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 FREEDMEN 469 rights," carefully prepared, was presented to the house of commons, March 7, 1843, by the Hon. Fox Maule (now earl of Dalhousie, and a ruling elder and a member of the general as- sembly of the Free church) ; but it was refused by a majority of 211 against 76. Of 37 Scot- tish members present at the division, 25 voted for Mr. Maule's motion. The question now was : Will the church retire from her declared principles, or will she, to preserve her liber- ties, relinquish her connection with the state ? Without hesitation the decision was made, and 475 ministers left the establishment, including most of those who had acted openly with the evangelical party. Many of the congregations also left it whose ministers remained in it; and hence, as well as from the continued accession of numbers in every district of the country, the number of churches now exceeds 900. The missionaries belonging to the establishment in 1843 to a man threw in their lot with the Free Protesting church. Her ministers are supported out of a common fund, to which every member of the church is expected to contribute according to his ability, and the dividend accruing from this fund every con- gregation is at liberty to supplement at its pleasure. In 1872 the church had 16 synods, 71 presbyteries, 948 congregations, and 957 ministers. The sum of 432,623 was in the same year raised for the various purposes of the church, including missions. Although be- ginning with nothing in 1843, and undertaking the untried work of supporting the ministry, the Free church has built or purchased all its churches throughout Scotland, with the manses and the parish school houses, the missionary buildings in India, Africa, and elsewhere, the buildings of the two normal schools in Edin- burgh and Glasgow, the three colleges at Edin- burgh, Aberdeen, and Glasgow, and the new assembly hall in Edinburgh, erected in 1858- '59 at a cost of 6,000. For the education fund she raised in 1843-'4 2,542, and in 1869-'70 8,394. The average salary of the ministers is 205, besides manse and glebe. FREEDMEN (liberti, libertini), the designa- tion of manumitted slaves in Roman antiquity. They were called liberti with reference to their masters, and libertini with reference to their new rank or condition. According to various circumstances, defined by law, the freedmen became Roman citizens, Junian Latins (from the Junian law which gave them freedom, and the similarity of their status to that of Latin colonists), or dediticii. The last were neither citizens (Roman or Latin) nor slaves. The Junian Latins suffered great disabilities as_to property, but could in various ways rise to citi- zenship. But even the freedmen of the first class were not genuine (ingenui) citizens, and remained under certain obligations to their masters. The freedmen wore a cap as a sign of freedom, and took the names of their pre- vious owners. The sons of freedmen became genuine citizens. In later times the number of manumitted slaves increased to an alarming extent, and some of the emperors passed laws restricting manumission. (See SLAVERY.) In the United States the term denotes the colored people emancipated by the civil war. Soon after its commencement, and especially after the issuing of the proclamation of emancipation by President Lincoln, Jan. 1, 1863, large num- bers of slaves abandoned by or escaping from their masters came within the federal lines. The duty of caring for these helpless people was devolved first upon the war department, and afterward upon the treasury department. They were supplied with food and clothing, and were largely employed in the work of fortifi- cation, and in other labor in aid of the army. Plantations abandoned by their owners were also set apart for the use of freedmen, which they occupied in some cases on their own ac- count, but generally as employees of the gov- ernment or of individuals to whom the aban- doned lands were leased. Enlisted in the federal army to the number of 186.097 during the war, the colored soldiers proved themselves unsurpassed in bravery and aptitude for military life. Various charitable and religious organi- zations at the north did much for the education of the freedmen, for which they manifested an intense desire, by organizing schools and em- ploying teachers. At the close of the war the late slaves flocked to the cities and principal towns, and large numbers were dependent upon the government for transportation to points where work could be obtained, while an active supervision was necessary to protect their rights from the encroachments of their former masters, and to prepare them for a life of free- dom. To enable the government to fulfil these duties, the act of congress of March 3, 1865, was passed, organizing in the war department the "bureau of refugees, freedmen, and aban- doned lands," popularly known as the "freed- men's bureau," which, with powers enlarged by subsequent acts, remained in operation until Jan. 1, 1869, when its functions ceased, with the exception of the educational department, which continued till July 1, 1870, and that for the collection of claims, which is still in operation. It was placed in charge of Maj. Gen. O. O. Howard as commissioner, with 10 assistant commissioners, aided by various sub- ordinates, in the late insurrectionary states. It exercised a general supervision over the freed- men as well as over loyal refugees, protecting them in their rights, deciding their disputes, aid- ing them in obtaining work, extending to them facilities of education, and furnishing them with medical treatment. The collection of the claims of colored soldiers and sailors for pay, bounty, prize money, &c., by which they were protected from fraud, was an important func- tion of the bureau. The number of day and night schools making regular reports m opera tion at the close of each school year (June 30), with the number of teachers and pupils, is shown in the following table, besides which