BKIEF HISTORY OF THE Inn Dork fatttnat Irak's GO RELIEF ASSOCIATION. WHICH ARE ADDED »OME INTERESTING DETAILS OK TO. WORK, TOGETHER WITH A BRIEF VIEW OF THE ? HOLE FIFLD, AND THE OBJECTS TO BE ACCOMPLISH- ED. CONCLUDING WITH THE FOURTH ANNUAL REPORT OF THE ASSO- CIATION FOR 1S65. WITH STAT KM E NT AND APPEAL. ave begun."— Abra/i a m Lincoln, tf Justice Chase. . NEW YORK: N. Y. IT. R R. A., 76 JOHN STREET 1866 The facts and statements herewith presented are given, in order that the readers of this little volume may obtain a fuller appreciation of the vast work that is to be accomplished in the .steady advancement of the nation to a higher and a better social life, aDd be prepared for tho grand future which is to make all its glorious past dim in comparison. He who doubts its final success must doubt the goodness of God toward man. Should the statements here made commend themselves to the earnest advocates of human advancement, irrespective of race or color, we trust a large circulation will be secured by the agents and auxiliary societies connected with our Association. THE FREEDMEN AND THEIR NEEDS. PREVIOUS TO THE WAR. Let ns glance a moment at the population of the South- ern States previous to the Rebellion, which has issued in the sudden liberation of over four millions of slaves :— Maryland with her 87,188 Virginia " 490.SS7 North Carolina " 331,081 South Carolina " 402,541 Georgia " 463,236 Florida " 61,753 Alabama " 435,132 Mississippi " 436,696 Louisiana " 331,725 Kentucky " 255,400 To which we must add nearly the whole free colored population of the South, debarred by State enactment from the advantages of education enjoyed by the people of the North of all races: add -to this the demoralizing influences of the slave system upon the poor white popu- lation of almost every Southern State. According to the censuSsOf 1S50, prepared under the eye of Southern writers, no less than $ix hinidred thousand white people are put down among the illiterate class, none of whom could read or write. 4 The antagonism between the two civilizations of tho North and South had thus sufficient grounds, and which finally culminated in the disastrous overthrow of the South, but with it the liberation of millions of our coun- trym.-n from the rule of darkness and ignorance to the full dominion of a regenerated republic, whose mission is to secure freedom and happiness to all the people. Till: SKA ISLANDS. As the war for freedom wore on, our forces advanced steadily into the dark domain. South Carolina possessed a mu< h larger proportion of slaves to her population than perhaps any other State. The luxuriant Sea Islands were noted for the fineness of the OOtton there produccd-which brought double the price in market of any other staple. The Islands were po.ss.ssed and cultivated by a few of the largest planters, and were well stocked with slaves. Their splendid man- sions adorned manv of these beautiful Islands, and were admired bv many from the North. By one of those secret expeditions, so successfully planned and executed by the Government, the forts guarding the entrance to Port Roval were suddenly captured by the expedition under Commodore Dnpont and Major-General W. T. Sherman. So rapid were these movements, that the planters and their families had barely time to escape to the mainland, leaving thousands of their slaves relieved from bondage. Our commanders had no time to pause in their ap- pointed duties of crushine the rebellion. Some one must or-anize and direct the labors of the emancipated, who« 5 numbers were receiving continual accessions from the interior, escaping through our lines. They did the only- thing they could do — they made earnest appeals to the people of the North for relief; and how generous was the response may be gathered from the statements contained in this little volume. ■ Who would not heed the voice of pleading, which seemed Heart-full of pain and choked with tears, It struggles up through sounds accursed of bottle, And thrills the soul with human hopes and fears." The New York National Freedmen's Eelief Associa- '.ion was organized at a large meeting held in the hall of ±e Cooper Institute, on the 20th of February, 1S62, in re- sponse to an appeal of the officers above referred to, who were in command of our military and naval forces at the Sea Islands. These Islands being occupied by our forces, '.he slaves were secure from all molestation. In a gen- tral order, issued on the 6tb of the month, the helpless -•.ondition of the blacks within the vast area under their command was represented, calling upon the benevolent *nd philanthropic of the land for aid. The society was formally organized on the 22d of February, by the advice and under the sanction of Secretary Chase, now Chief- Tustice of the United States. OBJECTS. These were briefly stated — L To relieve the sufferings of the freedmen, their women and children, as they come within our army :in«js; by clothing the ragged and naked; furnishing 6 nospltals and medicine for tin- sick ; asylums for the orphans, and shelter for the. houseless, by aiding in the erection of hundreds of cabins. 2. To aid in placing the freedmen in positions of self sustenance, by procuring them employment; furnishing them agricultural implements and seeds suitable tor the field and garden; giving them instructions in the best modes of cultivation ; and encouraging the mechanic by furnishing tools and stock to the carpenter, blacksmith, and shoemaker. 8. To establish and sustain schools at all points in the South, where it is safe to do bo, for the education of the freedmen and their children. 4. Relief is also furnished to suffering white loyal refu- gees, to the extent of the means contributed for this spe- cific object, and ujwn this deserving class thousands of dollars have been expended. In less than one year over fifty teachers and superin- tendents were in the sendee of the Association, conduct- ing schools with unexampled success; day schools for children and youth, night schools for adults, and subse- quently industrial schools, for the instruction of the women in the cutting and making of cloth'.s for them* selves and their families, and Sunday-schools for their religious and moral training. The eagerness with which the freedmen seized upon these advantages is amply illustrated in the past thrc years' history of these Islands. Thousands of pupils hav . thronged eur schools, abandoned plantations have been cultivated by free negro labor, comfort and social enjoy- ment have visited thousands of cabins. It was consid- ered an important part of our work to place them in a position o* self-support, without aid from Government or private Giiirities. To cultivate the soil, we have sent them garden-seeds, plows, hoes, and other agricultural implements, and, in a few instances, blacksmiths, carpenters, and shoemakers' tools in considerable quantities. Tons of nails were sent, and aid in