Scope and Contents The author describes recent telegrams from S. E. Walbridge, who is coordinating the sale and transportation of goods for him, requesting that 200 barrels of salt be sent to Memphis and mentioning a shipment of 52 bales of cotton north. He also notes a request from Mr. Tennant, a business partner in Memphis, for $50,000 to be sent immediately for purchases of cotton. The author concludes that business is good and expects to make a handsome profit once Whiting's ships receive permits to trade...

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The author notes that in recent days trade has been disrupted by administrative difficulties, but mentions that an ally in Washington is trying to secure a more liberal and comprehensive permit for his activities. He also writes that Allen Collier, a steamer in whose cargo Mason and Whiting hold a one-sixth share, has been destroyed. Still, cotton purchasing along the Mississippi continues and sales of small quantities of cotton have been profitable.

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On his return from Memphis, the author informs Mason of recent activities on the Mississippi, and the status of his vessels. He speaks in particular of Belfast's arrival in Memphis from downriver, with 120 bales of cotton for immediate sale. Another 256 bales had been seized by Union navy officers at the White River in Arkansas; this necessitated a stop in Cairo, Illinois, to obtain a release from Rear Admiral David D. Porter.  

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At the time of writing George S. Ellery was purchasing agent for the U.S. Cotton Agency at Memphis. Ellery enquires about the receipt of an earlier letter, and comments favorably on newly implemented War Department legislation that will curtail the corrupt interference of "newspaper political generals" with the cotton trade.