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both parties, knowing as they did, that any violation would receive [[?]] immediate attention from this Bureau. and I believe that the knowledge of this fact is the reason why so few of the Contracts approved by the Bureau have been violated  
   
The result of the free labor system, so far, will I believe completely set at rest the old maxim of slaveholders, that the negro would not work unless under the lash, and that as a Free-man he would be unable to take care of himself: there are, of course, many among them who are idle and vicious, but this I consider to be as much the effects of the institution of Slavery, as of fault in the individual, and in this community the proportion of idle and vicious Whites is larger than it is of Blacks.
   
The docket of the various Courts is pointed at the show that since the slaves were emancipated, crime has increased among them, the persons who advance this argument, entirely loosing sight of the fact, that for many crimes for which they are now bought before the Courts, such as petty thefts, drunkenness, fighting &c. they were as slaves punished by their Masters, without any recourse to the Courts.
   
My experience has shown, that where the Freedmen were properly treated they have worked faithfully and well, and on an investigation of several cases where it was complained that the Freedmen were not working well, I found that the employers had endeavored to work them the same as if they were slaves, kicking them, knocking them down, and beating them for trivial offences, and in some cases, for no offence at all.

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Free Labor.
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Transcription Notes:
"loosing" a misspelling of "losing" (I think) -- Beth