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Auditor's Office
Jackson, Miss
March 22nd 1867

[[newspaper clipping]]
Laws of Mississippi
Public Act Called [[illegible]] '67

[By Authority.]
An Act to amend an act entitled an act to amend the Vagrant Laws of this State approved Nov. 24, 1865, so far as the same provides for levying a poll or capitation tay [[tax]] on freedmen and minor freedmen.
SEC. 1. Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Mississippi, That so much of the sixth section of the above recited act as provides for levying a poll or capitation tax on minor freedmen, be and same are hereby repealed.
SEC. 2. Be it further enacted, That hereafter no poll or capitation tax shall be levied on or collected from any freedman in this State, and the sixth section of the above recited act, shall not be so construed as to authorize the levying or collection of such tax.
SEC. 3. Be it further enacted, That this act take effect and be in force from and after its passage.
Approved February 13, 1867
[[/newspaper clipping]]

[[few letters seen from under attached clipping]]

Sir 

In reply to your letter of 11th inst., enclosing a copy of letter from T. D. Harris, Sheriff of Rankin County, to yourself under date of 4th inst, I beg to state that I have no recollection of ever having had the tax case of Edmund, and Nancy Berry brought before me, by Lieut. Williams; I may have informed him that freed-women were not subject to capitation tax by the State, which was true. The act of the Legislature of 1865, page 92. Section 6. alluded to by Mr. Harris, refers to County taxes alone over which this office has no supervision or control, and of course, I could have given no opinion as to the legality or illegality of taxing freed-women thereunder.

From the opinion of the Attorney General, a copy of which I herewith enclose, it seems that on the date of Mr. Harris' receipt, to wit. on the 25th January 1867 he was authorized by the act above referred to, to collect a County freed-mans pauper tax, from freed-woman, as well as, from


Transcription Notes:
e Newspaper clipping atop a letter, on the top left corner is covering the person to whom the letter is going and possibly an address. inst. - for instant freed-women = 1st instance shows it hypenated, 2nd instance it is hyphenated, but at end of line, but believe it should be typed how the first example was, with a hyphen (in this case). 3rd instance, it is hyphenated. Edited So, the word freed-man, which is near the bottom, is at the end of a sentence and hyphenated. So should it follow that it too is remaining with a hyphen? I typed it as such.