, 1863-11-24

I NAN*ASeE-
proved himself to be an outright falsider, a
the following, by his own admissions to GU,
Commissioner Of Exchange, will show:
-. OFFICE COMMISSIONER Or EXCHANGE
FoRTREss MONROE, Va, Nov. II, Ices. {
Hen Robett ould, Agent Of Exchange, Rich
mond, VI.
srR: I acknowledge the receipt Of you.
communication Of October 3lst. I would
Lave been surprised at Its contents had I not
been preqicuEly acquainted with your habit
Of special pleading, md Of peryerting the
truth
with you, you stated to NE, distinctly and
uGeanivocally, that you would make declara-
tlone If exchange whenever you copscien-
tiously felt that you had tho right 30 to do,
for the purpose Of putting men Into the field.
You made this statement not only once, but
two or three tines. In. my pseViaus inter
have verbal propositions Of any importance
made by You reduced to writing; on this
occasion I rctrained from my usual course,
now muck to my regret, as will do you thu
Justice 10 FAY that have no doubt you have
forgotten what occurred at that meeting.
The following e1iract.. from two Of your
letters, will probably serve to convince you
that 1t is highly probable that, while Iaboring
under tie excitement blnted at shove, you
may have made the statement attributed to
you. From your letter dated October I'd,
1868, take the folloTing:
"Iuow inform Tou. in view Of the recent dscla-
Gn ade Sy Nth
made to you On the 21th Of August 1ast In relation
to paroles. TINT the Confederate authorities win
conslder themselves entirely at liberty to pursue
may deem light aud proper"
Agsin, in your letter to me, of October 1Gtt,
YoY stated as follows:
II reserve to myself tho right to make further
declarations OF exchange. Hom time to time based
upon the paroles In my office. ut:f hare declared
to TINT of Federal troops declared exchanged BY
your 1att 1oticei'
In these two extracts you arrogate to your
Government and yourself the right to de.
clare exchanges. OF course 4 government
in as prosperous condition Is the Confed-
eIacy, with men in superabundance to put
into the field. would not declare mon az;
changed for that purpose, nor would high
toned, honorable gentleman, who has re-.
served to hin1self the right to declare exchang-
es, use that right with the idea ofputting men
in ne fed; YetN Is vel known that many
officers and men captured at Vicksburg we're
In the battle of Chickamauga. I deem It
proper here to say tew words in relation to
the IL, ,000 paroles which you state you have
In your tossession, and which you claim IS
valid. You rest the valfdity Of these paroles
(Which have never seen, and which you ack-
noWledge to have been accommodating for ma.
~ nonths) on General Orders Of Tia Uaited
States Government, Nos. 49 and 100. These
two orders Announce general rules bated on
the ueages Of war, but cartel having been
agreed upon, 70 order Of either party could.
set aside its provisions (which I have stated to
you on eeve1al occasions) For inetancea com
handler en- being captured might. under SONS
rcumstances, give parole tor himself aud
his commac without violating General Or
der No. 100 {nhich inclndes General Order
No. 30), but nnless the paroliug was done at
City Point, or ether n1med placo, It would be
IN violation Of the cartel, nor could e1cer.
tiols be taken to tLis course By the party
granting the parole, became the validity Of
the parole depends tn 4 strict compliance
with the provisions of tbs cartel. g.,
Paragraph $50 Of Order 100. which pre-
Ecribes the duties that q pasoled soldier NAV
Fcl1oEm, Is also to .some extent ret aside by
the cartel, which restricts these duties to 4
much more limited field than the order.
Paragraph Isl, Which you attempt to make
50 much Of, Is also rendered imperative by
the cartel, becaute 1t could only apply t9
Earoles not given At the points designated
fer delivery; but all such PAROLES nre bY the
cartel mode invalid; and the paroltug party
therefore has no p1etext for claiming their
Hed such claim been admitted, the effect
at Gettysburg would have been to, giYe to
Gen. Leo the privilege Of placing his prison
erB In cur hands, to be delivered to him at
City Point, at our own charge, a claim 80
nanifest1y absurd that am surprised that
even Jou thonld hare had the ASSURANCE to
The Foundation for the eighteen thousand 'pas %.
roles which You clalm as valid. Paroles on
the field Of battle, often given in haste by al
enemy unable to take care ofor receive them.
aIe Informal and invalid BY the lava Of war.
