A Just and Lasting Peace: A Documentary History of Reconstruction (21 page)

S
EC
. 5. Be it further enacted, That if any person entice away any apprentice from his or her master or mistress, or shall knowingly employ an apprentice, or furnish him or her food or clothing, without the written consent of his or her master or mistress, or shall sell or give said apprentice ardent spirits, without such consent, said person so offending shall be deemed guilty of a high misdemeanor, and shall, on conviction thereof before the county court, be punished as provided for the punishment of persons enticing from their employer hired freedmen, free negroes or mulattoes.

S
EC
. 6. Be it further enacted, That it shall be the duty of all civil officers of their respective counties to report any minors within their respective counties, to said probate court, who are subject to be apprenticed under the provisions of this act, from time to time, as the facts may come to their knowledge, and it shall be the duty of said court, from time to time, as said minors shall be reported to them or otherwise come to their knowledge, to apprentice said minors as hereinbefore provided.

S
EC
. 7. Be it further enacted, That in case the master or mistress of any apprentice shall desire, he or she shall have the privilege to summon his or her said apprentice, to the probate court, and thereupon, with the approval of the court, he or she shall be released from all liability as master of said apprentice, and his said bond shall be cancelled, and it shall be the duty of the court forthwith to re-apprentice said minor; and in the event any master of an apprentice shall die before the close of the term of service of said apprentice, it shall be the duty of the court to give the preference in re-apprenticing said minor to the widow, or other member of said master's family: Provided, that said widow, or other member of said family shall be a suitable person for that purpose.

S
EC
. 8. Be it further enacted, That in case any master or mistress of any apprentice, bound to him or her under this act, shall be about to remove, or shall have removed to any other State of the United States by the laws of which such apprentice may be an inhabitant thereof, the probate court of the proper county may authorize the removal of such apprentice to such State, upon the said master or mistress entering into bond, with security, in a penalty to be fixed by the judge, conditioned that said master or mistress will, upon such removal, comply with the laws of such State in such cases: Provided, that said master shall be cited to attend the court at which such order is proposed to be made, and shall have a right to resist the same by next friend, or otherwise.

S
EC
. 9. Be it further enacted, That it shall be lawful for any freedman, free negro or mulatto, having a minor child or children, to apprentice the said minor child or children as provided for by this act.

S
EC
. 10. Be it further enacted, That in all cases where the age of the freedman, free negro or mulatto, cannot be ascertained by record testimony, the judge of the county court shall fix the age.

S
EC
. 11. Be it further enacted, That this act take effect and be in force from and after its passage.

Approved November 22, 1865.

AN
ACT
TO AMEND THE
V
AGRANT
L
AWS OF THE
S
TATE.

S
ECTION
1.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Mississippi,
That all rogues and vagabonds, idle and dissipated persons, beggars, jugglers, or persons practicing unlawful games or plays, runaways, common drunkards, common night-walkers, pilferers, lewd, wanton, or lascivious persons, in speech or behavior, common railers and brawlers, persons who neglect their calling or employment, misspend what they earn, or do not provide for the support of themselves or their families, or dependants, and all other idle and disorderly persons, including all who neglect all lawful business, or habitually misspend their time by frequenting houses of ill-fame, gaming-houses or tippling shops, shall be deemed and considered vagrants under the provisions of this act, and on conviction thereof shall be fined not exceeding one hundred dollars, with all accruing costs, and be imprisoned at the discretion of the court not exceeding ten days.

S
EC
. 2. Be it further enacted, That all freedmen, free negroes and mulattoes in this State, over the age of eighteen years, found on the second Monday in January, 1866, or thereafter, with no lawful employment or business, or found unlawfully assembling themselves together either in the day or night time, and all white persons so assembling with freedmen, free negroes or mulattoes, or usually associating with freedmen, free negroes or mulattoes on terms of equality, or living in adultery or fornication with a freedwoman, free negro, or mulatto, shall be deemed vagrants, and on conviction thereof, shall be fined in the sum of not exceeding, in the case of a freedman, free negro or mulatto, fifty dollars, and a white man two hundred dollars, and imprisoned at the discretion of the court, the free negro not exceeding ten days, and the white man not exceeding six months.

