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to be amply able to help themselves; and this is not more true of blacks than of whites. My reports show that about two thirds of the issues have gone to whites - arising doubtless, from the fact that there has been but little demand for any other than field labor, for which employers prefer the black to the white laborer. The present month is a trying one, since the scanty stores of many which have hitherto held out have become exhausted, and the spring vegetables have not yet sufficiently matured for use. It was therefore fortunate that recent orders have allowed me to swell the number of rations issued prior to May 1st, to two hundred and seventeen thousand. The heavy spring rains, and consequent high water, and breakages on bridges have made it impossible for destitute persons to gain the different points of distribution, in adjacent counties; therefore I have taken the responsibility of swelling that number to two hundred and fifty thousand for this month