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3 many of them seem to be, willful, malicious, and premeditated murder. Of these thirteen, five were negroes, some of whom were doubtless killed without any justification or legal excuse. Among the whites, one was assassinated for his money; three in drunken broils, & these were union men and fell it is believed [[strikethrough]] fell [[/strikethroughh]] in political difficulties, or because they were & had been union men. The cases of assaults with intent to kill & murder, for the same two years and a half, are indeed numerous, and, upon the data now before me, I will set them down at not less than fifty. This shows a recklessness of human life, and of spilling human blood quite deplorable. None of these parties have been sent to the Penetentiary for those acts, and very few even have been tried for the offences, and still fewer have been punished even by a pecuniary fine. The number of other felonies & minor offences is about in an equal proportion to those already named. This deplorably low standard of morals, is, in a great degree, doubtless atributable, Secondly: To the non enforcement of the laws by the officers both Juditial, executive & municipal of the county. The ways of escape from punishment, for the crime are are numerous; sometimes the prosecution is malicious; sometimes the jury fail to convict even when the party should be punished. This does not apply, however when freedmen are