New Orleans Republican. [volume] (New Orleans, La) 1867-1878, 1871-04-11

~ go s lllssii1g Z - e Ns~
~ yss1lssat ~ - plsssurs II ; vi.
| IN pIansing = &C. q tAe Cali etetes. A
| Il was EXCESSIVELY i1terested ~ IN cotton
snd sugar bedbse - Va. hie Testimony 10
eardinS tie preseAt nede a labor IN that
part 6 De OQnnty b q gRaat value. He
oays that To neGrooe uoef adlnirAbly, cid
are N . progressive oenditien. n r1npoct Of
both wealth and intelligence. Their labor
i much more elective than IL was under
he System ct slavery. No overseers vas
good work as they now perform Of their
own acoord. This fact il demonstrated be.
yond dispute by the enormous cotton crop
ct last yoar-over four milliOns Of bales; and
everything looks most promising for great
crops the present season. The plan Of rent
ing lands to negroes has come extensively
INTO nee.
tom lands along the Mississippi river, the
Yax00 and the Nunfower. the owners of
plantations have rented them to the negroes
ct the rate Of twelve dollars an acre for the
year. Lands which thirty dollars an aero
would buy bring this amount Of rent. Sena-
tor Revels has plantation of HOO acres in
Jefferson county, of which 800 acres are
cleared; and all the cleared portion he has
rented ut ten dollars an acre. Cotton lands
in Louisia.s a.e rented at nine dollars. The
negroes who hire these lands pay generally
- much - ten per cent of the rent in cash
in advance. and give good New Orleans
aeceptancos f0r the balance, payable at the
end Of the year. These acceptances are
generally furnished to them BY Jewish
houses in New Orleans, which have
agents established with small stores
in every. part of the country. These
agents know the character and
means Of ~ the leading negroes in every
p6ls in New Orleans make themselves re-
spoDsible for the payment of the rent In.
consideration Of this, the men who hire the
plantations become bound to purchase all
their supplies ct the local stores kept by the
agents Of their city indOrsers. For these
supplies they pay. of course, an immense
profit, generally one hundred per cent.
When the season is over and the crop gath
cred IN, it il sent to the New Orleans houses
to sell, and after the proceeds are realized,
New Orleans house had last year consigned
to it SC, 900 bales Of cotton, the property Of
colored mer, for the payment Of whose
rent it had become responsible. BY this
sort of arrangement many negroes, who
before the war were slavee, now command
very extensive credit and are making
good deal Of money. One or two successful
years win enable them to buy the farms
they hire and to set out in life as sabstan-
tial landowners and capitalista.
The children of the negroes are universally
sent to school and taught to read and write,
their parents paying willingly for their in
structiOn. As yet, however, the negroes
have not generally devoted much of their
earnings to improving their mode Of living.
They still inhabit suck wretched cabins e.
they lived in when they were slaves, and
pay as little attention to comfort and neat
ness in their houses and dress a. they did
before. What money they spend il ON
jewelry and SNOWY articles. The first thing
negro buys is q watch with shining gilt
chain, and the next . horse to ride to meet
ing. As general thing he prefers poor
horse to good one, because the loss is less
if the animal happens to die. Upon the
whole, however, there is q steady progress
among the celored population of the South.
They are working hard, saving money, and
educating their children. Moreover, as they
begin to have means OF Their own and are
required to pay taxes, they become sensi-
tive to the vilainy Of the csrpetbsg govern
ments, and disposed to revolt against the
corruption which lays such extraordinary
burdens upon the people.