Most Of the paroles ab3ve mentioned ware
taken By gue1i1las, buchwhackers, aud de.
tached commands In the West.
No possession WAS ever had, no delivery
vas ever made, and no rolls have eyer been
furnished Of those giving them On the cap.
tu1e Of town by cavalry raid, the COM
mand remained long enough to take the pa-
roles Of the nnarmeu citixeps there, and then
decamped, leaving the paroled men behind,
and ofvardipg the paroles to accumulate IN
your Office In Richmond, yet you haYe the as
snrauce to soy that you expect the United
States Government to exchange prisoners Ia.
ultimately captured In battle and now held IN
custody, for such paroles as these.
It is we'll for you to write 1etters filed with
well .feigned indignation 1T any imputation
upon the Integrity Or honesty Of your Coy
emmett Or yourself, for publication In the
South, to delude tie snffarng people thete
into the belitf that you and your Government
are doing everything to cause resumption Of
e1changcs, but ! feel i my duty to say that
your principles are SO flexible and your rule
Of action 20 slightly Influenced by sense Of
truth, honesty or honor, that find 1t almost
impossible to arrive st any fur understanding
with you on the subject, and all my efforts
thus far, for the above reason, hare been
ftuit1ess.
In yonr communication Of October eth,
you use the following language:
II etatc that General Orders Nos. % and 100
were not sent to me Ut the same time. received
General Order No. 49 long before No. 100 was de-
nreIed TO ne. Theis respective dates will show
il that General otder No. leo was never commuai
Gated In letter."
You then proceed to impress the public
with an -tea Of your careful habits, as fol-
lows:
"1tis my habit f.ithfull 10 keep all letters
written By The Federal Agent Of Exchange"
But this most important letter ha ape TO
ne mtslaid, which intelligence you convey to
tie Southern public as follows
"A careful teaEch Of the records OF my otacc
does not disclose any letter hom Lieutenant Col
onel Ludlow, communicating General Order No.
On November iii sent you q copy of the
letter hereto anne1ed, copied from CO.; Lud.
might have met the fate OF the original md
misca,ried, I seud It again:
HEADQUARTERS, DEPARTMENT or VmaIs1A,
7rH Amy Conrs, F.. MONROE, Va, May 2ed,,
1s83--Hon. Robert Ou1d. Agent for Exchange Of
5oa copies q oIers No. . % sso1s aRd 10
War Department, announcing my relations and
Instructions for the government Of the
9 gasa st1s y poe fRest a' saa1 eel in rs IL
the stIpulattons Of the cartel, will govern our
army; lwonld invite youE special attention to
prisoners q waf ehall b. sent 10 piacss q den.
very therein spt cited. The execution OF this ar
tlcle will obviate much discussion and dlalculty
growing ont ofshS mode, Tine and Place Of giving
en- binding except those under tho et1pulations
Of said article, permitting commanders Of two op-
ppsifg armies to exchange or release on parole at
other points mutually agreed On by said COM
nande1s.
slam, vey respectfully youI o1dt nn,oa assysnt
+. It sppeors to me that 5ou have bean unfor-
innate on two occasions; first, in forgetting
the statement you have made to me, allnded
to in the beginning Of this communication,
and second, In your not having received the
above letter. As communications between
the Agents Ct Exchange 60 through but two
hands 1.-THE Assistant Agent). st strikes me as
o little extraordinary that cut Of hundreds,
the aboye should be the only one to mis-.
Tie denia1s Of facts which abound in your
last letter, though they may hare some
weight In the South, will not avail to con.
vince the people Of the North that you n1e
not utterly reckless Of integrity and fairness,
and full of fsHse; in yonr declarations Of Ex-
charge, and the fo1nds1iors you claim for
them. Respectfully,
s. 4 MEREDITH,
Big. Gen, Commissioner for Exchange.
FOREIGN INTELLIGENCE.
Tho KcarSarRo Mt Cork-A Lexington
Colt the Victor In n Yteeple Chase
The Rebel RAmB-T1te Frtze Hfnx,
&C.. DC.