Below is the OCR text representation for this newspapers page.

THE rOLOBEB >hl ■ ’Uvij via July li JI 1J 111 VnL U y im t. shifted. Ifobreb Sbntrican. I u'GUSIa, GA.,."JANUARY 6, 1866. K-- .'.T,.—■ —— ———>— - -——- -——— —— ■ f Shcftex, . ■ Editor and Proprietor. K. . ('a'.orid American is issued every week. I miher notice, at $4.00 per Annum. in I Single, copies 10 cents. Kates of Advertising- - DOLLAR per square of TEN LINES .. ; -«t insertion, and FIFTY CENTS for [j Jditiou'il .irsertion. . of “j n t o rmation V/anted” will be ■r e .d at the rate of TWO DOLLARS AND Y CENTS fjr ONE month, provided tbej d 0 exceed FIFTEEN LINES. ».rues sending us the names of ten new sab ers for one year aecon panied with the neces v amount of funds, shall receive a a >py ot the t er for o e year gratis. .1 SHUFTEN’, Augueta. Ga. OUR SUBSCRIBERS AND THE PUBLIC. f i'he following nanitd gentlemen are juried to receive subscriptions for the t d American >,ai Johnson, R. A. Harper. Moses Gar ,r Albert Tompkins*, Joseph K. Williams I Moses Johnson. iiv person wishing to subsetibe to the „i->d American, can call on any of the ve named gentlemen, »r at the office on k s ori, corner of Ellis street, and it will be jiptiy attended to. dl persons wishing printing done at the est rates, Will please give us a call. We now prepared to do any kind ot Job Work uur colored friends, such as Party Tickets, d B of ail descriptions, Show Bills, Labels. ( ah Jone at reasonable rates and shortest ,’e are in hopes that persons who are sub lets to the Colored American, will be ready ■n we call lor their fubsariptloiw, as the ib ate strictly in advance. We earnestly all persons, whether white or colored, to us in our efforts to print a journal whose htd motto is HARMONY AND GOOD _i, ivzvvziKVO aul, atrnrr. IMPORTANT ORDERS. Bureau of Refit gees b\ A. D. \ • Act, Ass't Com, State of Ga., > iugusta, Ga. Dec. 22, L*6s. J cular / p. 5. u answer to nuinerou® inquiries, the owing is published for the informa . and guidance of Officers and Agents j Ji is Bureau. [. This Bureau does not propose to fcort or remove from the plantations, Lines of their late masters, the help- I and decrepid freed people or young idreu. If the former have children I are able to support them, they must required to do if not, there is no Ir alternative but that their former lers shall provide for them until the ie makes provision for their support I parents of the latter, if able, must liort them, if not, Agents will endea |to bind them out, together with bans and those whose parents cannot Lund, as setfoith in Circular No. 3, II Lib' office. I mist be apparent to the people that if not impossible, for ureau to remove and provide for ry large number of destitute and ss treed people who are scattered ffiout the State. Besides, it should ucuibered, that there was an ini contrict between the master and G’e, that in return fur his service >lave should bo fed clothed and 'lining his old age, and where the r slave has fulfilled the conditions contract on his part, the former r is not absolved from his obliga by the freedom of the slave, for the latter is m no way responsible. i and humanity require that the ■* master shall not attempt to escape m ' l . tv '\ 0 - I ' B responsibilities. Even 1 " u B b' c as are able, by their provide for their old, worn out ».s, have a right to expect that the »r o,vne r s r,f the parents, wiU ifabl ft tnem in bearing this burden Jstice requires this. U would be Beiul to impose the entire burden f : ho-e whose only means of support f v,r Libor. Very few persons have f found in the State, and they by no Ins the most estimable, who do nut re r the matter in the light stated, f- In upper and middle Georgia, f r ti.e land is comparatively poor, and l a quantity o* cotton or corn can fuad to the acre, planters offer from f e to thirteen dollars per month, f hoard and lodging, to,full male, and eight to ten dollars to full female field hands, the laborer to furnish his own clothing and medicines. Along the coast and in Southwestern Georgia, and in other portions of the State, where good crops of cotton, rice, corn or sugar can be raised, planters offer fifteen dollars per month, board and lodging, to full male, and ten dollars to full female field hands. In all portions of the State, planters aie found who prefer to give a portion of the crop, which with a favorable season, would probably give the laborer a sum ■ equivalent to that above mentioned j Usually they offer from one third the I gross to one half the neCproceeds. They are at liberty to pay money or a portion of the crop as my be prefered by the parties. 