resulted in an increase of strength; and until the bureau has entire and unquestioned control over the affairs intrusted to its charge, its work will necessarily be, to a certain extent, slow and imperfect. The allusions of certain of the acting assistant commissioners who have had this additional and unanticipated difficulty to contend with are quoted in support of the suggestions I have made respecting this matter.

Brevet Lieutenant Colonel G. A. Williams, major sixth United States infantry, acting assistant commissioner bureau district of Charleston, says:

"The system of working by contract for a share of the crop has, I regret to say, proved a failure in this district except on James island. This is owing to several causes the ignorance of the freedmen in regard to their obligations as citizens; the extremely unfavorable season; the influence of a large vagabond class, and the disposition manifested by many of the planters to take advantage of the ignorance and improvidence of the freedmen. Very few of the freedmen have the slightest confidence in their former masters, or, in fact, in any rebel. On James island the contract system for a share of the crop has worked well, owing to the crop having been planted at the right time, and the hands having been orderly and industrious. The crop is a fair one for the land planted, and the laborers will realize about three hundred dollars per hand for their year's work. * * In the majority of cases contracts have been more faithfully observed than was expected; and where difficulties have occurred, it has been rather from a misunderstanding of the terms of the contract than from a wish to avoid its obligations.

*

*

of

"The experience of the past season has shown that free labor can be made a perfect success in this district, the many difficulties to be encountered during the first year of such an experiment having been overcome, provided the gov ernment retain sufficient authority here to restrain the disposition on the part many whites to reduce the blacks to a condition as near that of slavery as pos sible. In a short time, as civilization and enlightenment extend into this State, the disposition may weaken and finally disappear; but at present, were the government to withdraw its protection from the freed people, their condition would be much worse than under the old system.

"The cotton crop is about three-eighths of a crop for the land planted; the rice crop is a fair one for the land planted, but the corn crop is an utter failure

*

"Owing to the failure of the corn crop there is much suffering, and should the government not authorize the issue of rations hundreds must perish from starvation. There is much suffering, too, from want of clothing, particularly for women and children, the bureau having no stores of this clothing. As the winter advances the applications for clothing and blankets increase, and I would recommend that if possible something be done to relieve this distress. Many of those belonging to the upper classes of society in this city are in actual daily want; the want of capital renders their lands worthless, and there is no sale for that description of property at present.

So judicious has been the administration of justice by the officers on duty in this district that applications are frequently made by whites that their dif ferences may be heard and adjudicated by the sub-assistant commissioners, they having more confidence in the military civic courts than in their own local magistrates.

*

"I have the honor to recommend that all parties be advised to contract in future for wages. The freedmen, in every case where this system has been pursued this year, have labored more faithfully and contentedly than where they have worked for a share of the crop. The system of task labor, too, must be gradually eradicated, and labor be controlled by the same laws that regulate it at the north, before any permanent advance can be secured.'

66

The increasing lawlessness on the part of the lower order of whites in sec

tions of this district remote and difficult of access from this city, shows that were the military power withdrawn the civil rights act' would be a dead letter."

Lieutenant John C. Chase, sub-assistant commissioner of bureau, district of Georgetown, speaks as follows of contracts and the free-labor system : In regard to contracts with the freedmen I find a great deal of discontent among the freedmen where they have agreed to work as laborers for a share of the crop. I am of the opinion that as money is the basis of free labor, it would be far better to employ the freedmen at a stipulated sum than for a part

of the crop. * * The free-labor system is gradually working itself into

favor, and some have even gone so far as to say that if the freedman will work they would prefer free to slave labor. In my opinion the negroes have behaved far better than could have been expected of them, having lately been thrust upon the world in a new condition. As far as my experience has gone they deserve great credit for their action so far."

Upon the subject of education Lieutenant Chase remarks that "the colored people are very anxious to educate themselves and their children, but cannot do so without assistance from the charitable institutions of the north or from the government; to these they look with longing eyes and anxious hearts.”

Lieutenant J. S. Powers, Veteran Reserve Corps, sub-assistant commissioner of bureau, district of Beaufort, in reporting the condition of affairs in his district, says: “Since I have assumed charge of the district my duties have been chiefly to approve contracts of labor between planters and freed people, and to see that they were complied with by both parties so far as it was possible to do so, and to issue rations to those who were destitute and unable to earn a support, and who had no one to care for them. My greatest difficulty, however, has been to settle disputes, difficulties, &c., arising between the planters, freed people, and others. My duties in this respect have been quite arduous, but, as a general thing, after fully investigating the matter, I have found little difficulty in settling them amicably between the parties. * "The condition of the freed people throughout my jurisdiction, with the exception of those who are destitute and unable to earn a support, owing to infirmities arising from old age and disease, and in cases of orphau children who are too young to work, their condition is truly bad since the government has stopped the issue of rations. The civil authorities have no means, I am informed, at present, by which they can provide for their wants."

