld shall be found lotcriag aud residing therein,
anil shall follow no labor trade, occupation or bu-
,uy>S aud have visible means OF subsistence, and
.su give no reasonable account of themselves or
deer business IN such place.
3. All costs ana expenses incurred shall be paid
ont Of the hire OF such vagrant il sufficient, and It
Not sufficient the deficiency shall be paid by the
county or corporation.
:. This act shall be in force from Its passage.
This bin which when the evils it was intended to
prevent are considered is chiefly noticeable for the
lildpcss OF its provisions, makes no discrimination
between whites aud blacks. 1t comes fully up to the
y.qujrcmeut even OF the Radicals, in drawing no
distinction between the races, and making the negro
rhr white mans equal before the law" That it is
no cuunin2ly devised net for the freedmen is shown
by the fact that it is taken substantially from a law
passed 10y the Virginia Legislature in 1850 (Nhen
there were no iyecImcnj with an addition from tie
rtgr4ut act of Pennsylvania, where friends ofthe
freedmen" much abound. With this explanation
we give, without remark, flor under the same
y1u-iniut % speech that the Legislature is as to
4,,cuI the following order of General Terry
tIE,DQU ,ErERs DEPARTMENT OF yECtNGN(
lJcHNoNn, VA, January 81 1850.
General Or{rrS No. :.
Eva statute law passed ut the present session of
the Legislature OF Virginia, entitled '' \ B,ll pro-
dang tor the punishment OF Migrants II is ell
Acted among other things that any Justice OF the
Peace. upon the complaint Of amy one OF certain
oil er- therein named, may issue his warrant for the
apprehension of ANY person ALE -cd 10 be a grant,
and cause such person to Dc apprehcuJed and
b.pught before h.m, and that II upon due cNamiua-
son. said Justice OF the Peace shall find that such
pc>Ou - vdgrJut WITHIN the druu.t on OF vagrLnry
.uu,I lcd iu SAID statute. he shall issue his warrant
d.lc-Uug such person % be employed 10. term not
exceeding thIr, months and by any Constable Of
Tie county wherein the proceedings had, BE- hired
uvt tor the best wages which can be procured; his
wages % be applied 10 the support OF himself and
b., ,Jmlly.
Tac sad statute further provides that in case any
vrgrJut hired shall, dUt.Eg ms term OF service,
ryl away uum las employer without sufficient
cause. he shalt be apprehcndcl on the warrant OF
Justice OF the Peace and returned To the custody OF
employer. UhO shall then have, free OF any fur
t.cr Grr, line services Ot said grant for month
.i addition % the original term OF hiring and that
3D., empower shall then have power, ii authorized 10y
Justice ct the Peace, 10 work such yagtant with
bail and ch5.u.
rhr sand statute specifies the pclsoas who shall h,
r.p, d'rvl Migrants aui he Liable % the penalties
agn-cl by %. Among those declared Ia he VI
cant, are -All persons who, not having the where
q, To sJppo tLclr families 1--we idly aud without
employment Glt ~, fuA5 o. ir1rt for The UNUgt Ggi
common rGscY green tJ Otler iGjOsCrS iH the Inc
.-E 900 nc pIfr' rhcrc Meyta cIe.
la many counties OF this State. meetings of cm-
p.,vcr~ huvc been held, and unjust and wrongful
combinations have been entered into Tor the purpose
90. depressing the wages of the freedmen below the
scll value oi their labor, far below the prices for
merry paid 20 masters Tor labor performed 10y their
slaves.
l;yreason of these combinations wages utterly in
adequate 90 the support of themselves and their
families have IN many places, become the usual AMI
common wages OF the freedmen.
The effect Dt he statute IN question will be there
fore. "a compel the freedmen, under penalty OF pun
-uweut as criminals, 10 accept and labor for the
wages established by these combinations of en-
p.otcr-. 70 places them wholly Ia the pOwerof their
employers. aGl 70 Is easy 70 iOrcSce that even where
uu such comb .uIt,Gu> now exist, the temptation u
form them. offered by the statute, will be- too strong
t' Doe resisted, and tina; such inadequate wages viii
""ome the common Gg8 usual wages throughout the
>..tc.
rhe ultimate effect oF the statute will he to reduce
;.r freedmen to a condition of scrvitudc worse than
chat NOm which they have been emaucipatcd-a
condition which Will Doe slavery in all but It's name.
IA il, THEREFORE, ORDERED THAT NJ
N lGl>TENrE CIVIL OFFICER. OR OTHER
PERSON. SHALL. IN ANY WAY OR MANNER
NrpLN. OR ATTEMPT To APPLY THE PRO
VISIONS or SAID STATUTE TO ANY COLOBED
PERSON IN THIS DEPARTMENT
rs command of Maior-Gencral TERRY.
ED. ". SMITH.
Assistant Adiutant- General.
HATS, CAPS, &c.
TOHN DOOLEY, N