TERMS OF PUBLICATION THK BEDFORD GAZETTE is published e>ery Fri day morninjr by MEYERS A .MENGEL, lt 00 per annum, if paid "trictly in advance, $2.50 if paid within six runnths; $3.00 if not paiii within sis nrnnths. Alt suhstript ion accounts M UST be settled annually. No pap/r will be gent out of the State unless paid for tsiDVAStti, and all such suhseriptiona will invariably be discontinued at the expiration of the time for which they are paid. All ADVERTISEMENTS for a less term than three months "TEN CENTS per line for cash In sertion. Spertal notices one-half additional All! resoluti'ns "f Associations; commenie (ions of limited rf individual interest, and notices of inar- Irigcee and deaths exceeding Ave line, ten cents I , r line. Editorial notices fifteea cents per line. Ml legal Notice* of every find, and Orphans' i t and Judicial Sales, are required hy law \ , ■ e published in both papers published i/t this ! I date. Jjjf All advertising due after first insertion. A liberal disc tint is made to persons advertising I by the quarter, half year, or year, as follows : 13 months, 6 months. 1 rear "One square - - - $4 50 $0 00 $lO 00; Two squares ... fi 00 900 Iff 00 1 Three squares - - - 800 12 00 20 00 i gu trter column - - 14 00 20 00 35 00 1 : flslf column ... |8 00 25 00 45 00 ! i One column - ... 20 00 45 00 8!) 00 : *one square to occupy one inch of space. 'l* PRINTING, of every kind, done with J 1 ceatness and dispatch. THE GAZETTE OFFICE has 9 _•( been refitted with a Power Press and new type. , i everything in the Printing line can be execu i in the most artistic manner and at the lowest RTTES —TERMS CASH IN" letters should be addressd to ! MEYERS A MENGEL, Publishers. I at XAU\ TOBEPH W. TATE, ATTORNEY f! AT LAW, BEDFORD. PA., wilt promptly : "Kit to eollecrions of bounty, bntk pay. Ac., . i ill hurinefc entrusted to his care in Bedford is! iilj.iimn*counties. "h advanced on judgments, notes, miljtary , 1 i iher claim". II i" for sale Town lots in Tatcsviile, where a ; 'l Church is erected, and where a large School j: -hull be built. Farms. Land and Timber L-nve. from one acre to 5(8) acres to suit pur .. '-i'rs. office nearly opposite the "Mtngel Hotel" and B.i ; of Reed A Schell. April 6. IS66—ly M!. srr U'.FE. E r KERR. HIIARPE A KERR, ATTORNEYS . - AT LAW BEDFORD, PA., will practice in uirrs of Bedford and adjoining counties Of t n Juliana St., opposite the Banking House of Heed h Sclii'll |March 2. '66. I. f: DFRBORROW. | JOHN LrTZ. nr It BORROW A LUTZ, j f ATTORNEYS AT LAW. BEDFORD, PA , il attend promptly to nil business intrusted to • c care. Collections made on the shortest no . v are also, regularly licensed Claim Agents r i will give special attention to the prosecution itirs ngainst the Government for Pensions, Pay. Bounty, Bounty Lands, Ac. >iffire on Juliana street, one door South of the '•! : gel House," and nearly opposite the Itnitti rer TOHN P.REED, ATTORNEY AT LAW. BEDFORD. PA Respectfully tenders • - rviccs to the pnhltc. office second door North of the Mengel House, i. Ifori. Aug. 1, 16J1. FOHNPALMER, A TT<) It NE Y AT I.AW. BEDFORD. PA. Will promptly attend si! business entrusted to his care. pMrticular attention paid to the collection of 11 : ry claims. Office on Juliana Street, nearly -ite tfii Mengel 11 use. : If : 1. Aug 1. 1.561. \ 11 SPY M. A LS IP, ATTORNEY AT | j LAM", BEDFORD, PA. Will faithfully and ;; ■ lptly attend to all business entrusted to his ,e in B-lford and adjoining counties. Military •htims, bick pay, bounty. Ac., speedily collected. Office with M inn A Spang, on Juliana street, tw dome "nu'li of the Mengel House. Jan. 22.19 M, r V. KIMItELL. | J. W. LIXGENFELTER. Kim mkll & lin< l enkelter. ATTORNEY-AT LAW, BEDFORD. PA.. Hive formed a partnership in the practice <>l ! tin* Law. Office on Juliana street, two doors South cf:h 'Mengel House,"' / t 11. SPANG, ATTORNEY AT \ I, I.AW, BEDFORD. PA. Will promptly nt ■■■ ■!'" collections and all business entrusted to -re in Bedford >nd adjoining counties. 'See on Juliana Street, three doers south of the M i gel House,"' opposite the residence ot Mrs. M y 13. 1364. ! F MEYERS. | J. W. DICKKRSON. MEYERS A* dickerson, AT TORNEYS AT LAW. Bedford. Pa., office • -as formerly occupied by Hon. IV .P. Schell, loora enst of the GAZETTE office, will practice several courts of Bedford count j. Pensions, v and ack t:iy obtained and the purchase • -;de of real estate attended to. J may 11. *>b. JOHN H. FILLER, Attorney at ham\ • I Bedford, Pa. Office near y opposite the Post (apr.20,*65.