PUBLIC DOCUMENTS. 



thousands, not to BUT million*, of tlio white race, 



toiung from day today for th'-tr 



:iu> support of indigent 



persons in tlie United State.*, wai n.-v<-r <-i>iuein- 

 .if tlm ('"tiMitution, nor can 

 'd reason be advanced why. as a permanent 

 !m. ':.!. it should he (bunded for one class or 

 people more than another. Pending the 

 war, many refugee*- ami t'ri-i-.liiu-ii rr,-rl\.-.| Mipport 

 in in, but it was never intended thut 

 'iniild tliencef'.irth be fed, clothed, educated, and 

 tin- 1,'nited States. The idea on which 

 ..re assisted to freedom was that, on be- 

 . tlif-y would be a self-sustaining popula- 

 legislation thut shall imply thut they are 

 not e\] : ! i" attain a self-sustaining condition 

 . tendency injurious alike to their charac- 

 ter and their pmv 



Tin- appointment of an agent for every county and 

 parish will create an immense patronage; and the 

 -e of the numerous officers and their clerks, to 

 bo appointed by the President, will be great in tho 

 beginning, with a tendency steadily to increase. 

 Tho appropriations asked by the Freedmen's Bureau, 

 as now established, for the year 1866, amount to 

 $11,745,000. It may be safely estimated that the 

 cost to be incurred under the pending bill will re- 

 quire double thut amount more than the entire sum 

 expended in any one year under the administration of 

 the second Adams. If the presence of agents in 

 every parish and county is to be considered as a war 

 measure, opposition, or even resistance, might be 

 provoked, so that, to give effect to their jurisdiction, 

 troops would have to be stationed within reach of 

 every one of them, and thus a large standing force 

 be rendered necessary. Large appropriations would 

 therefore be required to sustain and enforce military 

 jurisdiction in every county or parish, from the Fo- 

 tonr.ii: to the Hin Grande. 'The condition of our fis- 

 cal a (Fairs is encouraging; but in order to sustain 

 the present measure of public confidence, it is neces- 

 sary that we practise not merely customary econ- 

 omy, but, as far as possible, severe retrenchment. 



In addition to the objections already stated, tho 

 fifth section of the bill proposes to take away land 

 from its former owners without any legal proceed- 

 ings being first had, contrary to that provision of 

 the Constitution which declares that no person shall 

 " be deprived of life, liberty, or property without 

 due process of law." It dees not appe w that a part 

 <>f tlie lands to which this section reieis may not be 

 owned by minors, or persons of unsound mind, or by 

 those who have been faithful to all their obligations 

 ns citizens of the United States. If any portion of 

 the land is held by such persons, it is not competent 

 for anv authority to deprive them of it. If, on the 

 other hand, it be found that the property is liable to 

 confiscation, even then it cannot be appropriated to 

 public purposes until by dne process of law it shall 

 have been declared forfeited to the Government. 



There is still further objection to the bill on 

 grounds seriously affecting the class of persons to 

 whom it is designed to bring relief. It will tend to 

 keep the mind of the frcedman in a state of uncer- 

 tain expectation and restlessness, while to those 

 among whom he lives it will be a source of constant 

 and vague apprehension. 



Undoubtedly the freedman should be protected, 

 but he should be protected by the civil authorities, 

 especially by the exercise of all the constitutional 

 powers of the courts of the United States and of tho 

 Stales. His condition is not so exposed as may at 

 tirst lie imagined. He is in a portion of the country 

 uln-re his lubor cannot well bo spared. Competiti.iu 

 for his services from planters, from those who are 

 I'onstructing or repairing railroads, and from oiipi- 

 tali^ts in his vicinage or from other States, will en- 

 able him to command almost his own terms. He 

 also possesses a perfect ri^ht to change his place of 

 abode; and if, therefore, he does not find in one 



community or State a mode of life suited to his de- 

 sires, or proper remuneration for hi* labor, be can 

 move to another, where that labor is more esteemed 

 and better rewarded. In truth, however, each Slate, 

 indm <M! by its own wants and interests, will do what 

 is necessary and proper to retain within its borders 

 all the labor that is needed for the development of 

 its resources. The laws that regulate supply and 

 driii. uxl will maintain their force, and the wages of 

 the laborer will be regulated thereby. There is no 

 danger thut the exceedingly great demand for labor 

 will not operate in favor of the laborer. 



Neither is sufficient consideration given to the 

 ability of the frcedmen to protect and take care of 

 themselves. It is no more than justice to them to 

 believe that as they have received their freedom with 

 moderation and forbearance, so they will distin- 

 guish themselves by their industry and thrift, and 

 soon show the world that in a condition of freedom 

 they are self-sustaining, capable of selecting their 

 own employment and their own places of abode, 

 of insisting, for themselves, on a proper remunera- 

 tion, and of establishing and maintaining their own 

 asylums and schools. It is earnestly hoped that 

 instead of wasting away, they will, by their own 

 efforts, establish for themselves a condition of re- 

 spect, ability, and prosperity. It is certain that they 

 can attain to that condition only through their owu 

 merits and exertions. 



In this connection the query presents itself, 

 whether the system proposed by the bill will not, 

 when put into complete operation, practically trans* 

 for the entire caro, support, and control of (our mil- 

 lion emancipated slaves to agents, overseers, or task- 

 masters who, appointed at Washington, are <o be 

 located in every county and parish throughout the 

 United States containing freedmen and refugees? 

 Such a system would inevitably tend to a concen- 

 tration of power in the Executive, which would en- 

 able him, it so disposed, to control the action of this 

 numerous class and use them for the attainment of 

 his own political ends. 



I cannot but add another very grave objection to 

 this bill. The Constitution imperatively declares, in 

 connection with taxation, that each State shall have 

 at least one Representative, and fixes the rule for 

 the number to which in future times each State shall 

 be entitled. It also provides that the Senate of the 

 United States shall be composed of two Senators 

 from each State, and adds with peculiar force, " that 

 no State, without its consent, shall be deprived of its 

 equal suffrage in the Senate. The original act was 

 necessarily passed in the absence of the States 

 chiefly to be affected, because their people were then 

 contumaciously engaged in the rebellion. Now the 

 case is changed, and some at least of those States are 

 attending Congress by loyal Representatives, solicit 

 ing the allowance of the constitutional right of rep- 

 resentation. At the time, however, of the consid- 

 eration and the passing of this bill, there was no 

 Senator or Representative in Congress from the 

 eleven States which are to bo mainly affected by its 

 provisions. The very fact that reports were and are 

 made against the good disposition of the people of 

 that portion of the country is an additional reason 

 why they need and should have Representatives of 

 their own in Congress to explain their condition, 

 reply to accusations, and assist, by their local knowl- 

 edge, in the perfecting of measures immediately 

 iillecting themselves. While the liberty of delibera- 

 tion would then be free, and Congress would have 

 full power to decide according to its judgment, there 

 could be no objection urged that the States most 

 int'-rested had not been permitted to be heard. The 

 principle is firmly fixed in the minds of the American 

 people, thut there should be no taxation without 

 representation. 



(iivat burdens have now to be borne by all the 

 country, ami we mny best demand tliat they shall bf. 

 borne without murmur when they arc voted by a 



