The Nashville daily union. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1862-1866, 1866-02-04
The Freedmen's Bureau.

y
n insult 10 the intelligence of the peOpl
> When the Freedmens Bureau vi
] created last year, it was advocated As
y war measure part Of the war policy
: as necessary during the war, and
n ten States then in insurrection. No
> il Is enlarged 50 as To include sll th
! States where refugees and freedmen
q may be found in other words all ia
: States Of the Mon, and il is to endur
, until otherwise provided by law"
;. IS now a measure OF peace, q gian
scheme for making and paying officer.
! for buying and giving away lands, 70
erecting schools and asyluns, and 70
, usurping the functions Of civil Law
whenever a military 0fiieeF Of the Bu
!, reau may think there IS need TO inter
! fere in the case Of freedman.
The bill provides for the division o
the States into twelve districts, each Z
consist of one or more States. There i.
to be q Chief Commissioner for the Bu
reau, and an Assistant Commissioner
for each district These districts are
to be sub-divided into sub-districts, not
to exceed the number Of counties or
parishes in each State. To each sub
district there is to be an agent These
agents, if officers or enlisted men, are
to receive no additional pay; if citizens,
their compensation is to be 81 500 a
year Each Assistant Commissioner is
entitled to six clerks, and each agent
to two. What number of clerks there
are to be in the head office is not stated
Suppose so Then the personnel Of
this Bureau viii foot up somewhere as
follows / Head Commissioner, with 50
clerks; y Assistants, with y clerks an
agent for each county, say l,600 with
two clerks each, say 8 POO A total of
about 5000 employees in the gift of the
| President and the nomination of the
members of Congress who vote for the
| bill There will be a commissioner to
look after the one freedman or refu-
gee on the Aroostook, as surely as
there will be such an officer on the
Santee. The cost of these officials will
be something Let US estimate il at
s., 100000 It is more likely to be
higher IL may be said that many of
these officers Gin the list of county
agents. will be already drawing pay in
the army Some doubtless will But
look around and see what the chances
of an officer or soldier for office are,
when opposed by the hero who runs a
caucus, and estimate the gratitude of
hungry representative, with hench-
men to reward Room for the active
politicians, @ 6ls the gallant soldiers
The old story will repeat itself But
even if every employee was an old
soldier, this would be no reasod for the
passage Of the bill
The estimate by the Freedmens Bu-
reau Of its wants for the coming yesr
is SlI, ,745 000-a sum for the govern !
ance of 100000 contrabands, equal 10 |
the entire cost of our Government IN
der the administration of the younger !
Adams Why did not Senators stop
and reflect here VIII the people en-
dure a burden like this, piled up 20
feed an army of officials, aud calculated |
to do an indnity of evil to the whole |
country Beside, the estimate of the |
Bureau Is but p 1.-THE of the expense to |
be incurred under the magnificent /
scheme OF Mr. Trumbull, which has |
gone through the Senate. The new |
Bureau may spend hundreds of mil |
lions, and the bill gives unlimited pow |
er of expenditure to the Secretary of |
War in the issue of supplies. leak, |
like a cTevGsse, is made iH the Treasury. |
The phrase dependent on the Coy |
ernment for support pervades the |
whole bill like miasma, and for such /
freedmen and refugees there is /
spread table amply supplied with
food; there is opened a warehouse
stored with clothing, while schools aud
asylums take up the American citizen
of African descent, already fit for free
dom and suffrage and put him through 1
the curriculum of the alphabet, the
three Rs, the humanities, and the use
of the globes, or foster and coddle him /
in the most approved eleemOsynary |
manner Why IS not the white man
also made q man and q brother2'
Certainly, if the schemes of the Freed 4
mems Bureau are to be carried out the /
relief and the education should come /
from the States concerned and not from
the Federal Government Far better
and more rational would be the aid of
voluntary associations. The War De-
partment has no more call TO feed or
instruct q negro in the Everglades than
it has in the Five Points, and if the col
ored man ever expects to be anything
more than a ward or a wait, he would
do well to resent the Interference.
We do not wish to be misunderstood
We advocate a1 rights for all and de
msnd entire equality before the law
for the black man and entire abroga-
ton of all laws based on race, caste or
color For this reason we repudiate
and oppose this special legislation for
the negro, ss we would repudiate and
oppose special legislation for any color
or race, and we ask only for a common
sense view Of the relations Of the freed
negro to the Government and to his
own destiny, and that this overshadow.
ing despotism of the Freedmens Bu-
reau shall not be built up to override
the laws of the States and to be used
as gigantic machine Of plunder, or as
a means Of forcing upon communities
the peculiar ideas entertained by IA
natical Legislators Let the negro work
out his own salvation precisely as the
white man does, and let the Govern
ment be satisfied with its legitimate
without despising the Con
stitution under which it exists.
The clauses Of this bill which relate
to the jurisdiction Of Bureau officials
and their Intervention in the laws of
the courts of States arc most danger
Gus innovations, and possible only to
be sustained by men who have lost all
clear perceptions Of the relation Of the
States and the Federal Government,
and who are preparing the way for
aud Capitalization utterly
foreign to the fundamental principles
on which this nation is established |
The same may Re said of the clauses
which extend military protection and
over the Bureau officers,
and close state tribunals against cog.
nizance Of whatever acts they may com
nit
Have these four years Of war so
our institutions that old snd
familiar forms and processes are Of no
avail Five years ago no one would
hsve been 50 sudacious ss TO hint at
legislation which Is now dictated by
caucus and hurried through Congress
under aeallfor the previous question"
and which is warmly advocated BY
legislators who pirate most loudly Of
their devotion to To1u'ar Hghts The
war was Esged 70 enforce obedience to |
The laws in defence Of certain princi,
pies already familiar to the people, and
70 give full force TO the Constitution.
It's results are sad indeed II the NUM-
nents Of our rights are to be surreu-
lered, and II crazy legislation is to
AXE the place Of calm aud temperate
Constitutional methoda-N J. C5m.
A8a
Lieutenant General Grant has do
mated 5000 toward the erection Of the