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same as before the war - perhaps there is less of it - the whites set them a bad example - no more are confined in jail than formerly"

The supply and demand for labor is about balanced. There is much uncultivated land but not the means for working it. Freedmen are not all employed as they ought to and might be. Very many are not making the best of their situation. But their affairs in this division are on the whole improving. The freedmen in Matthews are better informed: those in Gloucester better off, the former owing to [[strikethrough]]the former owing to [[/strikethrough]] the presence of many loyal white men - the latter to the scarcity of laborers. Many as yet in both counties have not the remotest idea what the last Congress did for them. Ignorance is their curse; they need schools more than anything else.

Mr F.K. Smith the agent in charge is active and competent - has been but a little while at his work, but I think appreciates his duties and promises well.

York County,
Bvt. Capt. F.I. Massey A.S.A.C.
Head Quarters at Yorktown.

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---------- Reopened for Editing 2023-10-06 10:42:40