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Medical College or a portion of it to the church and the fact that such was intention became generally known.  There is no doubt that the building was fired on account of its being about to be used as a colored school.

The Barton Academy has been purchased by parties who have already established a school for whites and it cannot be obtained for our purpose.  The only building practicable was this Church and the Marine hospital.  Now that the Church is burned there is no place to establish it except in the Hospital.  I have informed Col Robinson that he need not take any further steps to vacate the College until I hear from you.  I think that the burning of the Church justified us in the retention of the present building. 

I understand that Dr. Nott as soon as he heard that the Secty of War had ordered the vacation of the building wrote an article for one of the Mobile papers in which he abused the Bureau and its Agents generally and rejoiced that there was a power superior to it, that would protect them in their rights.  I have not seen the paper but Capt Usher tells me that such was the substance of it.  I sent you yesterday the Mobile containing a very abusive article on Genl Howard.  It is the production of Haile, a Maine man.  The papers generally throughout the State are becoming unusually severe on the Bureau.  Their former abuse of the institution was praise compared with the style of their editorials now.

I enclose a copy of a letter received from J. Bragg, with a slip from the Register, & my answer to him.  I tried to "draw 


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it mild" in answering him and not give him all that I would like to because had I got started on him I most probably should have said something that I might hereafter wish unsaid.  In my opinion he is an old scoundrel.  The fact of his retaining the corn which had been set apart for the negroes under their contract for that year, and devoting it to his own use, without compensation does not speak very much for his honesty, to say nothing about the mule case.

In the matter of Albey, the freedman sentenced to be hung at Tuscaloosa I enclose you a copy of a letter from the Gov's Private Secretary.  The Gov'r went to Mobile by car's the night you started.  In order to make sure in this case I have directed Capt Cogswell at Tuscaloosa not to permit the execution to take place under any circumstances without further directions from this office.

The "Mary" has arrived at Mobile.  Mr Foote has paid off and discharged the employees.  Several parties are prepared to bid for the two steamers as soon as the question of a valid conveyance of title by the Bureau is settled.

I think that the report of a letter having been received in Georgia from Robt Toombs from Cuba in which he states that he had purchased fifteen of his former slaves and that he had seen large numbers of negroes that he formerly knew in Georgia is worth looking after.  I think from the way the information came to me that Toombs [[strikethrough]] can [[/strikethrough]] has certainly written such a letter.  The U.S. Consul in Havana could easily ascertain whether there are any American negroes on Toombs' plantation.

It would be well to look after the Blockade running profits in Mobile, but the