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Excerpt from record |
"I have the honor to acknowlege the receipt of Circular letter, dated August 2nd ‘66 requiring a report to be made of the number of outrages committed on blacks &c. and in compliance with said circular letter, I would most respectfully state that during the time specified in which the report is intend to cover, I have not known of any outrages being committed by any white person upon the person of any Freedman, thereby causing bodily harm. There has not been a single case come under my observation, or reported to me, of assault a battery committed upon any Freedman by whites, but one or two cases have been reported where both parties were blacks, but no serious consequences resulting. During the month of June, affairs went on swimmingly, also during the great portion of July, but about the last of July Freedmen begun to come in making complaints of having been driven off charged with violation of contract, and the parties who had exercised this uncalled for violence had refused to pay their hands for the time served. During the first three weeks of this month similar complaints came in, quite numerous, and apparently of the most aggravating character, and to me unprecedented. I labored hard from Monday morning until Saturday night listening to the complaints of the blacks & whites, (as many complaints were brought in by the employer against the employee) notifying parties to apper at my office for an investigation, investigating and settleing all cases that I possibly could without having to take the difficulties to a Majistrate for adjustment, and suceeded in this way in amicably disposing of many cases. In a few instances I notified parties to appear for an investigation, but was notified in return that the Bureau was a defunct institution and that they did not give a d—mn for the Bureau &c., this was not confined to the whites alone: in such cases I advised the parties to appeal to civil law for redress, which was done, and the case would receive a fair and impartial hearing, in most instances. I have made it a point to be present at all hearings before majistrates, so far as I could find time to do so, and have rendered all the assistance I could at such time, and in complicated cases I have assisted the parties in obtaining counsel, and in doing so I must say in justice to the legal fraternity that they have labored hard for their client when employed by a colored man, and when not employed have given any legal advice called for with cheerfulness. The only complaints of an aggravating nature which have been brought in, has been based on a charge of violation of contract and the parties who received the labor refusing to pay for that labor on the grounds that the contracts written by Chaplain Seage (which I consider disgraceful) bound the blacks to a worse servitude than they had to endure in days of slavery. They were bound against public morals (which was in violation of law) not to leave the premises at any time without permission not even allowing the blacks the privilege of going to church on Sunday without the consent of their employer, if they did leave at any time without permission, they violated their contract, consequently “forfeited” all pay due them: this class of cases have caused all the trouble that I have had during last month, and in such cases we have claimed the illegality of such contracts, put them aside, and adopted the principle in common law that where one man labors for another, the laborer is entitled to a reasonable compensation for his labor. and in all cases with perhaps two exceptions the justices have allowed them their earnings. one of the exceptional cases was where judgement was given in favor of the plaintiff for 30.00 when he was certainly entitled to at least twice that amount: the case was appealed. I am firmly of the opinion that the blacks can receive Justice in Civil law as well as in military before most County Majistrates not because they admire the present Status of the negro, but they are in law bound to administer justice, and the knowledge that if they do not promptly administer justice that the military will assert their Supremacy, and take matters into their own hands. Individualy, I know of no wrongs or outrages committed on the blacks, but that has been settled by the civil authorities as a class, quite satisfactory. I am of the opinion that the feelings of the people are more hostile today than twelve months ago, and have been told by one negro who asserts that he heard a conversation last week between some white men, that the negros would soon be reduced to slavery again, that President Johnson was in favor of it &c. and asked my opinion on that subject. I told him not to be allarmed, that their freedom would be maintained even at the point of the bayonet – which, confidentialy, I would not be surprised if we would be involved in another civil war in less than 6 months." |
