Department of Immigration and Labor [pp. 468-479]

478 IMMIGRATION AND LABOR.
To -, in Charleston. On the arrival in the port of Charles ton, of - male laborers, and -- female laborers, contracted for my ser vice, please pay to the order of the Commissioner of Immigration, - dol lars in gold, and charge without further advice to
Yours respectfully,
(Date as above).
The agents are instructed to serve our people according to their desire, but
It will be seen that no effort of theirs can be successful, unless sufficient en couragement is given.
In regard to the sale of lands, I may embrace this opportunity to say, that
several places have already been sold, but that the general complaint and
objection is, that the places offered are too extensive and beyond the reach
of the small farmer. Our people had better make up their mind to lay off
their land in small tracts, say from fifty to two hundred acres, and by retaining
alternate sections if they wish, they could, perhaps, afford to sell more reason ably in view of the increasing value of what they retain, consequent upon
the settlement of what they sell. And in offering places ior registry, a full
description, together with an explicit statement of price and conditions,
should always be sent; this recommendation applies also to places for rent
or lease.
In very numerous instances, planters are disheartened with their freedmen
labor, and are offering their plantations for sale on that account. In these
mses I must remind gentlemen, that our process is necessarily a very slow
one; that hundreds of places cannot well find purchasers in a term of
months, and that it will not be wise, therefore, to discontinue their indus trial operations in view of a speedy transfer of their property. To save
themselves from loss they should go on in the cultivation of their lands to
the extent of their means, and whenever the sale can be effected, make tiw
state of their progress a consideration in their bargain. I am almost every
day receiving letters of inquiry from Northern mechanics. To enable me to
make honest and truthful replies, I had a meeting of respectable master me chanics of most of the different branches of trade, and solicited their advice.
They couldl not encourage the immigration of mechanics for the present, for
the want of employment in consequence of the pecuniary poverty caused by
the political incertitude of the day. It is a pity to discourage a useful class
of people that might be willing to establish their home in our midst. I
would, therefore, respectfully repeat what I had already urged in my former
circular, viz.: "In your villages, or on your plantations, do you want a
blacksmith, wheelwright, millwright, carpenter, cabinet-maker, saddler,
tailor, shoemaker, etc., you should say so," etc. And further, "If there are
a few men in every district willing to spend a few hours for the general good,
let them meet at a convenient place, let them gather such information as
they can, and then inform this Bureau what is wanted for their neighboihood, and what can be done; let them say what laborers, servants, mechanics, etc., are wanted, or could find employment, and let them fix upon a curent rate of reasonable wages for their district," etc.
It affords me satisfaction to be able to say, that our prospects of success in
this measure of immigration, may be deemed very good; we have Tiet with
irritating inconveniences, and we have to contend against very great difficulties, of which our political misfortunes and the supineness of our own
people are the most important. But the happy geographical position of our
State, our great natural resources, and the fair and generous welcome that
our laws have promised the stranger, are beginning to exercise a favorabl
influence, and will ere long have effective results. Our people must, however, do their part; no one should wait for his neighbor, all should appreciate the duty of contributing to what is really a public necessity, and then
there can be no fail.
JoIN A. WAGENER,
Commissioner.