The Free South, 1863-01-17

the difference would be, for abysms ry^ona. ]>erceptible. . ? The sale of the lands wflfiudbecwGtrary to ^he recent policy of the government Congress, after years of struggle, has passed a Houiotfead Bill, which rccoguir.es, partially at least, the primary truth that the legitimate ownership of land is in him who oocupiea and cultivates it. Congress offers a hundred and more acres to i actual settlers on its Western domain. Is the ( 'ttetnal settler on its Souther* lands less entitled , to JMj&c gratuity ? Nay, hit claims arc stronger, i The Western settler receives his title deeds before V his axe has struck a blow in the forest, or cyen > JtW touched the soil, ^x>a his mere promWn to locate himself upon it." The Southern set* ; j_'TidnyiiW 1(11 ownersnip, or even bbuf^nBHed to reap the harvests he has sown. He has labored ns the ox, and received only the oxen's peck of meal. Shall he uot receive the wages of a man, now that his freedom and manhood are acknowledged? \ The land belongs t<mhn, and not to money, to the man who will and dress it," ac. girding to the primary ordinance. The negro of the South owns the soil of the Sqjuth by virtue of his life-long labors upon it, only cultivator. He owns it by a ihoi?md valid titles,?by the generations of wrong and horrible oppression his race has suffered; by all the sweat and weariness of tiieir enforced and unr?uuitcd toil; by tho puritv of their wires and daughters outraged, and their compelled prostitution ; by the denial to thein of every ri^ht, affection, and relation of men, and their.rfstematic degradation to the rank of beasts of burden; by the uncountable enormities which unrestrained power, capricioit* ]*uwk>n, and unbridled lust l?vc perpetrated through all those veers of bondage. Who has such a right as* he? Those who claimed its ownership, if ever tlieir claim was just, forfeited it by their treason lynl rebellion. They had forfeited it long bcfonTbr their Ojiprcssion of its cultivators, and by permitting it, through their own indolence or incomjjctence, to be verging nearer and nearer to desolation. The government can hate no right, except to hokl it hi trust for, in order to restore it, in due time, to its true owners. For they hare never retailed; no thought of disloyalty has ever been in their hearts. They were almost the only loyalists in all that Pandemonium, they only 4faithful found among tlie faithless." Why should their In ads be sold? Assure them of tlieir titles ami, as loyal men, they will promptly and gladly pay tly tax, which every loyal man in the nation demurs not to pay. Or, in another view, surely a nation which Lv ready to pay milr lions tipon millions for buying into freedom slaves of wlmt are called loyal masters, will not refuse to remit this tnx upon the loyal freedmen of <Est loval traitors. 'We, aa a nation, arc responsible for the guilt of their condition. As a nation, onr first, most imjximtivc, duty is to repair, as far |s it may be done, the wrongs wo have done, or permitted |

debate to be settled by the sword. Will jT Abraham Lincoln do the act which cuts slavery from all constitutional rights ? Two days will telL We believe he will, for his mind has long since been made up P1 that tho institution must die ere peace can ?*] he restored to onr demoted Land. (7od ^jcetl the day that strikes down the cruel lystciu of wrong! God nerve each patriot co do liis full duty in carrying out the laws of man and the laws of heaven. May the . . New Year bring with it sunshine to dis- perse the dark clouds of 18<>2, and may the year to come, be at its close, one of . peace and prosperity. - A. B. Address* fi At the celebration of presenting a stand b< of colors to Col. Higginson's Regiment of First South Carolina Volunteers, Mr. L. hi D. Stickney, U. S. Commissioner for the E State of Florida, spoke.as follows: Fellow Countrymen:?i obi happy to p( mingle my congratulations with you on ^ this festive occasion, and to express my amcere belief that yon will more than re- j? aiizetb^ expectations indulged for you by m your most ardent fnpiuls lour Colonel, in accepting that beautiful banneT has told us that if in the hour of conflict yottr back shall lie turned to the foe, the blame ' will rest solely with the officers in com- 18 mand of the Regiment. He, not you jF will be responsible. To lead von to victor 5 ry is only an act of duty on his part, but I have seen a black man do more than command a Regiment, I have seen a negro as black as any of you navigate his ship over the trackless ocean, bring her 4 safely to an American port But when he cc stepped ashore to enter his vessel at the 0i, Custom house, and transact the business ti< of the voyage, a vile horde, solely (maccount of the color of his skin, strove to so lynch him, and forced him to take refuge on board his ship to escape their brutal fury. Thank Gou that is passed. Now, throughout the land, wherever floats the banner of freedom, law and justice reign.

