him, or have not as yet. Among the lower classes of the whites there is a spirit of aggression against the negro; they are disposed to ban the negro, to kick him and cuff him, and threaten him with what they will do as soon as the Yankees go away. Question. Is this feeling of dislike of the negro more intense and bitter with the lower classes of whites than with the upper? Answer. I think that, as a rule, even the more intelligent classes cannot look upon the negro in any other light than a negro. Their feeling may, perhaps, be more deep; and while they are willing to treat him well-not to abuse him physically-they do not accord to him civil rights. The very question of according civil rights to a negro is something very repugnant to them, something at which they revolt from the very bottom of their souls. With the lower classes-I speak now more particularly of the city of Richmond-probably the feeling does not exist to such an extent in the rural districts-there is an impulsive feeling of aggression a desire to hit the negro out of the way. They do not think about his rights; they do not appear to know what it means; only they feel that the negro has something now that he did not have before; that he is putting on airs. And a great many of the negroes are inclined to take the thing in their own hands; they are not disposed to be imposed upon by those people, if they can have half a show to defend themselves. Question. Can you think of any motive which would induce the white population of that region to permit the negro to have the right of suffrage? Answer. No, sir; they will not do it, unless they are compelled to do so at least not for years. I do not know what motive would induce them to do it now; it must be some great compulsion. I have seen the proposed amendment to the Constitution introduced by the Joint Committee on Reconstruction. My present impression is, that should that amendment be adopted, they would lose a portion of their representation before they would allow the negro to vote. Question. State, in general terms, what is the condition of the colored population in your district and its vicinity in respect to good order, industry, and willingness to labor and earn a living, if treated fairly and paid reasonably. Answer. They are getting along there fully as well as could be expected. The affairs of the Freedmen's Bureau have been very well managed, so far as it has come under my observation. I have no doubt of the disposition of the freedmen to work. Of course, take any class of slaves as numerous as were those of the south and remove from them the restraints under which they have always lived, and there will be a great many lawless, idle people among them who will be inclined to prey upon the community; but I have no doubt at all that the mass of the freedmen will soon learn what it is to take care of themselves. I have talked with a great many men down there who have employed a large number of negroes, and I have yet to come across the first case, where the negro has been impressed with the confidence that his employer was willing to accord to him all his civil rights as a free man, that there was any difficulty at all. In those instances where there has been trouble, and the negro has gone off and left the place, I have found the employers to be impracticable men. said before, they could not forget that the negro had been a slave. They might not be disposed to punish them or beat them; but there was something in their conduct which excited in the mind of the negro that he had not accorded to him all the privileges of his new status, and the consequence was that the negro was discontented, was not so controllable, and was disposed to wander off and leave his work. Question. Owing to his want of faith in his employer? As I Answer. Yes, sir. And then I think there is another cause which may, perhaps, tend to create some discontentedness. No man likes to labor for a contingency. The negroes were necessarily compelled to do so, because the farmers were poor and had no money to pay them. They were consequently employed upon the contingency of receiving a portion of the crop; that was in the future, and the negro could not see it. That, combined with a distrust of his employer, tended to make the negro discontented; but in every instance where he has been paid his wages at the end of every month he has been contented. Question. Are there many negroes who own property, real or personal? Answer. There are a great many; I cannot say what per centage. Question. Do any of them own farms? Answer. I think very few of them own farms; it was not permitted much under the old system. Question. Are you aware of any combination among the white proprietors by which the negroes are prevented from becoming the purchasers of land? Answer. No, sir. Question. Do you know of any combination in regard to the employment and wages of negroes? Answer. Not in my district. I understood there was in the lower part of the State; but, being outside of my district, it was a matter about which I did not inquire. Question. Will you state any other facts which occur to you as being important in this connexion? Answer. I do not know but I have been over the whole ground pretty nearly. Answer. They have just taken away a part of my force, and that is one reason why I desire to go back immediately. My force now has probably been reduced to about five hundred troops. Question. Stationed in Richmond? Answer. Yes, sir. Just in proportion as we have withdrawn from the control of civil affairs have the people expressed their discontent and contempt publicly. It has got so now that actually as disloyal speeches are made, and as disloyal articles published in the papers, as ever there was at any time; and that is increasing just in proportion as we relax our control and authority. Is it Question. Do you not perceive among the whites of the section where you are, a deep sense of mortification and chagrin at the fact of their having been overcome in war? not a deep-seated and very bitter feeling of disappointment? Answer. Yes, sir, undoubtedly. Question. And