Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1861-10-03
Exchange of Prisoners.

recommendations of Candidates tor ofnces OF nonor pro-
will be charged for at from to 10 cents per line
Exchange Of Prisoners.
We find in the New York World sig
nifcant article on the subject cf the ex
changing of prisoners. 1t urges upon the
Lincoln Administration change of policy
touching the exchange of prisoners with
"the rebels" desiring them to pursue the
usual course of nations at war, subject tt
restrictions as to political offenders. II
would make an especial exception in the
case of officers of the Federal army in the
service of the Confederate States and pri.
vateers. The Lincoln Government must
90 further if it desires to effect an arrange.
ment with that of the Confederate States
for the exchange of prisoners. There must
be no exceptions to the usual rule of en-.
lighteued nations. The officers and men Of
our privateers, and the officers of our army
who abandoned positions in the U. States
army to join US, must be recognized and
treated as prisoners of war. The Confed.
crate States Government will never consent
that they shall be dealt with as pirates OF
traitors. We have the power to enforce the
observance of the laws of honorable war.
fare, and woe be to the Federalists if they
are not observed The solution of the
difficulty respecting the exchange of pris,
oners rests with the United States Govern
ment. They can take their choice between
a humane or brutal policy. The former
is the choice of the Confederate States, but
if the latter is forced upon them, just
God must and will punish the guilty. The
World says:
The question of exchanging prisoners is
becoming question of great practical i'm
portance. The success at Hatteras has put
us in possession of seven hundred rebels,
an unusual proportion of whom are officers !;
while at Washington and other points we
have enough others to make the entire ag-
gregate at least thousand. Bull Run left
fifteen hundred of our soldiers in the hands
of the rebels These men are now in Rich
mond, anxiously looking for some action on
the part of our Government that shall bring
their release A very considerable proper
ton of them are three months volunteers,
whose term ofenlistment has expired some
of them were entitled to their discharge
before the battle. At the time of their
volunteering for the defence of the capital
they had made no arrangement for an ex-
tended absence from home, and, in conse-
quence, their business is not only suffering
but the families of large numbers of them
are in state of positive want. They them
selves, though we have reason to believe
that they are not harshly treated, still are
without money, and, in the present noniu.
tercourse between the two sections, are with
CIT the means of procuring any With no
changes of clothing, none but the coarsest
food, and nothing but the hard floor to sleep
upon, they have none of the comforts, and
few of the necessaries of life The case Of
the wounded is particularly hard. In ref
erence to them, we cannot do better than
to repeat the words of Richmond prison
er, whose letter has already appeared in oul
columns:
"The wounded, enough to form regi
ment, are receiving as much attention as
possible from our surgeons who have re-
NAMED with them; also from the citizens
they have many little tokens of kindness
but they die off every day. Wounds at
first deemed but slight, assume malignant
aspect, and the patient soon dies This is
consequent upon chagrin and fretful feeling,
from sense of Imprisonment and the ab.
sence of home comforts Let the Govern,
ment redeem these unfortunates, if it can
not US, aud you willsee the wan and listless
countenances brighten up with the light Of
new life, and the fatal hopelessncss always
cngendered by sickness, combined with alb
sence from home, will give way to sensa
ton which will be restoration itself"
1t is undeniably wrong to leave such men
for al indefinite period in such condition
They are entitled to the special care of the
Government, to whose call they were sc
prompt to respond They generally became
prisoners, because of their very fidelity and
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS they were the last to fly
from the dishonored field. There were pol
troons under the Federal flag that day who
were they in similar plight, would not b'
worth a moments concern. But those mel
lid their duty, and every way deserve tn
protection of the Government they have
honorably served
The system Of exchanging prisoners, l
adopted, must Of course have some restrlc
tions. 1t cannot apply to merely poiltlca
prisoners. Their offences are strictly civil
and the rules and privileges of war have
nothing to do with theiI case. 1t ought no
to apply to Federal officers who have turned
traitors-the men who were educated by
the Government and loaded with honoranc
distinction, only to repay it with the mos
infamous treachery in its hour Of need
The rank and file of the rebel army gener
ally serve under constraint, or because the,
have been misled by the grosscst misrepre
sentatlons. They may well be treated witt
lenity. But officers OF rank committed
their treason with full understanding 0
80 orimjnalitv and in snita nf ito nenu)ia