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over those who professed to be in favor of the advancement of the Freedmen. I shall make every effort to cooperate with the civil courts, and sincerely hope that they will act wisely and grant what we claim . This will to do more than any one thing toward restoring the labor of the state and making it effective for work in the field the coming year. The legislature of this state meet during this month and will take up Freedmen affairs at once. My officers are still in every county in the state and will be kept there for the present, to protect the negroes by their presence if nothing more. During the quarter, some changes in the roster of officers have been made, as it was natural that some should find their way into the Bureau who were unfit for their places, and that some valuable officers should have been ordered back to their regiments. I now have a corps of good officers at work. They receive hearty cooperation from the military authorities, and discharge their duties well.
Freedmen farmers will be protected in the possession of their lands till their crops are gathered & their interest secured. They will be encouraged to purchase land, or lease it from the owners. Schools will be established