S
EC
. 3. Be it further enacted, That all justices of the peace, mayors and aldermen of incorporated towns and cities of the several counties in this State, shall have jurisdiction to try all questions of vagrancy, in their respective towns, counties and cities, and it is hereby made their duty, whenever they shall ascertain that any person or persons, in their respective towns, counties and cities, are violating any of the provisions of this act, to have said party or parties arrested and brought before them, and immediately investigate said charge, and on conviction, punish said party or parties as provided for herein. And it is hereby made the duty of all sheriffs, constables, town constables, city marshals and all like officers, to report to some officer having jurisdiction, all violations of any of the provisions of this act, and it shall be the duty of the county courts to inquire if any officers have neglected any of the duties required by this act, and in case any officer shall fail or neglect any duty herein, it shall be the duty of the county court to fine said officer upon conviction, not exceeding one hundred dollars, to be paid into the county treasury for county purposes.

S
EC
. 4. Be it further enacted, That keepers of gaming houses, houses of prostitution, all prostitutes, public or private, and all persons who derive their chief support in employments that militate against good morals, or against law shall be deemed and held to be vagrants.

S
EC
. 5. Be it further enacted, That all fines and forfeitures collected under the provisions of this act shall be paid into the county treasury for general county purposes, and in case any freedman, free negro or mulatto, shall fail for five days after the imposition of any fine or forfeiture upon him or her for violation of any of the provisions of this act, to pay the same, that it shall be, and is hereby made the duty of the sheriff of the proper county to hire out said freedman, free negro or mulatto, to any person who will, for the shortest period of service, pay said fine or forfeiture and all costs: Provided, a preference shall be given to the employer, if there be one, in which case the employer shall be entitled to deduct and retain the amount so paid from the wages of such freedman, free negro or mulatto, then due or to become due; and in case such freedman, free negro or mulatto cannot be hired out he or she may be dealt with as a pauper.

S
EC
. 6. Be it further enacted, That the same duties and liabilities existing among white persons of this State shall attach to freedmen, free negroes and mulattoes, to support their indigent families, and all colored paupers; and that in order to secure a support for such indigent freedmen, free negroes and mulattoes, it shall be lawful, and it is hereby made the duty of the boards of county police of each county in this State, to levy a poll or capitation tax on each and every freedman, free negro or mulatto, between the ages of eighteen and sixty years, not to exceed the sum of one dollar annually, to each person so taxed, which tax, when collected, shall be paid into the county treasurer's hands, and constitute a fund to be called the Freedman's Pauper Fund, which shall be applied by the commissioners of the poor for the maintenance of the poor of the freedmen, free negroes and mulattoes of this State, under such regulations as may be established by the boards of county police, in the respective counties of this State.

S
EC
. 7. Be it further enacted, That if any freedman, free negro or mulatto shall fail, or refuse to pay any tax levied according to the provisions of the sixth section of this act, it shall be
prima facie
evidence of vagrancy, and it shall be the duty of the sheriff to arrest such freedman, free negro or mulatto, or such person refusing or neglecting to pay such tax, and proceed at once to hire, for the shortest time, such delinquent tax payer to any one who will pay the said tax, with accruing costs, giving preference to the employer, if there be one.

S
EC
. 8. Be it further enacted, That any person feeling himself or herself aggrieved by the judgment of any justice of the peace, mayor or alderman, in cases arising under this act, may, within five days, appeal to the next term of the county court of the proper county, upon giving bond and security in a sum not less than twenty-five, nor more than one hundred and fifty dollars, conditioned to appear and prosecute said appeal, and abide by the judgment of the county court, and said appeal shall be tried
de novo
in the county court, and the decision of said court shall be final.

S
EC
. 9. Be it further enacted, That this act be in force, and take effect from its passage.

Approved November 24, 1865.

AN
ACT
TO
P
UNISH
C
ERTAIN
O
FFENCES
T
HEREIN
N
AMED, AND FOR
O
THER
P
URPOSES.

S
ECTION
1.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Mississippi,
That no freedman, free negro or mulatto, not in the military service of the United States Government, and not licensed so to do by the board of police of his or her county, shall keep or carry fire-arms of any kind, or any ammunition, dirk or bowie knife, and on conviction thereof, in the county court, shall be punished by fine, not exceeding ten dollars, and pay the costs of such proceedings, and all such arms or ammunition shall be forfeited to the informer, and it shall be the duty of every civil and military officer to arrest any freedman, free negro or mulatto found with any such arms or ammunition, and cause him or her to be committed for trial in default of bail.