111. Freed people who have sufficient : property, or. are so situated that they can support themselves and families, without making contracts fur their labor, have the right to refuse to make contracts and must be protected in this right; but in all other cases, (comprising the vast ma jority of the freed people) it is absolutely ; necessary that they make contracts to on | sure a supply of food and escape starva- J tion the coming year. It is also impera lively necessary that contracts made in time, to prepare for raising crops the en suing season. Freed people Lave the right to select their own employers; but if they cons tinue to neglect or refuse to make con tracts then, on and after January 10th, 1866, officers and agents of the Bureau will have the right, and it shall be thei duty to make contracts for them, in all cases where employers offer good wages and kind treatment unless the freed peo ple belong to the class above excepted, or can show that they can obtain bettei terms. Contracts so made shall be as binding on both parties as through the full consent of the freed people. IV. Article 11, ef the amendments to the Constitution of the United States, gives the people the right to bear arms, and states that this right shall not be infringed Any person, white or black, may be disarmed if convicted of making an imp* vrpvl or nan nf " T^, aDOTIS; but no military or civil officer has the right or authority to disarm any class of people, thereby placing them at the mercy of others. All men, without distinction of color, have the right to keep arms to defend their homes, families or them selves. V. All persons are forbidden to tam per with or entice laborers to leave their employers before the expiration of their I contracts, either by offering higher wages or other inducements. Officers and agents will punish by fine or otherwise, any per son who may be convicted of such acts. The public interest requires that labor be made reliable and profitable, and so long as the 4reed laborer is well paid and kindly treated, this Bureau will not tolerate any interference with the rights and interests of employers. DAVIS TILLSON, Brig. Gen. V ols, and Act. Asst. Com. The following letter has been published in th? Madison (Wisconsin) Journal, from that staunch and determined sup* porter of universal human liberty, 31 r. John Bright, M. P. England. ‘Bochdale, Oct. 19, 1865. Dear Sir, I write to thank you for sending me the volume to which your letter refers. I thank yon also for the kind expressions in your letter. Your war has ended as I always hoped and believed it would end, in the overthrow of slavery and the restoration cf the Union. I fear, however, that un-* less the President adopts a firmer tone with the South, the negro will have a hard time of it if left to the small mercy of his former owner. It will be a griev ous thing if, after fighting for the integri ty and freedom of your country, you shall fail to deal honestly and justly with the black population, so long suffering in your midst. I have had great faith in yon, and will net now abandon it. Liberty, all the world over, owes much to you, and I will not believe now that colour will be permitted to shut out several millions of your population from the full rights of freedom. Your State has done its share in the great work which will make the last four years for ever famous in the history of your great nation. With many thanks for your kind letter, I am, very truly yours, John Bright. Aug. Gaylord,'Esq., Adjutant-General, Madi son, Wisconsin. The Louisville Courier says : “ The Southern States are iu the Union for all practical purposes, such as amending the Constitution; and they are out of the Coion for all political purposes, such as taking seats in Congress.” Augusta, Gm. Saturday, January o, 1806. The surface of the river at. Albany i« almost covered with ice, and navigation will in a few days have einffid for ihe season. The Louisville Journal fears the cor rectnes.s of a junior that the Sixth Unit ed States colored cavalry had mutined at Helena, Arkansas, and killed their com i mauding officer, Colonel Bowen, i An extensive government sale of rail read iron and other stock has been uoing on at Alexandria, Va., for several ' Sales have amounted to from two to I three hundred thousand dollars a day. A collision took place on the New Je • sey Centra! Railroad, December Ist. Seven persons weie killed and ten woun ded. Chambersburg, Pa., is rapidly recover ing from the severe blow it sustained during the war. New and beautiful buildings, stores, dwellings, factories, etc , have been and are being built in all parts ot the burnt district. Some of them are exceedingly tasteful and costly. Wuteifalls are making a great disturb ance in Germany. The innocent maidens there wear their hair hanging in long plaits, and pestilent fellows are around to clip them at every opportunity for tin waterfall makers Even the churches are desecrated by these singular thieves.- A Paris letter mentions as an instance of the fully and extravagance prevailing , iu that city, that a baptismal dress for an infant has been prepared, of exquisite embroidery and lace, at an expense of eighteen thousand dollars. •Colonel Brown, assistant commission er of the !’’