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manner in which those few cases (which have been sent to the civil authorities) have been managed. I have no instances to report in which any injustice has been done the colored party, by any official act either by neglecting to act promptly in the matter as in evading the discharge of duty, on the part of the party authorized to act. I do not attribute these facts to any disposition on the part of the County officers to protect the Freedmen in their just rights but simply to the inclination of the part of a few men to do their duty regardless of Public sentiment or consequences. It may be a matter of astonishment to some, but it is nevertheless true that a few such men can be found in this portion of the state who are Magistrates defacto.

The fact is that a very large proportion of these men who accept such positions are not only popular by reason of their political sentiments and prejudiced against the colored race