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supposed to be invested with authority and backed by a Power for the punishment of grievances inflicted by one of these races upon the other, you can well conceive how distorted under such circumstances may be the account of them to which he is obliged to listen.

A suggestion is casually made in I think one of Lieut. Clark's Reports, and I have seen the same at times adverted to in the public papers, of a purpose on the part of the Government to compel the late owners of aged and infirm Slaves to maintain them. I have paid but little attention to these Newspaper reports because I never could believe the Government entertained any such purpose. Any attempt to interfere with and enforce by law those humane and benevolent duties, the performance of which are of exclusively moral obligation, has always been sedulously divided by every Civilized people; and if any well grounded belief exists in any part of our State that the Government intends such an interference, it would greatly inflame the prejudices between the races to which I have adverted. I must