S
EC
. 2. Be it further enacted, That any freedman, free negro or mulatto, committing riots, routes, affrays, trespasses, malicious mischief, cruel treatment to animals, seditious speeches, insulting gestures, language or acts, or assaults on any person, disturbance of the peace, exercising the function of a minister of the Gospel, without a license from some regularly organized church, vending spirituous or intoxicating liquors, or committing any other misdemeanor, the punishment of which is not specifically provided for by law, shall, upon conviction thereof, in the county court, be fined, not less than ten dollars, and not more than one hundred dollars, and may be imprisoned, at the discretion of the court, not exceeding thirty days.

S
EC
. 3. Be it further enacted, That if any white person shall sell, lend or give to any freedman, free negro or mulatto, any fire-arms, dirk or bowie knife, or ammunition, or any spirituous or intoxicating liquors, such person or persons so offending, upon conviction thereof, in the county court of his or her county, shall be fined, not exceeding fifty dollars, and may be imprisoned, at the discretion of the court, not exceeding thirty days: Provided, that any master, mistress or employer of any freedman, free negro or mulatto, may give to any freedman, free negro or mulatto, apprenticed to or employed by such master, mistress or employer, spirituous or intoxicating liquors, but not in sufficient quantities to produce intoxication.

S
EC
. 4. Be it further enacted, That all the penal and criminal laws now in force in this State, defining offences and prescribing the mode of punishment for crimes and misdemeanors committed by slaves, free negroes or mulattoes, be and the same are hereby re-enacted, and declared to be in full force and effect, against freedmen, free negroes and mulattoes, except so far as the mode and manner of trial and punishment have been changed or altered by law.

S
EC
. 5. Be it further enacted, That if any freedman, free negro or mulatto, convicted of any of the misdemeanors provided against in this act, shall fail or refuse, for the space of five days after conviction, to pay the fine and costs imposed, such person shall be hired out by the sheriff or other officer, at public outcry, to any white person who will pay said fine and all costs, and take such convict for the shortest time.

S
EC
. 6. Be it further enacted, That this act shall be in force and take effect from and after its passage.

Approved November 29, 1865.

(February 9, 1866)

The Freedmen's Bureau Bill of March 1865 established the agency to operate for one year following the end of the Civil War. In February 1866, when Republican congressmen sought to pass a bill extending the life of the Bureau indefinitely and expanding its jurisdiction and responsibilities, Johnson vetoed it. He maintained that the agency was established as an exigency of war, that peace rendered it unnecessary, and that its judicial functions were unconstitutional. To gather ammunition to eliminate the Bureau, Johnson solicited information from Colonel Joseph S. Fullerton (?–1897), General O. O. Howard's former Bureau adjutant general, portions of whose report appear here. Though Congress sustained Johnson's veto, in July 1866 it passed another Freedmen's Bureau Bill in spite of the president's veto.

 

BUREAU OF REFUGEES, FREEDMEN AND ABANDONED LANDS

W
ASHINGTON,
F
EBRUARY 9TH 1866

. . . The Act provides for the relief of “Freedmen and Loyal Refugees,” which means that it provides for Freedmen only. There is now no such class as “Loyal Refugees.” These are “catch” words which give to the Act the appearance of general legislation—Legislation for both the poor loyal whites and the blacks of the South. Had the intention been to furnish relief to the loyal whites, it would have been easy to insert the words “for relief of Freedmen & Loyal whites.” When the Act, approved March 3d. 1865,—originally establishing the bureau, was passed there were a large number of persons in the border States and within the lines of our Armies who on account of their loyalty to the government, had been driven or forced to fly from their homes in the South. These persons, generally being poor and without the necessities of life, were a charge upon the Government, and such were contemplated in the legislation for “Loyal Refugees.” The war has ended; the country is at peace, and all of such persons have been provided for elsewhere, or have returned to their
former homes
, So that now there is no class known as “Loyal Refugees.” After the surrender of the rebel armies, and until late in the following fall many refugees were furnished by the Commissioner of this Bureau with transportation to their homes, but none apply for such assistance now. Under the construction of this expression, the Agents of this Bureau have been instructed not to furnish supplies to the poor whites of the South, even to those who had been within the lines of our army and had returned to their homes, for they were not then “refugees.” The Act then is to give relief only to “Freedmen.” Commissary, Quarter master and Medical supplies are to be furnished to this class of persons; public lands are to be set apart and reserved especially for them; sites for schools and asylums, under certain conditions, are to be purchased, and special courts or tribunals are to be established for them by the Government. For the poor
loyal
whites of the South, even those who have served in our Army, there is nothing.