the erection of sawmills, whereby to procure materials for their cabins and school-houses. One hundred thousand garments were distributed dur- ing the first year, 1S62, and large quantities of supplies for the farm and the garden were sent. Primers and spelling-books were scattered over the Islands in large numbers, and in the Sunday-schools thousands of pages of the religious publications of the North. Before the close of the second year, thousands who were dependent on Government had greatly improved their condition and become self-supporting. One of our agents wrote us, that while those on the large plantations, as a general thing, improved their con- dition, the colored lessees of small farms have greatly improved theirs. They all seem industrious and self- denying — are more considerate and calculating — have greater self-respect — are desirous of having their chil- dren taught, and of knowing how to read and write themselves. Of the thirty who leased land about Hele- na, ten of them have realized thirty-one thousand dol- lars ($31,000) from their crops; all of them have made money. Colonel Eaton, in charge of escaped slaves in the Ten- nessee district, reported, that of seventy-two thousand 8 revived into his department in two years, sixty-two thousand hud become self-supporting; and the remain- ing ten thousand were receiving partial support from Government. He had the fullest confidence in their be- coming generally self-supporting. He gave an anecdote of one, as an example of many. The frccdman was w ork- in? on his own land. "Why, Sambo, you work much harder now than you did for master?" -Yes. massa; there's one little word in it. that's all. We used to work for the lash, now we works for the cash." Said an inspector to another negro: * Will you be able to support yourself, Sambo?" Said Sambo: Tse been carrying on de old plantation— 1'se been supporting nv..-"-i and all de fam'ly for twenty years ; and now l'se pot de massa and all de fam'ly off my hands, I 'spects I shall be able to keep myself." In the Vicksburg district, one hundred and sixty-two plantations, containing seventy-four thousand nine hun- dred and eighty-one acres, were cultivated, employing nine thousand one hundred and ninety-two freedmen, and supporting a population of seventeen thousand five hundred. Forty thousand bales of cotton were expected as the result of the year's labor, but the army-worm re- duced the amount to eight thousand bales. In another district, on the Mississippi, one hundred and eighty plan- tations, containing five thousand eight hundred and sev- enty acres, were leased last year to the freedmen. who employed three hundred and eighty laborers in the culti- vation, and supported fifteen hundred souls. In the De- partment of the Tennessee, the aggregate income of the colored lessees was reported at about forty thousand dol- 9 lars. In the same year, at Vicksburg, when the wood- yards were turned over to the Quartermaster's Depart- ment, there had been cut and delivered to steamboats over sixty thousand cords of wood, bringing to the freed- men over one hundred and twenty thousand dollars, and saving to the Government an expense of about ninety thousand dollars more, by selling at one dollar and fifty cents per cord less than it could have been obtained from private parties. It should also be added, that several thousand cords of this wood were taken by the Govern- ment, and no vouchers given by the authorities tak:ng it, being a clean gift from the negroes to the Govern- ment. Chaplain Fisk states that there are many instances in which a family contrives to get a good support from five acres, farmed with the hoe alone. Many of them add to their resources by cutting wood. I doubt if any of these five-acre men have, for months, required or received any aid from Government, or will ever require it in future. The most successful one, Robert Miner, had eighty acres in cotton, giving forty bales; and forty acres in corn. One man in St. Helena district sold his forty acres of cotton, before the worm appeared, for eight thousand dollars; another, twenty-four acres, for six thousand dol- lars ; another, thirteen acres, for four thousand dollars ; while the cultivators of ten -acres averaged about five hundred dollars each. As the Government advanced in its re-occupancy of Southern soil, the Association continued to send its agents and supplies for the destitute, and plant its schools. It occupied important places on the Mississip- 10 pi, distributing large quantities of clothing for the des- titute at Vieksburg, IK- £oto, Natchez, and other places. On the Atlantic coast, occupying portions of Man land, the District of Columbia, Virginia, the Carolina*. Geor- gia, and Florida. It has at present thirteen thousand one hundred and sixty-seven pupils (13,107). with an average attendance of nearly ten thousand in the day schools, besides adults of all ages in the night schools. A glance at our annual reports since February, 1SC2, shows the following rapid increase of our income. In 1SG2 the receipts were about six thousand dollars, not including goods of which no value was reported. In 1968 its receipts were one hundred and nine thousand four hundred and seventy dollars and thirteen cents, of which forty-nine thousand and forty-seven dollars and seventy -four cents was in clothing. In 1S64 its rece ipts were two hundred and twenty-nine thousand five hun- dred and eighty-seven dollars and eighty -five cents, of which eighty-uine thousand eight hundred and seventy- seven dollars and fifty-eight cents were in various kinds of merchaudise. We append to this statement a full report of our finances, of which the following is an ab- stract. The entire income of the Association, for the year 1965, was two hundred and ninety-one thousand six hundred and twenty-four dollars and sixty-five cents. The people of the United States contributed the net amount of ninety-nine thousand two hundred and thirty- five dollars and ninety-seven cents in money, and seven- ty-two thousand five hundred and sixty-two dollars and nineteen cents in goods. England and the continent contributed, in cash, forty thousand six hundred and 11 ninety dollars and twenty-one cents; in merchandise, thirty -seven thousand eight hundred and fifty-three dol- ors and twenty-two cents. The greater proportion of ;hese donations came from the English. In 1S64, it dis- :ributed over two hundred thousand garments. Last rear it far exceeded this result. The amount of clothing ind merchandise disbursed was one hundred and forty- :\vo thousand four hundred and five dollars and twenty- ;hree cents. It has over two hundred and eight teachers n the different Atlantic States. It has built and aided n building several school-houses. Five thousand teachers could be put in the field, if the unds to support them are guaranteed. Twenty thou- sand teachers can be employed, each with a class of fifty scholars. There are a larger number of freedmen eager o be taught, but the hostility of the whites in the in- erior counties, and the absence of the necessary build- ngs, must leave them outside of the school districts for , i few years to come. The cost of supporting schools in the South averages ive hundred dollars for each teacher, or ten dollars an- mally for each pupil. This includes salaries, transporta- ion, board of teachers, and cost of school-books and ipparatus. An estimate of the expense of education, at ;his rate— one million of freedmen for the next three rears— gives thirty million dollars. This is a huge sum. 3ut it is less than the cost of two weeks of war— of the var which was the result of the ignorance of the masses n the Southern States.