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The southern legislatures and conventions. The inducements pointed out by the President for compliance with the conditions thus imposed, in one instance, and presumable, therefore, in others, the immediate admission of Senators and Representatives in Congress. The character of the Convention and Legislatures thus assembles, was not such as to inspire confidence in the good faith of their members. Gov. Perry, of South Carolina, dissolves the convention assembled in that State before the suggestion had reached Columbia from Washington, that the rebel war debt should be repudiated, and gave as his reason that it was a "revolutionary body." There is no evidence of the loyalty or disloyalty of the members of those Conventions and Legislatures except the fact of pardons being asked for on their account. Some of these States now claiming representation refused to adopt the conditions imposed. No reliable information is found in these papers as to the constitutional provisions of several of these States, while in not one of them is there the slightest evidence to show that those "amended constitutions," as they are called, have ever been submitted to the people for their adoption. In North Carolina alone an ordinance was passed to that effect, but it does not appear to have been noted on. Not one of them, therefore, has been modified. Whether with President Johnson we adopt the theory that the old constitutions were abrogated and destroyed, and the people "deprived of civil government," or whether we adopt the alternative doctrine that they were only suspended and were revived by the suppression of the rebellion, the new provision must be considered as equally destitute of validity before adoption by the people. If the conventions were called for the sole purpose of putting the State Governments into operation, they had no power either to adopt a new Constitution or to amend an old one without the consent of the people. Nor could either a Convention or a Legislature change the fundamental law without power previously conferred. In the view of your Committee it follows, therefore, that the people of a State where the Constitution has been thus amended might feel themselves justified in repudiating altogether such unauthorized assumption of power, and might be expected to do so at pleasure. So far as the disposition of the people of the insurrectionary States, and the probability of adopting measures conforming to the changed condition of affairs, can be inferred from the papers submitted by the President as the basis of his actions, the prospects are far from encouraging. It appears quite clear that the anti-slavery amendments both to the State and Federal Constitutions were adopted with reluctance by the bodies which did adopt them, while in some States they have either been passed by in silence or rejected. The language of the provisions and ordinances of those States amount to nothing more than an unwilling admission of an unwelcome truth. As to the ordinance of secession, it is in some cases declared " null and void," and in others simply "repealed," and in no instance is a refutation of this deadly heresy considered worthy of a place in the new Constitution. If, as the President assumes, these insurrectionary communities were at the close of the war wholly without State government, it would seem that before being admitted in the direction of public affairs new governments should be regularly organized. Long usage has established, and numerous statutes have pointed out, the mode in which this should be done. A convention to frame a form of government should be assembled under competent authority. Ordinarily, this authority emanates from Congress; but, under the peculiar circumstances, your committee is not disposed to criticise the President's action in assuming the power exercised by him in this regard. The convention, when assembled, should frame a constitution of government, which should be submitted to the people for adoption. If adopted, a legislature should be convened to pass the necessary laws to carry it into effect. When a State, thus organized, claims representation in Congress, the election of Representatives should be provided for by law in accordance with the laws of Congress regulating representation, and the proof that the action taken has been in conformity to law should be submitted to Congress. In no case have these essential preliminaries been taken, The Conventions assembled seem to have assumed that the Constitution, which had been repudiated and overthrown, was still in existence and operative to constitute the States members of the Union, and to have contented themselves with such amendments as they were informed were requisite in order to insure them an immediate return to a participation in the Government of the United States. Not waiting to ascertain whether the people thus represented would even adopt the proposed amendments, they

