Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1867-08-24

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All communications of personal character will e 2ha
eo for At advertisement rates
All ,tions must be accompanied by the Elhc7 Ui
the authors aud rejected communications c"not tie ret'ns
CoLoRED PAUPERs IN THE CITIES. I'VE e
understand that James Hayes esq, President
of the Overseers of the Poor Tor the Corpora
ton, received communication from Lieut..
Sears, u. S. A., early this week, advising him
of the recent order of Gen. Scholeld, for
turning over such Of the gent--without re-
card Ia race or color--as have hitherto been
supported by the Freedmens Bureau.
The Ovcrseers have had a meeting aud
adopted response most respectful IN character
bnt fully setting forth the impoverished condl-
tion Of the people of Fredericksburg and It's
vicinity, and their inability, as far as the re-
sources at their command are concerned, from
coluplyng will the letter Of the Order.
It is wholly unnecessary that we should reler
&c this inability in 4 newspaper paragraph. IL
is patent. Like the poor ruendlcaut covered
with rags, Standing at the corner mute, beng
interroeated by the we!l-of pa>ser by, with -
1T you want aims why don't you ask Tor
them ?''2 "Ah," said he in reply, '.an,t, 1t
every rag on my back, that's pleading - :,
Equally eloquent are our still disnantled and
red ruins over the whole county and town; ;
the resources of town and county; people
scarcely able to make both ends meet after
rigid, if not parsimonious, economy. We stand
not at the corner asking aims, hut We, ask at
the hands of those having the power OF inlet
ing still further afHiction, to forbear.
The Freedmen Bureau has, no doubt, many
objects OF true charity under their care.but
they 10 not belong to Fredericksburg The
State laws require each county to support
its own poor. 1t is not just then that the
scores gathered together in the Hospital here,
from the outside world should be emptled
upon us, and this community forced to support
them at the expense of denial to their own
household! .
BUT it is not upon the score Of justice that
ne chiefly demur just now. There is inability
in the Corporation to do so. The interest on
our debt of over 5000 900, is not paid, although
mainly held by our citizens, simpl ly because OF
inability. Our taxes are put at the lowest rate
for indispensables, and yet even these taxes
cannot be collected.
In 1866, last year, there was levied on real
estate tax Of $7,99l ,l9, of which only $5,557,
96 was collected. Of this tax there was asses
sed on real estate held by the colored class,
tax of s29, is, and they were also assessed with
capitation and personal property tax OF $%42,
40 The colored people number very nearly,
or quite, two-ftths OF this community. and yet
the tax collected from them on the above,
amounted to ouy forty dollars A tax OF $40
collected from two-ffth3 of our resident popu
lation
We lorbear comment, and hope that Gen.
Schofeld will consider we'll before requiring at
ouf hands work to which the benctcent
Lealt Of Fredericksburg would otherwise re-
spond - Fredericksburg Herald.
AN EXPLANATION NEEDED -Ony ten thou
sand dollars have been given To the National
Theological Institute, (Baptisl) while twenty
FIVE thousand dollars have been given to How
ard University, Congregational colored school
of Washington, by the Commissioner of the
Freedmen's Bureau, out OF the large fund of
over one hundred thousand dollars, this money
being the unclaimed bounty and back pay OF
deceased colored soldiers from Virginia snd
North Carolina
Now, a very large proportion Of the colored
people OF those States are Baptsts, while such
person as a coorel Congregationalist can
hardly be found from the banks OF the Poto-
mac to the Rio Grande. Why not distribute
this money in proportion to the strength OF 4
denomination among the colored people, and III
the institute stands first In The country lap
tia Herahl
1t will be difficult for Gen. Howard to afford
any satisfactory ex pabatlou Of this transaction.
The fund alluded to was one intended to pay
boulties, &C. to colured soldiers. All OF 1t
may yet be claimed, and the Government will
have to satisfy these claims Had the chief Of
the Ereedmen's Bureau technically any right
whatever to use any portion of this fund tor
these purposes? Not only the Baptsts, but
the Methodists and the Catholics and the Ep!s
cOpaians had surely as much right to share
ct its benefits as the Congregatlonalists, OF
which denomination there cannot be touadone
10 hundred among the emanclpated negroes
Of the South.-Ndt Int.
1t is proper to add here that the friends OF
General Howard deny that any partiahty has
been shown by him, and defend his course
against these complaints ......
CHANGES IN HARBoRs AT the session OF
tue National Academy Of Sciences at Hartford
on Friday, Professor Pierce, now Superinten-
dent OF the Coast Survey, made some Interest
Ing observations on the changes which are
taking place along our coast and in some of
our harbors We take the following extract
from the report Of bis speech:
Referring to the harbors of New York and
Boston, Professor Pierce said they were being
destroyed. By filling them up or lessening
their area in any way, the foundation tor their
ultimate destruction was laid. The United
States Coast Survey had watched with much
anxiety the violations of nature which had
been made by commercial speculation in chang,
ing the bottoms and coasts Of the harbors OF
The country. The fact was, that very slight
change might utterly ruin The best harbors
which the nation owned. In conclusion, Pro
lessor Pierce said that geoogists seemed to
dllfer In opinion as to whether the continent
was rising or falling Some entertained one
belief. and others emhraced the onnns; 70 theo-