—ly. i'hiE.icußUi and scntists. j) 11. PENNSYL, M. D., BLOODY 1 , KI N. Pa.. (Dte surgeon 56th P A \~) ten ■ hi- nrnfcs.-ioiial services to the people of that tad virirdty. Dec. 22. u.i-ly* jr w. JAMISON, M. D., BLOODY . , P.T N. PH.. tenders his professional servi ■' Mi■: people of that place and vicinity. Office nr west of Richard Langdou s store. N .• 24. '6s—ly j kit. J. L. MARBOURG, Having I t permanently located, respectfully tenders —Miiiulrvices to the citizens of Bedford • A -icity. -.!■ Juliana street, cast side, nearly opposite -kit. ' House of Reed A Schell. if'rd. Feb;u.try 12, Im>4. N ai i j J. C. MINNICH. JR., j\I..\TLS T S , i t BEDFORD, PA. •1.6 Battk Building. Juliana St. r- r itious pertaining to Surgical or Mo ■i! Dentistry carefully p< rformcd. and war -1 I' oth Powders and mouth \\ ashes, ex articles, alw ays on hitt.d. TERMS—CABH. iford. January 6,1865. * RRF.n, | J.J. SCHELL, j > E E D A N 1) SC H E L 1., I I thinkers and AL K 11S I N E XC'H ANG E, BEDFORD. PA., 4FT.- bought and sold, collections made and prumptly remitted. •- ,-ulieitcd. O E. SHANNON F. BF.NIMHCT [1 T'P, SHANNON&('<)., BANK !I ERS, BEPEORH, PA. HANK (IF DISCOUNT AND DEPOSIT. KdIIOXS mode for the East, West. North v ; it. a. 1 the general business -d Exchange I ' I Ji'hipj and Accounts Colli*ctcil aiul - ,i-s promptly made. REAL E.-TAIL gat aad s .Id. Oct. 20, 1865. i \AXIKL BOIiDEIt, • ' Pitt street, two doops west ok the bed- j aoTEL, Bedford. Pa. 'TCHMAKER AND DEALER IV JEWEL RY. SPECTACLES. AC. ' son hand h sto k of fine 6oM nl v il- Vu .Spectftcles of Brilliant Double He -1 r h!s Scotch Pebble Glasses. Gold • Chains, Breast Pins, Finger Kings, best of hi(#. Shoes. (Jueensware. and Varie . -j-'Or ler? trout Country Merchants re- Tuily solicited. 1 2'). |Stis. \) H. ANDERSON, , • '■l Scrivener rrnil f bnvri/ancer, , ' evtrkvillk, bei>fokd ror ntt. p > " i to the nyh-. of Deeds. Mortgages. Articles of Afl Aeiaout. and all business <■./ A lr 'ttaitc!ed by a Scrivener and Conveyan . ' patronage of the publio is respectfully ' M -tf. BY MEYERS & MENSEL. TIAVCLTVARC, &R. : GEO. BLYVYKR. | JOHN F. BLIMYKK / 1 KORGE B1 jYM YER A S< >N a I hnvng formed a pArlnership, on the 6th of Mwrch, 1866, in the HA 11DWARE A- 710fTSE FURNISITIXG B US I V ESS. respectfully invite the public to their new rooms, three purest quality, and selected with great care. General assortment of popular Patent Medicines The attention of the Ladies is particular y iuvi- ■ ted to thes'ockof PERFUMERY, TOILET and FANCY 1 ARTICLES, consi.-ting of the best perfumes of the day. Colognes, Soaps. Preparations for the Hair, ' Complexion and Teeth : Camphor ice for chapped ! hands; Teeth and Hair Brushes, Port Monaies, Ac. j Of Stationery. there is a fine assortment: Billet. Note. L'tter, Leaf and Mourning Paper, ; Envelops, Pens. Pencils. Ink. Blank Deeds, Power j of Attorneys, Drafting Paper, Marriage Certifi- j cates. Ac.. Ac. Also, a large quantity of Books, I which will be sold very cheap. Coal Oil let rap Hinge Burner, can he lighted j without removing the chimney—all patterns and prices. Glass Lanterns, very neat, for burning Coal Oil. Lamp chimneys of an improved pattern. Lamp Shades of beautiful patterns. Howe's Family Dve Colors, the shades being light Fawn. Drab. Snuff and Dark Brown, Light and 1 Dark Blue. Lijht and Dark Green, Yellow, Pink, ! Orange, Royal Purple, Scarlet, Maroon, Magenta, Cherry and Black Humphrey's Homeopathic Remedies. Cigars of best brands, smokers can rely on a ' good ' igar. Rose Smol ing Tohrcru. Michigan and Solace Fine Cat, Natural IrCaf, Tuast and Big plug. Finest and purest French Confections, ! PURE DOMESTIC WINDS. Consisting of Grape, Blackberry and Elderberry i FOR MEDICINAL I SE. * y The attention of physicians is invited to "lie stock of Drugs and Medicines, which they can j purchase at reasonable prices. Country Merchants' orders promptly filled. Goods J put up with neatness and care, and at reasonable | prices. J. L LEW IS designs keeping a first class Drug t Store, and having on hand at all times a general j assortment of goods. Being a Druggist ot several 1 years experience, physicians can rely on having their prescriptions carefully and accurately com pounded . [Feb 9, 66—tt J) E M OVA Is.