however, must depend on other [[?]] of which it remains to treat. But it may [[?]] observed that the inducement to such a stop should be of the very highest character. It seems most unreasonable to your Committee to require satisfactory evidence that the ordinances and constitutional provisions, which the President deemed essential in the first instance, will be permanently adhered to by the States seeking restoration after being admitted to full participation of the Government, and will not be repudiated when that object shall have been accomplished. And here the burden of proof rests upon the late insurgents who are seeking restoration to the rights and privileges which they willingly abandoned, and not upon the people of the United States, who have never undertaken directly or indirectly to deprive them thereof. It should appear affirmatively that they are prepared and disposed in good faith to accept the result of the war, to abandon their hostility to the Government, and live in peace and unity with the loyal States, extending to all classes equal rights and privileges, and conforming to the Republican idea of liberty and equality. They should exhibit in their acts something more than an unwilling submission; a feeling, if not cheerful, certainly not offensive and defiant; and they should evince an utter reputation of all hostility to the General Government, by the acceptance of such just and reasonable conditions as that Government should think the public safety demands. Has this been done? Let us look at the facts shown by the evidence taken by the Committee. INSOLENCE OF THE SOUTH. Hardly has the war closed before the people of these insurrectionary States come forward and haughtily claim as a right the privilege of participating at once in that Government which they had for four years even fighting to destroy. Allowed and encouraged by the Executive to organize State Governments, they at once place in power leading rebels, unrepentant and unpardoned, excluding with contempt those who had manifested an attachment to the Union, and preferring, in many instances, those who had rendered themselves most obnoxious. In the face of the law requiring an oath of office which would necessarily exclude all such from Federal offices, they elect, with very few exceptions, as Senators actively participated in the rebellion, insultingly denouncing the laws as unconstitutional. It is only necessary to instance the election to the Senate of the late Vice-President of the Confederacy, a man who, in spite of his own acknowledged ability, and of his influence as a most prominent man to the cause of the of the rebellion, and who, unpardoned rebel that he is, with that oath staring him in the face, had the assurance to lay his credentials on the table of the Senate. Other rebels of scarcely less note or notoriety were selected from other quarters, professing no repentance, glorying apparently in the crime they had committed, avowing still as the uncontradicted testimony of Mr. Stephens and others proves, an adherence to the pernicious doctrince of secession, and declaring that they only yielded to necessity; they insist with unanimous voice upon their rights as States, and proclaim that they will submit to no conditions, whatever, as preliminary to their resumption of powers under the Constitution which they still claim the right to repudiate. SPIRIT OF THE SOUTHERN PRESS. Examining the evidence taken by your committee still further in connection with facts too notorious to be disputed, it appears that the Southern press, with but few exceptions, and those North, of newspapers established by Northern men, abounds with weekly and daily abuses of the institutions of the people of the loyal States, defends the men who adhered to the Union, and strives, constantly and unsorupulously, by any means in its power, to keep alive the fire of hate and discord between the two sections; calling upon the President to violate his oath of office and overturn the Government by force of arms, and drive the representative of the people from their seats in Congress. The national banner is openly insulted, not only by an ignorant population but at public meetings, and once, among other notable instances, at a dinner given in honor of a notorious rebel who had violated his oath and abandoned his place. The same individual is elected to an important office in the leading city of his State, although unpardoned rebel, so offensive that the press silently allows him to enter upon his official duties. In another State the leading General of the rebel armies is openly nominated for Governor by the Speaker of the House of Delegates, and the nomination is hailed by the people with shouts of satisfaction and openly indorsed by the press. OPPOSITION TO THE FREEDMEN'S BUREAU. Looking still further at the evidence taken by your Committee, it is found to be clearly shown by witnesses of the highest character, and having the best means of information, that the Freedmen's Bureau, instituted for the relief and protection of the freedmen and refugees, is almost universally opposed by the mass of the population, and is in an efficient condition only under military protection, while the Union men of the South are earnest in its defense, declaring in one voice that without its protection the colored people could not labor at fair prices, and could hardly live in safety. They also testify that without the protection of the United States troops, Union men, whether of Northern or Southern birth, would be obliged to abandon their homes. The feeling in many portions of the country toward the emancipated slaves, especially among

[[?]] HERESY NOT [[?]] any [[?]] or desire among the [[?]] to renew the attempt at secession at any [[?]] time, there is still, according to a large number of witnesses, including A.H. Stephens, who may be regarded as good authority on that point, a generally prevailing opinion which defends the legal right of secession and upholds the doctrine that the first allegiance of the people is due to the States, and not to the United States. This belief evidently prevails among leading and prominent men as well as among the masses and everywhere, except in some of the northern counties of Alabama and the eastern counties of Tennessee. The evidence of an intense hostility to the Federal Union and an equally intense love of the late Confederacy, nurtured by the war, is decisive. While it appears that nearly all are willing to submit, at least for the time being, to the Federal authority, it is equally clear that the ruling motive is a desire to obtain the advantages which will be derived from a representation which will be derived from a representation in Congress. Officers of