New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1865-09-13
LAWLRY,s LETTRR.wRITING.


LAwLRY,s LETTER.wRITING
Mr.. Lawler or Lawley, who during the
Rebellion was the Richmond correspondent of
The Nondon) Times, has lately written letter
to that journal-not dated, but from somewhere
in Engand-with the purpose of refutlng the
recent admissions of the present America cor
respondent of The Times as to Southern cruel
ties to our prisoners Having stated the
authorship of the letter, we have stated all that
Is necessary to coniu;e it in the opinion OF those
who remember the character Of the letters which
Mr.. Lawley used TO write from Richmond,
This last episile is printed as the Others were.
for the English public, and we should be doing
injustice even to Mr.. Lawlcys idea of the value
OF facts if we should represent him as expecting
this performance TO influence the judgment OF
those who are in any degree familiar with the his
tory of the matter he discusses. His assertions,
moreover, do not touch the main part OF the
charges tits only as to the Libby Prison he
Processes TO speak OF what he saw; what he says
Of Andersonvile is corfessedly hearsay testi-
mony and of no possible weight against the
evidence of those who have sworn to what they
saw and felt in that dreadful prison.
Mr.. Lawley says he was in Richmond from
October 1862 till April 1865, and during that
period repeatedly visited Libby Prison. He
declares that up TO the end of 1863 no prisoners
of war were ever better treated. To get at Mr..
Lawley's notions Of how prisoners Of war should
be treated, Let us turn to description of Libby
Prison: ,
cit is a row Of brick bindings three stories high.
situated the canal aud overlooking the james River
aud wes formerly tobacco warehouse. The partitions
between the buildings have been pierced with doorways
"Tie rooms arc 100 feet long by 10 feet broad In
six Of these rooms '2oo United States officers OF all
grades from the eneral to the Second Lou
tenant. were confined for many months and this was
all the space that allowed them In which TO cook
eat wash sleep and take exercise IL seems incredi
bic Ten feet by all that could be claimed by
each man--hardly enough TO measure his length upon
! and even this was further abridged by the room
necessarily taken for cooking washing, and clothes
drying r.l
II has never been denied that this description,
copied from the report OF the Sanitary Com
mission is correct, but Mr.. Lawley does not
pretend to suggest any excuse for the crowding
He contents himself with generalitics, and is
much 200 shrewd TO venture on particular facts.
There are but three points which he makes
in all. We are content to try by the evidence
his assertions in respect to food. and will take
the year 1868, when Mr.. Lawley alleges the
prisoners had the very best that could be
procured, seasoned with kindness"
Says the Sanitary Report:
Prison was small Loaf or bread about the size OF
mans fist, made OF indian meal. Sometimes IL was
made from wheat -four, but of variable quality. IL
weighed a little over half pound. With il given
piece Of beef weighing two ounces.
But it is not easy TO describe this ration. It was so
irregular in kind. quality. and amount Its general
conversation. by one of the officers Il would gladly
said he with emphatic sincerity 9iediy have preferred
the horse'ieed in my fathers stable"
This ration was in the Summer and early
Fall of 1868, but ever this was reduced aud de-
Perforated, and long before the Winter the sys-
TEN OF starvation had been adopted.
1T was about the middle ofast Autumn that this pro
OF slow starvation became ntolerable injurious
and cruel TO the extent referred TO- The bread
began TO be Of the toughest and coarsest description
Portions Of the cob and husk often found ground
In with the meal The crust was SO thick and hare,
that the prisoners called IL iron clad To render the
bread eatabe. they grated IT, and made mush of it. but
Now and then after long intervals often OF many
weeks little meat given them. perhaps two or
three mouthfuls. AT later period they received u
pint Of black peas. with some vinegar, every week
The peas were often full of worms, or maggots la a
chrySalis state which, when they made soup foated OH
the surface"
This is the substance of the sworn testimony
OF Union officers, precise, explicit, and partcu-
lar. Does the vague denial of the Anglo.Reb
scrbblcr for The Times even tend to disproyc II
In the year following, however, Mr.. Lawlcy adj
mits that the rations of the Union prisoners were
rcduced-and for these reasons, that the war
had grown savage and food had become scarce.
Was the war then a humane one and food plen-
tiful when prisoners were fed on corn
cobSi Mr.. Lawley says: II speak adj
visedly when say that through 1864
not a prisoner in the Libby Jared habitually
harder than Gen. Lee Does anybody believe
that! The blu Of tHQ at tbc SpoiHWQQd