Los Angeles daily herald., 1876-01-23

Platt declared that. IS living within
thirty.si milessof Elmira, the state
ments were unqualifiedly false.
Hill did not know. that the state
ments were true, but thought they
were as good as the statements quoted
on the other side He merely used
them as set off. After all, what was
the test as TO the degree of misery suf-
fered in Northern and Southern pris-
ons? The test was, the result. The
report of Mr. Stanton, Secretary of
War (the Republican side of the House
will believe HIM, exhibited the fact
that of Federal prisoners in the hands
of Confederates during the;war, % ,576
had died; that of Confederate pris-
oners in Federal hands 26, 436 had died.
Surgeon General Barnes (he supposed
the Republicans would believe him
also) had given the number of Confed-
crate prisoners in Federal hands dur
ing the war as 10000, and of Federal
prisoners in Confederate hands as
270,000; therefore, out of 100000 pris-
oners in Confederate hands only o.
SIG had died, while out of 100000 Con-
federate prisoners in Federal hands
26, ,436 had died. The ratio was, that
II per cent. of C0nfederates in Federal
hands died, and less than per cent.
of Federate prisoners in Confederate
hands. And, my friend addressing
Blaine with greatempasis], who is the
murderer? l would have believed
General Blaine in preference to any
politician over there. Platt says he
lives 80 miles away from Elmira.
Perhaps he could have smelled the
smallpox that far. He certainly
could have seen it. l venture to say
that if the smallpox was at the prison
camp, no one could have got him
nearer than thirty-six miles. He Is a
wonderful witness, but not equal to
the mutlated evidence which the gen.
tleman from Maine introduced yester-
day. We know how our prisoners
to tell. Thousands came home from
Elmira, Fort Delaware, and other
places, with their fingers frozen off
and teeth falling out. The great ques-
ton is, Who was responsible for that
state OF things? And that is really
the only important question. He
went on to say that exchange and
amelioratiOn of the condition of pris-
oners had been rejected by the Federal
Government.
Blaine asked him whether he had
not been a member of the Confederate
Senate. - q
HiIl.replied that he had. 7p4-i
Blaine quoted a resolution offered in
the Confederate Congress by Hill of
| Georgia, to the effect that every per-
son pretending to be soldier or officer
of the United States, captured on the
soil of the Confederaey after January
l, 1868, shall be presumed to have en-
tered the territory with the intention
of insurrectiOn and to abet murders;
and that unless satisfactory proof be
giver to the contrary, before the Mill.
tary Court before which his trial shall
be had, he shall suffer death. He
asked Hill whether he was the author
| Hill will say to the gentleman
from Maine, very frankly that have
not the slightest recollection of ever
hearing it before.
What measures the Confederate
Govt rnment might have thought
proper to take at the time to protect
women and children in the Confed-
eracy from insurrection, don't recol-
lect, but 1 shall not be diverted by the
gentleman from the course of my ar
gument, to go into the history of sla-
very, or the insurrection, or John
Browns raid. do not know whether
/ or any other gentleman on the COM
mittee was the author of the resolution.
Our purpose was not to do injustice to
any man, woman, or child, North or
South, but to adopt what we deemed
stringent measures to protect our wives
and children from servile insurrection
and slaughter, while our brave sons
were in the field. Relative to the ex-
change of prisoners, the C0nfederacy
officially proposed, in August, 1864,
that If the Federal Government would
send steamers and transports to Savan-
nah, the Confederate Government
would return sick and wounded prison.
ers into its hands without an equiva-
lent. This was communicated to the
Federal Government in August, 1864
and remained unanswered till Decem-
ber, 1864, when some ships were sent to
Savannah. The record shows that the
lty at Andersonville was between
August and December, 1864. We
sought to allay that suffering by ask
ing you to take your prisoners off our
hands without any equivalent and
without asking you to return man.
You refused to do it. Hill went on to
quote series of resolutions passed by
Federal prisoners at Andersonville in
September, 1864, in which all due
praise was given the Confederate
Government for attention to them,
and i'm which they said the sufferings
which they endured We're not caused
Intentionally by the Confederate Gov
ernment, but, by fJrce of circum-
stances. Why did the Federal author
tiles refuse to allow our own surgeons
to attend on our own soldiers when
prisoners of war;, and to carry them
medicine and comforts? Why did the
Federal Government refuse to eX-
change prisoners, man for man, and
officer for officer? Why did it refuse
to stand up to its engagements in 1862
for the exchange of prisoners? Who
was in fault? There must be a reason
for this great atrocity. In August,
| 1864, the rebels offered to renew eX-
change, man for man. General Grant
telegraphed the following important
order: ,rls sf-o fss4.al f,aH 40
at is hard on our mel in Southern
prisons not to exchange them, but it
is humane to those left in the ranks to
fight our battles. Every man released
on parole or otherwise Becomes an
active soldier against us at once, eth
er directly or Indirectly. If we begin
system of exchange which liberates
all prisoners taken, we will have to
fight on until the whole South is ex-
terminated. If we hold those caught
they count for no more than dead men.