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visible upon our class than upon the others; and I may add is not less needed or difficult to accomplish. The only class which seem almost unaffected by its great benevolences and its bold reforms in my section is that pitiable class of poor whites who do not learn that they too are now free, and still cling to their old masters long after their fellow slaves the negroes have left them in body and spirit.
The manners of the blacks in 1865 in the country 
were generally those of "run-a-way slaves," very abject and fearful in the presence of the white master class, and very joyous and affectionate in the presence of the friends of the Govt whom they looked upon as deliverers and guardians, consequently they flocked to cities and towns out of vague fear and hope and felt assured by the visible presence there of the power of the Govt, and by their own numbers. They were quite unsettled, but not so much so as most wise men apprehended-not so much so as any other race in the world would have been. They were peaceful, seldom even resisting when attacked, so abject had the terrible discipline of slavery made them. They either worked for nothing or else upon the promise of very inadequate wages that and the succeeding year. They received mostly less than the little they were promised and rations and clothing had to be issued to thousands. Few who earned money knew how either to judiciously spend it or to wisely save it. The gratifications of children were all they sought and they took no thought of the morrow. Almost all-men, women and children-were to the last degree ignorant and superstitious. The family relation was slightly regarded and there was little pride of character either in men or women. Truth and honesty were rare indeed among them.