the Union on duty and Northern men who go South to engage in business, are generally detested and proscribed. Men who adhered to the Union are bitterly hated and relentlessly persecuted. In some localities, prosecutions have been instituted in State courts against Union officers for acts done in the line of official duty, and similar prosecutions are threatened elsewhere as soon as the United States troops are removed. All such demonstrations show a state of feeling against which it is unmistakably necessary to guard. DISLOYAL REACTION. The testimony is conclusive that after the collapse of the Confederacy the feeling of the rebellious States was that of abject submissions. Having appealed to the tribunal of arms, they had no hope except that, by the magnanimity of their conquerors, their lives, and possibly their property, might be preserved. Unfortunately, the general issue of pardons to persons who had been prominent in the rebellion, and the feeling of kindliness and conciliation manifested by the Executive, and very generally indicated through the Northern press, had the effect to render whole communities forgetful of the crime they had committed, defiant toward the Federal Government, and regardless of their duties as citizens. The conciliatory measures of the Government did not seem to have been met even halfway. The bitterness and defiance exhibited toward the United States, under such circumstances, is without a parallel in the history of the world. In return for our leniency, we receive only an insulting denial of our authority; in return for our kind desire for the resumption of fraternal relations, we receive only an infamous assumption of rights and privileges long since forfeited. The crime we have punished is paraded as [??]avertue[??], and the principles of republican government, which we have vindicated at a so terrible a cost, are denounced as unjust and oppressive. CONTINUED SUSPENSION OF THE HABEAS CORPUS. If we add to this evidence the fact that, although peace has been declared by the President, he has not to this day deemed it safe to restore the writ of habeas corpus, to relieve the insurrectionary States of martial law, nor to withdraw the troops from many localities, and that the commanding General deems an increase of the army indispensable to the preservation of order, and the protection of loyal and well disposed people in the South, the proof of a condition of feeling hostile to the Union, and dangerous to the Government throughout the insurrectionary States, would seem to be overwhelming. With such evidence before them, it is the opinion of your committee: First--That the States lately in rebellion were, at the close of the war, disorganized communities, without civil government, and without Constitutions or other forms by virtue of which political relations could exist between them and the Federal Government. Second--That Congress can not be expected to recognize as valid the election of men from disorganized communities, which from the very nature of the case, were unable to present their claim to representation under those established and recognized rules, the observance of which has been hitherto required. Third--Congress would not be justified in admitting such communities to a participation in the government of the country without first providing such constitutional or other guarantees as will tend to such constitutional or other guarantees as will tend to secure the civil rights of all citizens of the republic. A just equality of representation is protection against a claim founded in rebellion and crime; a temporary restriction of the right of suffrage to those who have not actively participated in the efforts to destroy the Union, and the exclusion from positions of public trust of at least a portion of those whose crimes have provided enemies of the Union, and unworthy of public confidence. Your committee will, perhaps, hardly be deemed excusable for extending this report further, but, inasmuch as immediate and unconditional representation of the States lately in rebellion is demanded as a matter of right and duty, and even hesitation is denounced as grossly oppressive and unjust, as well as unwise and impolitic, it may not be amiss again to call attention to a few undisputable and notorious facts, and the principles of public law applicable thereto, in order that the propriety of that claim may be fully considered and well understood. TENNESSEE. The State of Tennessee occupies a position distinct from all the other insurrectionary States, and has been the subject of a separate report

'S DAILY POST
MONDAY EVENING, JUNE 18, 1866. NO.131
FREEDMEN'S AFFAIRS IN ARKANSAS.
REPORT OF GEN. SPRAGUE FOR THE MONTH OF MAY, 1866
BUREAU REFUGEES, FREEDMEN & ABANDONED LANDS,
FOR MISSOURI, ARKANSAS & INDIAN TERRITORY,
LITTLE ROCK, ARK., JUNE 7, 1866.
MAJOR-GENERAL O. O. HOWARD, COMMISIONER, &C., 
WASHINGTON, D.C.:
GENERAL: I have the honor to transmit herewith the required reports for the month of May, to wit: tabular Statements of issues of Government subsistence supplies to Refugees and Freedmen, showing where these issues were made and the different classes of persons who received them, changes in roster of officers and civilians during the month, in this department, and the changes made in the register of "Abandoned Lands;" to these I respectfully invite your attention. The issues of subsistence stores to the total number of Refugees and Freedmen for the months of April and May were as follows:
                No. Refugees.     No. Rations.     Cost.
April           2,202             43,742           5,094 49
May             3,053             65,375           8,273 88
                _____             _____            _____
Increase        851               21,633           3,179 39

                No. Freedmen.     No. Rations.     Cost.