* * Ntic York Evening Post. 12 The appeals for physical relief are pressing. It Is not likely that they will be heard beyond the present sea«on. Hut now a neglect to attend to them M ill bring death ■ many an orphan and sick and aged freedman. SOME INCIDENTS OF OUR WOBK. In 1S65 we had at Beaufort, 8. C, four schools with eight teacher*, also four teachers who taught in the hos- pitals or at larcre, that is, pave instruction in families, not only from book?, but in sewing and knitting, and in the domestic matters of the household. We had eijrbt planta- tion-schools on Port Koyal Island, with twelve teachers, the most distant about twelve miles from Beaufort ; on© school on Barnwell Island, with two teachers, situated betwe.-n Porl Bojft] and the mainland; one school and teacher on Paris Island, about fifteen miles from Bean- fort; four schools, with five teachers, on Hilton Head Island, the most distant, twenty-five miles ; three schools on Edisto Island, with three teachers, distant fifty miles from Beaufort; three schools and six teachers on St. Helena Island, and two schools with three teachers Ladies" Is'.and. The schools had one session daily, of four hours, from nine o'clock to one. A TOUR OF INSPECTION. Now go with mc into these schools. If we desire to go to one of the most distant first, say on nilton Head. Wt must go to the provost-marshal to obtain a pass, then to the quartermaster's for a transportation ticket. These secured, we step on board of the steamer, which lands us in in about two hours on Hilton Head. There -we must go through the same process for a pass, &c, to procure an ambulance and a safe transit to the plantation, some ten miles out upon the island. Having arrived, we find a school of fifty pupils, under the charge of a faithful teacher. We are pleased with its appearance, and the eager desire of these children to learn. The teacher takes a kindly interest in her work, not only in the school-room, but in her missionary labors among tho people. She has been furnished with a horse and side- saddle, with which she makes stated visits to the more distant families, and is always warmly welcomed. NED LLOYD "WHITE. On our return we can stop at Mitchellville. and enter a small but comfortable school-house built by the perse- vering exertions of a negro, and the school in it was for- merly taught by him. But we find his place occupied by a female, for he has emigrated to Edisto Island, his place- of nativity. This is an instance to illustrate the strong attachment the negro has for his native home. This man. N. L. White, was well situated, with a good nouse of his own and a nice garden patch, yet he leaves all to begin anew again on the spot where he was born. He sold his house, but not the school-house. That he desires to be used for the purpose it was built. Now, again, see the earnestness of this man. As soon as he is tolerably settled in his new home, he gathers the children together for the establishment of another school ; he suc- ceeds, and reports the fact to me. Noble man ! with a heart full of earnest purpose to improve his race. In 14 his efforts, though nnconseious of it, he elevates him- self. Having visited one of the plantation schools, you have an iilea of all. except in some few instances, where the numbers will admit of it: then they arc graded like the town schools. Their proficiency depends chiefly upon the tact and fidelity of the teacher. Some arc better than others, for all teachers arc not equally gifted. The schools of Beaufort have been properly graded, and the teachers pursue their work of instruction in sys- tematic order. And as this place is the headquarters, not only of the school interest, but of the military also, these schools aro more frequently visited than any others. In looking through my journal. I find the schools have been visited by many distinguished persons from the North. I quote therefrom, that you may know their im- pressions on visiting them: January \0tfu General Howard passed nearly three hours in them, and so delighted wa6 he, that be said, in addressing the school : " I wish I were in New York, or some other great central place in the North, that I might tell what I have witnessed here to-day."* 8ays the Rev. T. W. Briggs, of the pupils in North Carolina: "The children seem quite ambitious to im- prove; frequently they carry their books home. In passing through the camps I have often been assailed by little urchins holding out their slates: 'Please, sir. set me a copy." And it is no uncommon thing for children • Rev. Georpe Newcomb'« Report for 1865. 15 1 ju6t let loose from school,' to gather in groups and go through with a spelling exercise in fine style, and close off with 4 Hail Columbia. 1 " The capture of Charleston found the colored people ready to weicome the Yankees as their deliverers. They spoke of their coming as the advent of the Messiah, and, sometimes, in their extravagant demonstrations of joy, call the Yankees the Individual Messiah. Passing along King Street, near the citadel, I met an old negress with a basket on her arm, a broad-brimmed straw hat on her head, wearing a brown dress and roundabout She knew that I was a Yankee, and made a profound courtesy. " How do you do. Aunty V was my salutation. " Oh, bress de Lord, 1'se very well, tank you," grasping my hand, and dancing for joy. "I am sixty-nine years old," she said, " but I feel as if I wasn't but sixteen." She broke into a chant — "Ye's long been a-comin', Ye's long been a-comin', Ye's long been a-comin', For to take de land ; " And now ye's a-comin'. And now ye's a-comin', And now ye's a-coinin', For to rule de land -. This was followed by " bressing of de Lord." "Then you are glad the Yankees are here ?" I said. " Oh ! chile, I can't bress de Lord enough ; but I doesnt call you Yankees." 