Richmond enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1815-1867, 1863-12-04

soldiers. and Of their whiie officers, will be in>
sssed on by the Government before another
rshel soldier or oficsr will be exchanged.
The suHerings of our men in Richmond are the
subject Of deep regret and sympathy here; and
| there has hpen no want of effort % afford all
possible relief. Very truly yours.
! WILLIAM WHITING
| The abnve letter from the "Crown Lawyer" 4"
a.r. Whiting, we find in the Baltimore
"Americaa." And when we state that eacl,
one of its three avermenss are unaualifcdly
false, we say no more Than was fully known to
the writer when he penncd it; and which will
be demonstrated to be maliciously falsow when
ever he may publish true copy Of the cores
pondence.
His first averment, chad faith" on the part
of the Confederate authorities, sin putting into
active service many thousands of paroled pri-
soners, captured at Vicksburg and elsewhere,
without releasing any o. our tthe,r) soldiers
held by Them lusl l, has been full -shown to
he utterlywithout foundation By Commission
er oald.
The Crown Lawyer" falling to make this
'oad faith" a point in his statement, and pass
ing to what he calls another difficulty Of still
graver importance, ,,isshows that he isunwillng
70 rest the vindication Of his client upon cur
! "bad faith" AS weurdc:stand mcral. there
is nothing of "sraver Importance" than ''had
faith;" hut that the Grown Lawyer cf Mr.
Seward should undervalue "Lad faith,", will
| surprise no one.
As to that other statement-'fhe rrrrm -
tory refusal by tho enemy (ourselvrs) to ez-
change cnlnred soldiers and their white oficers
| upon any terms whatcvcr"-wr have only t.
say that no such case has arisen. ami that nn
part of the correspondence viii! Show any sucl
refusal
The law Of the Confederate Congress, ap-
proved May lat, 1868, recites, THAT, in thu
Judgment "f Congress, the proclamations OF
the Presiden. of the United States, dated re-
spectively September 22d, 1862, and January
lat, 1868, and other measures the Govern
nent Of the United States end Of its authori-
ties, commanders and farces, designed or
tending to emancipatc slaves il the C"ufed-
rate States, or to abduct such slaves, or to
;ncite them to insurrectian, o. to employ me-
groes in war against the Confederate States,
"r to overthrow the institution of i.frican
slavery, and bring on aervile war in these
States, would, if successful, produce atrocioss
consequences, and they are Inconsistent with
the spirit Of those usagos which, in 10 do'n
warfare, prevail among civilized nations; they
may, therefore, be properly and lawfully re-
pressed by retaliation" This law authorizes
the President of the Confederate States Il
retaIiate for every violation of the laws O,
usages of war on tho part of the enemy, and
declares the commanding. organizing ~
aiding negroes in erms against the Confeda
rate States, to be melting servie insurrcctinn.
and those 20 offending when captured, ar.
punished with death or, in the disorosion q
the .Cours. The law further Furnishes wit
death The inciting .seryile insurrection o
rebellion; and that all negroes and mulattoc
taken in arms against the Confederate State
shall, when captured be delivered tn the au.
thorities of the State or States in which cav
tured, to be dealt with according to the law
Of such State.
The language Of this Jaw mas been construed
hy the enemy to apply to free negroes Of the
United States, ard we must admit that sucl
construction is not forced Int does come with
in the terms Of the law. But as it is cl"arl,
not within the province Of one nation to un-
dertake to prescribe the soldiers which anoshe,
shall use in its armies. we hope that this laS
will be confined, by additional legislation, Il
such employment hy the enemy cf slaves
frse negroes Of the several States Of the Cor
pderaeS.
l. certainly is not necessary to argue thn
the color of soldier does MT place him bf.
ynnd the pele of civilized warfare-fhr II"
Confed,racy has at this time many Indinnsi'
ito service. And as France employs blacks j.
it. armies; rs Brazil does the same; and q
England uses negroes az policemen, and s.
poys as soldiers, the Confederacy might
we'll undertake to say that these nations ar
Inconsistent with the spirit Of those usage
which, in modern warfare, prevail anon:
civilized nations" as to enact retaliation
asainut the United States for employing th
free negroes of the United States in its ar
mics.
The policy "f the enemy in employing ne
croes is their affair, and n t ours; hut, if
may express an opinion. we wou!d certainly pre-
fer to fight negroes rather than American,
Irshmen, or Germans, for the simple rea.o
that nature has denied the negrn every essentia
quality of the dier. IF the enemy desire
degrade their citizens to he level of the negr'.
here again we would not question their rgh'.
mu"h less retaiate in any way which shou'
prevent such degradation. i. the enemy sc
the same value on negro that the Confrde-
racv does upon its soldiers, while the exchange
may he CALLING to our pride. yet in no othr'
particular could it be Injurious to our cause
We, therefore, soy that if the law of May ls',
1863. was designed to prevent the emploVmer
of the free negroes of the United States il
thsir army it goes beyond the prose'
province of legislation, and should be re
stricted in It's application to the employment
Of The slaves and free negroes Of the States Of
the Confederacy.
AS to the bugbear of "servile insurrection,"
the experience of three years has exploded all
its horrors ard retaliation fr attempting il
NAV be abandoned. We can, without the
least apprehension, laugh at every attempt o.
the enemy to incitc insurreetion and rebellion
among the negroes; they have seen enough of
the effects of war upon the whites to shun Its
glories; aud the enemy have learnt also tina
..nnh effrts nre nsnlass and imnntent The