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Clarks ville Beat Clarke County Jany 12th 1868
To Sub Assistant Commissioner
Bureau R.F. & A.L.
Sir please find enclosed receipts for for Gen. Orders No 13. and. 14
It is out of my power to have said orders properly carried out without assistance from The Bureau in many cases here. The negroes have contracted to work for one third of what was made, and to be found and have gotten less than one tenth, some have worked for one half and found themselves and gotten less than one fourth. A case of Eljah Matthews, there is a case of a man by name of Wilson who has had hands for 2 years without any settlement restrains + keeps them under plea of their being indebted to him which from the Knowledge I have of the facts I am satisfied is not so. In most of the cases the negro has been Over Reached in Their contracts, it is told to Them one way and written another, if authority was given to arrest those fellows That I could point and make Them appear before you + make their settlements it would greatly benefit the Negro & Those That deal fair very much. Where Negroes have found themselves they have been charged enormous prices, over double The Real value, in many cases Their corn has been retained by the Hirers under pretence of debt and Their cotton they say is not Sufficient for payment. After the Corn was measured to them in Octr if these things are permitted to go on a great Many families will suffer for Bread this year 
Many are turned off now without an ear of Corn large families all in Rags. Most of the [ales?] by them are for Old Clothes they have been persuaded to buy during the past summer, and goods at the little Country Stores with and understanding between the Merchant + hirer to charge one price and receive another. this is worse than selling them Old Cloths my notion is that