—CA LL AXI) SEE ! |\ NEW MILLINERY STORE'-Mrs. E. V. j MOWKY would respectfully inform her old friends ; and customers, as well as the ladies generally, j that she ba- removed her store to the fine rooms, j immediately opposite the Bedford Hotel, formerly j occupied by J. Cessna, where she h is just received j a large and carefully selected assortment of NEW MILLINERY and DRESS GOODS, and j NOTIONS, consisting, in part, of BONNETS and HATS. RIBBONS. FLO VERS, fir ALL WOOL DELAINES. POPLINS. BERAGES. ALPACAS. LA WNS, CALICOES, fir . LADIES COATS and SUA 0 LS, BEST KID GLOVES, S /LKand TIIREAD Gloves, COLLARS. HOOP SKIRTS. BA IeMOR A LS. CORSETS, fir . \c. Also, a fine assortment of LADIES". MISSES' and CHILDREN SHOES, made specially to order. These goods will be Sold at the lowest prices, but for CASH only. Mrs. Mowry returns her thanks for past favors, and respectfully solicits a continu ance of the patrunage of the ladies of Bedford and vicinity. [apr.27, 66. MISS KATE DEAL A MRS. M. It. SCHAEFFER have just returned from the city with a fine assortment of fashionable BONNETS. HATS. RIBBONS. FLOWERS. GLOVES, ladies' and gents' hose, ladies' and gents' hand kerchiefs and collars, fancy neck-ties, ruffling, dress buttons and trimming, machine silk and cot ton. hair brushes, tooth brush*'", clothes brushes, soaps, perfumery, enamel, skirt braid, embroider ing braid, ladies' corsets and hoops, bilmoral skirts, lace veils, tissue for veils, cloths for sacks, dress good-;, poplins, iawns, ginghams. Ac., Ac. Mantua-making and all kinds ot Milliner work done in the rhctrpesl and best manner, may 1166. JJH'HA Rl> LEO, j Manufacturer of I CABINET-WAKE, CHAIRS, A-C., - BF.DKORD. PA., I The undersigned being engaged in the Cabinet making business, will make to order and keep on : hand everything in bis line of manufacture. ! BUREAFS, DRESSING STANDS, PARLOR AND EXTEN SION TABLES, CHAIRS, BEDSTEADS, V ASH STANDS, AC., AC., 1 will be furhished at all prices, and to suit every taste. COFFINS will also be made to order. L 'Prompt attention paid to all orders for work. , Shop on West Pitt Street, nearly opposite the residence of George Shuck July 10, 1863.— tf RICHARD LEO. I >RINTERS' INK has made many a businessman rich We ask you to try it in 'he K OLU(IWI* of THK OAZKTTR R I N11E Loral circulation of the BKD- I FORD GAZETTE is larger than that of any other paper in this s-etion ol oountry, and therefore of ers the greatest inducements to business men to fdverttse in its columns. I;VERY VARIETY AND STYLE RJ OF JOB PRINTING neatly executed at low rates at THE BEDFORD GAZETTE office. Call and leave your orders 'flic •-XlrdfoYil (!V.i?rttp, IKHKOMEVS ITI RI'IR ivmrita- TIOX. lieiti-raH NtcMlii>an*u ami Firtlorton'w Final Report. Generals Steedman and Fullerton | have recently submitted to tin* Secre tary of War a final report of their in vestigation into the operations ofthe Freedmen's Bureau in the Southern i States, from which we take the follow ; ing extracts: REFORM. A great reduction in the expense of | the Bureau, and a reform which would ! render it far less objectionable than it I is now would be effected by the discon j tinuance of all paid employees not in the military service of the Govern ! ment. This would reduce the expense for clerks, contract surgeons, hospital servants, Ac., the following amounts : Per annum. Georgia, $34,684 Alabama, 33,312 Mississippi, 3bo. To meet this ex- I pendilure there were collected, in fax es and rents, the following amounts: For school purposes, $!MJ,.387 36 I From rents, 62.431 60 I From poll tax, 40,966 11 j Fronu'orps d'Afrique tax, 23,000 00 From fines, 673 10! Total. $263,448,47 Leaving a deficit of $66,067 33, to be paid out of the National Treasury.— These expenses are in addition to the transportation, rations, and Quarter masters' supplies furnished by the Government. It is difficult to deter mine to what use the vast amount of! property held by the Bureau ha- been : applied. At the very lowest estimate! the property taken posso-sion of, as ! confiscated or abandoned, amounted in i value to ten mil lons of dollars, and the I rents returned above are LC - than one percent, on trie entire amount. The expenditure ofthe Bureau, un der tlie present administration, for a- 1 gents, civilian clerks, and employees , about IT" headquarters alone, amount to not less than $40,236 a year, oxelu- ; "ive of the pay of staff pffie rs, and or derlies in the military service. A large proportion ofthe money ex pended on the public school" under the ] administration of the Rev. T. W. Con way, late Assistant Commissioner, we we are satisfied was squandered. Mr. Matthew Whildon, formerly chief clerk in the school department, in evi dence given before us and hereto ap- ! ponded (marked 81, states that in Sep tember, 1866, Captain Pease, the school superintendent, reported officially that TIKWE were forty schqpls in operation and in flourishing condition, when, in fact, there were but two. It was also