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Bureau Refugees Freedmen & A.L
Ashland VA April 30th 1866
Lieut. H.S. Merrell
Supt. 3rd Dist of VA

Lieut
In compliance with paragraph 6 of Circular No 10 from Hd Qurs Asst Comr of Va Richmond Va March 12th 1866, I have the honor to report that I have attended all trials of Colored persons for Criminal offences which has taken place in this County during the past month. There has been but three of such trials. The first of which was on the charge of a white assaulting a colored girl, the second a charge of theft committed by a colored man, the third a case of assault & battery committed by a colored man on the persons of a white woman. In all those cases the magistrates showed a disposition to treat the colored people the same as whites under the same circumstances, there was no disposition to reject their evidence and they were treated with impartiality & the law respecting their testimony was carried out in good faith.

Transcription Notes:
---------- Reopened for Editing 2024-04-24 11:57:17 because the original transcriber hit [enter] at the end of the written line, and there are more than 2 [?] (and mistakes on top of that).