, 1864-02-16
NEWS FROM CITY POINT.
interview with Judge ould.
OUR RICHMOND P PRISONERS.

Flslltu alhJQI NiulIOfQ on QDAfu LIE 6rG1nle
New Tori, for the purpose Of receiving Df
Kitchie and the TWO overseers, taken dlrin;
the rnid on Brundon last week; and Snrgeoi
Slater, all of whom had been .uncondittonal1,
released by Genernl Butler, on the score tha
they were non-combafa There vera ais,
several gentlemen on board who had com,
down to havea personal Interview with Judg'
Ou1d, among whom Nns Mr. Montfort, t6,
Commissioner Of the State Of indiana; a Mr.
Wood, from Washington, and your CORES
On hearing that + was on board, Judgs
Ould Immediately expressed Il desire to scr
lne, and our meeting brought to both of Ut
past, when We were working together enthu
eiastica1ly in d noble cause.-The advancing oj
the Claims Of Henry Clay to the Presidency
Of the United Stntcs. -. -,
The time Of both Of us being limited, pro
ceeded direct to the business on " hich / had
feasible means of relieving the sutferings oi
our prisoners ut Richnond. Il remarked to
him that the purPose Of my visit to City Point
was to obtain personal interview with ]. G..
Cowardin, Esq proprietor Of the Richmond
Dll,ofch, with the hope that we might in our
capacity as private citizens, having no official
connection with either Government, effect
come arrangement that would be SATISFACTORY
10 the friends Of the prisoners On both sides.
He replied that in the present condition Of
sfIaffs 1t would be fmp12cticahle to havc sucll
an ninteryiew--tllat the utmost rieor had been
adopted with regard to the interviews Of clti.
zens generally-that such privileges con1d
Valuable information, he said, might thus be
unintcntionally communicated, aud that as =
matter Of prccaution it was deemed best to
restrict MI intercourse on tho trucc~boats to
the officers specially delegated to look after
the interests Of the .'two Goyernments-'
Finding that an interview with Mr. Cow
ardin was not practicable, then stated ia
Judge Ould that the proposition had to
make to Mr. Cowardln Would make to him,
which WAS that I would agree to give MY
time and services to tile amelioration Of the
condition Of the Confederate prisoners in OUT
hands, and promptly md faithfully attend to
any commission that might: be entrusted to
me BY Mr. Cowardin, reporting direct to him,
provided be would act In the sasne capacity
toward our prisoners In their hands. That
would undertake to deliver to them whatever
our Government permitted to come through
the lines, provided be would take charge oi
and deliver Euch articles as his Government
truce.
Judge ould replied that he was now, and
always had been, ready and anxious to do Ill
In his power to smelioFate the condition OF
the prisoners on both sides, and to make con
cessions to the cause Of humanity that might
With this view he had, some two weeks
since, made propositionto to our Government
which he thought, IL accepted, would accom-
pliah the game purpose as that proposed, in
q more extended and satifactory manner:
This proposition, he said, vas to allow a
number Of our surgeons, selected by our Gov
erument; for tho purpose, to pass through
prisoners wherever they might be, having
full liberty Of the city and to pass from point
to point ns they might deem necessary In tho
performance Of their duties. They would
even be allowed to act as commissaries for
our prisoners, and to order through tho lines
sueh stores us they might deem necessary,
and to receivo and distribute them. He pre-
sumed that not less than fifty would be ro-
quircd, and he lad contemplated receiving
at least that number. AL that he Ind asked
In return was that they should also be per.
mitted to send such number Of their surgeons
within our lines as might be deemed neces-
sasy, with similar powers. To this proposi.
tion he expressed great surprise that he Ind
not yet received any reply from our Govern
ment- So long as this proposition vas under
tain any other.
