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207

April 29

Mrs. W. D. Hart
North Garden Alb Co Va
Madam:
Your communication to Cap Tidball, under date of the 11th inst. asking aid for the creation of a church to be used as a school house, has been referred to me. You cannot feel more deeply the immediate and pressing need of intellectual and religious culture for the colored people than [[strikethrough]] [[?]] [[/strikethrough]] I do. All you say on that point is true with emphasis; and the overwhelming amount of work to be done to meet the demand, and the limited means to do with, are constantly brought before me by applications like yours. 
Allow me to inform you of the limitations under which the Bureau is placed in spending the pittance of Govt. funds at its disposal for school purposes. The amount to be expended is barely $25,000 for the state of Va. which, on an average, would afford only $250 to a county. This can be expended only for school houses (repairs or rental) or in repairing churches which are to be used as school houses. The Govt cannot