sworn to before us that the books and I records which would have shown this report to be inaccurate were destroyed in Captain Pease's office and others substituted. We can see no object for \ the fabrication of this false report, un- J less it was to account for payments made to persons who were not engag ed in teaching. <>n examining the pay roll No. 2 for the month of August, 1866, we found that after it had been certified and appoved, names bad been added, and the totals erased and chang ed on every page. We found also a diserepency of several hundred dollars between the pay roll for this month and the labor rolls No. 15. From the sworn testimony also here to appended it will be seen that ('apt. Morse, appointed Provost Marshal of the Bureau hy Mr. Conway, made the Provost Marshal's office, a slave pen, arresting freedmen and selling them to planters at $6 a head, and sharing the proceeds with his special policemen who made the arrests. This officer further collected a large amount of mo ney from freedmen and white person arrested by him for various offences, and the hooks only show receipts from this source amounting to $673 16. The Bureau is cultivating a large plantation in this State, for which it BEDFORD. PA.. FRIDAY MORNING, AUGUST 24. 1866. 1 pays $15,000 a year as rent. We can scarcely imagine the excuses for rent ing land on account of the United States, when the Government, through each Congress, is giving away millions of acres of public lands to corpora tions. Major General Absoloiu Bairdisthe Assistant Commissioner of Louisiana, and was also in military command of the department when we visited it. — He has undoubtedly improved upon the administration of MR. Conway. TEXAS. The facilities for traveling in Texas beingsolimited, and the State so large, we found it impossible to make such an investigation as would enable us to report fully upon theeoudition of affairs in that department. The headquarters of the Bureau are located at Galveston, and a few agents are stationed in the most accessible and populous parts of the State. As to the condition of af fairs in the interior, we were unable to obtain accurate information, either from the agents of the Bureau or from any other sources. We visited Rich mond and Houston, where we met sev eral of t he agents,from other districts, who were there in attendance on a court-martial. At Richmond, Captain Sloan, the a gent ofthe Bureau, Is engaged in plant ing, in connection with his former clerk, Captain Porter, and an ex-officer of the Rebel army, Captain Mitchell. Captain Sloan denied, under oath, that he was or over had been interested in the plantation of Messrs. Porter and Mitchell, but Major Pearson, comman dant of the troops at this post, and Dr. Bovd, Post Surgeon, both subsequent ly swore before us tliat Captain Sloan told them repeatedly he was interested in the farm, and had mentioned to them the amount lie expected to real ize by it. Complaints were made to us by other persons that Captain Sloan had employed the ~o\ver ofthe Bureau to take negroes from their plantations and place them on his own. We ap pend the testimony taken in this case, j marked "C." Among the agents we met at lions- 1 ton was Lieut. C. F. Harden brook, First V. 8.C., agent at Beaumont, Jef ferson county, who stated to us that the ! freednien were doing well in his dis trict, and that the disposition ofthe people was very fair. Most of the freedmen were engaged in herding stock, and were paid from $lO to sls a month in coin. lle subsequently men tioned that he laid recently arrested Dr. Houston, a citizen in his district, on the report of a freedman that the Doctor had said he did not regard bis parole; but finding it was impossible to obtain evidence against hie- prinoiJ-r. he had been obliged to release him. — This officer reported to us other actions of his own equally absurd as this, sat isfying OS he was. utterly incompetent for his posi .ion. Having heard unfavorable reports from the Breuliam district, we exam ined the agent, Captain S. A. Craig, seventeenth veteran reserve corps, whom we also met at Houston. He 1 stated that hi- predecessor, Lieut. .Ar nold, of the 12th Illinois cavalry, hail | kept no records, and left nothing in the office hut a list of contract- and a file of orders, and he could give us no in formation of hia official A'DS. We are satisfied that most of the complaints made again-T < -.qitain Craigare ground less. All the Bureau agents in Texas exer cise judicial powers in both civil and criminal cases, and in the discharge of those arbitrary and dangerous func tions frequently arrest and imprison j respectable citizens upon mere rumor. Captain Sloan, the Bureau officer at Richmond, IKTOIV alluded to, whileat Galveston, our of his district, arrested it respectable citizen and put him in prison, on the plea that lie wanbd him as a witne— in a case which lie only knew from rumor would tie brought before him. Ten iif rhe thirty-live agents in this State are citizen planters. < )ne of them, : Col. MeComiaghe, agent in Thornton I county, was formerly a Colonel in the' ltehe! army, and was appointed an a- i gent ot the Bureau by General Grego ry, tlx N Assistant Commissioner of the' State, wliii •.