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with perfect safety, and the country is so orderly that I myself have foregone my old habit of carrying a pistol with me when I ride out on business- 

I regret to have to say that some complaints have been made to one of laziness on the part of the Blacks in working for their employers, and that some of them are inclined to break their Contracts; but, on the other hand, I hear scarcely any charges of stealing brought against them- a fact partly to be attributed to the punctuality with which they are in most cases paid, and that those engaged in farming for themselves are comparatively few, and those few people of some means- 

Of course I speak of things in general- no doubt there are persons in Surry who would defraud and maltreat the Freedmen- but my opinion is that these are people who are otherwise disreputable and but a small minority in number- and this opinion is corroborated by the comparatively few complaints presented by me by the Freedpeople- 

Very respectfully 
I am Obt. Servt. 
J.W. Sharp 
Capt. & Asst. Supt. of Freedmen 
Surry Co Va=

Through Capt Stuart Barnes A.Q.M. 
Supt R.F. and Abandoned Lands 
2nd Dist of Virginia

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---------- Reopened for Editing 2024-02-28 13:49:59