federal rations, plunder and pillage. Four years of cruel war conducted on principles of vandalism disgraceful to the civilization of the age, were scarcely more blighting and destructive on the homes of the white man, and impoverishing, degrading to the negro, than has resulted in the last six or eight months from the administration of this black incubus. Many of the officers connected with that bureau are gentlemen of honor and integrity, but they seem incapable of protecting the rights and property of the white man against the villanies of the vile and villanous with whom they are associated.

How long this hideous curse, permitted of Heaven, is to be allowed to rule and ruin our unhappy people, I regret it is not in my power to give any assurance, further than can be gathered from the public and private declarations of President Johnson, that "the troops will all be withdrawn from Mississippi, when, in the opinion of the government, the peace and order and civil authority has been restored, and can be maintained without them." In this uncertainty as to what will satisfy the government of our loyalty and ability to maintain order and peace and civil government; our duty under the Constitution to guard the negro and the State from the evils arising from sudden emancipation must not be neglected. Qur duty to the State, and to the freedmen, seems to me to be clear, and I respectfully recommend - Ist. That negro testimony should' be admitted in our courts, not only for the protection of person and property of freedmen, but for the protection of society against the crimes of both races. 2d. That the freedmen be encouraged at once to engage in some pursuit of industry for the support of his family and the education of his children, by laws assuring him of friendship and protection. Tax the freedmen for the support of the indigent and helpless freedmen, and then with an iron will and the strong hand of power take hold of the idler and the vagrant and force him to some profitable employment. 3d. Pass a militia law that will enable the militia to protect our people against the insurrection, or any possible combination of vicious white men and negroes.

Reasons for Admitting Negro Testimony

John Wallace, Carpet Bag Rule in Florida, p. 13. Message of Gov. William M. Marvin to the Convention of Florida. [October 25, 1865]

HERETOFORE, the negro in a condition of slavery, was to a large extent under the power and protection of his master, who felt an interest in his welfare, not only because he was a dependent. . but because he was his property. Now he has no such protection, and unless he finds protection in the courts of justice he becomes the victim of every wicked, depraved and bad man, whose avarice may prompt him to refuse the payment of his just wages, and whose angry and revengeful passions may excite him to abuse and maltreat the helpless being placed by his freedom beyond the pale of protection of any kind. Much sensitiveness is felt in this and other Southern States upon the subject of the admissibility of negro testimony in courts of justice for or against white persons. . . Now that the negro is free, I do not feel any such sensitiveness. I do not perceive the philosophy or expediency of any rule of evidence which shuts out the truth from the hearing of the jury. It may be said that the intention of the rule is to shut out falsehood; but how can it be known to the jury whether the testimony be true or false until they have heard it and compared it with the other testimony in the case? The admission of negro testimony should not be regarded as a privilege granted to the negro, but as the right of the State, in all criminal prosecutions, to have his testimony to assist to establish the guilt of the accused, and it ought, reciprocally, to be the right of the accused to have such testimony to establish his innocence. But the question of the admissibility of negro testimony is merely incidental to the main subject, which is the duty of the State to protect the negro in the exercise and enjoyment of his rights of freedom. . . If the colored race in this country can be fully and fairly protected in the exercise and enjoyment of their newly acquired rights of freedom, then, in my judgment, they will be a quiet and contented people, unambitious of any political privileges, or of any participation in the affairs of the government. Protected in their persons and property, they

may be stimulated to be industrious and economical by a desire to acquire property in order to educate themselves and their children, and improve their physical, moral and intellectual condition. . .We may reasonably hope and believe that they will progress and improve in intelligence and civilization, and become.. the best free agricultural peasantry, for our soil and climate, that the world has ever seen.

