Newspaper Page Text
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The Central Georgian.
VOL- XX.
SANDERSViLLE, GA„ WEDNESDAY, MARCH 14, 1866.
NUMBER 11.
CASTELLAW & GILMORE,
EDITORS AMD PROPRIETORS.
TERMS, #3 00 per ainimn In adrancc.
I cannot reconcile a system of milita
ry jurisdiction of this “kind, with the
Words of the Constitution, which de
clare that no person shall be held to
answer for a capital or otherwise infa
mous crime unlesson preientment or
indictment of a grand jury, except in
Freedmen’s Bureau Bill.
. VET0 BY THE PRESIDENT AND 1US REASONS
THEREFOR.
Tj the Senate of ilie United States :
I i, a ve examined with care the bill . , ..... . ...
which originated in the Senate and has j u ] timo of war or public danger ; and ' plated by the authors of the Constitu-j of insisting on forthemselves a proper
associations, and of individuals.
It has never deemed itself authorized
to expend public money for. rent or
purchase of houses for the thousands,
not to say millions, of the white race
who are honestly toiling from day to
day for their subsistence. A system
cases arising in the land or naval forces, for the support of indigent persons in
or in the militia when in actual service [ the United States was never contem
It is no more than justice to 1 them to
believe that as they have received their
freedom with modesty and forbearance
they will distinguish themselves by
their industry, and they feel and will
soon shpw the world that in the condi
tion of freedom they are self-sustaining
and capable of selecting their own em
ployment and their own places of abode
been passed by both Houses of Congress,
to amend an act entitled “an act to es
tablish a bureau for the relief of freed-
,iicn and refugees, and for otheV pur
poses. 7 ’
Having, with much regret, come to
the conclusion that it would not he
consistent with the public welfare to
give iny approval to the measure, I re
turn the bill to the Senate with my
objections to its becoming a law. I
might call to mind in advance of these
objections, that there is no immediate
neecissity for the proposed measure.
The act to establish a bureau for the
relief of the freedrnen and relugees,
which was approved of in the month
ofMarch last, has not yet been repealed
It was thought stringent and extensive
enough for the purpose in view. Be
fore it ceases to have effect further ex -
perience may assist to guide us to a wise
conclusion as to the policy to be adopt
ed in time of peace.
I have, with Congress, the greatest
desire to secure to the freedrnen the
lull enjoyment of their property 1 -, and
their entire, independence and equality
in making contracts for their labor.
15ut the bill before me contains provis
ions which in my opinion, are not war
ranted by the Constitution, and are not
well suited to accomplish the end in
view. The bill proposed to establish,
by law of Congress, military jurisdic
tion overall parts of the United States
containing refuge.s and freedrnen. It
would, by its very nature, apply with
mo-t force to those parts of the United
States in which the freedrnen most
abound, and :t expressly extends the
existing temporary jurisdiction of the
freed men’s Bureau, with greatly en
larged powers, over those States in
which the ordinary course of j udieial
proceedings has been interrupted by
the rebellion.
The source from which this military
jurisdiction is to emanate is none other
ibnn the President of the United States,
acting through the \\ r ..r -department
and the Commissioner of the Freed-
men’s Bureau. The agents to carry out
that in all criminal prosecutions the
accused shall enjoy the right to a
speedy and public trial by an impar
tial jury of the State or district where
in the crime shall have been commit
ted.
The safeguards which the wisdom
and experience of ages taught our fa
thers to establish as securities for pro
tection of the innocent, the punishment
of the guilty and the equal administra
tion of justice, are to be set aside, and
for the sake of more vigorous interpo
sition in behalf ot justice we are to take
the risk of the many acts of injustice
that would, of necessity-, follow from
an almost countless number, of agents,
established in every parish or county,
in nearly a third of the States of the
States of the Union, over whose decis
ion there is to be no superior control
by the Federal courts. The power
tion, nor can any good reason be ad
vanced why, as a permanent establish
ment, it should be founded for one class
or color of our people more than for
another.