10 " What do yon call ns?" " I call you Josus'b aids, and I call yonr h'-ad man de Messiah." She burst out Into a rhapsody of hallelujah*, thanksgivings, and praises, calllnp us the apents of Provi- dence. " I can't bross do Lord enough ; and bress you. chile, I can't love you enough, for comin'," she ex- claimed. ■ Wore you not afraid, aunty, when the shells fell intc the town f" 8he straiphtonod up. raised her eyes, and with a look of triumphant joy said: "When Mr. Gillmoro fired de bier pun. and I hear d< shell a-rushin' ober my head. I say. come, dear Jesus and I feel nearer to heaben dan I eber feel before!" ( WHAT MAY BE DONE. Charleston has excellent school -houses, which may h< opened immediately for the benefit of every colored chile in the city. The time has come to hit caste and ariBtoc racy and secession a telling blow. By openinp thot* school-houses to children, without distinction of colon they would be quickly filled. "Shall we be allowed to send our children to sehool! 1 was the inquiry of a colored woman. "Certainly." I re plied. "When will the schools bepin f was the nex btqnby. There is abundance of work for the friends ol the freedmen. The field is widening.* Scarcely was the city occupied by our forces, when i rapid organization of the schools followed ; by the 81» • "C»rlftonV Lottor to the Bmton Journal. 17 of March the Superintendent of Public Education* re- ported as follows: i To-day, after averaging the past week, we find the at- endance as follows : At the Morris Street School 982 At the Ashley Street School (girls) 211 At the St. Philip Street School 850 At the Normal School 511 At the King Street School (boys) 148 At the Meeting Street School 211 At the St. Michael's School 221 Total 3,114 Eighty-three teachers are employed; seventy-four of | hem residents of Charleston before the evacuation by he insurgents. The salaries of these teachers are paid y the anti-slavery people of the North — by the National 'reedmen's Eelief Association, and the New England "reedmen's Aid Society, This fact deserves an official ecord, as it is an unanswerable reply to those who -harge that the friends of the slave are the enemies of heir old masters. The uniform report from all the teachers is, that the hildren are rapidly improving. The system adopted ere of short sessions seems to have given general satis- iction. They have been from 9 a. m. to 12.30 p. m. ; but 'uring this month they will be 'extended half an hour, hich will insure, apart from the recess, opening exer- : ises, singing, and gymnastics, three hours of study. For j * See the Report of the Superintendent, James Redpath, to Colonel nrney, in March, 1865. 18 this climate, or youns; children anywhere, this Is qnlt« enough. The deportmenL of the children has improved in so marked a decree, that even the enemies of the free schools have been forced to recognize it. Before the close of April OTtt thirty teachers from the North had arrived, and were conducting the schools In the best methods <.f New York and New England. Before we leave Charleston, it will be well to consider another noble charity, which the Association has con- ducted to the extent of its means. ORPHAN ASYLUMS. Orphanage, to un extent without a parallel, except it may be in Africa, has resulted from slavery and the dis- asters of the war. These abandoned children were found on the plantations and In the cabins of the freedmen, most of whom were hardly able to e:ire for their own off- spring, who had been preserved, yet they did not aban- don these helpless ones, willing in most instances to share their scanty subsistence until aid should come. Among the earliest philanthropists was Miss Chloe Mer- rick, sent out by our Association, and supported, in part, by the Syracuse Freedman's Aid Society, of which th« Rev. Samuel J. May is the president. Proceeding to Beaufort, S. C, &he conferred with Gen- eral Saxton, whose well-known kindness of heart induced nim to encourage every effort to relieve the distressed ind elevate the degraded. It was decided that Fernan- dina, Fla., offered the most favorable site for such an asylnm. Possession was obtained of the Finnegan Es- tate, formerly the property of a rebel general of that 19 name. Here were gathered from the Department of the South many of these poor outcasts, and their wants ten- derly cared for. According to the last report, the whole number received since its foundation is one hundred and fifty. The number at present in the Asylum is fifty. Much praise is justly due the noble woman whose philanthropy and industry has saved so many poor children from the miseries of neglect, and found them homes where they may be happy and useful to others. '■'Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these, ye have done it unto me.'''' THE COLONEL SHAW ORPHAN HOME. This institution has at present a local habitation in the Memminger House, Charleston, S. C. It is named after him who was the first to lay down his life, at the head of his brave colored troops, in the defenses of this very city, near which his ashes repose. A fitting monument of his deeds. "We have no space to go into all the details of the dif- ficulty of procuring furniture and other necessary things. After a few weeks of hard work the building was opened, and the children began to flock in. At this date, Febru- ary 15th. the Superintendent reports two hundred and thirty-eight received since its foundation in April, 1S65— and eighty-five at present in the institution. The trans- fer of abandoned property to their former owners has caused several changes. It is now located in the Mem- minger Mansion. It may not seem unjust that the estate of the rebel Secretary of the Treasury, which in all prob- ability had been accumulated through the traffic in hu- 20 man chattels and the slaves' toll, should be used as a borne for the orphans made ao by the wrongs of a cruel cnslnvement. From the Assistant Matron and accomplished teacher we have received the following interesting account of iU present condition :— "Till: MKMMINGKIt HOUSK, Inscribed, 'Colonel Shaw Orphan Home,' is an almost baronial estate, situated on the corner of two uf the prin- cipal streets of the city J the house, built of brick, is three stories high-commodious and airy. The drawing-rooms, separated by wild mahogany folding-doors, serve, one as school -room, the other as sleeping-room for our oldest boys- the chambers over these, and corresponding in size and elegance, are used, one for the smaller boys, the others for the girls; they have iron bedsteads, with good, clean straw mattresses, plenty of blankets, sheets, and a clean white counterpane for each bed. The hall, in size and height, is truly grand, and. if not originally built to accommodate colored children, they freely use it; It never occurs to them, that in days gone by their backs would have suffered for simply peeping In. The body of a child, in a fine coffin, was being carried out of the rate f-.r burial aa two aristocratic Charlestonians hap- pened to be passing by. One says to the other, ' Another ni^er free, and out of that house, too.' ' My God !' eaya bircompanlon, "Memmingcrs house a nigger orphan garden is, by far, the moat attractive of any we have wen-fig, orange, pomegranate, with magnolia and 21 other