-till unpardoned. We heard many rumors with respect | to Gen. Gregory himself being engag ed in planting, hut on investigation we ; concluded that these statement.- were unfounded. While we believe Gen. J Gregory to have been honest in his ad- : ministration, we think iii- extreme! views and policy produced ill-feeling J and bitterness between the whites and J blacks. So far as we saw or were able to get information in Texas, the iVecdnien were working, well and the crops were very promising. The wages paid— all the payments being made in specie— were better than in any other depart ment. Brevet Major Gen. J. B. Kiddoo is the present Assistant Commissioner for Texas. SUMMARY. IN pursuing this investigation, which has now extended over four months, we have found extreme difficulty in complying with that portion of our in struction- which requires us to report upon the operation of the Bureau and its mode of administration. The BU rea has no settled mode of administra tion. There is an entire absence of sys tem or uniformity in its constitution. In one State its officers exercise judi cial powers; in adjoining States all case are referred to the civil authorities; while in a third State the Bureau offi cers collect the cases and turn them over to the military provost courts to dispose of. In some departments the officers of the Bureau have attempted to regulate the rate of WASTES;* one form of contract between employer and em ployed i prescribed inoneState, while in another a differeht form is adopted. In Louisiana the expenses of the freed men's schools, have been wholly paid by the Government; in other States the schools are partially self-support ing, and in Texas they are entirely so. In some localities the Bureau officers interfere arbitrarily between the plant er and the freedman, in favor of the freed man; in other localities the Bu reau is used as a means of coercing the freedman in favor ofthe planter. The expenditure of the Bureau varies as much as its made of administration. — In one State the expense- are over $300,000 a year; in another State, with an equal population, the expenses are not more than $">0,000. In some States the expenses have been met by taxes levied on and collected from the people; in other States the COB is en tirely borne by the United States Trea sury. We found it impossible to investi gate the accounts of the Bureau Quar termasters, for the reason that where the funds used were received from tax es, rents, lines and sales of abandoned property, there were no means of as certaining.theamounts received except from the personal statements of the of ficers themselves. While -A Quarter master in the army, drawing his funds from the Government, ha- the amount charged up to hint and is * bliged to ac count for it in his return, the looseness ofthe administration of the Quarter master's Department of the Bureau and the absence of all cheek upon the officers give no security except the per sonal honesty of the men themselves. We examined the accounts of Brevet Brigadier Genera! Whittlesey, Bureau Quartermaster of the Department of Mississippi, who satisfied us that he had honestly administered the affairs of his department, and had accounted for all the money received; but wheth er his predecessor, who collected a. larg°amount from taxes, rentsandsales paid over to General Whittlesey, all the money in his hands belonging to the Bureau, we were unable to deter mine. We do not make this statement to reflect upon that officer, against whom there were no charges, hut to illustrate the looseness of the system. The official report of Col. Reno, Rro vost Marshal General of the Bureau of Louisiana, a copy of which is herewith forwarded, marked "D," shows a defi cit of upwards of S7, OOOin the accounts of the officers who were engaged in the collection of taxes in New Orleans, which deficit Reno -ay- he is unable to explain in consequence of the loose manner in which the books were