Pending the war many refugees and
freedrnen received support from the
government, but it was never intended
they should henceforth be fed, clothed,
educated, aud sheltered by the United
States. The idea on which the slaves
were assisted to freedom, was that on
becoming free they would be a self-
sustaining population ; any legislation
that shall imply they are not expected
to attain a self-sustaining condition
must have a tendency injurious alike
to their character and their prosperity.
The appointment of an agent for
every county and parish \vill create an
immense patronage, ard the expense
of the numerous officers and their
that would be thus placed in the hands ‘clerks to be appointed by the Presi-
of the President in such as, in time of dent will be great in the beginning,
with a tendency
to be in-
this military jurisdiction arc to be se
lected either from the army or from
civil life. The country is to be divid
ed into districts and sub-districts, aud
the number of salaried agents to be em
ploye 1 may be equal to the number of
eountiesor parishes in all of the United
States, where freed men and refugees
are to be found. The subjects over
whom this military jurisdiction is to
extend in every part of the United
States include particularly all employ
es, agents, and officers of this Bureau
in the exercise of the duties imposed
on them by the bill. In eleven States
it is further to extend over all cases
affecting the freedrnen and refugees
discriminated against by local laws,
customs, or prejudice in those eleven
States.
The bill subjects any white person
who may be charged with depriving a
freed man of any civil rights or immu
nities belonging to a white person to
imprisonment or fine, or both, without,
however defining the civil rights and
immunities which are thus to be se
cured to the freedman by military law.
This military jurisdiction also extends
to all questions that may arise respect
ing contracts ; the agents who is thus
to exercise the office of a military judge
may be a stranger, entirely ignorant of
the laws of the place 1 , and exposed to
theories ofjudgemcut to which all men
are liable : to the exercise of power
over which there is no legal supervis
ion by so vast a number of agents as is
contemplated by the bill, must by the
very nature of man be attended by acts
of caprice and injustice in passion.
The trials having their orgin under
this bill are to take place without the
intervention of a jury', and without any
fixed -rules of law or evidence; the
rules on which offenses are to be heard
and determined by the numerous agents
are such rules and regulations as the
1 resident, through the War depart
ment, shall prescribe. No previous
presentment is required,' nor any in
dictment, charging the commission of
a crime against the laws, but the trial
must proceed on charges and soecifiica-
tions.
The punishment will not be as the
law declares, but such a court martial
may r think proper, and from these ar
bitrary tribunals there lies no appeal,
no writ of error to any of the courts iu
which the Constitution of the United
States vests excluseivcly the judiciary
power of the country, while the terri--
tory and the class of actions and offen
ses that are made subject to this meas
ure,. are so extensive tho bill itself
should not become a law: will have
no limitation in point of time, but will
form a part of the permament legislation
oi the court.
peace, certainly ought never
trusted to any one man.
If it he asked whether the creation
of such a tribunal within a State is war
ranted as a measure of war, the ques
tion immediately presents itself wheth
er we are still engaged in war. Let
us not unnecessarily disturb the cun-
merce and credit and industry of the
country by declaring to the American
people and the world that the United
States arc still in a condition of civil
war.
At present there is no part of our
country in which the authority of the
United States disputed. Offences that
may be committed by individuals
should not work fora forfeiture of rights
of the same communities. Thc v coun*
try has entered, oris returning, to a
state of peace and industr y, and the re
bellion is, in fact, at the end. The
measure, therefore, seems to be as in
consistent with the actual condition of
the country as it is at variencc with
the Constitution of the United States. I
If j>:is.sinor from general consider.-!- I
tions, we examine the bill in detail, it!
is open to weighty objections. In ■
time of war it was eminently proper
that wc should provide for those who
were pas-ing suddenly from a condi
tion of bondage to a state of freedom,
but this bill proposes to rn dec the
Freed men’s Bureau, established b v the
act of 1865, as one of the many great
and extraordinary military measure to
suppress a formidable rebellion, a per
manent branch of the public adminis
tration, with its power greatly enlarged.
I hare no rcas m to suppose, and I
do not understand it to be alleged, that
the act of March,. 1865, has proved dc :
fieier.t for the purpose for which it was
passed, although at that time, and for a
considerable period thereafter, the gov
ernment of the United States remained
unacknowledged in the most of the
States whose inhabitants had been in
volved in the rebellion.
