The Burlington weekly hawk-eye. [volume] (Burlington [Iowa]) 1860-1876, 1863-09-05

BURLINGTON WI
There ia a great deal Of talk about propo-
sitions made to the Emperor Napoleon, OF
benefits In exchange for Interference on his
part, In behalf of the South. Our inform
ant has heard nothing said Of the offer OF
Texas to France, as the price of interven-
ton. Whatever he has heard, Is Of course
only gossip, as the Government keeps its
plans very closely to itself
The men who hold the Confederate mon
ey are fostering such stories until they can
get rid Of 1t for something more substantial.
Those people who hold the Confederate
debts are the most anxious of any for an
other trial FOR success, as 1t is life and
death matter with them. They are ruined
if the Confederacy falls. If the war should
cease with this year, the Confederate debt
would be about three thousand millions
after all the claims should come in, of
which tits acknowledged that there is lit
tie possibility that farthing will be paid.
But the most hImitiating thing of all, Il you'd
seem, is the fact that United States '.green-
backs" are exposed in the brokers' soindops,
and are sold ut the rate of ten dollars IN
Confederate paper for one II, United States
paper.
There is no change in circulation smaller
than fifty cent Confederate notes except oc-
casionally postage stamp. There We're
smaller notes, but they have gone out of
circulation, as there is hardly any article
now that costs less than that sum. Fifty
cents bears about the same proportion to
articles of purchase there as three cents
does here. A glass of whisky at a bar is
one dollar; julep is $3.50. Brown sugar
is worth two dollars pound; no good ba-
con can be got, but the wretched stuff that
is sold is about 81 a pound; good pair of
boots costs 800; a pair of CATERS $50; shoes
$45; servants shoes, the lowest price, $50; a
common black suit of clothes costs $500.
With these high prices day laborers re-
ceive four dollars day. l. can be imag-
ined what kind Of living they can procure
for this money. A theatre has been in OPP
Grafton. and has done well. Lately the
patronage has fallen off very sensibly, ow-
ing, it is supposed to the depressed state of
public feeling.
Our informant states that the defenses of
Richmond are very formidable, and thinks
that although they are not manned by a
very large number Of men, yet that at any
attempt to carry them would prove fail
ure, Richmond he says can be taken east
Iv by cutting off the James River Canal
and the communication from the north
side. The cutting off of all supplies would
be the most effective strategy in the case
of the investmentof the city.-N. Y. World
Aatg. %.
THE KILLING OF PRIsoNERs.-TheF Fed
eral authorities now hold about eighty
thousand Rebel prisoners OF war-more
than half of them paroled and at home
while the Rebels have some thirty thou
sand Of our men as prisoners in their hands.
1t is greatly desirable, on the score of hu-
mainly, that there should be an exchange
of all held in durance forthwith; for our
brethren suffer terribly from the scarcity
Of provisions, medicines, clothing, medical
skill, &C., &C.. at the South. We are ready
to exchange man for man so far as the reb-
els can go, and anxious to have that ex-
change effected at once. Gen. Meredith is
now at Fortress Monroe, ready to confer
with the rebel Commissioner-whoev he
may been this point, and save the Con-
federacy the expense and trouble of send
ing Vice President and gunboat all the
way to Washington. We want nothing
but what is fair and equal, and the rebels
are certainly not in condition to demand
any thing more.
Then what is the obstacle?
The Richmond Emquire, in leader, which
we transfer to our columns, declares that
sit is scarcely possible that any satisfactory
conclusion can be arrived at" by the Com
missioners. Why not? Because "the Fed
aral Government has planted itself inso-
lently on the demand that our runaway
negroes, when taken in arms against their
masters, shall be treated as prisoners OF
war;" and "this is thing which the tenn
per of the country lDixiel cannot endure
That is bad, certainly. 'Revolted negroes
must be subject to death or enslavement;
"revolted' whites alone are to be treated
as prisoners of war. But what writer on
international law, or the laws of war, ever
laid down the principle that rebellion was
the privilege OF Whites alone? What au
thority, human or Divine, is there for main
tanning that our prisoners are all entitled to
exchange, while those taken by the rebels
are not? We do not learn.
Our Richmond cotemporary attributes
the Yankee 'outrage" of insisting on gen.
holding an excess of prisoners" 1t asserts
that we virtually hold the Confederates
"rebels and criminals who have no rights. "
But move have never asserted that "reb-
els have no rights 1t would i'll become
rs to do that, since we date our history
from a rebellion. What we do insist on is
that one set Of rebels shat be treated as scell
as another. Here are Pemberton, Gardner,
Buckner, and thousands more OF promi-
nent rebels against our Government-na-
Itives of loyal States, graduates of our Mill
tary Academy, officers of our National ar
my--who rebelled, wentover to the enemy,
fought against us, were beaten, captured
paroled and exchanged. If there are ere
VOTED" negroes in our service, they cannot
have deserved worse Of their ox-masters
than Pemberton & Co., have at our hands
We propose, then, to exchange evenly all
men captured in fair, open warfare, leav-
ing the fate Of spies, and all their kind to
be settled by the established laws of war
VINO can suggest an Improvement on this
ruler And who does not feel that those
who refuse to be governed by it are solely
responsible for the miseries suffered BY
prisoners Of war who might be exchanged
but are not, because the Confederate chief
prefer the interest Of Slavery to that of theil
brave and unfortunate soldiers.-N' Z. Iri6
A NOBLE SPEECH FROM a UNION DEMO
cRAT.-Col. Lucius J. Fairchild has beer
nominated by the Wisconsin Union Stat1
Convention for Secretary of State. Col
| Fairchild, Of the iron brigade, was former
~ citizen of Ohio. He has led the old &C
Wisconsin through many storm of sho
and shell, and, in the struggle at Gettys
burg, lost an arm. In accepting the nom
nation, he said:
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