The new South. [volume] (Port Royal, S.C.) 1862-1867, 1862-09-06

whether taken In battle, ,deSerterS from the eheAy,
arrested for Violations iiitary yles, or sentens
ced by courts martial, pass into hk custody. No
stranger can enterohr lines without first undergo
ing his rigid scrutiny ndreceivingbis official pass:
Should person be suspected Of dislDyalty the
Provost Marshal must S0nfne him await the dis
position ofthe General Commanding The regu-
lations prescrihed for the government Of sd1|eH
and marketmen, it is the business Of this fu11
ary e,see are not trenched upon, The sale IS
r tquors being forbidden, he has ID rest and~
from the post those who infringe in this respect,
confscating their property for the use of the hos
pitals. One of the most disageesble of his duties
is the delicate one of examining the Baggage ofper-
sons lesging the command, in search OF Govern
ment property, which experience has taught was
carried away to great extent during the early oc
cupation of Port Royal under the guise of "me-
mentoes from Secessia" He has also toSverhaul
all packages and parcels, forwarded to soldiers by
express, to prevent smuggling of liquor into the
command And it is curious to note the various
ingenious methods by which ipconsiderate friends
at home han sought to evade the rule forbdding
the supply hiskey to the troops, It has found
lodgmeut IN dslse bottoms fitted to trunks and
boxes kIt haseome in snuff bladasH and been
found IN innocent looking tin-cases hbelled "pie
frnit In short, every artifce has been devised
for sesretpg the stuff that ssteals mans brains,
but the koyost Marshal has learned these lodges,
and they Emeet with failure As an illustration
of his q lin thisrespect, tits only necessary to
mentf at during the last six weeks he has con-
fsca{ a and delivered to the medical purveyor,
quantity eeIiduor which, in the aggregate, would
fill fifteen barrels all found in soldiers packages
Such are some of the Provost Marshal duties,
and thew are at once seen to be onerous and impor-
tant. His powers extend over the entire post, and
his department is like sieve through which the
worthy alone may pass, and the vile are retained
by the meshes. gn
The Provost Marshal's encampment is situated
between Fort Welles and the General Hospital. 1t
fronts on the shore and the situation is one OF the
pleasantest and heathiest on the Island. 1t will
soon be enclosed by high fence containing space
of ground 325(Det square. At presenf~the quaI-
ters for the guard and the accommodations for the
prisoners are insufficient but proper buildings are
now in process oferection, and before aweek pas
ses there will be three PRISONS each eighty feet long
by twenty y-sx widezAthe centre STRUCTURE eae
story high, containing thirteen cells on either SIDE
and the others twosfories, withlower fooFs mi
lar to the first, and the upper floors likewise divi-
ded into cells, opening on ccrridor which sur; ):
~ n ;n{or;or of ZACH huildinp.
On an average there are one hundred persons in
custody, and the committals and discharges are
about ten each day The prisoners are white and
black, rebels and other rogues, and it speaks well
for the reformatory character ohe place that the lat
ter class seldom find their way therea second time.
Unless the prisoners are violent and refractory, or
are confined for heinous offences, requiring hand
cuffs the bull and chain, solitary cell and diet Of
bread and water, they live on fare similar to that