*

*

*

*

Brevet Brigadier General George W. Gile, Veteran Reserve Corps, acting assistant commissioner of bureau, districts of Sumter, Darlington, Chesterfield, Marlborough, and Marion, makes the following statements:

"I am not convinced that the interests of the freedmen would be safe in the hands of civil officers were the scrutiny of an officer of the bureau withdrawn. The conclusion has been forced upon me by my own observation, and by the testimony to that effect by many of the most worthy citizens of the district.

"I have experienced much embarrassment in arranging the judicial affairs of my district on account of the independent action of the post commander, Captain Hawkins, in these matters, and his persistent denial of official information concerning such action, and I deem it proper to state that notwithstanding he was furnished with a copy of my instructions to turn over cases, when colored people were defendants, to the civil authority, he has continued to arrest and bring freedmen to trial and punishment up to the present time. To prevent this trouble in future, and that there may be an intelligent and united action on the part of the post commander and acting assistant commissioner at the post, whether of the bureau or in command of troops, they will be held responsible for the proper discharge of the duties devolving upon the two positions.

"The contracts for the season had all been concluded previous to my arrival,

and although upon terms calculated in most cases to discourage the freedmen, who usually are to receive one-third of the crop after the value of their year's subsistence has been deducted therefrom, they have generally been regarded by both contracting parties, and their conditions impartially enforced by the bureau. Notwithstanding the fact that many planters have failed entirely to make a crop, I think free labor must be pronounced a success in the district under my charge; the cases of failure being easily traceable to mismanagement on the part of the employer, lack of provisions, &c.

66

"The freedmen are much exercised about the homestead act, and are holding meetings in each district to devise ways and means of emigration; but without material aid from the government sufficient to carry them through the first year, at their proposed new homes, much suffering will be the result of their move, as the great majority of them will find themselves as destitute of means on the first of January, 1867, as they were at the commencement of 1866. Every effort has been made to explain to them the difficulties which they must meet and overcome in taking this step, and the necessity of saving as much as possible out of this year's crop, which at best will be very little, to assist them through the first year of their emigration.

"A very determined opposition to the establishment of schools has to be overcome at every new step in that direction, but by the persistent efforts of the superintendent of education and the freedmen themselves, much has been accomplished; the whites affect to fear the teachings of the northern people, and every gathering of freedmen, for whatever purpose, presided over, held under the advice of, or even attended by officers of the bureau, is regarded with the greatest jealousy and distrust-so much so that upon two occasions I have thought it necessary to call upon the post commander for a guard to protect such meetings from threatened violence.

*

*

*

"From my observations among these people, white and black, I deduce the following conclusions: That the judicial interests of the freed people will require the presence of an officer of the bureau in each district for some time to come. "That free labor, when properly managed and paid, is more productive than slave labor.

"That the freedmen will emigrate this fall in large numbers. "That they are very anxious that their children should be educated. "That schools established for that purpose will require, for some time to come, the protection and patronage of the government."

From the report of Colonel J. Duwell Greene, sixth United States infantry, acting assistant commissioner, District of Columbia, I extract the following: "To the present time the system of free labor has worked as harmoniously as could be expected under existing circumstances; both employers and employés seem disposed to adhere as closely as possible to the terms of their contracts. Upon examination of contracts on file in this office it is observed in many instances that freed people bound themselves to furnish themselves with subsistence during the year-a thing utterly impossible for them to do. This led to much annoyance, especially in the months of May, June, and July, when the little corn which had been saved from the preceding year by these people gave out. To obtain the necessaries of life they were forced to leave their growing crops and seek employment elsewhere, where ready money could be had for labor, thus giving evil-disposed employers an opportunity to take advantage of the clause in the contracts which dismisses laborers for absence without leave, forfeiting all claim to their share in the crop which they had been laboring to perfect for the last six months. The settlement of such cases is very perplexing.

*

*

*

*

*

"It is believed that cases may and will arise where freed people will fail to obtain redress (in civil courts) for wrongs inflicted upon them.

In parts of the district where officers of the bureau are stationed, advice can be

*

*

given them, but where there are no representatives of the bureau, freed people must necessarily suffer for want of an earnest friend to advise them and properly set forth their grievances. * Much destitution prevailed throughout the district during the year among both whites and blacks; in consequence of which the increase of the issue of government rations was actually necessary to prevent starvation.

*

*

*

*

*

Public sentiment in regard to schools differs in different localities. It is possible that the whites in some localities would aid them as much as they could in their present limited circumstances; in others schools might be tolerated, while in some places they could not exist without immediate military protection. Freed people of this district generally are anxious to have schools established among them, and will do all in their power to sustain them, which will be very little in their present impoverished condition. There are no government buildings, lands, or other property available for school purposes in this district."

Brevet Brigadier General Benjamin P. Runkle, Veteran Reserve Corps, acting assistant commissioner, bureau of district of Anderson, remarks that, "The system of assigning the military command to one officer and the duties of the bureau to another has created a double-headed system, and complicated business so much, that however harmonious the action of said officers might be, they could not succeed in securing the end aimed at, i. e., prompt action and justice between man and man."