The institution of slavery, for the
military destruction of which the
a tendency to steadily increase ;
The appropriation asked by the
Freed men’s Burcan as how established,
for the year I860, amounts to $11,745,-
000. It may be safely estimated that
the cost to be incurred under the pend
ing bill will require double that
amount, more than the entire sum ex
pended in any one year under the Ad
ministration of the second Adams.
If the presence of agents in every
parish and county is to be considered
as a war measure, opposition, cr even
resistance, might be provoked, so that
to give effect to their j urisdiction troops
would have to be stationed within
reach of every one of them, and thus,
as a large standing force would be ren
dered necessary, large appropriations
would be required to sustain and en
force military jurisdiction in every
county and par*h from the Potomac
to the Bio Grande.
The condition of our fiscal affairs is
encouraging, but in order tosuslaiu the
present measure of public confidence,
it i.-a necessary we practice not merely
customary enconomy, but as far as pos
sible severe retrenchment.
In addition to the objections already-
stated, the fifth section of the bill pro
poses to take away land from former
owners, without any legal proceedings
being first had, contrary to that pro-
renuifieratjon, and of establishing and
maintaining their own dlyltfms and
schools.
It is earnestly hoped that, instead of
wasting away, they will, by their own
efforts, establish for themselves a con
dition of respectability and prosperity.
It is certain that they can attain to that
condition only through their own mer
its and exertions.
In this connection tho query presents
itself whether the system proposed by
opinion in the country, and individu
als may be guilty of transgressions of
the law ; but these do not constitute
valid 'objections against the right of
objections against the right of a State
to Bepresentatives, and would, iu no
wise, interfere with the discretion of
Congress with regard to the qualifica
tions of members; but I hold it my
duty to recommend to you, in the in
terest of Union, the admission of eyery
State to its share of public legislation,
when, however, insubordinate, insur
gent or rebellious its people may have
been, it presents itself not only in an
attitude of loyalty and harmony, but
The Preidents Speech.—The of
fensive speech of the 22d, made by Mr.
Johnson—he had left his official chair
—was, to use a homely simile, the
breaking of his bile ; the lurking hu
mors which had kept.the body politic
at Washington in a State of suppressed
irritation came to a head ; fhe infiama-
tory matter was discharged, and the
general system, we trust, is all the
better for it. At any rate, the Presi
dent has given vent to his penf-up re
sentment, and feels no doubt relieved.
The extreme men in Congress have
discovered, too, that they have got to
deal with a man who can repel violence,
in the persons of Representatives whose! with a man of earnest convictions, of
loyalty-cannot be questioned under the
existing Constitution or legal test. It
is plain that an indefinite or permanent
exclusion ofaDy part of the country
from representation be attended by a
the bill will not, when put intocomplete’ species of disquiet and complaint. It
operation, pratically transfer the entire. is- unwise .and dangerous to pursue a
care, support and control of four mil- course of measures which will unite
lions of emancipated slaves to agents, any large section of the country against
overseers or taskmasters, who, appoint- another section of country, no matter
ed at Washington, are to be located in how much the latter may predomi-
every county and parish throughout nate.
the United States containing freedrnen The course of immigration, the wants
and refugees. Such an asylum wqpld of industry and business, and natural
inevitably tend to such a concentration causes will raiw up the South men as
of power in the Executive, which, uevoted to the Union as those of any
would enable him if so disposed, to con- other part of the land; but if they arc
trol the action of a numerous class, and all excluded from Congress, if in a per
use them for the attainment of his own ' manent atatute they are declarded not
political end. j to be in full constitutional relations to
I cannot but add another very grave : the country, they may think they have
objection to this bill; the Constitution ' cause to become a unit in feeling and
imperatively declares in connection ; sentiment against the government.
Under the political education of the
American people the idea is inherent
and ineradicable, that the consent of the
whole people is necessary to secure a
willing acquiesence in the legislation.
The bill under consideration refers to
certain of the States as though they had
not been fully restored to the United
States; and if they have not, let us at
once act together to secure that desira
ble end at the earliest practicable mo
ment.
It is hardly necessary for me to in
form Gongress that in my own judg
ment most of these States, so far at
least as depends upon their own actions
have already been fully restored and
are entitled to enjoy their constitution
al rights as members of the Union.