ornamental trees in abundance, make a delightful shade; the walks, artistically laid out, are bordered with different species of shrubs; the one leading from the main entrance to the house is of marble in mosaic, and the laurel hedge on either side is higher than our heads ; arbors and trellises, covered with healthy-looking grape- vinos and rare rosebushes, are scattered promiscuously around. Every thing, of course, bears evidence of neg- lect, but nature has performed well her part, and, as if bidding defiance to overseer and owner, and as if consid- ering the most worthy object, perseveres in keeping for our children a play-ground— theirs by right. A pretty little house, built by the former owner for his own son, to be used as a sort of smoking and bath house, is occu- pied by our cook and his family. The servants 1 quarters, a building combining kitchen and wash-room, with com- fortable apartments in the second story, which we use as a hospital, is kept, by our nurse, neat and orderly, sub- ject at any time to family inspection. The inclosure is high, and the seclusion is just what is needed. " Our daily order of exercises is thus : Breakfast, im- mediately following prayers, at seven o'clock ; school commences at nine, with one session closing at half-past one ; dinner at two o'clock ; supper at five ; at six o'clock evening prayers, and bed time at seven. Sundays the same, with the exception of Sabbath-school, which is at- tended by a colored minister. "We are furnished by the city with an excellent phy- sician. He comes every morning and provides medicine at city expenses. We have had some extreme cases, and he has spared no pains to relieve them. The general 22 health of the children i6 pood j they all seem to bo happy, and are grateful for every thing that 1b done for them." * One of our teachers writes u*:— "CHRISTMAS DAY At the Asylum was like glorious sunbhino after a long storm. Love, sympathy, and care make a home, and this is really one to these orphan children. It is not often that children, even in the land of old 'Kris KringleV origin, enjoy more keenly the festivities of this day. Santa Claus, as wc style this very benevolent Individual, was there in unusual glory— a black brother, in truth, fantastically covered with toys of all sorts, from a mock pistol to a tin whistle; the gifts. I believe, of some kind lady in New York.t Ten thousand thanks to her in the children's name. I venture to say that among all her good deeds she never did one which made more heart* really happy. The colored churches, and our schools also, contributed a sum of money sufficient to give them a good dinner. It was eminently successful, if I may judge from the sly remarks and bright eyes of the children. Our Orphan House is a great blessing to these poor little children, scattered far and wide, as leaves are blown from the parent tree, after the tornado of war swept through the land. Left to the tender mercies of the world, and it is a cold one at best, I do not doubt that nearly all of them would have perished of neglect, if it • Mr*. Carrie M. Chamberlin'a letur to Mr. Shaw, JaDuary 30, 1866. t The (rffl of MUi Jane S. Wooltey, of New York. 23 were not for this blessed institution. Nothing is a more striking comment on the changeableness of human af- fairs. One can imagine the grand, lofty old rooms fur- nished with all that was elegant ; the fine old Southern gentleman admiring it all in the pride of his wealth, lit- tle dreaming that in a few short months he should be an exile from his home ; that his own despised slaves should occupy his place. I like to watch the happy children dancing up and down the walks of the really beautiful garden, or see them in their comfortable school-room receiving the best of instruction from a Yankee school- ma'am. They look so comfortably clad and so well fed. Shutting out the fears we sometimes have, one indulges such hopes for the future; pictures these little ones go- ing forth as missionaries to their own race, and return- ing away off in the future, with abundant fruits of this philanthropy." OUK SCHOOLS. These are free to all who will come. We have in the District of Columbia thirteen teachers and six hundred and ninety-four (694) pupils, with an average attendance of four hundred and eighty-five (4S5). In Maryland, six, with three hundred and forty-nine (349). Virginia, forty-five teachers and two thousand five hun- dred and sixty-eight (2,568). North Carolina, forty -eight teachers and three thou- sand five hundred and ninety-one (3,591). South Carolina, sixty-five teachers and three thousand eight hundred and seventy -four (3,874). 24 Georpia, three teachers and two hundred and one (201). Florida, twenty-four and one thousand eight hundred and thirty-five (1,">3.';). New Orleans, one teacher in the Orphan Asylum, of which Madame De Mortie is the superintendent; there ore fifty-five pupils in the school: making, in all the schools, thirteen thousand one hnndred and sixty-seven (18.1C7). We have received many interesting details of this institution; of the unexpected mcetlne of parent* and children, each supposing the other dead, or separate* e by the war beyond the hope, of ever again meeting, of their progress in their studies, and their general good good conduct but we have not the space for them. We could fill this little volume with many pleasing inci- dents, zathen d by our teaehers. We select one more. Mrs. H. C. Fisher, at Noil'. Ik, Ya.. writes as follows:— *THKEB THIB8T FOB knowledge. " Not long since a girl c:ime in»o the school, apparently young, and very well to do for her class. She had come lrom the far Smith, and had had no opportunities for school before. She pleaded earnestly to be taught/*/**, to be taught trim, and offered to pay for it. if extra pains mi^ht be taken with her. ■ We have an old woman, possibly eighty years of age, and nenrly blind. She seems really past comprehending the mystery of learning, and one would think must hare outlived the desire or ability to learn. But no. Though age has almost entirely shattered her memory and en- feebled her mind, she is a regular attendant of the school aad has been since they were first started. She id aiway* 2o there, as eager to be taught as a child after a toy, sitting the long evening, staring at her book through cracked spectacles, and conning over the hopeless maze of letters, with a patient perseverance and anxioty that is pitiful to see. No one has the heart to turn her away, discourag- ing as seems the prospect of teaching her any thing of amount. But even she can learn something, for she knows her letters passably well, though it has taken her I don't know how many months to accomplish that. As an agreeable variety, it is not an unfrequent thing for a pupil to learn in an evening letters of which he or she knew nothing previously. " THEIR CHARITY FOR EACH OTHER. " I have been greatly struck with the charity of these