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be pursued in case no agreement can be arrived at. 

I have thought it best to inform you, as soon as possible, of a conversation I had to-day and Mr. William Whaley, particularly as he is somewhat discomposed and declares with some vehemence that he will write at once to the President, and inform him that he (Whaley) can make no headway on account of the Agents of the Bureau. 

In reply to the remark, I asked Mr. Whaley if the Edisto Owners had selected a person to represent them on the Board provided for by Spec. F. Orders No. 1. He said that they had not, and seemed much astonished to learn that this was a necessary step preliminary to further action, and made wild statements, none of which he could prove, as I discovered, and based upon what he had heard in the streets, with regard to the determination of the negroes not to contract with the owners. He declared that you had given him distinctly to understand that the lands were to be restored first, and the agreements arranged afterwards. I answered that whatever he might have understood, our orders were clear and explicit, and that if an agreement mutual and proper should be arrived at, the estates might be restored. If otherwise, the Board were to report their action to me, and the results of it, and I would then be prepared for such steps as my