of mortified pride? Answer. They have a very deep feeling of disappointment, a very deep feeling. But it never struck me that they felt it as we would, because they have so often confessed to me what was unpleasant for me to hear, what I did not wish to hear, and what I tried to repress them from saying. They would say to me, "Well, you have conquered us; we are whipped." Now, I think if a man of generous soul felt deep mortification he would keep quiet on the subject. I have always thought that their feeling of mortification was more superficial than otherwise. But I think their disappointment was very great in not attaining success. Their admissions six months ago were much more general and much more candid than they are now. Question. Much more frank? Answer. Yes, sir. Immediately after the surrender of Lee's army at Appomattox I was sent to Lynchburg to take possession of that city; and I came all the way with my troops from there to Richmond, and I talked with a great many people in the country and in the city, and it was my conviction at that time that the people were disposed to accept the results of the war, but that they were not very clear as to what those results were, or all that they involved. If some of their own people had stepped forward then and told them what they would have to do, they would have yielded a ready acquiescence to almost anything. Question. What is your profession? Answer. I have never had any profession but that of a soldier. Question. Were you educated at West Point? Question. How long have you resided in the State of Virginia? Answer. About twenty years. Question. What official position, if any, do you now occupy? Answer. I am the United States district judge for Virginia. Question. How long have you held that office? Answer. About three years. Question. During that time in what portion of Virginia have you resided? Answer. In Alexandria, or near there. Question. Will you state how the war has left matters in Virginia? Answer. It has left great bitterness of feeling between those who are loyal and those who adhered to the confederacy; and I think that bitterness has increased within the last two months. It certainly has in Alexandria, and in those parts of the State with which I am most acquainted. Question. Can you state any incident that has occurred within your district as evidence of disloyal feeling, or of the feeling of bitterness to which you have referred? Answer. I will mention a fact that came under my official observation last week. A Mr. Minor F. Davis acted as a guide and scout for the Union army during a long period of the war, and was and is a thoroughly loyal man. He was imprisoned in Prince William county jail, under the charge of larceny. The sheriff who held him was a rebel, and has been recently elected sheriff of that county. Application was made to me for a writ of habeas corpus, the affidavit setting forth that Davis had been imprisoned for guiding some Union forces, so that they succeeded in capturing a band of guerillas in that county, some fifteen or twenty in number, and from these guerillas their horses were taken. That was the only act of which Davis was accused. The affidavit also averred that the sheriff who held him in custody was, at the time Davis rendered this assistance to the Union forces, in open armed hostility to the government; that he had since been elected sheriff of the county. I issued the writ, and Davis has been discharged from custody. About the time my marshal got there the provost marshal got there, and I think Davis was really discharged by the provost marshal. I will mention this fact also: under decrees of confiscation rendered in my court, sales of property have been made. Several of the persons who became purchasers have recently been proceeded against in the State courts-the circuit and county courts-by way of ejectment, in order to put the old parties in possession of the property thus sold. The purchasers have been prosecuted in several instances. They are annoyed in that way, and in one or two instances they have actually been ejected by the local authority from their purchases. Question. During the lifetime of the original owner? Answer. Yes, sir. Question. That is, the judgments of the State courts have overruled the judgments of your court under the confiscation act of Congress? Answer. I think it has been done generally by some evasion. I do not think they have done it in direct terms. There are a number of prosecutions of that kind now pending, and one or two I understand have been decided. But I do not know the precise grounds on which the decisions have been rendered. Question. Do you find it practicable to get a jury of loyal men in your court? Answer. Not unless it is what might be called a packed jury. I do not believe, from what I have seen, that a Union man could expect to obtain justice in the courts of the State at this time; certainly not if his opponent was a rebel. The bitterness of feeling is very great, and I think the jury would be at least nine-tenths rebel, and the influence of the court would be the same. Question. Do you think it practicable to call a jury in Virginia that would convict a man of treason? Answer. It would be perfectly idle to think of such a thing. They boast of their treason, and ten or eleven out of the twelve on any jury, I think, would say that Lee was almost equal to Washington, and was the noblest man in the State, and they regard every man who has committed treason with more favor than any man in the State who has remained loyal to the government. Question. Do you refer to the whole State? Answer. Yes, sir. Question. Would those prejudices against a Union man, and particularly a northern man, operate so far with a Virginia jury as to lead them to deny him ordinary justice in a matter of private right? Answer. I think they might. I will mention this fact: there was a native of Virginia who was a paymaster in our army. In 1860 he was the only man in his county who voted for Mr. Lincoln. When he left the service he settled his accounts in a most satisfactory manner. In November last he