oon
as practicable, with the duties incident to their offices, to quicken
in every way they could and to direct the industry of the freedmen.
Notice was given that the relief establishments which had been created
by law under the operations of the War Department should be
discontinued as soon as they could be consistently with the comfort
and proper protection of the freedmen, and that every effort should be
made--and I call the attention of gentlemen to the fact that that
policy has been pursued throughout--that every effort should be made
to render the freedmen, at an early day, self-supporting. The supplies
that had been furnished by the Government were only to be continued so
long as the actual wants of the freedmen seemed to require it. At that
time there were all over the country refugees who were seeking their
homes, and they were notified that, under the care of the bureau, they
would be protected from abuse, and directed in their efforts to secure
transportation and proper facilities for reaching home.

"Wherever there had been interruption of civil law, it was found
impossible that the rights of freedmen could be asserted in the
courts; and where there were no courts before which their rights could
be brought for adjudication, military tribunals, provost-marshals'
courts, were established, for the purpose of determining upon
questions arising between freedmen or between freedmen and other
parties; and that, also, has been continued to this day.

"The commissioners were instructed to permit the freedmen to select
their own employers and to choose their own kind of service. All
agreements were ordered to be free and mutual, and not to be
compulsory. The old system that had prevailed of overseer labor was
ordered to be repudiated by the commissioners who had charge of the
laborers, and I believe there has been no time since the organization
of the bureau when there have not been reports made to head-quarters
at Washington of all labor contracts; and wherever any provisions had
been inserted, by inadvertence or otherwise, that seemed unjustly to
operate against the freedmen, they have been stricken out by direction
of the commissioner here.

"In the course of the next month, action was taken by the commissioner
respecting a provision of the law as it was passed in March,
authorizing the Secretary of War to make issues of clothing and
provisions, and the assistant commissioners were required carefully to
ascert