Daily union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1865-1866, 1866-01-20

ARMY Of invasion made progress, the people
in the rear would turn The negroes again to-
slaves at the point of the bayonet. Food
would be furnished 20 the foreign hosts as /,
fast as the greEnd wotld yield it. The
young men would flock TO arms. The peo-
pie in front would supply needfnl informa-
ton, and the Federal forces wonld again
find themselves, as In the past fur years
and more in the midst Of hostihs and re-
bellious population. 81
"A foreign war Is the dream OF the South.
Her people vainly hope and believe shat
with foreign army and navy At their backs
supplied with foreign funds, and with the
possibility &C further foreign complications.
success viii perch on the broken standard Df
the sunny cline, and that the dead Confed-.,
eracy Of the past would become living
reality Of the present This motive lieDst
the bottom of the persistent anxiety Of The
Southern people 10 vindicate she majestic OF
the Monroe doctrine. sesl rssi "a
"a TREATMENT OF FREEDMEN. sis.s
Hatred and cruelty are the, trie words
With which 10 characterize the treatment
which the mass of the people Of Georgia
mete out to their former slaves Said q
planter to me, while sitting beside him on
the ears "One-fourtlr OF the negro poptt-
lation Of this State have died since the first
OF last January, and another one-i6urth will
miserabiy perish this winter, from starva-
ton and exposure As he tcld me this he
rolled the information under his tongue a.
If il were a rich morsel He proceeded. with
relish that sickened me, TO describe the q
condition Of the freedmen. He pictured
them as idle, vicious lazy, improvident
without any appreciation Of the binding
efficacy Of contract, and cumberers of the
ground He explained how they hnd been a.
almost universally driven of the plantatisns
for worthlessHess, and Cor tkievine proper
sites how they would flock 20 the towns
how they lived frequently in arbofS made Of
bushes along the lines Of the railroads, trv-zs
ing 10 exc ont a scanty Subsistence BY sell4ii
ing pies and cakes; and how the wild fury d,
of winter would send death to eirs wide
swaths in their ranks. fsi sdl 81 8. ssi. 49, =
Doubtless, part Of his description vas true sl
10 the letter. Il isreasonable to suppoas that
a sace bowed to the dust under errel woke. \
scourged to labor BY hard administers. q.
plunged in ignorance BY oppressive laws,
defraudcd and prostituted for generations,
trained 10 dependence on Others, should,
when suddenly and almost mirxculoIisly set ia'
free, fail 20 exhibit those high traits Of en-
eryy, eterprise forethought, selfreliance and
straightfbrwardness displayed BY master 81
class educated to habits Of thought, and ae-
10 the ways Of the world. Il is not
right 30 expect too much Of them al first. u
By conversing with the freedmen personally,
learned TO appreciate their difficulties.
i asked negro man, who, with his am-
ily, was living in a wretehed, crazy tenemens
Ia hut that was hardly shelter 10 his head
why he had left the plantation, learning
that he was recent arrival from the cosln-
try. Said he, "0Ie master drove us off the z
plantation said he didn't want Us no more. d
He told us we was free, and he'd 20 work for
ourselves now, like de white ones"i "Why
didn't Won make contract with him TO
raise a erOpI" " He said All how he didn't
have no use for niggers to work for him.
What brought you 10 town ?" -, We'll,
we had 20 90 some whar, and 80 we
come here " How do you manage 10 livea'' .
g Well, gifts job some times, and Sally,
she washes for the de white folks But we,s
treated mighty bad. De secesh has got de
upper hand, and has everything der own
Fay.' But the people say the negroes are
inch thieves they are afraid 10 have them.
about" " | specks some niggere does steel.
fits mighty hard to git hungry, and FUR to
see plenty, and no way fur 10 git it.p .ari
There Is the whole In q nut-shelL Driven
from home and shelter, without land OF their
own to cultivate, without property on ~
sources, prosecuted and hated for their color,
and defrauded through their ign0ranee. the =
blacks drift to the first resting place that re-
norseless destiny seems TO poiIat cut. With
out food, they hunger; hungcring without
the means 10 purchase sIstenance, they steal
10 satisfy the pangs Of nature. Through
;ueh surroundings, the negroes are helped 10
he epsthets, lazy, thriffless, worthless, thiev-
ing and unseserving. Perhaps, through the
Of these wretched creatures, their .
former masters hope TO prove TO the North
hat slavery was a blessing, his abnormal
condition freedom, into which fanaticism has
driven them. iieainl. t s irf4
Revolving as the picture is, doubtless the
blacks are often in the wrong, often misap-
lrehend their daties, often steal without
,ause. But i is not true Of the mass. And
4 it were, wbO is respOnsibleg--wh de
PRAYED and dwaried their minds by genera
ions Of enforced ignorance, and defrauded
heir lives by compulsory, unpaid labori
Though so many are ruthiessly driven
lway from their old homes, yet, 70 the honor
Df human nature be it recorded, that all
masters are hot inhuman, but that, here and
here, one is TO be found who IS making Just
contracts with his former slaves for their
labor, and that, in the main, the late chatties
IRE willing 20 work when the compensation
i commensurate with the services 10 be rem
lered. NoSPAREII-