The Burlington weekly hawk-eye. [volume] (Burlington [Iowa]) 1860-1876, 1863-12-19

re- The real cause of the refusal Of the
rebels to receive any further supplies Tor
the use Of the Union prisoners, as limited IN
our dispatches yesterday, is the highest ev-
idence we cauld have of the desperate con-
dition to which they are reduced. Think
of the fact. The supplies forwarded, lnsu1-
ficient as we have all deemed them, put the
prisoners in a better condition than that of
any family in Richmond; and the people
of that place. abandoned Of all feeling OF
honor or humanity, and unable to give the
prisoners the necessaries Of life, will not
permit US to supply them! Recollect, too,
that we have forwarded nothing superfiu-
Gus, nothing unnecessary, nothing but such
articles of food, clothing and medicines, as
we constantly supply our own troops IN
the field and our own sick in the hospitals.
If anything more has been sent, they have
been exceptional instances, and did not
affect the nature of the mass. The whole
of the contributions forwarded by the Gov
eminent and by individuals, may be class
ed as absolute essentials to life and comfort.
Yet these excite the jealousy Of the traitors
and, because they cannot supply them lor
their own troops and their own families,
they deny them to their prisoners!
This is the result of mere malice. 1t is
the last manifestation Of despair. 1t prove
plainly, that the "Confederacy' is reduced
to the last extremity and now only stables
how it may manifest its vindictiveness re-
CARELESS alike of decency and humanity
They all know that the rebel prisoners we
hold, largely in excess of ours in their
hands, are literally supplied with food, and
comfortably clothed and quartered. They
have no apology for their conduct. II they
cannot supply their prisoners with similar
supplies, there is nothing to excuse this
last atrocity Of denying us the privilege OF
doing it. It only manifests that total de-
pravity and demoniac rage which delights
in cruelty and perfidy for its own sake.
rs The following is an extract from the
Richmond h.cGminer of the 1lth inst. 1t
furnishes US with rebel evidence as to ting
manner in which the Union prisoners are
treated by their own authorities. We
needed no testimony Of the sort, for unfor-
tunately the amount already furnished by
those who have suffered in their hands ad
mits Of no dispute. Bat Foote is a rebel
Senator, and has, in his place, given JEFF.
Davis Message the lie. He tells enough 70
show that there is cruelty and attempted
starvation. But ii is not likely that he
either wished or dared to announce the
whole truth:
RICHMOND, Friday, Dec. II, ls65.-Yes-
terday the Senate passed the bill prohibits
ing the employment Of substitutes IN the
army.
In the rebel Congress on the sth inst, Mr..
Foote, of Tennessee, in a speech, said that
| the President never visited the army with
| out doing it injury. Never has he visited
any of our armies but what it has been fol-
lowed by disaster. He charged him with
almost having ruined the country, and he
would meet his champion anywhereto dis
| cuss it.
| He accused Commissary Northrup with
having starved the enemy's prisoners, and
with stealthily placing the Confederate
Government in the attitude charged by the
enemy. From the LIST to the Goth OF No
vember, meat was furnished TO the prison
ers very irregularly. For twelve days the
supply was inadequate. and for eight days
they got none at all. He demanded the
removal OF Mr.. Northrup, for the honor of
the country.
u.s. That demon in human shape who
yields the power over Dixie, JEFF. Davis,
in his late Message has the hardihood to
accuse the Government of cruelty to pris-
oners He offers no proof and mentions
no instance, for the good reason that he
has none to present. He knows, as we all
know, that rebel prisoners are treated well
among us-are well supplied with food,
supplied with sufficient clothing, furnished
with excellent quarters, and are nowhere
subjected to any other restraint than such
as is essential to retain them in safe custo-
dy. But the truth does not suit his purpo-
ses. Accordingly he lies persistently, by
wholesale as he has been doing all his life.
What better could be expected of the per-
jured traitor? But the people Of Dixie
know he lies as well as we do. They can't
help seeing his Ffalsehoods, because they
are daily feeling their terrible consequent
ces. They understand him pretty well by
this time, and many are waiting for the
glad hour when they can avenge them
selves upon him.
TIE SOLDIERS VoTE.-As a matter
which will probably interest a great many
of our readers, we print the opinion of the
Supreme Court upon the question Of the
validity of the law authorizing the soldiers
in the army to vote. The opinion is by
Judge Wright, and speaks for itself. 1t
affirms the validity of the law as it ought,
onl on for of scfo ofa
to all who do not wish to disfranchise those
who are proving their worth as citizens by
their gallantry in the field as soldiers of the
Union. 1t settles the question, we guess,
SO that even the Copperhead Supervisors of
Appanoose county will not venture to set
mn ,b>sr on;niOns AGAINST it