kept. One of the defaulting officers, Lieut. Foster, who Col. Reno believes appro priated to his own use the largest a mount of the deficiency,carried off his cash-book with him. This officer, on his own re-poixdbility, levied an 'unci- j dental fax," which Col. Reno call- "an invention of bis own, "and which, "with the exception of one or two hundred dollars, went into his own pocket." We are of opinion that at the close I of the war and for some time after the I cessation of hostilities, the Freedmen's , Bureau did good. The people of the , South, having at first no faith in the ne- j groes working under a free labor sys- J tini , were desirous of getting rid of' them, an L during the summer of 1.-66, : judicious Bureau and military officers j did much toward restoring order and j harmony, and inducing the people of the South to resume the cultivation of their plantations by employing the freedmen. Before the close of 1-66 there wa.- an entire revolution in the sentiments of the people of the South with regard to negro labor. A feeling of kind.;, -s irung u p toward the freed men, resulting perhaps mainly from the conviction hat the labor was desi rable and profitable, and the only labor j to be had. The necessity for the Bu- 1 reau then ceased. Since then, while it ! lias been beneficial in some localities, it lias been productive in the aggregate of more barm than good, it has oc casioned and will perpetuate discord as long as it exists, though administered by the purest and wisest men of the na tion. The freedmen regard its presence as evidence that they would he unsafe without it; and the white people con sider it an imputation upon their in tegrity and fairness, an espionage upon theolficial action of all their courts and magistrates, as well asupon the private conduct of their citizens. Both races are tlui- made suspicious and bitter, by an agency which in the present disor ganized condition of civil government and society in the Southern States is powerless to advance the interests of either. The best protection the freedman has in the South is the value of his labor ' in the market, and if he is left free to dispose of this at all times to the high est bidder, unshackled by contracts made for him by Bureau officers, no apprehension need be felt for his safety or his success. If the freedmen cou d at this moment demand the wages which the high prices of the products of the South would justify, $1 per day and board would lie the ruling wages, instead of $lO or sl2 per month, the prices now paid. But they cannot take advantage of the demand for their la bor.- Theyarebound by contract—en slaved for twelve months through the VOL. 61.-WHOLE No. 5.361. agency and influence of the Freedmen'- Bureau. The hands on'the Mississip pi steamboats are not required to make contracts, and they are getting $lO a month and their board for labor less exacting than that of a plantation ne gro. The freed men on the Ogeechee and Savannah Rivers are receiving, on the rice plantations, from $lO to sl-"> per month under contract for the year, while the laborers employed on the Georgia Central Railroad, which runs between these two streams, are get ing $1 :>o a day. Some complaints were made to us by the planters on the Sa vannah river that their laborers were discontented and did not work as re quired by their contract.-. One of the planters, a practical, liberal-minded man, explained the cause of the dis content to be the low wages at which the negroes were hired, lie said: "1 can get hands enough, and good work dohe, too, by paying a dollar a day and rations; and T anipaying that, and ex pect to pay even more. I can give $3 a day and make money. The negro is going to make all he can out of his free dom, and hehas aright todo so." The enlightened policy advocated by this gentleman—a policy strictly in accord ance with justice and sound political economy—is defeated by the contract system, inaugurated and forced into practical operation by the officers of the Freednien's Bureau. We met with in stances of freed men working for $lO a month and rations, under yearly con tracts sanctioned by the Bureau, while in the same field,doing the same work, other freed men, not under contracts, were getting $1 a day and rations. In all the large towns in the Mississippi valley, during the months of May and June, planters were offering*! Tier day and rations for freed men, while under the sanction of Government, given hv the officers and agents of the Bu reau. thousandsof freedmen were work ing under contract for $lO per month. If the freedmen are left free to