Of the condition of affairs in his district he states as follows: "The condition

of the district is daily growing worse. Instead of receiving the order of the general commanding restoring civil law in a proper spirit, and uniting to restore law and order, and to secure justice, the people of Edgefield have seized the opportunity offered by the (supposed) entire removal of military restraint to exhibit a spirit of utter lawlessness, to show their hatred for the institutions established among them by the government, and to wreak their vengeance upon the freedmen, for no other reason than that the fate of war has made them free. Armed men roam through the country, shooting and assaulting the blacks, and no effort is made by the civil authorities to arrest them.

"Immediately upon the receipt of General Order No. 15, headquarters department of the Carolinas, I ordered my sub-assistant commissioners to turn over all cases to the civil authorities; to carefully instruct the freedmen how to lay complaints before the magistrates; to communicate with each of the magistrates in their respective districts, and co-operate actively with them to secure justice and restore order. All efforts so far have been in vain. Nothing has been done. I am informed that, in certain parts of Edgefield, it is impossible to serve a process for debt, to say nothing of arresting criminals. I have also been informed (verbally) by a civil magistrate that the less a constable or sheriff does, the more popular he is, and consequently few do anything. And further, that the magistrates are ignorant and incompetent men. From my personal intercourse with these people I am led to believe that an idea has taken possession of their minds that the country is on the verge of a revolution, and that no attempt will ever be made to enforce law and order. Without a doubt there is at this time an extensive organization throughout the country, yet I acknowledge it would be very difficult to prove such to be the case.

*

*

"I beg leave to renew my recommendation that these districts be taken in hand, and the evil-doers and their aiders and abettors taught that the United States is prompt to enforce the law, and powerful to protect the people whom they have declared free."

Brevet Major L. Walker, captain fifth United States cavalry, who a short time ago relieved Brevet Brigadier General Runkle as acting assistant commissioner for the district of Anderson, has also furnished a report of the affairs of that district, from which I extract the following relative to Edgefield: “During the year there have been six hundred and forty-six contracts approved in Edge

field, and Major Stone, sub-assistant commissioner, thinks that at least thirty per cent. of the employers have violated them, for which the major accounts in the following words: Antipathy to the colored race; a desire that the free-labor system, and its accompaniments of intelligence, thrift, and self-respect, shall prove a failure; a feeling that the stronger race has a natural right to oppress the weaker, to take advantage of their ignorance and keep them in moral, if not in physical, subjection; and a determination on the part of many of the whites to revenge themselves on the blacks for what loss they may have sustained by the war, and for the oppression they deem themselves to have suffered from the authorities of the United States." He also gives the following as the reason for the breach of agrement by the freedmen: "I attribute any breach of contract by the freedmen to their ignorance of the obligation of a written document, or the knowledge that he has been deceived in some particular points by his em ployer." I also give herewith the words of Major Stone in regard to the pros pects of the civil authorities doing justice towards the freed people. He says: "Magistrates may, and undoubtedly will, be willing to issue warrants against freed people, and perhaps against whites on the application of blacks, but I believe they will be powerless to have them executed, especially if the accused are notorious rogues and bushwhackers. The law cannot be impartially executed in districts where the universal sentiment is against the freed people, and in favor of the criminal, no matter how stringent its measures may be. Until the majority of the people are ready to do justice themselves, it will be vain to expect that they will exact justice from their neighbors, either in their public or private relations. Again, so long as employers will allow such crimes to be committed with impunity on their own plantations as have been repeatedly committed in this district, so long will the freed people fail to get justice from the civil authorities." In all of which I fully agree with him.

Major Walker, speaking generally of the district of which he has charge, says: "As a general thing, where the freedmen have been left to work in peace, they have done very well, and have been promised a just recompense for their labor; but the fact of such a bad season will prevent both employer and employed from having their anticipations fulfilled, and no doubt some of them will suffer during the coming winter. From all I can learn, and from what I have seen of this district, I should say that instead of improving in morality, it is fast digressing from the way of all good. This district is literally swarming with men gifted with every evil passion, and every crime in the calendar is committed with impunity. Although I have made every exertion which lay in my power, as military commander, to have these men arrested and brought to justice, I am sorry to say that I have not met with the success my exertions warranted, for which failure I can only account by the following reasons: No matter how secretly troops are sent, or how much caution or attention is used to make arrests, somehow the criminals escape and elude detection, from information which they must receive from the white citizens of the district; and the freed people are so frightened that they dare not tell, even if they knew, the haunts of these men; for if they did, the moment the troops were withdrawn they would be beaten, or, probably, killed. The very fact that these men are supported, protected, and sheltered from the arm of justice by the resi dents of the district shows plainly that public sentiment is radically at fault. During this state of things the general government, through its military power, is alone looked to by the freed people for relief. They cannot have confidence in the citizens when they know that they protect and sympathize with murderers and robbers. To remove at present the military force would deprive them of every protection, and expose them to every outrage the miscreants of this district could in their hatred and malice devise."

From the report of Brevet Major J. W. De Forrest, Veteran Reserve Corps, acting assistant commissioner of bureau, district of Greenville, I extract the follow