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Allen at North Wales & Broad Neck. The negros are cheerful, & work well, & I am sure, are perfectly satisfied. They know justice will be done to them. I believe that nowhere has the transition from slavery to freedom been attended with less inconvenience than on our plantations. Genl. Howard, I am confident, would be highly satisfied if he knew exactly the state of labor on our estates. Harris by his misrepresentations has done great injury to the negros he induced to settle on his land, by preventing their getting profitable & respectable employment elsewhere. The settlement I fear is likely to become a nest of theives. His conduct is highly reprehensible, & I apprehend there will be much vice & suffering among the poor creatures he has misled.

With regard to the removal of the negros from North Wales & Broad Neck I made a representation to the Bureau at Washington that the estates were rented out & that I wished the negros to be removed. An order was promptly issued to that effect, but no one dreamed that it was to be done in a manner to cause suffering, nor would I have been concerned in any harsh measures towards them, but it was proper that those who could work should do so, that we should be relieved from the expense of maintaining the others, and that we should have complete possession of our land. I received a communication from Col. Woodhull, dated 22d Decr., in which after stating that Genl. Howard conceives the counties of States should provide for the liberated slaves, proceeds to say that yet Col. Brown is authorized "to issue rations in limited quantities to such as actually require the assistance of the General government."

I saw Col. Brown & he asked me to wait a short time, when he had no doubt he would be able to do what would be satisfactory. On this promise we have supported, & continue to do so, from 22 to 25 persons at North Wales & Broad Neck and about as many on my own plantation. For this expense, I suppose, there will be no question about our right to reimbursement. The people must be