Reasoning from the Constitution itself
and from the actual situation of the
country, and feeling not only entitled
but bouhd to assume that, with the
Federal courts restored in the sevaral
States and in the lull exercise of their
function^, the rights and interests of aff
classes of the people will, with the aid
firm and positive character, one who is
not to be driven, or browbeaten, or led,
but who is to be treated respectfully
as a full grown statesman and a power.
This knowledge will do nobody any
harm. ' ^
“We infer that the atmosphere
about the seat of government has
cleared very much, after the tempest
of Thursday, from two signs ; : the Pres
ident’s conversation with Gen. Cox,
and the moderate, sensible and per
suasive speech of Senator Sherman,
formerly a Republican, as the Tribane
thinks its wise to say, and like his il
lustrious brother, the General, not
wholly unknown to the loyal minds
of the nation.”—Y. Y. Post;
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
United States shall be composed of
two Senators from each State, and adds,
with peculiar force, that no State,
without its consents, shall be deprived
of its suffrage in the Senate. The
original act was necessarily passed, in
the absence of the States, chiefly be
cause their people were contumaciously
engaged in rebellion, but the ease is
changed, and some at least of the States
are attending Congress by loyal Rep
resentatives soliciting the allowance of
the constitutional right of representa
tion.
At the time, however, of the consid-
cration and. pacning nf tliA Kill there
was no Senator or Representative in
Congress from the eleven States which
are to be mainly affected by its pro
visions. The very fact that reports
were and are made against the good
, disposition of the country is an addi- j G f ^] ie military, in cases of resistance to
vision of tie Constitution which do— tional reason why they need and should the law, be essentially protected against
clares that no person shall be deprived
have representatives of their own in unconstitutional infringement and vio-
un- I
What, is Loyalty?—The Northern
Radical journals coplain perpetually,
says the South Carolinian, th$t we are
not loyal; but if to be loyal is to suc
cumb “to the decrees of war, to advo
cate submission to the constituted au
thorities, to be faithful to our allegiance
to the General Government, bound as
we all are by the oath of fealty ; if to
be loyal is to show ah earnest desire to
smooth the pathway to a fermion' df in
terest and fact and to destroy the dis
cordant elements now sapping the foun
dations of society, the thinking men of
the South, represented* by their press,
yield to none in their, patriotic desires
and endeevors. But if loyalty rrieans
the acceptance of the tenets of the faith
of the destructives, the crying of halleliU
jahs, rather than the utterance of la
mentations,’ the clapping of hands at
the Star Spangled Banner, when iff
fact wo have no nationally, and the
shouting of glad hurrahs over a pc*ace
that brings no solace to our hearts, the
men women and children of the South'
have now no such loyalty to bestow:
In all that becomes mainless and honor
we are to-day a Union-loving people,-
but we cannot yet kiss the hands that
subjugated us, or to be treasonable ter
those irrepressible feelings which com
pel the expression of our woe:
The Secretary of the Treasuafy lias-
issued an order discontinuing al Treas-
of life, liberty or property without due-Congress to explain their condition, lation. Should this expectation u
process of aw especially to the accussations, and happily fail, which I do not anticipn
It docs not appear that the lands to assist, by their local knowledge,, in then the Executive is already arm<
perfecting measures immediately affect- with the powers conferred by the a
ing themselves, while the liberty of G fMarch, 1865, establishing the Free. , - ... . , . , _
deliberation would then be froGj and . incn 7 s Bureau and hereafter, as hereto* j matters in then hands the Be*
Congress would have full power to de-. fore, be can employ the land and naval j partment forthwith. This will be good
anticipate! _
appear that tuc lands to assist, uy men luem jtuowieuge, in then the Executive is already armed j ur 7'Agencies m the Southern States,
which this section refers may not be perfecting measures immediately affect- w ith the powers conferred by the act 'ordering the agents to suspend dll pro-
ownsd by minors or persons of unsound ing themselves, while the liberty of ofMarch, 1865, establishing the Freed-j eeedings with regard to cotton, and^re-'
mind, or those who have been faithful '
to all their obligations as citizens of uongress would nave lull power to ae-1 fore, he can employ .... -
cidc according to its judgement. 1 forces of the country to suppress insur- j n cws to or people generally 7 , and cs-
There could be no objection urged rection, and to overcome obstructions pccially to that large class who have
that the States most interested had not t 0 t] ie ] aw . j have suffered and are still suffering
been permitted to be heard. The : I jeturn the bill the the Senate in ! under the action of the Treasury agents,
If, on the other hand, it be found principle is firmly fixed in the minds . earnest hope that a measure involving i m 9 s ^ whom, we presume, have con
that the property is liable to confisca-J of the American people that there t he question and interests so important formed strictly to their instructions.—
tion, even then it cannot be appropria- j should be no taxation without repre-j to the country will not become a law j There are no such agencies ip exist
ted to public purposes until, by due scutntion. Great burdens arc now to ' unless upon deliberate consideration once now, and the puotic will bear it
process of law,.it shall have been dc— i be borne by all the country, and. we by the people, aud it shall receive the
the United States. If any portion of
the land is held by such persons it is
not competent for any authority to de
prive them of it
[Signed] A. Johnson
Washington, D. C., Feb. 18, 1866.