Labor Problems in Florida

Report of Joint Committee on Reconstruction, part iv, p. 12. Address of outgoing Governor Marvin. [December 20, 1865]

It appears to me that, by wise legislation and a just and impartial administration and enforcement of the laws which shall protect and secure all persons alike, without distinction of color, in all their just rights of person and property, and which shall give an easy and cheap remedy to the laborer for the collection of his wages, much may be done toward restoring confidence and kind feelings between the employer and the employed, and encouraging the industry of the country. Let the laborer be protected against impositions upon his ignorance in making his contract, so that he shall fully understand it, and let him feel fully assured that he has an easy and cheap remedy in the courts of law for the recovery of his wages if they should be unjustly withheld from him, and many white and colored persons will be inclined to enter into contracts to labor, who would not otherwise do so. It is all-important to the successful cultivation of corn and cotton that the planter should be able to rely at all times upon having a sufficient number of hands in his service to make and gather the crop. . . He must hire his laborers by the year, and it seems to me that in the present condition of the laboring force of this country, it is all-important to the interest of the country that he should have some security that the laborer will not leave his employment at a time when his services are most needed. The ordinary remedies known to the common law for the non performance of a contract to labor afford him no security, for the laborer, as a general thing, has no goods or chattels, lands or tenements, to levy upon under

an execution... What that remedy ought to be may tax the ingenuity of the legislature to devise, and perhaps it will only be learned by experience; but it appears to me that it would be wise for the legislature to provide, by law, that where the laborer has entered into a contract in writing before the judge of probate or a justice of the peace, to labor on a plantation for one year for wages or for a part of the crop, and the contract specifies the wages to be paid and the food to be given; that if the laborer abandons the service of his employer, or is absent therefrom two days without the leave of his employer, or fails without just cause in other important particulars to perform his part of the contract, that then he may be arrested by the proper tribunal, and, if found guilty on a hearing of the case, be sentenced to labor during the unexpired term, without pay, upon the highways, in a governmnent workshop, or upon a government plantation. . .

Much may be done, too, to stimulate the industry of the country and protect it against pauperism, by passing wise laws upon the subject of vagrants and providing for their employ

The old and infirm, who are destitute and incapable of supporting themselves by labor, ought to be supported at the public expense. It would be inhuman and anti-Christian to leave them to perish, so long as we have the ability to prevent it. "The poor ye have with you always," said our Saviour. They are his gift or legacy to us, for the trial of our faith and charity. Let us accept the gift with grateful hearts, and do what we can for their support and comfort.

There are many children in this State, white and black, who are deprived of their parents, one or both, or whose parents are incapable of supporting or educating them as they ought to be. These should be apprenticed until they are twenty-one years of age. The law on this subject ought to be carefully guarded, so as to protect the apprentice against injustice or oppression. It ought to provide that the apprentice should be produced, if living, at least once a year before the tribunal that binds him out, which should be authorized to revoke the articles

of apprenticeship on account of any gross injustice or oppression of the master.

The Duty of the Whites to the Negroes

Report of Joint Committee on Reconstruction, part iv,. p. 16. Inaugural address of Gov. D. S. Walker of Florida. [December 20, 1865]

I THINK we are bound by every consideration of duty, grati-¿.*) tude, and interest, to make these people as enlightened, prosperous, and happy as their new situation will admit. . . They have been attached to our persons and our fortunes, sharing with us all our feelings rejoicing with us in our prosperity, mourning with us in our adversity. Not only in peace, but

in war, they have been faithful to us. . . Our females and in-
fant children [were left] almost exclusively to the protection
of our slaves. They proved true to their trust.
Not one
instance of insult, outrage, or indignity has ever come to my
knowledge. They remained at home and made provisions for
our army. Many of them went with our sons to the army,
and there, too, proved their fidelity, attending them when well,
nursing them and caring for them when sick and wounded.
We all know that many of them were willing, and some of
them anxious, to take up arms in our cause. Although for
several years within sound of the guns of the vessels of the
United States for six hundred miles along our seaboard, yet
scarcely one in a thousand left our . . service to take shelter
and freedom under the flag of the Union. It is not their
fault they are free; they had nothing to do with it; that was
brought about by "the results and operations of the war."

But they are free. They are no longer our contented and happy slaves, with an abundant supply of food and clothing for themselves and families, and the intelligence of a superior race to look ahead and make all necessary arrangements for their comfort. They are now a discontented and unhappy people, many of them houseless and homeless, roaming about in gangs over the land, not knowing one day where the supplies for the next are to come from; exposed to the ravages of disease and famine; exposed to the temptations of theft and robbery . .