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Salisbury NoCa
Ap. 6th 1866.

Col.

In view of the Presidents proclamation of Ap. 2d 1866, declaring the insurrection in North Carolina at an end, & declaring that the suspension of the privilege of the writ of Habeas Corpus, military occupation & military tribunals ought not to be sanctioned or allowed except in the suppression of insurrection.  I have the honor to inquire if the Constitutional Law does not forbid me from arresting & holding to trial any white citizen of the State, and may it not further prohibit me from so arresting & holding to trial any freedman or woman.  By examining Par. 2. Section IX, and, among the Amendments to the Constitution, Articles V, VI & VII, I have come to the conclusion that I am not authorized to proceed as heretofore in the adjustment of disputes, or in the