contract, the demand for their labor and thccom petition among employers will secure them good wages and kind treatment. They will not contract with men who treat them harshly or fail to pay them, as is abundantly proven by the fact that many planb rs who treated their for mer slaves cruelly are now unable to hire freedmen to work for them, and have been obliged to sell or lease their plantations. We are unable to discover why the simple rules which regulate and con trol the relations of labor and capital in the Northern States should not ob tain as well in the South—why the. na tional Government should permit the laboring man to sell bis labor to the highest bidder in one section of the country, and appoint an agent to seil it for hini in another section. It is un- | i doubtedly rue that if the freed peojtle i of the South were not bound by eon- 1 tracts their wages would beat least fit'- j ty nor cent, higher at this time than 1 they are, and there would be less dis- j content among the freedmen than now | j exists, and tar less duty for the agents | j of the Bureau to perform. Almost the i j only dissatisfaction existing at litis j time among freedmen results from the ! low rate of wages at which they have I . been hired, under the influence and i. with the approval of the agents of the j ( Bureau. This discontent makes the freedmen unwilling to work, and their ! indolence provokes the planter, who : not ull frequently resorts to violence to enforce his contract, and this makes 1 business for the officer who sancfiom d j . the contract. Investigation follows, ! resultinggenerally in findingtlie freed- . men at fault for refusing to labor ae- j cording to their contracts, and they are j required to return to the plantation,!; while the planter is admonished to curb | his temper. In some eases of this na- j • tnre the contract is declared forfeited] by the conduct of die planter, whogoe> away from the Bureau feeling that a |: decision lias been made that freedmen are not hound to fulfil their engage- I meats. The fault—the cause of the ! dilti 'u!ty—is in the contract, which ha- j been unjustly forced upon the poor j freedmen. It must not be inferred from what we j have written that we are opposed to the j i'reedmencoiitraeting with the planters. j By no means. We believe the very I best thing they can do is to make con- ' tracts, either for a share of the crops or j for liberal wages; but we are opposed j to agents of the National Government assuming to hire them out, proscribing the term of service and stipulating the wages to be paid them. They are not free so long as any such control is ex- j ereisedover them, nor tain they ever r< - ! ceive a just reward for tle-ir labor while i they are compelled to hire within a giv- j en time for a specified term. In Alis- j sissippi and other State- the freedmen j wore compelled, by ord rs from officers ■ of the bureau, to enter into contracts • within limit d periods, which enabled j all who wauled hands to get them at i low wages, while if the freedmen had not | been interfered with, the demand for la bor would have enabled them to.secure just remuneration, ft is a great error to suppose that the freedmen are not competent to enter into contracts ft r themselves. They are sharp at a bar gain, know weli what a good contract is, and are much better collectors than white people. As an evidence of the rigid manner j in which contraetsareeii forced by agents of the Bureau against the freedmen, we may mention a case which came under j our own observation. A colored black smith, who fled from his master during the war, and enlisted in the United ! States army, being about to bemuster ;ed out of.-service, wrote to his wife, re questing tier not to contract for more than a month or two at a time, as he ! intended to return home as soon as lie : was mustered out, and set up shop and Igo to housekeeping. His wife accord ingly declined at first to make a long contract, but was finally compelled to engage herself for a year. 1 lie soldier 0:1 hi.