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114 232 Head Quarters District of Alabama Montgomery Ala. June 20" 67 103/117 Connelly William E. Esq. Sub. Asst Commr. Eufaula, Ala. Dear Sir While you were en-route to Eufaula, I expressed to you my sense of the necessity of your making, at as early a day as practicable, a tour of those South-Eastern Counties of this State in which the people have thus far found themselves removed by their seclusion from the surveillance of the Government. A ten-fold reason now exists why such a journey should be made at once. The books of Registration for those Counties have been sent by express to Eufaula. With the uncertain mail communication, and the imperfect sense of the necessity of dispatch which inexperienced Registers will be quite sure to have, it is quite likely that a fortnight may elapse before the last of them have come and got their books, and gone to work. Such an occurrence would be regarded here as almost a calamity, and I wish you to consider yourself charged with preventing it by all means in your power. Your necessary expenses will be promptly met. Please take a buggy and start at once, and see to it that the Register of each County for which the books have been sent to Eufaula, not only have their books, but are actually at work, and make report of your own progress in this matter (if only by few lines informally), as often as your mail facilities permit. Hand-bills will also be sent to you with directions as to their distribution. Again, as Agents of the Freedmen's Bureau, it becomes our special duty to see to it that the freedmen neither are debarred nor uninformed as to the privilege and the effect of registration. Some of the handbills which will be sent to you are specially designed to remedy this evil. But the seclusion in which those counties have remained so long will require all that you can accomplish by your personal presence, and by arranging with some proper person in each county to represent you in your absence, and to report to you, to prevent the evil I have named. At this point I am interrupted by the mention of the fact that receipts of the Boards of Registration for some of the Counties named have been received back at this office. 115 Still I wish you to get out as I have mentioned inaugurate a vigorous campaign, make speeches to the colored people and by other means endeavor to make yourself felt throughout your Sub-District. And, as before, make sure that all the Registers are vigorously at work, and that no one is kept back by intimidation. It may be that, since you have no books to carry, your journey would be better made on horseback. But start as soon as may be. You will remember that I spoke to you about a Mr Yelverton of Coffee County, who seems to take an earnest interest in the maintenance of justice to the Freedmen in that County. Letters from him will be referred to you by this days mail, and I wish you to be particular to see, and to converse with him about the condition of that section in all particulars. He is personally unknown to me, but if you find him a suitable person, you can converse with him about an arrangement, by which, under your direction, he shall represent you permanently in his county, giving you for a moderate compensation a portion of his time. This for Bureau business only. Please acknowledge receipt of this letter. Very Respectfully Your obdt Servt Maj Genl & Asst Commr. 233 Head Quarters District of Alabama Montgomery Ala. June 20" 67 102/118 Tracy Bvt Maj. Geo. H. Sub Ass't Comm'r Mobile, Ala Major Enclosed are copies of two affidavits received this day at these Head Quarters, one of which alleges a denial of justice to the affiant by J.T. Cane a Justice of the Peace in Mobile. They are respectfully referred to you with the request that you will ascertain & report whether the action has been brought before the said justice in such a way as to bring the matter within his jurisdiction. Very Respectfully Your obdt Servt Maj-Genl The copies of letters referred to in above are on Page 116.
