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off as they seem determined to defeat it if possible; I am keeping as well posted in the state of affairs as possible and will report promptly if I think there is any likelihood of prosecution of the colored people in my district.
The amount of suffering among the freed people of the present time has not materially diminished, the weather having in no wise moderated sufficiently to offer any better opportunities for self-support. The freedman show a disposition to labor and support their families but work only by the day or job, sometimes by the month, the men seem willing to go to the country to work and find homes, but the woman generally refuse to go with their husbands, preferring to live in hovels and destitution in the neighborhood of towns and villages, rather than find homes where they could live comfortably in the rural districts.  I know of no way to prevent the evil results attendant on this state of things, except it be to exercise the vagrant law vigilantly, and force these people to find homes where they can support themselves.
The Civil Authorities of Alexandria City have during the winter, (with the assistance of the beef furnished by the Bureau, and subscriptions of vegetables and bread from citizens) supplied the

Transcription Notes:
---------- Reopened for Editing 2024-03-23 11:47:12 added NARA, corrected minor typos