Not a hundredth part of the official dishonesty at New Orleans and other points along the Mississippi will ever be known.  Enough has been made public to condemn the whole system of permits and Treasury restrictions.  The Government took a wise course when it abolished, soon after the suppression of the Rebellion, a large number of the Treasury Agencies in the South.  As they were managed during the last two years of the war, these agencies proved little else than schools of dishonesty.  There may have been some honest men in those offices, but they contrived to conceal their honesty.

To show the variety of charges which attach to a shipment of cotton, I append the sellers’ account for the three bales about which Mrs. B. and myself had our little dispute.  These bales were not sold with the balance of our shipment.  The cotton of which they were composed was of very inferior quality.

Account Sales of Three Bales of Cotton for Knox & Colburn.
By PARSLEY & WILLIAMS.
____________________________________________________________
__________
 Mark, | 3 bales. || | || |
“K.  C."| Weight, } 1,349 @..............|| $0 | 60 || $809 | 40
       | 533--406--410 } || | || |
       | Auctioneers’ commission, 1 pr. ct.....|| 8 | 09 || |
       | Sampling .............................|| | 30 || |
       | Weighing .............................|| | 50 || |
       | Watching..............................|| | 50 || |
       | Tarpaulins ...........................|| | 50 || |
       | Freight, $10 pr. bale ................|| 30 | 00 || |
       | Insurance, $2.50 pr. bale ............|| 7 | 50 || |
       | 4 c. pr. lb. (tax) on 1,349 lb .......|| 53 | 96 || |
       | 1/2 c. " " " " ..........|| 6 | 74 || |
       | Permit and stamps ....................|| | 65 || |
       | Hospital fees, $5 pr. bale............|| 15 | 00 || |
       | Factors’ commission, 1 pr. ct.........|| 8 | 09 || |
       | || -- | -- || 131 | 83
       | || | || ---- | --
E.O.E. | Net proceeds......................|| | || $677 | 57
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NEW ORLEANS, La., February 22, 1864.

It will be seen by the above that the charges form an important portion of the proceeds of a sale.  The heaviest items are for Government and hospital taxes.  The latter was levied before the war, but the former is one of the fruits of the Rebellion.  It is likely to endure for a considerable time.

I knew several cases in which the sales of cotton did not cover the charges, but left a small bill to be paid by the owner.  Frequently, cotton that had been innocently purchased and sent to market was seized by Government officials, on account of some alleged informality, and placed in the public warehouses.  The owner could get no hearing until he made liberal presents of a pecuniary character to the proper authorities.