The Highland weekly news. [volume] (Hillsborough [Hillsboro], Highland County, Ohio) 1853-1886, 1866-03-01


every county and parish will create an
immense patronage, and the expense
Of the numerous officers and their
clerks, to be appointed by the Presi-
dent, will be great in the beginning,
with tendency steadily TO increase.
The appropriations asked by. the
Freedmen's Bureau, as now establish
ed, for the year 1866, amount to tll,-
$4,000. 1t may be safely estimated
that the cost to be incurred under the
pending bill will require double that
amount, or more than the entire sum
expended in any one year under the
administration of the second Adams.
If. the presence Of agents In every
parish and county Is to be considered
MS war measure, opposition or even
resistance might be provoked, so that
to give effect to their Jurisdiction, troops
would have to be stationed within
reach Of every one of them, and thus
a large standing force be rendered nee
essary. Large appropriations would,
therefore, be required to snstain and
enforce military jurisdiction in every
county end parish from the Potomac
to the Rio Grande. The condition Of
our fiscal affairs is encouraging, but in
order to sustain the present measure Of
public confidence, it is necessary we
practice not merely customary econo-
my, but as far us possible severe re-
/ ttrenchment.
In addition to the objections already
stated, the fifth section OF the bill pro-
poses to take away land from It's FORM
er owners, without any legal proceed
ings being first had, contrary to that
provision of the Constitution, which
declares that no persons shall be de-
prived of life, liberty or property,
without due process OF law. 1t does
not appear that lands to which this
section refers, may not be owned by
minors, or persons of unsOund mind,
or by those who have been faithful to
all their obligations as citizens of the
United States. If any portion of the
land is held by such persons, it is not
competent for any authority to deprive
them of it. If, on the other hand, it
be found that the property is liable to
coniscation, even then, it cannot be
appropriated to public purposes, until,
by due process OF law, ii shall have
been declared forfeited by the Govern
ment.
There are still further objections TO
the bill, on grounds seriously affecting
the class Of persons to whom it is de-
Signed to bring relief. 1t will tend to
keep the mind of the freedman in a
state Of uncertain expectation and
restlessness, while to those among
whom he lives, it will be a source of
constant and vague apprehension. In
doubtedly the freedmep should be pro-
tected, but they should be protected by
the civil authorities, especially by the
exercise of all the Constitutional pow
ers Of the courts Of the United States
and Of the States. His condition Is
not so exposed as may at first be i'm
agined. He is in portion of the
country where his labor cannot well
be spared. Competition for his SER
vices from planters, from those who
are constructing or repairing railroads,
or from capitalists in his vicinity, or
from other States, will enable him to
command almost his own terms. He
also possesses a perfect right to change
his place of abode, and if therefore he
does not find in one community or
State a mode of life suited to his de-
sires, or proper remuneration for his
services, he can move to another,
where labor is more esteemed and bet
ter rewarded. In truth, however,
each State, induced by its own wants
and interests, will do what is necessary
and proper to obtain within its borders
all the labor that is needed for the de-
velopment Of its resources. The laws
that regulate supply and demand will
maintain their force, and the wages of
the laborer will be r. gulatCd thereby.
! There is no danger that the great de-
mand for labor will not operate in IA
Xor of the laborer, neither Is sufficient
consideration given to the ability of
the freedmen to protect and take care
of themselves. 1t is no more than
Justice to them to believe, that as they
have received their freedom with mod
Grafton and forbearancc, SO they vii
distinguish themselves by their indus
try and they Will feel nilci soon show
the world that in condition of free
dom, they are self-sustaining and ca
pable of selecting their own. employ
mcnt and their own places of abode
of insisting for themselves on proper
remuneration, and Of establishing ant
: maintaining their own asyiuna' anC
schools. 1T is earnestly hoped that in
stead of wasting away, they will, b!
their own efforts, establish for them
: selvesa condition of respectability an,
prosperity. 1t is certain they can at
tain to that condition, only thIougl
[ their own merits and eXertiOns.
r In this connection the query Pre-
} sents itself whether the system pro
/ posed by the bill will not when put in
: toconirfete operation, practically trans
r fer the entire taTe, support and contro
. of four .eInmcipated slave
r to agents, overseers or taskmasters
l who, appointed at Washington, are t
t be4oeated in every county and paris
I throughout the United States, contain
| ing freedmen and refugees, Such
g system would inevitably tend to sue
/ a cohcentration of power in the ExecU
e. tive, which would enable It, II so dis
/ A. ,1.xA~,I thA oo4int,t &c n ~