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r ^ 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bureau for the relief of the freedrnen and relugees, which was approved of in the month ofMarch last, has not yet been repealed It was thought stringent and extensive enough for the purpose in view.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.