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Bureau Refugees Freedmen and Abandoned Lands
Selma, March 26th 1866

Bvt Col. C. Cadle Jr.
A.A. General

Col. I have the honor to submit to you the (following) enclosed paper, which I drew up as my opinion of the effect of the vagrancy clause in order No. 12. The first paragraph was written as a statement which I would furnish on my own responsibility.  My applicant, however, stated that many cases would arise where it would be best to have the state law with regard to vagrants take its course, and wished me to give authority to send them back to their work after the state sentence had been worked out.  The thing that he desired is expressed in the second paragraph of the accompanying order.  I did not feel justified in giving this permission without reference to the Asst. Commissioner, on the ground that