April           393               6.919            882 17 
May             536               9,965            2,270 52
                _____             _____            _____
Increase        143               3,046            388 35

Early in May, notice was given that all issues of "rations" by officers of this Bureau would cease on the first of June, except to such as were in infirmaries established by the Bureau, or were so near the office of a Superintendent, as to enable him to make a personal investigation as to their necessities, but I find that from inability of very many to procure seeds in time for planting, a particularly Irish potatoes and other crops that could have been realized early in the season, and more than all from the destitution of the people of any kind of animals to plow or cultivate crops, that great destitution and suffering will prevail in many parts of the country, unless relieved by the charity of the Government until the corn harvest is reached. A large majority of these who are now destitute and have required assistance from the Government, have no crops of any kind under cultivation except corn; they look forward with bright anticipations to the season when "roasting ears" can be gathered. Under these circumstances I shall consider it my duty to alleviate the destitution of the people, to some extent at least, by the issue of Government subsistence stores. Capt. Sam Houston, of the steamer Ozark, writes as follows: "In making weekly trips from this place (Little Rock) to Fort Smith I have noticed the suffering condition of the people along the river at different points, and I believe if something is not done to help feed them a great many will perish from want of food; and in a majority of cases they are women and children who have lost their husbands and fathers in the Union cause, and have no help." Governor Murphy indorses this gentlemen and his statement, and requests me to send food to the destitute in that portion of the State of Arkansas, which I shall do. Capt. Houston has kindly offered to carry the supplies on his steamer free of charge. The supplies will be sent to Ozark, Franklin county, in charge of an officer for distribution In issuing to the destitute, no discrimination has been made on account of loyal or disloyal sentiments, or services during the war; the aim has been to assist the helpless destitute, and the destitute who are trying to help themselves. I regret to say, however, that in many parts of the country no sympathy or favor is shown by late rebels to families known as Union in sentiment during the war. In some portions of the country, far removed from military posts, this intolerant spirit is carried to such an extent that the Union people are still persecuted, and made to feel insecure in their own homes, from which they were driven by armed rebels during the war. As to matters of general interest, I can not do better than to give you extracts from some of the reports of Superintendents for the month of May. Under date of May 31 Capt.. Henrey Sweeney, General Superintendent of the Helena district, writes: "On the 16th and 15th inst. I was at Marianna, and visited several plantations in the vicinity. I found that all the freedmen were working con-
From one of the southern counties of Arkansas an old and highly respectable citizen, under date of May 28, writes: "The white citizens, with few exceptions, are kind to the freedmen, and have sought their labor with good wages and plentiful homes. The freedmen, on the other hand have been much more faithful than any expected, and have honorably complied with their contracts, save in a few instances. "In general view their condition is, under the present system, as desirable as could be hoped, and had it not been for the recent disastrous overflow in Red river, the happiest results would have followed, both to themselves and employers, and also the prosperity of the country, for the energy and industry displayed by them would have brought into their midst money and plenty, and would have encouraged employers and others to give better wages for their labor. I hope that the river lands will yet make enough to keep up their labor in after years at such rates will result in their support and prosperity. Among the better class of society the freedmen find the best homes and command the best wages for their labor. It is only among the ignorant that they are maltreated, and here in this class I am sorry to state that some trouble has and still exists. "The ignorance of the freedmen is to be much regretted, as from this cause they frequently commit serious errors with the white as well as the colored population. Their moral character is in great need of elevation, and no greater philanthropy could be shown than the sending of missionaries among them to teach them intelligent christianity, and teachers are needed for the education of their children. The presence of a few soldiers would do much to keep peace among all classes, and perhaps stop further trouble form the class of society above referred to. "With simply the presence of the Bureau, the freedmen in the main are dealt with fairly, but if there was no such protection, in less than two years they would become almost extinct, for the bullet would be the chief food and payment of all indebtedness to the ignorant race. This I know is not confined to my county alone, and evidences of this kind are of everyday occurrence in Northeastern Texas, and distant points from garrisons in this State. Even a few days ago, about the 20th of April last, a freedman, Grandville Trigg, en route to Washington, Hempstead county, was robbed and, after the act, to conceal the crime, a greater one was committed by shooting him and leaving him in the woods for dead. This was done by four men, almost beardless as he states." Maj. J. P. Watson, General Superintendent, Jackson, Arkansas District, under date of May 31st, writes: "There are very few of the class termed refugees in this District; with some exceptions those who are here, are doing as well as could be expected. There are some in counties above here who are in a destitue condition, but their greatest difficulty is to get justice before the civil courts. This is also the case with all Union men. "Mr. Simpson