colored people. If ever the golden rule had a literal ap- plication, it is among them— to do to others as they would that they should do to them. There are few of them even comfortably situated for this world's goods. Tet their charity is the most extensive, hearty, genuine thing imaginable. They have innumerable organizations for the relief of the aged, the helpless, or needy, from whatever cause. They relieva them, too, so far as di- viding crusts will do it. They do all they can. "I know of a great many cases where poor women, past the prime of life, and with no visible means of sup- port, arc housing, out of pure, sweet charity, whole fami- lies of children, not their own — in some instances, not of the least kindred. I have in my mind now one case, in which a woman nearly sixty, after inconceivable difiicul- ty, got together the orphan children of a brother, five in 26 number, nnd scattered to the four winds, as yon might Bay (somewhere in Richmond). The same woman sap- ports, in addition to these, two children not her own — one, the child of a woman who was sent, long a?<>, in elate days, to Texas, and lias never come back. This last is a little girl of eight or niri.- years, very light, very pretty, with wavy hair, a sweet expression of counte- nance and very bright, endearing ways. Her adopted parent — this poor colored woman — has taught her con- stantly and faithfully of her slave mother, has kept the poor creature's memory so fresh in the mind of her child that she yearns for her coming as though she could re- member h< r. ind MB M-am ly talk of her without tears. She is in my day school; and I never, in my schools at the North, loved MM of my white pupils better than I do little Hat?." We can refer to one other interesting field. "CI1IMBORAZO. " U is Chimborazo— not the snow-capped, cloud-invest- ed South American mountain peak— but one of the 6even hills of Richmond, capped with a camp of the 'nation's wards. 1 This hill Is just outside the corporation limit*, but overlooks the whole crescent of hills on which the city stands, and i6 immediately above the steamboat landing at ' Rocketts.' During the days of the rebel- lion, this camp was an extensive general hospital of one hundred wards, each a separate building, of the shabbiest construction, the whole being symmetrically arranged on an area of about ten acres. Now it furnishes temporary and very indifferent shelter to upward of one thousand 27 five hundred victims of a social institution, which a Richmond paper of to-day calls "perfect, 1 and which the Richmond clergy call ' divine.' A camp of refugee freed- raen is a characteristic windfall of war and slavery. It bas not its likeness in the world's history, and the pat- tern, it is to be hoped, will soon be lost forever. Like its mountain namesake, it has sublime heights and fear- ful depths — heights of faith and hope, not only without ?ight, but against sight, and depths of destitution, de- basement, and suffering. Its inhabitants, driven with loving kicks (the ex-slaveholders say they are the best Wends of the negro) from the lands they had subdued, the houses they had built, and the crops they had just harvested, are gathered here in hunger and nakedness. In many instances they come separately — widows and forsaken women, young boys and girls, stray waifs, with- out living relatives that they know of. crippled old men. the diseased and helpless of all ages, women and children without husbands and fathers— such is a considerable part Of the population. A majority, however, are able- bodied, and self-sustaining, when employment can be had. But against their will they have been forced into a condition of partial dependence. All are in ignorance, all have been trained in the violation of good morals, and tempted by wrong and suffering into vicious habits. Go through the camp and behold the perfect work of the barbarism of slavery! "FAITHFrL LABORERS. 44 Now see what Christian benevolence is doing. The New York National Freedmen'a Relief Association sends 28 six faithful teachers to instruct the children in dil school and the adults in night school; and supports! colored man, of excellent spirit and respectable taleml as assistant to the teachers, and as minister to the cam J He conducts their worship, and buries their dead. Til teachers are licv. John Walker, principal, Misses L. ]l Williams, L. G. Campbell, Martha A. Cooke, Mary I Cooke, and Lois Wadsworth. A part of these arc veJ erans in the work, and the rest rapidly becoming so, 1 valiant service make veterans. More than four hundrc children and one hundred and fifty adults receive dail lessons. " CLOTH I NO. ■ But the relief work necessarily commands a larg share of the charity of your Association, and of the lubo of the teachers. "The clothing ana cloths arc given to the neccssitom and sold at a very small price to those able to pay. Tb cash is expended principally in fuel, but partially in foo for the sick nnd hungry. The benefactions, in this camf arc bestowed in the right way, and that is a very labo rious way, viz., by a thorough personal examination o. every ease that seeks or receives relief. It should h said that the clothing has not all been given out in th< camp; a very considerable amount has gone to out6idi sufferers. "Much as the teachers arc doing, they only do wha any one whose heart is flesh would do. if compelled t( see what they can not help seeing. As it is. they do no reach the boundaries of the suffering within their spher* 29 .f labor ; their supplies are limited, and the winter is not >ast. 1 "An Industrial Institution is maintained in the camp f .y the Friends, at the head of which is Miss Smiley, Vhom thousands of the freed people, in various parts of :he South, unite in calling 'blessed. 1 Aside from her ;reat assistance in clothing the naked, she feeds and varms those who have need, as far as she can reach hem. " I have written thus particularly of this field, because t has come so much under my personal observation." * • Letter of R. M. Manly, Superintendent of Fr©edmer'° Schools, 'irginia, February 2, 1866. 