[Thc reason why this proposition of Com.
missioner Ould has not been entertained, il
presumed to be Tint he persists ID refusing to
acknowledge Gen. Butler as the Commission.
tr Of Exchange, and directs his tommunica-
tions 10 the authorities at Washington, al:
though officially informed that the whole sub
ject Is in the hands Of Gen. Butler.l
1u1ged upon him that tho cause Of human
ity and Justice to the people Of his section re-
quired TINT something should be done imme-
diately to prove TINT the charges against them
we're, as be alleged, false; that tcc1nicalIties
and etiquette might defeat or delay the con-
summation Of such an agreement. while an
arrangement. that would accomplish the same
purpose, such as proposed, between two p1i-
vate citizens, could be perfected In twenty
minutes. also urged upon him that the
prompt and thorough manner In which Mr.
CoTardin had pertormed the commissions
that had inlpossed upon him had placed
him high in the, estimation Of our people as \
man Of honor and integrity; and that If he
would undertake the general supervision Of
ourprisoners at Richmond, that felt autho-
riEed to become responsible to him for all
the expenses he might be Under in so doing.
That wagons and mules to provide him with
transportation could be forwarded as
IN agent In tho cause Of humanity, be might
be enabled to accomplish his mission. With
ont the delays incident to Government trans
portatton: Such TN arrangement would at
once amellorate the condition Of their prison
crs In our hands, snd that I'LL deficiencies In
supplies for them from Richmond would be
made up By our own people and associations.
In reply, Judge Opld remarked that the
proposition was both reasonable and feasible,
md TINT he would take 1t into consideration,
hut that he could not at present grant any In
terview between Mr.. CoWa1flfn and myself
In the course Of our conversation was u.s.
srted that the most untoundcd statements
had been made agul1st tho people and autho-
tiles OF Richmond in the Northern papers, cs-
pecially BY the returned c1ergymen, whom,
he asserted, had each endeavorcd to excel the
other in malignant faleehood. Ofal men he
fltn1fC1$ "a fY,t1fh nfrh l..
Tor from them. On the contrary they had
mlsEeprss cnted ever; thing, md never told
the truth when fa1sthood could be substitu-
1eo- no True soldier WHO had gone North, he
asserted, had 'corroborated orr enhstantiatcd.
the1r slanderous statements. To put stop
70 lheee misrepresentation he had made the
proposanon to our Government for the rcccp-
l1ou y! surgeons, whom. we noW mutually
treated US non-combatants, and: ho etill 7I,ad
hopes mat SO reasonable and feasible prop.
oslt1on would be accepted Warfare had
enough horrors inseparahly connected with
1t without ;useless]y multiplying them by pro-
vokins the most cmbittefcd animosity he.
tween tho people Of the two countries y "a
to the condition Of their prisoners Of war.
He admitted that there had also been rTeat
misrepresentation on this ecore bv some Of
their returned prisoners. ::
Finding TINT / could not effect any. othcr
arrangement, informed Judge Ould that /
had in my possession seYcTa1 thousand dol
lars, contributed for the relief OF our prison-
ers on Belle Isle, with regard ~ whom ;;the /
most intense anxiety was felt. They were
known to be exposed to tle i9clemency~ of
tile weather, and most OF them haG no friends
at homo able to send them supplies, as was
tic casc with the officers In Libby Prison I
therefore aeked If he could not grant me spc~
cial permission to forward general supplies
for their use, to the extent Of the fund I had
III hand for them.
In reply, was assured that nothing could
be morr erroneous than the statements that
these men werc exposed to the weather md
bruta11y treated. He would fur prefer to
take their places than be confined In any Of
the tobacco warehouses; They were all, he 4
eaid, provided with tents, and as Wel shell
tered rs the soldiers who guarded them. In
addition to which they enjoyed the free air,
were less troubled by yetinin, had room for
exercise and were not subjected to the con-
fined atmosphere inscparable from hospital
Or prison life. He did not allude to the cllar-
acter or extent Of their rations, or to the
character Of the shelter provided them.
With regard to fuel, he assured me that IN
I abundance of it was supplied to the men on
belle Isle, ard that they were not crowded
there without regard TO shelte-that when
my number Of them had been taken Away a
similar number :was aldcd:. md that: tho;
Island was covered to Its fuIl tcapA CIV: with
Tents. and no more than could .bs aeeomnp:,l
aated In those tsnts were af my time placed