the cotton began to look sickly,?it w? vigorously attacked by the worm an< moat of it.wan destroyed. As it was, onl] about 15,000 lbs. in the seed was saved and much. of that was yellow and of infe rior quality. Neither the corn or potatoes did well; but there was sufficient of hot! raised to supply the wants of the peopl< an J the working animals on the island tij. ft. TiS?,TegroesTiftvS "otHtunea imsid dustml rffiult under some circumstance? of discouragement and difficulty it i? worth while to mention. They received no encouragement or as snrance of protection in planting theii crops till a month at least, after the usual time for preparing and planting the ground in this region. They were very insufficiently supplied with the usual amount of implements and working animals on the Plantations. They were much discouraged and demoralized by tho real terrors of their condition in a district oi active military operations, themselves unarmed and helpless, and the uncertainty that **,a?ted wptUl vneir future, making it doubtful whether they should enjoy the fruitsof their labor. . The external system of management employed to'keep'the negroes at work, conld neither have the simplicity and unitary strength of comjmLsory labor, nor yet the free play and direct motives of paid and voluntary labor. The negroes know they were virtually free, and they did not know how much they would be paid for their labor, or that they would be paid at all. Up- to the first of August, for fire wul a lutlf months of labor, the negroes were paid only three dollars for every acre of cotton planted and cultivated. This amounted to nbout three dollars apiece to every man, woman, and ajhdd, to provide each with clothing, and every article of domestic consumption beyond what was embraced in their rations, of which the flour was all that was sufficient for their TliU nortiiinlv r>onnnt Ko

I k not difficult. ?j-t?? -I profound and elaborate research, only because / " the immemorial traditions and usages, origiuar ' ting first in force or frtwd, and finally organize* into. law, hare superseded the simple natural laws of acquisition and transmission. I nov r only assume the fact, which may be dcmoustriv ted in various ways, tliat the iwrerty, ignorance and vice, which is the most striking characteristii of all societies of men, arc traceable, more or lest directly, to the monopoly of land, and its conso quence, the unequal distribution of wealth and immense disparities of condition emoiq men. The palace and the hovel are resj>ect jvely the conqileruents of each other; the cathedra and the Five Points arc twin brothers; that on' \ . man may be a millionaire, a thousand men raus be drodgc*. The conncxiou of these statement with the question of the disposition of the con / ' fiseated hinds may not be obvious. Let then ' ' pass, and those who feel an interest iuqui ci " tliere is any. Are the lands in the rebellious States, tli i Misea on which are not paid before a certai " to be sold by auction to the highest bidder ' a question of profound concern to tli ? . *"e and future condition of the people of th { lou Nlicnted. Swb a would probabl *v? v*jk large*/ l^H>n.Qf thc^jjda in th I, seceded#"^ it would inevitably Jacc thci *u of capitalists and mere* s]*/-ni*on [ m *ua keep them from the actual cultivator e I esortitant and oppressive conditio] wonra leave the lil?crated Slaves in the poy \ and at the mercy of men, who would have I 5 interest in them but as tilings out of whi > -aonev may be made. They would be in a ah ? I.. vmua^ servitude, hardly better than the ( ^**iavery. For, if we will consii^ it, labor 1 as oub" means of subsistence, is btti ?voided servitude, under better condition*

to tabor for their elevation, to. tu?qq. rn*m ?? - 'i?fbaf TTfoyTBSy elevate ttwnweTvcs to the con^fou^ucSwTmd dignity of freemen, and develop all the capacities with which the. Creator has endowed them, as men. The one important preliminary to this is to arouse in them the sentiment of personal self-respect, by making them independent owners aud cultivators of land. Merely to exchange the bondage of the staveladder, who had, in some respects, a sliov of manliness, for that of the trading speculator, to whom Mammon comprises both God and Humanity, were an injustice that would cry to earth and Heaven. I was nt the camp of the Jst Regiment S, C, Volunteers on the 1st of January,-*-tbc grandest day in the anuals of the ages, 1 had waited for that time through weary years. J could not but look upon it as a most' auspicious onion, fafl of the inspirations of hoj* and joy, that thuro, op the soil of South Carolina, so long accursed, a son of Massachusetts, the land of the Mayflower, of Plymouth Hock, of Bunker Hill, first welcomed our black brother* and sister* to the divine communion of freedom, ordained by the C'opu nion Father for all his children, and unrolled before them thier beautiful new flag, its &tri]?es still there, but now no longer the emblems of their scars, nor of the nation's shame. 0, that our government could riso to the grandeur of the time and the opportunity, and 4n>'o fo he nobly great, by being pimply jusf. J, A, 8, j Report of the Gencnt) Snperintendeut of Porta Island Paris Island, Jan/ 10th. 1863. : Oapt. 8. W. Sa.rfont A. A. A. 0. Sir :?I herewith present you a brief report of the condition of the Plantations; and colored people under my charge; on Paris Island. 1. This Island, called Parris, or Parry Island, is about six miles by three nnd a - - - ? i i *

