322 



FEEEDMEF. 



diplomatic conflict with Italy. In the discus- 

 sion of this subject in the French Chambers, 

 the government was strongly pressed by the 

 majority of both to take determined action in 

 favor of the Pope ; and it yielded to this pres- 

 sure; M. Eouher, Minister of State, making 

 this important declaration' 1 We declare that 

 Italy shall not seize upon Kome. France will 

 exact from Italy a rigorous and energetic exe- 

 'cution of the convention of the 15th of Septem- 

 ber, otherwise she will provide for it herself." 

 A proposition was made by France to all the 

 governments of Europe, including even those 

 of the smaller states, to assemble in a general 

 conference for a pacific solution of the Roman 

 question ; but the project failed in consequence 

 of the opposition of some of the great powers. 



Upon the invitation of the French Govern- 

 ment, on June 17th, an international confer- 

 ence met at Paris for discussing the mone- 

 tary question. The countries which took part 

 in this conference were, Bavaria, Denmark, 

 England, France, Greece, Italy, the Nether- 

 lands, Austria, Portugal, Prussia, Russia, Swe- 

 den and Norway, Switzerland, Spain, Turkey, 

 the United States of America, and Wurtern- 

 burg. The last session of the conference was 

 held on July 9, 1867. The following points 

 were agreed upon : 1. The creation of a unitary 

 common coin. 2. This coin shall be of gold; 

 and thus all the states shall adopt the gold 

 standard ; 3. No new monetary system shall be 

 created ; but all the states shall adopt a monetary 

 system already existing. All the governments 

 represented at the conference were to give a 

 definite answer before February 15, 1868. 



FPvEEDMEN. During the year 1867 the 

 condition and position of the freedmen has 

 changed somewhat. They were very generally 

 hired at Christmas and New Year's, 1866-'67, 

 and though there was much severe suffering on 

 the part of both whites and colored people in 

 the winter and early spring of 1867, the prospect 

 of steady labor for fair wages, or what it was 

 hojed would be such, led to a favorable view of 

 the future, and there was no disturbance, and 

 no tendency to disorder on the part of the 

 freedmen. The bright prospects of the spring 

 of 1867 in regard to the crops were not 

 realized ; the cotton crop was greatly injured 

 by the worm, and the heavy tax accompanied 

 with a very great decline in the price, and a 

 small yield, brought even the, most successful 

 cotton-growers in many sections in debt. As 

 the favorite mode of hiring was to give the 

 freedmen an allowance of food, the value of 

 which was to be deducted from the proportion 

 of the crop which was allowed him for his 

 labor, it was frequently the case that, at the 

 close of the year, there Avas little or nothing 

 coming to the laborer, and in some cases he 

 was brought in debt for the provisions advanced 

 to him. This entailed on him and his family 

 great suffering during the winter months. The 

 employers were often in not much better condi- 

 tion ; they had obtained advances on their crop 



to enable them to make it, and where the yield 

 was not more than ten or fifteen bales to the 

 hundred acres, the entire crop did not pay for 

 tax and advances. Those who had ready money, 

 and could hire their hands by the week or 

 month, did better, but the cotton crop has -not 

 been profitable. The cultivation of corn and 

 sugar-cane proved better, both for the planters 

 and the freedmen, but the rice crop was cer- 

 tainly not profitable to the freedmen, and per- 

 haps not to their employers. 



During the year, for the first time in most of 

 the Southern States, the male freedmen of adult 

 age, except convicts, were allowed to exercise 

 the right of suffrage, and voted for constitu- 

 tional conventions. The result seems to have 

 been, that in most instances the elections were 

 conducted with propriety. In a few instances 

 the negroes were deceived in regard to the con- 

 sequences of their voting, sometimes carelessly, 

 sometimes intentionally, but instances of this 

 sort were not sufficiently numerous or of suf- 

 ficient importance to exert any appreciable in- 

 fluence on the election. As a whole, whatever 

 maybe the future policy of the Government or 

 the individual States in regard to admitting the 

 negroes to suffrage, their conduct at the polls 

 in these elections was to their credit. In most 

 of the conventions, there was a considerable 

 number of colored delegates, in some cases men 

 of decided ability, though generally, of course, 

 of very little education. 



The freedmen manifest great interest in edu- 

 cation ; and though the adults, witli some excep- 

 tions, are not likely to progress much beyond 

 reading, and that often quite imperfectly, they 

 are anxious that their children should be 

 taught, and from their very scanty incomes 

 have done what they could toward the support 

 of the schools of the Freedmen's Bureau, and 

 of the voluntary associations. General Howard, 

 the Commissioner of the Freedmen's Bureau, 

 states that during the year 1867, 1,056 of the 

 2,20*7 schools for freedmen's children were sus- 

 tained wholly or in part by the freedmen them- 

 selves, that 391 of the school-buildings were 

 owned by them, and that 28,068 colored pupils 

 had paid tuition to an average amount of fifty- 

 one cents per month per scholar. He also states 

 that 130,735 colored pupils attended the day and 

 night schools, and 105,786 pupils the Sunday- 

 schools. This zeal for the education of their 

 children is a favorable indication for their 

 future, and will aid in fitting them for the 

 duties and privileges which they may perform 

 and enjoy in the time to come. The Peabody 

 Educational Fund (see EDUCATION) will proba- 

 bly hereafter render some aid in the mainte- 

 nance of these schools. 



We append an abstract of the Report of 

 Major-General Howard, Commissioner of the 

 Freedmen's Bureau, as showing the condition 

 of those classes of freedmen who have come 

 under its cognizance : 



In compliance with a recent order from the 

 Secretary of War, twenty-eight citizen agents of the 



