The enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1804-1815, 1814-11-12
WAsHrNcrnN Inre - 49,

OF your engagement in thlt of the 91t inst
| and IN compliance with tho terms OF nine OF
! yesterday, by the mail made up today, III
| Struct Mr.. Prince to collect al the prisoners
I he can IN reasonable time and send by the
| cartel Matilda, and such hostages ne lave
| oeen designated in retaliation against A,neri-
| can prisoners confined at Iiaiifax"
| ne other hostages designated for Amer
lcan prisoners sent to England, viii be placed
IN the ordinary state of non-parollea prison
lfrs, AMI those at For5 Sewall removed to the
prison snip az Salem for that purpose.'
Eiaaens8tsrg, tug. 9. 1917.
Ihad hoped in consequence of my
several letters to you on the subject OF rcta-
li2tion, and the cclease OF all A.neri al e,i-
soners held as hostages in his Majesry's DO
In'nions under retali.ltory orders, of which L
nave given You notice that this government
would have been induced 10 follow the exam
pie, and plscein the ordinary state OF pri-
soners, ready for release and excrares, the
lew British prisoners named at the foot Of
this letter who are still held in confinement Is
hostages
request YOU will be pleased to inform me,
whether 1t is the intention OF this government
to continue these unfortunate men in prison
as hostages, and to withhold their release
and exchange and beg leave to add, tia.
mean prisoners viii once more be placed IN a
similar state of confinement in retaliation fer
these men.
! have the honor to be, sir, your obedient
servant,
(signed) THOMAS BARCLAY.
Gen. NJ tsOn, Sc. &c.
List 2ftrissnsrs r:ierr-d to in the hrsced7ty
letter.
IL Massachusetts
John Price II fe.,lNavfcg, IObr,
inc: Eagen. James Daw5on, Henry Bedding
held, VIM. Kits.
n Rhode Island.
WIN. Lincoln.
Erfract ofa letter .f~o1l the comal,ssary zen
e,ai IF Prisoners 20 CO.. Thomas Barclay,
dated
Aug. 70, 1914,
In reply to your letter of the 9th
inst. shall pass over the terms in which
you have thought proper to Convey part Of
that letter, with the remark, that afteI. the
manner in which the subject of hostages had
been treated in your letter of the 18th OF June
and mine of the 21st and ed Of the same
month considering the information / had 81.
ven you in my letter of the goth Of May, OF
the relaxation which had taken place in the
condition of the % hostages in our power at
ifttiifiSdtiSStf, and the cause Of it. and the COM
ultimo, OF the convention concluded with SIR
George Provost, by which these and all o.
ther hostages appertaining 20 the class OF Dr;-.
soners captured by or from his command.
were released and finally exchanged /; it could .
not have been expected, when you thought
proper to make further inquiry as to the situ-
atloIl Oh those persons yet remaining IN our
possession VINO hadb been hostages, ard the
intention ct the government toward them,
you should have then resortcd the same de-
claraton OF consequences conveyed in terms
amounting 10 threat, which YOU had been
informed in the letter addressed to YOU on
the to Of June, on a former occasion, was
unavalng, and had been considered excepti-
onabe.
In my lettero the 22d Of June, 1 informed
you, that those who had been hostages. AMI
not sent for exchange by the cartel then II
p TT, should BE- restored to the ordinary state
VI prisoners. Why, then, unless you were
well assured that this had not been done do
you say in yours of the 9th inst. YOU had bon-
Cd that the American government would Have
been induced to follow the example Of vonr
government The fact is, at this time there
as no British prisoners IN this cotntrv, in anv
otner situation. ne order to that eject
went rom tins office on the ODD Of lime. as
70 the ? rjsonsrs in Massachusetts, and OF the
Iyth oil July as to one Civilian LiBcoln) i'm
hhodc island. The copy ofmy letter To the
marshal or that state, now sent, will explain
tie cause of lis confinement being thus lcnath-
ened, namely, his attrmpt to e cpe.
The reasons which determined this GOV
emmett to relax IN the mode of treatment to-
ward hostages ere detailed in that Ter. e
were The same which Infused il to accept
proposition, on the part of Sir GEORGE Pre-
voSt, to include all hostages on 10th sides m
the general exchange of prisoners made with
nm, with the reservation OF the right 10 r-
place them with others shooid Il from arv
change ot circrnstancc5 be dcened NECESSARY.
he reasons, to wit Information hoT,
our agent in London that the 4merican pri-
soners sent TO England for trial we're not then
coniined or treated otherwise Shan ordioarv
prisoners, operating, generally, so soon ~
they had been acted On IN the exChlnr. rt
part OF the hostages, held by us in the 1t.ar-
ter just mentioned, prcd0ccl instruction, IRON,
this office 70 pa. on the same foohp4 " the
persons heretofore dcsgaated as hostages If
she Tuaritlu class, aud to hold then, resJy
iore%Itchange they are accordingly now So
held" % nov ~
---.-zzzzsE5z7a or z-zsga-----.
COJNgRESS.