was shot down and killed by a returned rebel surgeon in the streets of Alexandria. Believing that it would be utterly impossible to prosecute him successfully in the State courts, I applied to General Augur to take cognizance of the case, and bring the offender to trial. But the general told me that the State having been so recently turned over to the civil authorities he did not feel that it would be proper for him to take cognizance of the case; and the murderer of Major Dixon has not yet been punished, but is still at large. On Christmas day there was a riot in Alexandria, in which one negro was killed, and a number of others were seriously wounded. In that case General Augur thought it proper to institute a trial of the offenders by military commission, and they are now undergoing trial. I mention these facts to show, what, in my judgment, is the truth of the matter, that the condition of the loyal white man in Virginia at this time is worse even than the condition of the colored man, inasmuch as the colored man is protected by military authority, while the white man is not. Therefore the condition of the colored man is much more endurable than that of the loyal white man. Question. What is the feeling among the people of Virginia toward the freedmen? State any example that may occur to your mind to illustrate that feeling. Answer. I think the feeling was well expressed by one of the most intelligent, and, I may say, one of the most candid rebel gentlemen of Alexandria. We were engaged in friendly conversation in my office one day, in the course of which conversation he remarked, "Sooner than see the colored people raised to a legal and political equality, the southern people would prefer their total annihilation." I had regarded him as well informed, and almost as candid a man as we have among the rebels. Question. Have you heard similar expressions from white persons of lower condition? Answer. Soon after the Christmas riot in Alexandria, one man remarked to me that he "would kill a nigger as soon as he could see him." I think the first man expressed the sentiment of the educated: the last expressed the sentiment of the vulgar and uneducated, especially of the returned rebel soldiers. Question. Have you any reason to suppose that there has been and still is any concert or conspiracy among the freedmen to produce disturbances in the State of Virginia, to seize the lands of their masters, or do any other illegal act to the prejudice of society or of individuals? Answer. I am confident there is no such design. I certainly know the sentiment of the leading colored men there. I am president of the Freedmen's Relief Association of Alexandria, and I have had intercourse with the leading colored men upon various subjects, churches, schools, &c., and I have contributed as liberally as I could to the building of school-houses and churches for the colored people, and I think I have their confidence. Question. Have you any ground to suppose that any such concert or conspiracy exists or has existed? Answer. I am satisfied no such conspiracy has ever existed; on the contrary, I have found those people very peaceful and law-abiding. Question. Do you suppose this disposition on the part of the whites pervades the State of Virginia generally? Answer. I think it does. And I think the principal reason for it is the assistance the negroes rendered the Union cause during the rebellion. When I was holding court at Richmond recently, I had a conversation with one of the leading men in that city, and he said to me that the enlistment of negro troops by the United States was the turning-point of the rebellion; that it was the heaviest blow they ever received. He remarked that when the negroes deserted their masters, and showed a general disposition to do so and join the forces of the United States, intelligent men everywhere saw that the matter was ended. I have often heard a similar expression of opinion from others, and I am satisfied that the origin of this bitterness towards the negro is this belief among leading men that their weight thrown into the scale decided the contest against them. However the fact may be, I think that such is a pretty well settled conclusion among leading rebels in Virginia. Question. Have you any knowledge of, or any reason to suspect the existence of, a conspiracy or plan in Virginia or elsewhere in the rebel States to reopen the war or to set up another rebellion? Answer. I have not. On the contrary, although they are now quite as rebellious in spirit as they have been at any time, I believe their present design is to attempt to accomplish their purpose through the ballot-box. Question. What is their scheme? What is their idea? Answer. I think I understand their scheme. I think it is their expectation that there will be some split in the Union party, which will enable them, in concert with the democratic party of the north, to succeed by voting better than by fighting. Question. Let me put a hypothetical case to you. Suppose that by means of a combination with the so-called democratic party, alias copperhead party, alias conservative party, they should again obtain political power in Congress, and in the executive department; suppose this to be the result of a combination between the ex-rebel party in the south and this so-called democratic party in the north; what would be the effect of that ascendency upon the rebel States? What measures would they resort to ? Answer. They would attempt either to accomplish a repudiation of the national debt, or an acknowledgment of the confederate debt, and compensation for their negroes. I think these would be their leading measures, their leading demands; and I think if either the rebel debt could be placed upon an equality with the national debt, or both could be alike repudiated, they would be satisfied. But the leading spirits would claim compensation for their negroes, and would expect to get it by such a combination. Question. Suppose they should not succeed in their scheme of repudiating the national debt, or in their other scheme of the assumption of the rebel debt; what