New Orleans Republican. [volume] (New Orleans, La) 1867-1878, 1876-04-23
BY TELEGRAPH.

BY TELEGRAPH .
CONGRESS.
House,
WARRINGTON, April 22.-Mr. Falkner, Of
the Committee on Foreign Affairs, reported
bill in regard to citizenship, and to define
certain rights Of United States citisens In
foreign countries. After short debate 1t
was postponed until Wednesday.
The House then took up the bill reported
BY Nj. Douglass, Of Virginia, chairman Of
the Committee on the Freedmen's Bank, to
amend the charter of that institution. Mr..
Douglass said he did not care to address
the House now, but would yield the floor to
his colleague, Mr.. Bradford, of Alabama,
who desired to offer some amendments to
the bill.
Mr.. Bradford offered substitute for the
first three sections. The substitute re-
quires the Secretary Of the Treasury to ap-
point q good and competent man to take
charge Of the winding up Of the affairs of
supervision of the commissioner. It differs
from the bill of the committee in this re-
spect: That the latter only provides for
single commissioner in case Of the death or
resignation of each of the present commits.
siouers.
Mr.. Bradford then addressed the House
insisting that action on the subject was
due to the sixty odd thousand dep0sit0rs of
the Freedman's Bank who were principally
colored people living in the Southern States.
That it was q duty which Congress ought
not longer to shirk, particularly in view of
the fact that Congress was to some degree
responsible for the loss Of the depositors.
He traced the downfall Of the hank to the
amendment for its charter, which permitted
the bank to make loans ON real estate secu-
tity instead of a. before on United
States bonds. He argued against the views
of the majority of the committee who hold
that the present commissioners can not be
c'1sis sSs oss as sf could hs2: a9:
was q property. They had NO benefcent
interest whatsoever in the property or
rights of the original corporators. He pre-
posed to relieve them Of their Office and
have one man appointed upon whom the
colored people could rely with greater 60
curity. He declared that for the year and
q half that these three commissioners have
been in existence they have expended
$l50, 900 and had only declared dividend
of twenty per cent. Two of them per.
formed no duty whatever and paid out
of their salaries $500 each to the third
commissioner, Mr.. Leopold, who discharged
all the duties of the three. He asserted
that no such stupendous fraud a. the Freed
mems Bank had ever existed under the
protection of the government, and 1t
seemed wonderful to him that such fraud
could have existed in Washington unohal-
lenged by the authorities, and especially
those who had taken the colored men
under their special provision and care.
uo <oA "A Goat
of AnsOn NJ. Sperry, the bank examiner,
and other witnesses, as to frauds and irreg-
ularities in the management of the bank.
Some of the testimony was in elucidation
of transaction by which tho bank lost
near 81, ,OO0, 900 with the famous Seneca Stone
Company, which he characterised - bo-
gus institution, in which several distin-
guished gentlemen, commencing with the
President and ending with Caleb Cushing,
testimony of . c0l0red physician of Wash
ington (Dr. Purvis), one of the trustees OF
the bank, to the effect that tho cashiers at
almost all the branches were scoundrels
and thieves, and made no bones of it; and
that almost all of them were ministers with
large Sunday schools. He declared that the
administration of the Freedman's Bank had
been on parallel with the administration
of the Southern States ever since the So
O2llGU TCudUj1lt8CVtu O1 GUOS0 OU0V00s IA Ills
own State the District and Circuit Courts
of the United States had tyrannized over
the people without regard to their rights Of
person or Of property, and yet the people
of Alabama would abide by the adjustment
of 1866, whereby q new civilization was i'm
posed upon them. 1t was slanderOus to
charge the people of the South with any
idea Of impairing the obligation Of the ma
tional debt, or of disregsrding the claims
of the MANNED soldiers. The people of the
South were no longer Confederate citizens.
The Confederacy was dead long ago and
nobody thought any longer about it except
as an unfortunate incident in history.
He denied that the people of the
South expected to be paid for
any of the losses sustained by them
during the war, and although Q few
such claims had been presented, there
would be no concerted attempt to press
those claims for spoliation, and no such
claim would be ever supported by the Dem
pealed to members Of the House to do JUS.
tice to the South, and no longer to believe
that people to be outlaws OF hypocrites.
Let them have a good government and
wholesome administration Of justice, and
they would be as true friends to the colored
people as could be found on this con.
linent. He did not believe that there was
any purpose on the part of any consider
able portion of the Republican party to
perpetuate the rule that had existed in the
south since 1868. 1t would be q calamity
10 the whole country, and especially to the |
south, if another administration of the
'ame sort were to control the government
ior four years to come.
Mr.. Stephenson, of Illinois, introduced
bill to abolish the board of health of the |
District of Columbia.
The Committee on indian Affairs agreed
% recommend an appropriation of $50, 600 |
or Arizona Indians Immediately.
The Indian agent, Hastings, at the Red
Cloud agency, reports all Indians coming
n. Hsstings learns from half breed scout |
vho was with the Crook expedition against |
he hostile camp. that it was q complete
allure, with the exception of killing an old
qusw and two children.