January 23, 1864
GOV. BOREMAN yesterday received a dispatch from Gen. Halleck asking the opinion of the functionary on the on the permit question, stating that if it was deemed best he (Halleck) would immediately remove all restrictions upon trade in Western Virginia. We did not learn the result, but understand that our Governor favored "free trade and sailor's rights."
Thos. Heaton, Esq., General Permit Manager for the Western Department reached the city night before last, and has been enquiring into the permit arrangements. We did not hear his opinion on the subject, but he presume he favors a continuance of the permit system.
The permit agents in this region cline tenaciously to their views, and are still of the opinion that the system is a good institution, while the underlings seem to think that:
"Be it better or worse,
They will be ruled by the men who carry the purse."
Timeline of West Virginia: Civil War and Statehood: January 1864