Freedmen’sBureau was called.into cx- dared forfeited to the government. : may best demand that they shall be ! sanction of an’enlightenedpublic hidg-
istence as an auxiliary'tor it, has been There are still father objections to the j borne without murmur when they are ! men t
already effectually and finally abro- bill on the grounds of seriously affect- i voted by a majority of the representa-
gated throughout the whole country. j n g die c j aS3 G f persons to whom it is! t'.ves of all the people,
by amendment to the Constitution ot designed to bring relief. It will tend; I would not interfere with the ua-
the United States, and practically its to keep the mind of the freedrnen in a questionable rightof Congress to judge,
cradition has received the assent and s t a te of uncertain expectation and rest-1 each House for %self, of the election
lessness, while to those among whom j returns and qualifications of its own
helivesit will be a source of constant, members, but that authority cannot
and vague apprehension. j be construed as including the right to
. Undoubtedly the freedrnen should put out in time of peace any State from
apprehension that the powers and agen- b e protected, but they should be pro- the Representatives to which it is cn-
eies of the Freedmgn’s Bureau- which : tccted by the civil authorities, especial- j titled by the Constitution. At present
in mind.
concurrence of most of those States in
which it any time had existed.
I am not, therefore, able to discern
in the country anything to justify an
were effective for tne protection of the i ]y by ^j ie exercise of all the constitu- all the people of the eleven States are
freedrnen and refugees during the ac— j tional powers-of the courts of the Uni- 1 excluded, -those who were most faitli-
tual continuation of hostilities and of
African servitude, will now, in a time
of peace, and after the abolition of
slavery, prove inadequate to the same
proper ends.
If I am correct in these views, there
can be no necessity for the enlargement
of the Bureau, for which provision is
made in the bill. The third section
of the bill authorizes a general unlim
ited amount of-support to the institu
tion, and suffering refugees and freed-
men aud their wives and children.
Succeeding sections make provision
for the rent or purchase of landed es
tates for freedrnen and for the erection
for their benefiitof suitable buildings
for asylums and schools, the expenses
to be defrayed from the treasury of the
whole people.
The Congress of the United States
has never heretofore thought itselfcom-
petent toestablish any laws beyond the
limits of the District of Columbia, ex
cept for the benefit of ourdisablcd so'-
diers and sailors ; it has never founded
Securing White Laborers in
. South Carolina.—The sum of $125,-
000 has been raised for this object by
| the citizens in and about Charleston,
I and'a character for origanization hr"
Bad Economy.—Already our plan
ters
jeet of planting cotton.at"this writing j m d ^ larca that he can pU rsuade
corn is selling at two dollars a bushel j thoi / sands 0 f the pe0 ple of that coun-
L5AD ECONOMY.—Already our plan-; ted b the Legislature. A letter
s have turned crazy upon the sub- j f rom a gentleman of influence in Ger-
two dollars a bushel
in Milledgcville, and it it will continue
, . ... . j try to emigrate to South Carolina if
to- get worse unless ourpeople will give j t ,/ e p ]c wilI on]y offer those induce-
more thought to planting it. YV ithm paeuts w hrch it is within their powder
the next six montiis wc expect to buy j d
nothing but Westerncorn—corn raised
near one thousand miles from us.
