Father French begged leave to differ, for he wanted them to respect the Sabbath. Mr. Hunn followed, saying they had better do it _to-day_, for it was no worse to drive stakes Sunday than to keep thinking about it. He condoled them on the small pay they had been getting from Government and private speculators, saying, "What's thirty cents a day in these times for a man who has to maintain himself and his family?" (Great sensation among negroes, and a buzz, with mutterings of "that's so," etc.). Then a paymaster made a spread-eagle speech. Then Colonel Ellwell was called out by Mr. French. Then Judge Smith mounted the pulpit and explained to the negroes the meaning of preemption, how it was formed of two Latin words. Colonel Ellwell contrived to mystify the people a little as follows. After expatiating on the goodness of President Lincoln, he said he was so kind he had even offered pardon to the rebels, and perhaps we should see their old masters back here some day, with a whole county of scoundrels to swear they had always been loyal Union men, etc. The whole fandango lasted till nearly three o'clock, and then we had the usual amount of shaking of hands, etc., outside. I lost no time in finding Mr. Hunn and informing him that I had paid an average of over fifty cents a day through the whole season of working cotton. If he had been a younger man, I should have said, as I thought, that it was not a true kindness to these ignorant people to say anything tending to make them discontented with the rates of pay that had been established with a good deal of care by men who had been quite disinterested and well calculated to judge of such things. In fact, I might have told him, what I certainly believe, that a much higher rate of pay than they have been receiving would tend to diminish the amount of industry rather than to stimulate it, by rendering it too easy for them to supply their simple wants. I held my peace, however, and was content to hear him apologize, disclaiming any intention of referring to me in what he had said, etc., and admitting that my case was an exception, adding that he didn't suppose I should be _allowed_ by Government to pay higher rates than those established by General Saxton! We were accompanied home from church by Mr. Eustis, and Mr. R. came as far as G.'s. They all met here Monday, in a pouring rain, to talk over the subject of wages for the coming year. It was concluded to pay in money entirely instead of in molasses and bacon, believing that the days of rationing in any form had passed, and that the negroes would be better pleased to handle all the money and spend it as they pleased. So we raise the pay of cotton hoeing from twenty-five cents to thirty-five cents per old task, and add five cents more, making it forty cents, besides the premium on the weight of crop, which remains as before, making the average wages about sixty or sixty-five cents for cotton work, which we think none too high for