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No complaint is made of any of the officers, of this District except with regard to Staunton before referred to.

The Destitution in the District is not great, the whole number to whom the destitute ration is now dispensed is 90 - 74 being freedmen and 16 refugees.  These are chiefly aged and children.-

The instances where the County authorities make real provision for their poor are exceptional.  They profess to do so but do not in fact.  They however assess the freedpeople for taxes.
   
The administration of justice in the District generally is unfair and unfavorable to the freedmen with the exception of the Sub. Dist. of Warren and Page Counties of which Lieut. Ripley is Asst. Supt. where there are no complaints.

In the other four Sub Districts there are numerous complaints of injustice.  At Winchester the Justices made the issue of warrants on the application of freedpeople on frivolous pretexts.  In Clarke County, bail is refused to freedmen when the cases are clearly bailable and there is no objection to the security produced.

I beg to call attention to the fact that the blank forms of registers of marriages and of legitimatized children, have not been furnished to this District.  Capt. McDonnell appears from his letter book to have made a request for the same on 29th Dec. last, but they have not arrived.  This is given as an excuse for non-compliance with the orders on the subject of

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