would they finally do, provided they had the power? Answer. If they had the power they would undoubtedly again go out of the Union, because being aristocratic and not republican in their tastes and feelings, they would greatly prefer some other form of government. I have for twenty years past known that that was the feeling among the leading men. I think they always would have preferred an aristocratic government to any other. Question. What degree of cordiality exists generally among the people of Virginia towards northern men and loyal people? Answer. There seems to be an almost total separation, socially, politically, religiously, and educationally. For instance, we have five Union churches and five churches which are recognized as rebel churches in the city of Alexandria-all white churches: and then we have six colored churches there, that are intensely loyal; and there is hardly ever an instance where a man of one political feeling goes to a church of a different political belief. I do not know of half a dozen instances in Alexandria. Question. How are well-bred northern men treated by the rebels when they visit Alexandria or other parts of Virginia? Answer. I do not know that they are treated at all; they are simply let alone, according to my impression. I do not think they are treated offensively. The Union element is very considerable in Alexandria-enough so to be respected. Question. There is no disposition to form social alliances or acquaintance with them on the part of the rebels ? Answer. The separation is very pronounced indeed. Question. They are rather disposed to be a separate people? Answer. It would seem so, at all events. Past recollections seem to be very controlling in their social relations. Question. What, in your judgment, has been the effect of the liberality exercised by the President of the United States in granting pardons and amnesties to the rebels of Virginia? Answer. Well, to say the least, they have in most instances been ungrateful. Question. Has that liberality and kindness of the President rather increased than diminished the respect and regard of the rebel community for the government of the United States? Answer. I think it has encouraged their hopes of ultimate success in obtaining power in this government, and that or some other cause has increased their vindictiveness towards Union men, and their ill treatment of them. I think that has been the cause. Question. Do you think that has been one of the causes of the increased malignity of the rebels towards Union men? Answer. I think it has been. The examination of the witness was here suspended; but subsequently resumed on the same day, and concluded as follows: By Mr. HOWARD: Question. State whether you are a member elect of the Senate of the United States? Answer. I have been elected by the legislature of Virginia to the long term in the Senate. Question. When were you elected? Answer. I was elected about a year ago to fill the vacancy about to occur in the Senate by the retirement of Mr. Carlile, for six years. Question. State what is your own feeling in regard to the readmission of the rebel States into the Union; I wish you to make a clean breast of it. Answer. Of course I have a strong personal interest in the admission, at least, of members of Congress elect; but that is entirely overpowered by the conviction that the immediate admission of the southern States would produce unpleasant consequences. I fear that it would be fatal to the peace of the country. Question. What is the general feeling among the Virginians in regard to negro suffrage in that State? Answer. I think the loyal men, who I suppose do not amount to anything like one-fourth of the white people, are in favor of it. The loyal men are, so far as I know, almost invariably in favor of equal suffrage. Question. Would they limit the right of suffrage by any qualification? Answer. I think there is some difference of opinion on that subject among the loyalists. Some would prefer to see it limited, either by, educational or property qualifications, or by service in the army of the United States; I have heard that opinion expressed frequently. Question. Would they generally prescribe a property qualification? Answer. I think that is not so generally favored as either of the others-either education or military service. But I have heard some say that they would like a property qualification; that, however, they would like to see applied as well to whites as to blacks. At present we have no property qualification. Question. The mode of voting in Virginia-has it not been, under her law, for ages, viva voce ? Answer. It has been. Question. Not by ballot? Answer. No, sir. Question. How do the rebels feel in regard to negroes voting-I mean those who have been rebels? Answer. Well, sir, I think they are nearly unanimous in their opposition to it. Question. In case the right of suffrage should be given to the negroes there, is it likely that there will be outrages and disturbances of the public peace, scenes of violence and riot? Answer. I think that some bad men might perhaps assault negroes when they come to the polls; I think it probable that there would be instances of that kind, but I do not apprehend anything very serious. Question. Would the rebels themselves, if in authority as municipal officers, preserve the peace with alacrity and defend the negro ? Answer. Well, sir, prejudice is strong against the negro, because they regard him as having turned the scale against them; I think that is a very prevailing notion now, that the negro turned the scale against the rebels. His adherence to the Union cause, and his desertion of the master, naturally produce an unkind feeling against him. That feeling is not universal. I must do some of my rebel acquaintances the justice to say that they consider that the negro was justified in the course he took; that it was human nature to strike for freedom. Question. In case of hostilities between the United States and one of the first-rate European powers, is it your opinion that the masses of the people of Virginia would stand firmly |