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which govern free white labour in the northern states would not answer for free black labour in the southern states. neither the War Department, the Freedmens Bureau nor th Department commander had issued any orders for the mannagement of the perplexing question and I conceived that any action my judgment approved would be sustained by my superiors.

I did not think it of so much importance that the freedmen received for ten or twenty dollars per month, as that the comfortable support of himself and family should be secured for the present year. The difficulty seemed to be and really was that unless the labour could be applied to the cultivation of the soil just then that both the labourer and the employer would be destitute of support for the coming year. The farmers were fully impressed with this idea and various meetings were held in the counties composeing this District for this purpose. but some of which seemed to me to indicate a disposition on their part to combine against the freedman to compel him to labour as heretofore. These I disapproved, and gave my reasons very fully, as you will see by enclosed copy of