- return, went to the plantation where his wife was working and ap plied for her release, but failed to get her. lie then sent a written statement of the case to an agent of the. Bureau, who forward's! it tothe Assistant Com missioner of the State. It was return ed from headquarters with the follow ing endorsement: "lint-much as the wife of W in. Car ter has made a contract for the year i si;g -1k must observe its requirinenbs, i'he sub-commissioner will inform Win. carter that theinterestsofthefreed peo ple religiously observing their agree ments are paramount to the wishes of individuals, and that the power of the Bureau will only be used to protect hem from manifest injustice. There •eing no positive evidence of such in gest ice in this case the Bureau has no interference to make." It is evident that this officer consid ers a labor contract more sacred than a marriage contract. The system of contracts now existing in the South, and enforced by the Bu reau is simply slavery in a modified .orm. What is thedifferenee to the ne gro whether lie issoldforfive dollarsor for five thousand; for thirty years to thirty masters, or for thirty years to >ne master'.' It is in vol notary servitude in either case, and a practical defeat of die Emancipation proclamation of the lamented President Lincoln. If the freedman leaves work to seek employ ment at better wages he is arrested a-a vagrant by order of the Freed men's Bur an, and put to labor on the roads, with ball and chain, as is provided by an order recently issued by General Scott, Assistant Commissioner for South Carolina. If fatigued from overwork he 11 sires rest for a day; if he leaves the plantation to visit a relative or friend it is made a penal offence, and a fineof $•>() is imposed, as will be seen by Circular No. 14 of General Kiddoo, Assistant Commissioner for Texas, hereto annex ed and marked E. If lie refuses to con tract at all be is arrested by the Bureau Provost Marshal and sold for a few dol lars to the nearest planter, as in tho ease ol'Captain Morse of New Orleans, already referred to. The coercive pol icy adopted by the Bureau in this and other respects has been node a justifi cation for the discriminating legisla tion of some of the Southern States. The only remedy against a white man for a breach of contract is a suit for damages, and we can see no reason why the same remedy should not be applied and con ceded in the case of the black man. The freedman has nothing to sell but hisla bor, and we are strongly of opinion that he ought to be permitted to obtain for it the highest priee it will bring. If he is a freeman it is neitherjust nor law ful for any person to assume control of him and certainly not morejustor law ful for an officer of the Freed 111 en's Bu reau to do so than for a Southern plan ter. J as. B. Steedmax, ! r . . J.S. H-LLEXTON, j-Com'K. Drmxuthe past few years the Rad icals mobbed, exiled, or massacred hundreds of white freemen of the Re publie who claimed the right to exer cise the liberty of speech and the free dom of the press. Then, at all times and under all possible circumstances, as they do at present, the Democracy disapproved of and denounced all such revolutionary and criminal practices. Now, when a great dread comes over the Radicals, and they causelessly fear the goring of their own ox, they agree with the Democrats that such things are brutal, barbarous and infamous. Ben Beast Butler, Major General of the Massachusetts "braves,"(militia) is "playingsoldier" again, ft;est week he appointed an uidc-dcenmp, a quarter master and a judge advocate—all gor geous staff officers to the great doctor Butler himself. Next fall they propose to trait) in some quiet pasture in Mas sachusetts. B> n wi'l miss the spoons and plate when training day comes a gain. If his soldiering is done in the vicinity of any city or town it will i e as well for the inhabitants to lock up their valuables. We do not say Ben will J hut he had a mighty (rtkiitf/ way with him in New Orleans. A number of officers were descanting on the 1> isiness sacrifices each bad nn.de by entering the service. Several had cxpn -sod their losses in high figures, when the ('ajqain broke in with— "l have lost more by entering—the service than any other officer present; i lost ten thousand dollars in gold." "Mow did that happen?" said an offi cer who ; ad placed his figures above the others. "When 1 entered the service," said Ike, "1 thought of marrying a girl worth 610,000, but soon after 1 left the Suite she married another chap !" The motto—"A fool and his money are soon parted" snould be slightly changed to meet the case of a young man at Grand Rapids, Michigan, who got very much intoxicated and went down on all-fours to have a fight with a bull pup. Puppy got hold of the young man's nose, and after much scuffling, tore it off'. TIIB tears we shed for those we love are the streams which water the gar den of the heart, and without them it would he dry and barren, and the gen tle flowers of affection would perish. "To BE on NOT TO BE."— That's the question. To be for negro suffrage and vote for Geary—or not to be, and vote for Clymer.