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James River Canal July 18/65.

Col. O. Brown
Asst. Commissioner, Bureau Refugees &c
Richmond V.a.

Colonel
I have the honor to report another stage of progress in continuation of the report I had the honor to transmit to you from Petersburg. - Passing through several Counties towards Lynchburg, I conferred freely with many leading Planters upon the objects of my mission, one of whom was on the way to call on you with a [[budget?]] of complaints, one of which was to ask you to put him in possession of a large farm near Yorktown. (Mr. J.C. White Liberty Co.)
I learned from others that he was one of the strongest fomenters of rebellion, & from himself that he was strenuously opposed to our plans & movements, & predicted the reestablishment of state authority soon, and slavery within a year. He would not consent to entertain for a moment a suggestion as to the control & protection of what he called their people. He seemed to represent forty or fifty Planters who happened to be at the Hotel, when two different trains of cars stopped over night. On learning something of my business, (I had