Will notour people fry to live within
themselves, and not impoverish their
own people, by compelling them to buy
ted Stales and of the States. Their ful during the war, not less than
condition is not so exposed as may at others. «
first be imagined. They are in a por-! The State of Tennessee, for instance,
tion of the country where their labor . whose* a«tborities engaged in the r ^ ^ the West> - whea we cau
cannot, well be spared. . i c. ion, a , L ! and should produce enough at home
Competition for Ins services From,; tutional relations to the Union by the, for homecon ‘ umptioD . We had heard
planters, from those who are construct- patriotism and energy of her injured j q{ famerg cv[hs are f u n Cover
ing and repairing railroads or from and betrayed^ people before the war flowing w tbey have not one bushel
capitalists in Ins vicinity or from other was brought to a termination. Ihey . J .t
States, will enable him to command had placed themselves in relations with
almost his own terms. He also pOs- j the general government, had establihed
sesses a perfect right tochange his place j a State government of their own, and
offabode, and if. therefore, he does not' as they were not included in the eman-
find in one community or State a mode ! cipation proclamation, they, by their
of life suited to his desires, or proper own act, have amended their Constitu-
* tion so as to abolish slavery within the
limits of their State.
1 know no reason why the State of j
Tennessee, for example, should not
renumeration for his labor, he can move
to another where labor is more esteem
ed and better rewarded. In truth,
however, each State, induced 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
demand will maintain their force, and
the wages of the laborer will be regu-
i
schools for any class of our people— ! lated thereby. There is no danger that
not even for the orphans of those who j the great demand for labor will not
have fallen i n defense of the Union, but j operate in favor of the laborer, neither
has left the care of their education to ; is sufficient consideration given to the
the much more competent control of ability of the freedrnen t» protect and
the States, of communities, of private take care of themselves.
to sell or spare, for the reason, they
have enough for a two years supply
for their own use, but inten 1 to plant
cotton to the exclusion of grain.
The principle, as well as the mors a! s
of the whole affair is wrong. It shows
a grasping and selfish feeling, regrrd-
less of the wants of the community in
which one liv:s, and an indifference
to the suffering that may arise from
fully enj y her constitutional relations ! s “ ol ;. a ( V? 1,C >'- e A t ll0pe fo ,5
to tie United States The President pred.t ol hnmamty s sake aa well a
of the United States stands towards the' re ® rd 10 tne wanls of " °“ eu aud oh, ‘-
country in a somewhat different atti
tude from that of any member of Con
gress chosen from a siugle district or
State. The President is chosen by the
people of all the States. Eleven States
are not at this time represented in either
branch of Congress. It would seem
to be his duty 7 , on all proper occasions,
to present their just claims to Congress.
There always frill be differences of
dran, widows and orphans, that our
planters will remember their neighbors
and so plant, as to be able to sell at
least a little to those less fortunate than
themselves.—Southern Recorder*
The Jackson Standard ventures the
prediction that the cotton crop of Mis
sissippi this year will not exceed two
hundred and fifty thousand bak-3.
The World's Washington corres
pondent has it from good authority
that the President will, in a few days,
issue an official proclamation that peace
has been fully establisod at the South,
The States will then be left to govern
themselves under the Constitution of
the United States, and the State and
local laws, without military interfere-
ence, except ta relation to the Freed-,
men’s Bureau. This institution will
continue one year after the date of the
forthcoming proclamation.
The Kentucky Yoeraan now con
tains in its daily issue more than two
colums of gubernatorial proclamations,
fitteen in all offering rewards that
amount in the aggregate to over five
thousand dollars, for the arrest of mur
derers who are yet at large.
Both Houses of the Missoni Legisla
ture have passed resolutions disapprov
ing the President’s veto, by a veto, in
the House, of 77 to 95 ; in tho Senate,
21 to 5.
Gen. liobt. S, Lee is said to have
made u contract for the publication of
his history of the war with O. B. Rich-
ardson. of New York.
