Richmond enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1815-1867, 1861-10-04

The following; is from the New York "W Grid,
one OF the most rabiL ard illnannercd cI tie
Abolition ,rlbc It will l,c seen that necessity
has forced il Ia advocate tic exchange Of prison
erS---but with what uaihing and what grimaccs
it comes up to the proposition. 1t goes 80
hard for such us lac to observe The uSagcs ui
gentcuianly and civilized war! Bot try again,
Mr. World your lesson is but bali carn-
ed. You cannot pick anu Gull among prison.
crs You shall treat them all properly. You
shall exchange all or none. Hang or mislrcat
4 single man, il you dare! As to the foul
speech which you indulge towards us, We sup
pose it is a luxury to one of your tastes, and
we value it simply as we do the barking Of a
badly trained dog Ifit is comfort to yon,
and if it makes you feel brave, bark Oil. 1t is
low amusement, but it is cheap. Here is the
Worlds" article:
The question Of exchanging prisoners is be-
coming matter Of great practical Importance.
The success Of lIattcras has put US in posses.
sion Of seven hundred rebels Al unusual pro.
portion Of whom arc officers; while at Wash
ington and other points, we have enough 9th.
ers to make the entire aggregate at least 4
thousand. Bull Run left fifteen hundred Of
our soldiers in the hands Of the rebels. These
men are now in Richmond, anxiouSly looking
for some action on the part of our Government
that shall bring their release. \ very consd-
cradle proportion Of them are three months
volunteers, whose term Of enlistment has eS.
pred: some Of them were entitled to their dis.
charge before the battle. At the time Of their
volunteering for the defence Of the capital they
had made no arrangement for ali extended alb
Sence from home, and in consequence their
business is not only suffering, but the families
Of large numbers Of them are in state Of pos
tive want They themselves, though we have
reason to believe that they are not harshly
treated still are without money, and, in the
present non intercourse between the two sec.
tons, arc without 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 the neccSsaries OF life The case Of
lhe wounded is particularly hard. In reference
to them, VIC cannot do better than 10 repeat
the words Of Il Richmond prisoner whose let
ter has already appeared in our columns
''The wounded, enough TO form II regiment.
are receiving Us much attention as possible
from our surgeons who have remained with
them; also from the citizens they have mrny
little tokens Of Kindness h"t thty die ~ er
cry dny. Wounds at first deemed but slight
aSs;lnne u malignant aspect, and the patient
S,mn dhs 'IhI: i consequent upon chagrln
aih lrc:!ul feeling from = Sc!'ar al iInI''~'''''
mrni am! the absence of home c.nnlvrl 1T
the Government redeem these unlortulIatcs, il
1t ran,;nt us, and you will sec the wan and
lisllcss countenanc:S brighten mp with thu light
OF new life, and the fatal hop"lrSsnesS al
ways cngendcrcd by sickness, combined wltli
absence from home, will give way To senSa-
tion which will b. restoration itself.
1t is undeniably wrong to leave such mrn
for all indefinite period IN such condition.
They arc entitled to the special care hi tie
government. to whose call they were 50 Pr mp;
torcspord Thcy generally became PRISONERS be-
cause Of their very fidelity and Sailanty because
they were the ilSt to fly f.din the dlshonored
field. There vtre pGltroon& undcr trr tcdc'
raj nag that day who, were they in S'lnlar
blight, would mt be worth rIMnents con
Germ. But those lnen d!l their 'iut", HHd
every say deserve the pr"!e'!i'n u the '"s
rrnrlrrnl they have honurably served
The syStvn Of exchanging pIIsonelS, II
adopted, lnllst Of course have same restriction.
Ii cannol apply to merely political prl'onri'
rheir Offences are strictly civil. and tho rules
and privileges Of war have nothing to do with
their case. 1t ought not 10 apply TO Federal
officers who have turned traltora-ihe men
who were educated ky the Government, aid
loaded with honor and distinction, oniy tn III
pay It with The most infamous treachery III Ms
hour Of need The rank iie of the rebel
aruly generally serve under .itra'nt, "r hf-
cause they have been misled by the gfoNsrst E
misrepresentation. They may we'll be treated
with Ier;tv. But officer: rank committed
their treason with p full ii. rstandlnS OF It's
crimiiIalil,y, ami spite Of, lar obligations
10 be faithful We talk r9.. pirates o the
$50 vannab," but there Is oi them "no
half so well ,Aesr~r.sy tn s; b.. the yard arm
as ComInudpre Samnsl BsTun lor forty-eight
years in the receipt "t the pay aud honoTs OF
his country, now Il prisoner on uoTerhorS
Island.
Traitors of this stamp ought not to be eS-
changed; they should be visited with a punish
ment that wonld serve rs an everlasting warn
ing to all who engage to defend the flag OF their