f j. i%k it cue Tiuioani'j. > The pilication of a new paper in the South hinder ordinary circumstances, a notablfvent, b^t when such publication is th< first, vather the pioneer in the onwnr nn/ch of free and enlightened , opiniom. iijrtnore than noteable, it is the - future history. Wo, of the NorTn, k* thward during these most exciting tncs wltu. somewhat of anxious solicitude, Every evidence of improvement, of ability, of gro^Vn^civilizalion does ns gdd, for we see in it a Just compensation > the heavy sacrifices we have freely madito bring about the pleasinj result. T1 before tlie Fkee South Iwfe our best whes in its new field. May it be truly a *^neer in opening the way for the imigr^n of sturdy freemen, whose stout heart md brawny arms shall make the soil of te South again to smile under the reign of prosperity and peace. tb; northern pulse. The puis bf this Republic is oentred in New Ytk?the main artery is Wall street?an^rhen that beats with " haste, depid upon it body politic is sit , SoM-rVKtysit beats with a steady, vigtotis throb, and you know aU is well withtp Union ; then it will fairly jump with te pressure of some exciting or depressii^news. TUe.news of a defeat sends it up, nd people shake their heads knowingly ml look prophetically at e$cli other, and sine time mast elapse ere they become sett?l or quiet Then \he news flashes upon | that a splendid victory has been won, an| the public gloom is banished, and evtvbody smiles with delight, and the crofting prophets are seeii no more. New ^>rk is all right again. N Gold descends, stofcs go up, and the entire community latghs over past disasters, and the future sqin&^or the time being all aglow with htpe and promise. At^vka present time-fie puls^ is a little feverish, but rauirllv rskiinintr its former healthy

P.RICE FIVE CENTS. J Drunkenness in the Army.?Drunk- J mess Among the officers of th^jarmv * rriblo vice?in itself, but o.sjjfefciRlIy in i consequences. We can jnog* so naming of the extent of this evil mrWasK: gton, for we see many intoxicated offirs here. It was but the other day that saw a noble-looking young lieutenant iggering up the Avenue, and inquiring a e position of the National Hotel, which - * is right before him. Yet in time of bat> the lives of true and honest men are it m his charge, and ho cannot even ^ rtern himselC or his oppctfK*' " I xmlcsn Officer should remahr An hour in e army. No officer who has ever been - ' , ^ en drunk should bo permitted to remain *r I i hour in the nimy, for he is an unsafe ^ ' I an. Lot us have a reform in this respect 1 the army. Away with the worthless 1 Beers, and let faithful men bo promoted Dm the ranks. There is not a regiment the service which has not in it twenty ivates fit to be lieutenants and captains, iiese are the men for such places?the )ld, brave, loyal men. * Month after month the British Ministry k been assailed by Southern organs in ogland, and by the Tory press, because solved on neutrality. Their humanity id their patriotism have been impeached, urty capital has been made, or rather it is Wo Attempted to make party capital rniust the Ministry, becanse firmly ) anding on the ground of neutrality, bua it lias been in England. And now s have a large portion of the Paris press >en-monthed against the British Minisy on the same account Again '4 Albion perfidious ; "?perfidious, in not supirting the odious Francos-Mexican perfir; and now perfidious, in not striking Ith a paralyzing 44 mediation " the Govnment of the United States, and ^ractilly consolidating 44 the Confederate

<I(/9V('I|0 audio. AkUW - --- - - T-1r MV called /?// ?.<</ reasonable jmj/. Circumstances, I think; beyond the control of the Government, or of the head of the Department here, mode it impossible to carry out the system of wages; bnt there is no doubt that this has . been , the great obstacle in the fair trial of a system of fr?e labor with the freedmen of this Department forjhe. ' *u.a Here is thtTbpght side of the picture. The docility, the hope, the faith of this people hate produced this industrial result." It is to motives drawn from moral considerations, constantly and vigorously appealed to, that vre owe the degree of order and industry that the plantations enjoy. The {School and the Church have been brought in as auxiliary to the work on the plantation, and ho who was the Superintendent was also their family physician. Their attendance at church has been very Ml and constant. About fifty ql the adults, and as many children, lihve taken the advantage of instruction in reading. But with so much necessary and incidental interruption, as my other avocations have Igid upon me, fluuy progress has beep less thali I CO' ild wish. Tliejr are very teachable, and many have shown enthusiasm in learning to read. Their sanitary condition I regard as very defective, The greatest difficulty to any improvement ia that respect, is that their hdtrees are insufficient in size and much out of repair. They are much in want of suitable clothing, and licnce pleanlineai gannot be insisted on either in their persons oy in their houses. But they are quick and anxious tj tlieiy condition in every respect within their power; and this Is this the best guarantee that they will rapidly improve under favorable condi -