Litchfield enquirer., 1867-02-28
THE DEsTfTUTIoN IN THE SOUTH
FAMINE AT HOME.


| t - NEW 1ORk,, TflQay, Jan. 2S, 1S67 1 Reports of extreme destitution in a part of our country, led, three~eeks since, to &
 public meeting, at which a body of citizens were charged with the duty of ascertainine the facts in the case, and, if occasion shonId I be found, of devising and establishing an agency for the conveyance of relief to those in need, from all who, prompted solely by
 compassion for suffering fellow-men. might be disposed to make use of it. The Com. mission thus established has since been OF,
 ganized and diligently engaged in its du- ty It has secured specific and trustwor.
 thy information by telegraph and letter from correspondents who are known to it's
 members to be men of probity and sagaci- ty, and by the examination of witnesses who have recently come from the South.
 several of whom had made personal study
 of matters with regard to which the Com
 mission has been most concerned to be well
 advised. Consultations have also been had with the War Department and the Freed
 mems Bureau, and other measures taken to
 satisfy the Commission as to the occasion
 for the proposed undertaking and the best
 means of accomplishing it; and after ex-
 tended discussion and much earnest deIb-
 eration, the conclusions which are embod-
 jed below have been reached. -.: | FUst-That in that part of our country
 which lies between the ridges of the noun 1 tains and the navigable waters of the lar
 ger rivers flowing through the cotton-pro- ducing districts east of the Mississippi, an extraordinary drought prevailed last sum-
 mer, and that, owing to conditions result. ing from the late rebellion, much less ground than usual was planted while it's
 tlllage was extremely imperfect. These
 three circumstances, everywhere acting more or less together, account for the fact
 that in many neighborhoods less than one- quarter of the usual crops were harvested,
 and that, on an average, the production of food amounted to not more than one-half as much as was required for the sustenance
 of the inhabitants during the succeeding year. A state of famine has resulted which
 must increase in severity with every day that passes until June, when green corn of the new crop may be hoped to present a
 ute there are many thousands of women
 and children, chiefly of the most ignorant
 class, who have been deprived by the re-
 bellion of their natural protectors, and
 who would not now be living but for the
 charity of their little less unfortunate neighbors. There is no room for doubt that many must die for want of food, un-
 less it is brought into the region afflicted from without; and the general poverty of the inhabitants is such that no considera- ble commercial demand can be expected. Large planters have never occupied this region, and there was, even before the re- bellion. but little accumulated property in it. ... -. t#.i5t .-r .a .-...
 Second Owing to similar causes, in the for of %ho destitution, thongh less general, is also great and appalling. The planters are in many cases organizing measures to miti- gate its severity, and the Freedmen's Blu reau is doing much among those who are properly deemed to be, for the time being, under the special guardianship of the Na- tiona1 Government; but there Is no pros ! pect that, with all that will be thus done, there will not remain many thousands un- provided for.
 1hird-What is wanted. is merely the barest means of sustenance for human be-
 ings, and the form in which this can be supplied most cheaply, and the least liabil- ity to waste or misuse, is that of Indian corn. The Commission, therefore propose to devote the funds with which they may be entrusted by their fellow-citizens, to the
 purchase, transportation and distribution
 of this article. The Commission has al- ready shipped twenty thousand bushels of corn, and the whole cost of 1t delivered,
 transportation free, at different points i'll the destitute region, has been, on an ave- rage less than eighty cents bushel Each bushel may be expected to maintain a fam fly in extremity for week. ,.. Fomzh-The Commission believes that the advantages it possesses for the eco- nomical purchase and transportation of corn, chiefly owing to the special and gra- tuitous instrumentalities placed at its dis posal, are such that the most valuable form of contributions will be that of money.
 Contributions in the form of corn or other breadstuffs, bacon and other cured meats and fish, will be received by the Commission, and promptly sent forward. Sirth-Contributio of suitable wearing apparel for working women and girls will also, for the present, be received and care fully distributed
 | Seuenth-Delicacies and nice things are not wanted, and will only be received by the Commission to be sold for the benefit of the general fund. It is merely famine
 and utter destitution which is at this mo- ment before us, and the simplest and most unquestionable means of sustaining the life of men, women and children, in fam ishing condition, are alone called for as Eighth--The emergency is too imminent
 to admit of the organization of well-ftted machinery of cooperation comprehending 1 all that part of the nation which is blessed
 with plenty, and the Commission, being advised that organizations having the same purpose with its own are already organized,
 or are contemplated in the principal cities of the West, recommend that agencies thus
 established be made use of by that portion of the public which is ill most direct com
 munication with them. Should similar
 agencies be established at any other of the
 Atlantic ports at an early day, the same
 advice would apply, and the Commission
 suggest that Committee of Conference
 from all the organizations which deal di-
 rectly with the South, shall meet for the purpose of concerting arrangements to se- cure fair division of all contributions
 among the different parts of the region af-
 ficted '--5 ~ t,. | NinM.-The duty of giving bread to
 those who lack it, in this instance, is pre- l eminently Christian duty for us of the l North, and the Commission would respect
 fully suggest to ministers and church off
 cers that they seek to'inpress 1t upon then l congregations with earnestness and zeal. 1 Tenth-A large proportion of those who