STATKS 



Mr. Trumbull, of Illinois, in n ply, said that it 

 :ot intended to make tlio bureau a per- 

 manent institution, luit to aid and protect those 

 help! until they could take care of 



tliLMii-i'lvi-i. 'I'lio bureau was a part of tlio mil- 

 itary establishment not only during the con- 

 'ut until peace could bo firmly establish- 

 ed. The authority of the bureau was designed 

 to bo rK'.'ivi-vd under tho war powers of the 

 :-:imcnt. It was proposed to extend tlio 

 bureau beyond tho insurrectionary States in 

 order to protect the freednien in tho other 

 States. He further said : 



' My object in bringing forward these bills 

 \\ -as t.i bring to the attention of Congress some- 

 thing that was practical, something upon which 

 I hoped we all could agree. I have said nothing 

 iu these bills which are pending, and which 

 have been recommended by the Committee on 

 the Judiciary and I speak of both of them 

 because they have both been alluded to in this 

 discussion about the political rights of the ne- 

 gro. On that subject it is known that there are 

 differences of opinion, but I trust there are no 

 differences of opinion among the friends of the 

 constitutional amendment, among those who 

 are for real freedom to the black man, as to his 

 being entitled to equality in civil rights. If that 

 is not going as far as some gentlemen would 

 desire, I say to them it is a step in the right 

 direction. Let us go that far, and going that 

 far, we have the cooperation of the executive 

 department." 



Mr. Cowao, of Pennsylvania, followed, say- 

 ing: "I have not had an opportunity to ex- 

 amine the bill exactly in all its details. If it 

 was only to operate for the relief of the refu- 

 gees, of course I suppose there could be no valid 

 objection to it ; but the operation of the original 

 bill and this supplement is much wider, and 

 really intends to introduce an imperium in im~ 

 perio. It carries with it not only the power to 

 relieve the refugee, but also a police power 

 which in my State would bo exceedingly objec- 

 tionable; and that the mere fact should bo 

 recognized for one instant that it was to operate 

 there, or might by any possibility operate there, 

 would be exceedingly mischievous, and I am 

 unwilling upon this floor, and feel it utterly in- 

 consistent with my duty to my State, to allow 

 any such thing to pass here. Where the neces- 

 sity for this institution exists, let it bo confined 

 there, but let it not be extended beyond. If 

 there are any portions of the States which have 

 not been in rebellion where this jurisdiction is 

 necessary, they should bo accurately defined, 

 because this is an extraordinary jurisdiction, 

 and one which trenches upon those peculiar 

 and acknowledged State rights which are esti- 

 mated very highly by all of us everywhere one 

 which ought not to be extended beyond the 

 limits of that necessity which begets its exist- 

 ence." 



Mr. Guthrie, of Kentucky, said: "Mr. Presi- 

 dent, I should like to know the peculiar reasons 

 why this bill is to bo extended to the State of 



Kentucky. She has never been in rebellion. 

 Though she has been ovcmm by rebel armies, 

 and her ii< ]<N laid waste, she has always had 

 her full quota in the Union armies, and tho 

 blood of her sons has marked tho fields whereon 

 th.-y have fought. Kentucky does not want 

 and does not ask this relief. The freedmen in 

 Kentucky are a part of our population ; and 

 where tho old and lame and halt and blind and 

 infants require care and attention they obtain it 

 from the counties. Our whole organization for 

 the support of the poor, through the agencies 

 of tho magistrates in the several counties, is 

 complete." 



Mr. Saulsbury, of Delaware, opposed the 

 passage of tho bill, saying: u kow, sir, I wish 

 to show to the Senate and to the country what 

 are tho dangerous powers intrusted to this 

 Freedman's Bureau, and to those who shall 

 have the management of it. You will recol- 

 lect, Mr. President, that tho original bill pro- 

 vided for the appointment of one commissioner 

 with a salary of $3,000, with the privilege of 

 having under him clerks at a certain salary. 

 This bill provides that there may be districts 

 formed not exceeding twelve out of the whole 

 number of States in the Union, and that 'there 

 shall be an assistant commissioner for each dis- 

 trict with like salary.' That, as I stated the 

 other day, would amount to the sum of $36,000. 

 It provides, also, that these twelve districts 

 may bo subdivided by the President of the 

 United States so as to make the sub-districts 

 within the whole limits of the United States 

 one for each county or parish in the United 

 States. 



" The number of counties in the United States 

 is eighteen hundred and seventy-eight, I believe, 

 as corrected by my friend, tho Senator from 

 Kentucky, exclusive of the two new States re- 

 cently admitted. There being, then, that num- 

 ber of counties in the United States, and this 

 bill giving to the President of the United States 

 the power to appoint an agent for every one of 

 those counties at a salary of $1,600 each, there 

 would be an expenditure of $2,817,000. Then 

 there are seventy-two clerks of assistant com- 

 missioners which this bill provides for, at $1,200 

 each, and they would amount to $86,400. Then 

 thirty-seven hundred and fifty eight clerks of 

 agents (for the bill gives tho power to appoint 

 these assistant commissioners, these agents, and 

 clerks for them), would amount to $4,507,600, 

 making the cost under this bill to tho people of 

 the United States for officers alone $7,442,000. 



"What a magnificent bill this would bo for a 

 presidential election ! With all these agencies 

 appointed by the Executive of the United States 

 interested in his reelection, or in the success of 

 the candidate of tho party of which he might be 

 a member, what a powerful political engine it 

 would be to operate upon such an election ! 



" But, sir, this is not all the expense that will 

 be incurred by this bill. Another section re- 

 quires that there shall be three million^ acres of 

 land assigned in certain States in the South fr* 