30 BTATEMKHT AND API'KAL. In presenting oar Fourth Annual Report, we have t few oarnebt words to say to tho friends of the four mil lions of the lately enfranchised people of the South. A perusal of the report snows that nearly one-half of our annual income (one hundred and forty-two thousand four hundred and five dollars and twenty-three cento* has been contributed and expended for the physical re- lief of those who have been left destitute by slavery and the convulsions cf w:ir. This demand. we trust, will not be so great in another season. And yet he who expect! four millions of «/are*, suddenly emancipated in the midst of war, in tho short space of one or five years, to present no objects of pity, no aged, no 6icl{, no orphans, to be supported by charity, is expecting what has never been true of the same number of white people anywhere. For educational purposes we have been able to expend, Including our liabilities for the current school-season, about one hundred and twenty thousand dollars. This amount has enabled us to support in the field a little over two hundred teachers, who have under their instruction about ten thousand pupils. Certainly not over one thou- sand two hundred teachers are employed by the various branches of tho American Freedmen's and Union Com- mission and other societies who educate the freedmen, and they have less than eighty thousand pupils in their schools. We believe we are safe in saying that there are one million of freedmen and their children who are eager for the instruction provided by free common schools. The twenty thousand teachers needed for this number of pupils would require, estimating five hundred dollars as the annual cost of each teacher, ten million dollars, or, according to the estimate of a writer in the New York Evening Post, thirty million dollars for three years. This is a large sum. But it is less than the cost of two weeks of war — of the war which was the result of the ignorance of the masses in the Southern States. Great as this sum appears, it is hut ten dollars annually for each pupil. We submit to the Christian, the statesman, and the patriot, of a land which boasts of its freedom, and of its noble institutions for the free education of every white child within its borders, whether it would not be econo- my, in more ways than one, to extend the same provision for the free education of these " Nation's wards," whom God, by a mighty arm, has laid at our doors, with the evident command : " Go, teach this child." UEPORT OF THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE. jfrsw York, January 4, 1SC4 To tiik Board or Trusters— In accordance with the direction of the Bond, yowl Committee herewith respectfully submit a statement oJ the financial condition of the Association A eloM estimate has been DMdfl of llabilitiea to the oiu of the current Bchool year. It is obvious that justice t tbo teachers in our emi>ioy, toiling amid many priva Hons, with little more than a bare support, demandj that their MSnty salaries should Ik- secured to them, tin means of their return home assured, and the office wit« whi< h they communicate retained until the close of the* engagement* Wo have now two hundred and six pci sons 'commissioned by the Association, laboring in ■ rions parts of the South; the number could be indcfhfl If increased; it is limited only by the means at our«fl trol. The figures show an excess of liabilities over assct*^ forty five thousand three hundred and thirty dollars ST ninety-four cents, if wo keep our present corps of toad crs in the field. This amount will be lessened by i much, possibly, as seven thousand dollars, by rcturi from sales of the supplies yet in process of disMibutlo which may be sold to those able to purchase. But wl> this allowance, there yet remains a balance of or thirty-eight thousand dollars against the Associate which we must appeal to the benevolence of the eoi munity to liquidate. 35 I In view of these grave facts, your Committee have rery reluctantly concluded that it is their duty to recom- nend to the Board to direct the Teachers 1 Committee to iiakc no new engagements as long as the present unsat- sfactory financial condition obtains. For the Executive Committee, Charles Collins, Chairman. THE LADIES' COMMITTEE. ! Is order to decrease the expenses of collecting funds, ;ad to increase our income for carrying on the great rork of educating the freedmen, the Association is en- ,iged in organizing Auxiliary Societies in every county \ the State. This labor has been assumed by the Com- mittee on Correspondence and Organization, whose rooms (•c at No. 22 Bible House, New York, where they will p glad to receive the letters or visits of members of ixiliary societies or of persons desiring to organize ■anches in localities as yet unvisited by our regular cuts. EMBEES OF COMMITTEE ON COBEESPOND- ENCE AND OEGANIZATION, Miss Ellrx Collins, Chairman. Mk& S. Wkie Rooskvklt, ■ Joseph Saupsox, " Geo. J. Cornell, u Chaele= R. Lowell, Je-, Miss Sjbah Hitchcock, ■ Fanny Russell, KMO ILTt mkmi;i i> M if* Abkoi n, \Vr.trhe*ler County, ra»l aide. Mu VtN C.>»tl»*ot, Wealcherter Ounty, »eat aid* - MiTcimLt, <"n«i»o(ro Coa»ty. ■ I! i mu, W»«hin|rton C^unt- . " Mclhan, Otaego County. RlDriCLO, orange County. " W. S. Mm an, Dutches C only. " William*, Monroe County. Mim I»VO, Monroe County. - HlllT. Tompkln* County " F. Fibk. Schenectady County. Mr*. Tii>k*mbb, Newport, R. L ■ S. A. Ab*old, Madlaon (Vunty. Mim M. Towkbb'LP, QQ*P c Mu. Himi!) <">lii>, Delaware C.Kinty. ~ Wu. B»r.M«. Albiiny and Scbobar'e Counts " Cine. O. Jrno, Yatea County. ■ Wiad, Franklin County. Km is Hawlby. Broom* -untv. The Constitution given below is such aa has alreac been adopted by many of our auxiliaries: we publish i for the convenience of new Societies:— CONSTITUTION. This organization shall be called "The Free men's Aid Society." to be auxiliary to the Nation Freedmens Kelief Association. No. 76 John Street, He York, which is the State Branch of the American Free men's Aid Commission- Its object shall be to furnish supplies and funds fort relief and instruction of the freedmen. 37 Its officers shall be a President. Vice-Presidents, Sec- retary, and Treasurer. These shall be chosen annually, and perform the usual duties of their respective offices.' They shall together constitute an Executive Committee, to arrange and direct the business of the Society, and to devise the best means to promote its interests. The Executive Committee shall appoint some of their own number (or others) to solicit membership, receive initiatory fees and monthly contributions, and to obtain supplies of money, clothing, bedding, dried fruit, and provisions, and to pack, mark, and forward boxes, &c. Clothing, &c, should be sent to E. C. Estes, New York National Freedmen's Eelief Association, No. T6 John Street, with the name of the town and Society forward- ing the goods upon the corner of the cover, with an in- voice in the box. A duplicate of the same should be mailed to *■ Committee on Correspondence, &c. 22 Bible House. New York." Money should be sent to the Committee on Corre- spondence, &c, in checks made payable to the order of 'the Treasurer of the Association. Any person may become a member of the Society by :he payment of as an initiation fee. Monthly sub- Jieriptions will also be expected of each member. | Meetings may be held according to adjournment, or at f he call of the President, at such" places as may seem de- i.irable. They should be at least monthly. METHODS FOE PEOCUEING FUNDS. the return of mild weather will now relieve much ie physical suffering among the freed people, we 88 must henceforth chiefly direct our attention to e;ottin tnoney to pay and support the teachers. Kirc liundfC] dollars a year is the estimated expense for each lad.M Every society should at once sot on foot a plan to secui, this Mini. Eighty-four monthly aubscriptloni of lift oenta eaeh, will brin K in five hundred and four dollar* i twelve months. This Is a sure method ; but for thot who prefer to make a special effort, let us supgest fair festival*, and entertainments for which tickets are sol Having thus secured half, or one-third of the amoun during the summer, any society would feel at liberty pledge itself to raise the balance before the end of tl school term, and can at once nominate Its teacher. TO arrangements with teachers must be made in the sprit for the following autumn. We have already two hn dred ami seventy societies in our State. Can they n each send one teacher? We think it will bo a benefit to all int.