Aside from the fact of this being class legislation, it is such as will intensify, on the part of the poor whites of the South, the hatred that already exists between them and the blacks. This of course will be more or less disastrous to the latter class. When these poor whites realize that they have no special friends in the Bureau Agents sent south by the Government; that certain lands are not set apart for them; that Schools are not provided; that Government stores are not furnished; and that the freedman even has his special tribunals, backed by military power, where he can obtain very summary process, while they must wait for the slow and uncertain action of Civil Courts, then they will surely think that the Government intends to desert and discriminate against them, instead of raising them up from the political subjection in which they also have been held by the ruling class of the South.

As slavery has been “constitutionally” abolished the old State slave codes are now null and void, and the military force of the Government in the South, if necessary, can prevent their execution. Congress also has power under the Constitutional Amendment abolishing slavery, to enforce said amendment by appropriate legislation. Would it not be better then for Congress to pass an Act declaring all slave codes, or state laws that abridge the personal liberty of the freedmen, inoperative, and give the Agents of the government power to enforce such Act, rather than to set up an immense civil or semi-military government, within a civil government, to be placed in the hands of, in many cases, inexperienced or bad men—strangers to the people—for the protection of a certain class in the South?

The effect of establishing the Bureau upon the basis contemplated by this Act will be, I believe, to prevent the freedman, in a great measure, from acquiring that independence and self-reliance so necessary for his advancement. The Bureau as at present organized has been in existence for nearly ten months. During this time some damage and much good has been done by its agents. By some the freedman has been told that it is necessary for him, though free, to labor and work out his own salvation; by all he has been told that he is free. He knows now that he is free and with the tuition he has received he is now much better able to take care of himself, if let alone, than is generally supposed by his friends.

The bureau in its operations almost necessarily takes the place of a master. To it many of the freedmen look entirely for support, instruction and assistance. Even in those States where all civil rights have been conferred upon the freedman he does not go to the State Courts for a remedy, but to the bureau, for the process of civil law is too slow and the proceedings are not sufficiently convenient. The agents of the bureau decide for whom he shall work, for how much and when, and approve or disapprove all of his Contracts for labor. They have control in many places of his churches and schools, and some of them are endeavoring to control his finances. Special tribunals are to be organized in certain states for the trial of all cases where freedmen are concerned. Any system of Courts or Laws that look to the protection of a particular class must be objectionable and will be damaging in the end to such persons. It keeps them from endeavoring to gain admission to the state courts where they can obtain justice on the same footing as others. If we can judge from the past these courts will discriminate more against the white man than the State Courts can against the black. Some of these now in existence have been presided over by men inexperienced in law and evidence; men of strong prejudices in favor of the black men, who decide cases without reference to law, but the “right” as the right appears to them. Of course such justice is a farce, that pleases the black and exasperates the white. It is a bad plan by which to compell the people of the south to make just laws for the blacks: wholesome laws cannot be made under force. The longer these Courts remain in existence the harder it will be to give them up, and when given up the freedman, I fear, will be left in a worse condition than if they had not been established. The longer the offices of the bureau extend personal assistance to the freedman the less will he be prepared to take care of himself. Habitual dependence will prevent any class of people from making exertions for themselves. . . .

The freedmen can be better cared for, so far as the government should extend assistance, by the Military Authorities than in any other way: and this at a very small expense additional to the expense of supporting the troops in the south. If the head of the bureau, as at present, is in the War Department and issues orders and instructions from there, and then the officers and subalterns of the army are made ex-officio members of the bureau—or better, if it's made part of their military duty to have general supervision of the freedmen, as they have of other persons where civil law is inoperative, the system would be much simplified, a large expense would be saved, and great good could be done. These military agents would be obliged to carry out the orders of the head of the bureau, and they would have the power to do so. They would have no political, selfish, or pecuniary designs to carry out. They would have no desire to promote strife between the whites and blacks, and both of these classes having confidence in them would advance in their interests and become reconciled to the situation. They will have no object to desire the continuance of the bureau longer than its existence is actually demanded in order that they may receive a support, for their offices would still continue.

The objection that some will offer to this proposition will be that the armies are being mustered out & there will not be material enough left for Agents of the bureau. But the Act in providing for a large number of Agents also provides, in Section 2., that the “President of the United States, through the War Department and the Commissioner, shall extend military jurisdiction and protection over all employees, agents and offices of this bureau in the exercise of the duties imposed or authorized by this act, or the act to which this is additional.”

If there are enough officers & men in the Military service to extend such protection to the employees &c, surely there are enough to attend, as agents, to the requirements of the Bureau.

J. S. Fullerton Bv. Brig. Genl. Vols.