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0534

and of prejudices so strong that the offences are either very lightly treated with the assessment of cost upon the injured Freed-person, or overlooked entirely; and until the magistrates of this County, (the term of office of nearly all of them having expired) are removed, and men, loyal to the general government, who will not bow in timidity and obedience to the former ruling classes, little peace or prosperity can be expected among the Freedmen

The general feeling between the majority of the whites and Freedpeople is by no means good, the former class, despite their professions of being the "Negro's Best Friend", evidently seek, by taking oppression advantages, and in cases that have come to my knowledge, by bribery, to make them regret the rights acknowledged to be due them by the laws of Congress; the latter class while firmly adhearing to their rights as citizens of the U.S. and of the state, are, almost universally, polite orderly, & well-behaved and making rapid strides in the realization of their Freedom,
Many of them have purchased land, others have leased & many are working for shares in the crop:  The season having been good the yield will be large, and raise hundred above  

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---------- Reopened for Editing 2024-03-27 09:26:42