Mason, Superintendent for Fulton county, reports to me that the people of Isard county have conspired together to make the freedmen work for merely their board and clothing, by refusing to hire them and given them wages. These people also refuse to pay them for any and all work done by them since their being made free. I have sent word to that county that any freedmen who cannot get fair wages where they are, can get all they can do in this vicinity and ample compensation for their labor. "I have had reports from Lawrence and Randolph counties that the freedmen are not doing as well as could be hoped, owing to the bitter rebellious spirit of the people. Those counties are in a very bad state. They are full of desperate characters who scruple at nothing, and Union men and freedmen are shut out from justice before the laws. The rebel citizens boast of this openly. I have sent Lieut. Dyer to those counties to attend to the affairs of the Bureau. He has not yet returned. The necessity for a small detachment of troops to the be stationed above here, becomes more apparent every month. There is great deal of bitter feeing against the freedmen throughout the whole District, and to have been loyal to the Government is a crime for which a man must answer with his property, and often with his life. It is really pitiable to hear the complaints and grievances of these unfortunate people, left as they are to the tender mercies of those who are rebellious as they were three years since, and who are ever ready to persecute them. These things are not so openly manifested in the vicinity 
"Williams, District Superintendent, urging immediate action in the matter. He proceeded, I thought, reluctantly, carelessly and slowly. Today I sent him the instructions referred to. My impression is that he will turn the case over to the civil authorities. If referred, I do not believe a solitary thing will be done. I feel certain that a jury from this town would never convict the man even for an assault with a whip upon a woman, because that woman is a negro, and 'sauced' the other woman, who is white. Can the colored people expect protection from such authorities yet awhile? I shall watch this case with interest should it be referred. "I believe that intelligent, discreet and conscientious officers, responsible not to the people directly--that is, not holding office directly from them--can so chasten the unpatriotic and the brutal, and so educate the well disposed persons in our midst, that in a year or two a public sentiment would grow up which would elect 'civil authorities' before whom all these questions could safely go. A course other than this might chrystalize a public sentiment and intensify a wrongful prejudice that might at last have to be broken by force or result in the extinction of the colored race in our midst. "The term 'impudence' or 'sauce,' (which should have been explained in its proper place in this communication,) meant usually any words returned for the grossest charges; a meek denial of having done wrong was, by some, declared impudence. Not 'shutting his mouth' when told to do so by master or mistress when the slave should protest his innocence of grave or light charges. Not 'holding down his or her hands' when their mistress was whipping them, but using them to break the force of the blow (always considered voluntary, no difference how hard the infliction) was always regarded as the extreme of impudence. To respond, 'I have done all the work I can' to a charge of 'lasiness,' was always quite insolent. To walk slowly when told to run was insupportable insolence. I was an indulgent master, but remember, myself, whipping a little 'rascal' because he would not run fast when I called him. The point I desire to make is that a court of justice, plucked from a public sentiment of that kind, catches the hue of its surroundings, and until that public sentiment advances there is but little hope of fair dealing.' "On yesterday I was in Mr. Williams' office, who is the Superintendent for this county. A gentleman came in and reported that a negro had 'sauced' him, and that he struck him. Mr. W. asked me if, legally, such a man was amenable to the laws. I replied that 'no words justified an assault, but were I on a jury I should be for inflicting the lightest penalty on any person who struck another in consequence of very abusive or threatening language.' A very respectable old citizen in the room at the time swore that, 'if he could not thrash a negro who insulted him he would leave the country.' This feeling of blows for impudence, as it existed under the old system, is hard to eradicate from the minds of our people. It can only be done, in my opinion, by the frequent infliction of a penalty, coupled with explanations as to the law and justice therefore, and this by officers holding authority directly under the United States Government. Officers elected by the people in the Southern States would enforce no penalties for wrong done a negro, less than felony. The people are not up to it, and our public men, especially of small caliber and great pretensions, fear the people. Not one of them could be 're-elected.' And there are the least number who can brave public opinion, face demagogues, and standing on the right, maintain it until the people come to them in the end. "But, after all, I am hopeful of great changes, and a bright future for even the most obdurate and obstinate in our midst, provided always that too many opportunities are not thrown away is this and the coming step of final adjustment of sectional difficulties." I have given the foregoing extracts from the reports that have reached me for the month just closed, and assure you that they can be taken as a true index of the sentiments of the people. These letters are from men who come daily in contact with the people and know whereof they speak. There are many good men in every community in this State, who despite of former prejudices, would deal justly with all men, and give cheerful obedience to the laws which are now in force; but it cannot be claimed, with truth, that a majority of such men can be found in very many communities. I was informed yesterday of the murder, by shooting, of two freedmen. In a distant part of the State; also the hanging of another in a differ