/•<•< dinen's Bureau for the- of Virginia, h*’s just submitted to Geh Howaru a proposition fur the re moval of all negro residents of that State, to the unoicupicd government lands oi Florida, This would necessarily involve Congressional action ; but General How' ard has not yet fully dete r mined what course to pursue in the matter. A. grocer in Now Haven, in moving an Ul.'l COUHK t . v >uont.y T I'. uud nests made ent-rely of bank bills and iractioual currency. On pulling them to pieces, sixty or seventy long-missing dollars turned up. Ail the bills were more or less mutilated, but some fifteen or twenty dollars worth were saved. We arc surprised to learn from Eastern papers, that, al! the mid streams arid reservoirs iu Massachusetts, are still lower than ever before known at this sea son, and that the ) mining of many mills is still suspended ami will seriously im peded, unless a gr< at deal of rain falls yet before the commencement of winter. Judge Ballard, of the United States District Court for Kentucky, delivered an important, decision at Ct vington, in the case of members of the family of a colored soldier, who are entitled to their freedom under the laws of Congress, but who arc held in slavery by ilieir former owners The man sought to secure the release of the persons held in slavery, but failed, owing, us the Judge points out, to a defect in the la w regulating the juris diction of the United Jutes Court.;. A Washington dispatch states that since General Grant’s return from the South, he has expressed himself in favor of the speedy reduction of the military departments in the Southern States, and proposes that instead of having a military commander in each State, that three de pa» tments at least bo merged into one. General Sherman is understood to favor the consolidation of departments, as i; will result greatly to retrench expenses, and secure a more uniform and satisfac tory administration of affairs in that sec* tion of the country. The Alabama lloui-e of Representa tives by a vote of 57 yeas against 26 nays, adopted a law which makes the leaser of property leased to negroes re sponsible foi the taxes, subsistence, cloth ing, and medical att mdance of the lessee. The spirit of the Legislature, and the white people throughout the o>ate, is violently opposed to allowing the negro to become possessed ci prope-ty. It is hoped and expected that by this means they will be enabled to control bis ser vices on the most advantageous teiins for themselves, totally regardless of the interests of* the negro, and make the present or future system of labor ap> proximate to the old and divine cue as nearly as may be ; taaing care, howetei, to disclose aS little as possible of the ‘cloven loot’until after tneir Uoogiesa iunal delegation shall uavf been auiuitted to participate in the juncils of the nation. MISCELLANEOUS. ■ Forty yeart ago, the late Lord Mac-j j aulay said : Thera is only one cure for , the evils which newly acquired freedom ■ ■ produces, and that cure is freedom! When 1 a prisoner leaves his cell, he cannot hear the Jgbtof day; he is unable to diseriini note colors, or iecognize faces. But the remedy is not To renew d him to his dungeon, but to accustom him to the rays i of Hie suu. The blaze of truth aud ’ liberty may at first dazzle aud bewilder) nations which have become half blind in • the house of bondage. But let them : gaze on, and they will soon be able to | v> ' ir it. 4F 4B- Many politicians of our time are in the ' ■iabit ot laying it down as a self evident proposition, that no people ought to be i tree until they are fit to use their freedom. • fne maxim is worthy cf the fool in the old story, who resolved not to go into the water until he had learned how to swim ! If men are to wait for liberty till they become wise and good iu slavery, they may indeed wait forever. A Kalamazoo, Michigan correspond- | ent of the Detroit Advertiser, relates the ’ i following: ; A Mrs. Howland, wbe has long - been a resident of this country, and who has been hopelessly insane for nearly thirty years, was sent for by her husband in California. Accompanied by a daughter in-law, they left here and pro ceeded on the journey by steamer. When about four days from New York a most violent storm arose, which lasted for three days, seriously threatening the destruction of the steamer and all on board. When, however, the storm abat ed, what was the surprise and delight of the daughter to find that the old lady had suddenly recovered her mind and was perfectly sane; though she was at a loss to know how she was in the place, and under the circumstances she found her self on awakening from such a long sleep of the intellectual faculties. On arrivin g at San Francisco, what was the astonish, ment of her husband to find her whom he had not seen for nine years, and whom he deemed hopelessly a maniac, sound and well, and joyfully recognizing him This was a year ago. Letters recently received by her friends here state that there has been no return of the disease whatever, and that she is well ami entirely cured. A meeting of colored men was held in the vestry of Shiloh Church, Rev. GHo. W. Levere, late Chaplain of the Twen tieth Colovtd Regiment, in the chair Speeches were made by Capt. George T. Downing, New-England’s delegate to Washington ; Mr. De Largey, the colored delegate from Charleston, S. C., t® Wash ington ; Rev. Sella Martin, Rrof. C. L. Reason, and others; and after resolu tions were passed declaring it to be the black man’s best interest to keep a colored delegation at the Federal City during the present session of Congress, liberal con tributions were made to the fund, Mr. Frederick Douglass was named as New-* York’s delegate, and the meeting ad journed. The following are the names of the States which have adopted the Amend ment. with the date of each adoption. Illinois, Feb 1 ; Rhode Island, Feb 2; New York, Feb 3; Maryland, Feb 3; Massachusetts, Feb 3; Pennsylvania, Feb 3; West Virginia, Feb 3; Michigan Feb 3; Maine, Feb 7 ; Ohio, Feb 8; Kansas, Feb 8 ; Minnesota Feb 8 ; Vir* giniu, Feb 9; Indiana, Feb 13 ; Nevada, I Feb 14; Louisiana, Feb 15; Missouri, Feb 17; Wisconsin, Fob 19; Vermont, March 1 ; Tennessee, Arkansas, April 14; Conectientt, May 4; lowa, (one house) June 7 ; New Hampshire, June 14; South Carolina, Nov 27; North Carolina, Dec 7: Georgia, Dec 6.