-n-s.tod if tl auxiliary societies in each county will hold quarter meetings, at which they will hand in reports of wh they have severally accomplished, and arrange ifl themselves the plans for the most effective prosecttti. of their work. As soon as possible the colored people will be invit to co-operate by paying something, even if it be bat trifle, for the instruction of their children. » THE NATIONAL FREEDMAN." The New York National Freedmen's Relief Assoc 1 tion publish a monthly organ, The National Freedma .so at No. TG John Street. It is a large octavo of thirty-two i pages. It is devoted exclusively to an exposition of the needs and condition of the Nation's Wards and the prog- ress of education among them, and contains regularly I minute accounts of the work, receipts, and expenditures !of the Association. Its correspondence is peculiarly in- teresting. I Price $2 per annum, in advance. Every subscriber of $5 to the treasury of the Association receives a copy of The National Freedman for one year free. I Address— Editor National Freedman, 76 John Street. New York. One copy of the National Freedman will be sent to each Auxiliary Society. Should the ladies find they can use any more to advantage, they will please apply to the Associate Member of their county, or to the Committee on Correspondence. 22 Bible House, New York. Every cent saved in printing is so much added to the cause of the freedman. Many have it in their power to increase largely our subscription list. 40 lllK AM Kit KAN FKKKl >M KN AND I'MtlX < oMMI-MuN. . 7« John Street. P. O. Box 5.733, New York City. OFFICES,- 444 Fourteenth .Street. Washington, D. C. I 10» Munroe Street. Chicago, 111. MM M»ttii«w Sisii-an*. Philadelphia. Prtiidtnt. IV ,V, f;;; , rr. !';. J"'.^--; £.,«!;;, ^Ik^/waJ Rev. jacup R. Shii-hekd,444 fourteenth Street. V* asn^ton, U.V, ^R«v.^ M%T«7;. Box S.747 Chicago, 111 SccrHr,. ■ !;[ UBU , C. Wa*d, 76 John Street, New York, 7>~.«-rer. ( QVBTFFtrriOK Art. l.-^Tbli organization shall b. known M the America* FiW Mk> i AND DbMI ColMIEMO*. AKT. J.-IU object U to lid and co-operate with the pwpU Of Ik* South, without distinction of race or color, in the improvement ofitab condition upon the baa • of Industry, education, freedom, and Cbrlv Lan morality. No ecbool. or .upply depoU .hall be maintained, fr— the benefit, of which any person .hall be excluded became of color, Akt 3.-Th. Commission .hall consist of the persons herein**. ,,a,ned, their associate, and .occ— or.; may elect aaaodnlea, » ho *«J be nominated by the Branch in which the vacancy may occur; have power to appoint and remove at diacretion it, officer., and thai audit their account*. Akt. 4.-The Com.nia.ion .hall comprise recognized Branche*,*. Presidents, Corresponding Secretaries, and Treaauren of which H be cz-.#c.o member, of the Com.nU.ion. Each Branch .hall be tad* pendant of other Branches in the collection of money, and the tolec lion, .upervision, and payment of teachers and ngenla. Akt. 5.-The officers of the Commission shall be a Preaidant, saw Vice-PrwidenU, a Treasurer, and OM or inure S- cretariea. 41 Abt. 6.— The Executive Committee shall consist of the following named persons: Matthew Simpson, Joseph P. Thompson, William Lloyd Garrison, Charles G. Hammond, Jacob R. Shipherd, George Cabot Ward, John Parkman,0. B. Frothingham, Francis George Shaw, J. Miller McKim, J. M. Walden, James E. Rhoads, Joseph Parrish, George Whipple, Levi Coffin, Thomas M. Eddy, Archibald Stirling, Jr., Lyman Abbott, George W. Lane, H. M. Pierce, Charles Butler, J. T. Di ryea, and Nathan Bishop ; five of whom shall constitute a quo- rum for the transaction of business. It shall decide, subject to the re- vision of the Commission, all questions relating to the general policy anil action of the Commission. Art. ".—Teachers and agents shall be accredited in the name of the Commission, their credentials being attested by the President and one of the Secretaries, and countersigned by the Branch from which they issue. Art. 8.— Each Branch shall report quarterly to the General Treasu- rer all moneys received and expended, and all goods received and dis- tributed. Art. 9.— Contributions from Europe, the Pacific Coast, and other common sources, shall go into the General Treasury, unless otherwise directed by the contributors. Funds in the General Treasury shaH be distributed by the Executive Committee to the Branches, or other wiso applied for the purposes of the Commission. The General Treasurer shall make to the Commission an annual exhibit of all receipts and disbursements. Art. 10.— The Secretaries of the Commission shall make an annual report to t'ue Commission, which, with the annual exhibit of the Gen- eral Treasurer, shall be published under the direction of the Executive Committee, Art. 11.— The Commission may bp called together by the President or the Executive Committee. Art. 12.— This Constitution may be amended at any regular meet- ing of the Commission, notice of the amendment, in writing, having been given at the previous meeting of the Commission, or printed with the notice of the meeting. X g. g. $. 9. J. Officers' Uouiiin lb Joint street, \. F. TBIJSTKKS. WituMi Q. Bstaxt; ft Gnum; Fra*c» . B. Veothixoiiaii : Cmablei Cokloh Bet. Hinkv J. K«>\; Kdvaeo P. Datibob; .ioim Jay; Dt, Blkazav Paexly; K. If. Kinubley; IIknkt A. Dike; N. P. Uallowkll; J. IIilleh MoKufl Geoik;k F. NoYSB; Natiivn BlSHOT, LL D. : Ukv. K. II. OAVraOA, D. D. ; BET. LAMAR Aiiiu.tt; Ulv. Damei WlM, I>. I). own bbsi P/v*., Pea wen Qnta Sbaw, If Joton street, n. t.; Tf< /'/<>.. V. m. ('. BftTAXT, John Jay. Dr. B I'akuly; r t ,r. >'<•<• , lh.\ . Wli. Ci. Hawkins; Tret*., JoOTFM B. Ooixucs. 40 Wall Bttwct; /.*<•<-. ><•<•., Beowm (X Waum Sm ••' Ar. < "c/w , F. CL Horn; See. <>/ Ttuck, and Fin. OonuL, Bbt. .f. .J. Wooleet, t<» vrbom letter! in respect to Teachers and Agents &houI Publications. — Ret. O. B. Ptoi iiini.ii am. Chairman; Ket. J. J. Woolmce Sec. : Geobgb K. Notes, Ket. W* dr.iK Hawkins, J. \l. Mi Kim. Natuar Borop. LL. I).. Bbt. K. EL CUM killd, D. L)., Bet. D ami el Wmc, D. d. Legal Adviser.— Wm. Allen Bctleb. L 4 h cr D □ cr 3 > LU