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were not disfranchised now.

The complaint of a scarcity of labor is well founded. Not more than one half of the usual amount of land is cultivated this year for that reason. Even now, laborers are leaving the plantations. They complain of not receiving their wages and say they cannot work without pay. If all the planters in lower Maryland were honest, and the freedmen knew it, they would go there willingly and work. If they had a remedy at law when their wages were not paid, they would go. Until one or the other is secured, they will seek labor elsewhere. The citizens, whose attention is called to their laws of evidence as an obstacle to the efficiency of this kind of labor, claim that there are similar enactments in certain northern states - overlooking alike, the injustice of such statutes & the fact that Md. is almost wholly dependent upon this class for her labor, and consequently for all the prosperity flowing from industry. The rate of wages paid to men this season is $10.00 per month - though some are promised more. The majority of bargains have been made between the employer and