— Au#. Transcript. The following dialogue on ‘sharp shooting’ took place between a Rebel and a Yankee picket: ‘[ say, can you fellows shoot V ‘Well I reckon we can some.’ ‘Down in Mississippi we can knock a bumble bee off a thistle bough at three hundred yards.’ ‘Ob; that ain’t nothing to the way we shoot up in Vermont. I belonged to the 'military company up there, with a hun dred men iu each company, and we went out for practice every week. Ibe cap tain draws us up in single file and sets a cider barrel rolling down hill; each man tar:es his shot at the bung-hole as it turns uo. It is afterwards examined, and if There is a shot tW, didn’t go in the bung hole, the member who missed it is expert ed. It. elonged to the company for ten years, and there ain’t been nobody ex pelled yet.’ V«L. L—>o. 4. CQMUUNICATEL. SELF-RESPECT. V, c have at the South, among the white citizens very many friends, among whom we have grown up, and who played w.th us in childhood—noble men, who would willingly accord to the freedmen the rights of mcc. There are others, who prove themselves our enemies, who kill, wound, and covardly beat the colored people, who charge the race with all that is bad and give them credit for nothing good. AV hat have we done to deserve from them such trea snt? a Nr» race ever served a people more faithfully than we Lave served them who wore our masters. When they were carrying on a war, the object of which was, to rivet our bonds still more firmly, and to make slavery perpetual, we at home conducted our selves peacably. y e not only protected their wives and children, but tilkd their fields and fed their armies. Did we, at any time rise against their helpless families, did we ever offer them insult of any kind ? When Shei man’s army marched through the South, did wo take advantage of this, (as we might) to commit acts of lawless ness and violence? ho, never ! If then, we have always thus conducted ourselves ia the past, is there any reason to suppose that we shall now be so insane as to rise and murder those whom we protected in their helplessness? Ladies of Georgia! can yod now fear us who were courreous to you while your husband, father, and brother were absent? Is it not ungenerous now to manifest such distrust, simply because we are free? Under such circumstances what shall we do ? AVI: at does a proper self-respect demand of us ? A\ e will conduct ourselves as we have heretofore done. We will show by our conduct that we are worthy of being American citizens. By our acts we will give the lie to our oalumnators, and their base fabrications. This, we will do, but self-respect de* mands something more. We shall refuse to patronise such men. Lt they arc publishers of newspapers, let us rot subscribe for their paper, if they arc merchants, let us not purchase their goods I Lee us in every way assist, our friends, whether white or black, Northern men or Southern men, but let us not assisi our enemies. We are more than five hundred thousand in the State of Georgia. We spend ia a year a large amount of money. We shall, as time passes and our means increase, spend more and more. Let our friends and not our enemies have the money/ Colored Citizen. COMMUNICATED. The following paragraph, from tho Chroniclp & Sentinel of the 27th, ult., both pained and surprised us : ‘Freedmen's Convention. —We notice by our exchanges that the freedmen are to have a convention in this place, and in that place. Now, we look upon all such things as these, as mere f oolishness. And the white men who put such non sensical ideas into freedmen’s heads are their worst enemies. Conventions are expensive. And the freedmen of the South instead of holding them and en deavoring to get privileges which they have not and which will never be granted them, had much better keep at work, save their money, and be satisfied with the rights they already have? We were pained, to discover, that our friend had ceased to advocate our cause. To know that the man, in whom we had placed confidence, Lad deceived us, that, after be had asked for and received the support of the freedmen, be should strive to injure them; and surprised, that the man who had solicited their patronage, promising that his paper would advocate their cause, should, after he had obtained their money, oppose the holding of a Convention, because it would cost them something. He had no such anxiety if he received their money. We feel sad to have a paper that was willing to be the organ of the freedmen, if it could receive from them and their friends sufficient support, turn against them when they were laboring to sustain it, because they were not as successful as the proprietor expected. We trust that our friend will turn once more and again advocate our cause, for we feel that be would prefer to du so It might be a little unpleasant at first, but f O r one accustomed to change fre quent!), it would be much easier, than it would, if he always advocated the policy, he believed to be right. •