The daily gazette., 1876-02-09

ice to prevent the separation of tie
States. Why should they be expected
TO promote the confidence and good
will essential to their Union? When
closely confined at Fortress Monoe
was solicited to add my name to
those of many esteemed gentlemen
/ who had signed petition for mY.par-
don. and an assurance was given that
on my doing SO the President would
order my liberation. Confident of the
Justice OF our cause and the rectltuds
OF my own conduct, l declined to
sign the petition, and remained sub
ject to the inexcusable privations and
tortures which DR.. Craven has but
family desrcibed. When after two
years of close confinement was ad-
mitted to bail, as often as required,
appeared for trial under the indict-
ment found against me, but in which
Mr.. BlaIne's fictions do not appear
The indictment was finally quashed
on no application of mine, nor have /
ever evaded or avoided trial upon
any charge the General Government
might choose to bring against me, and
have no view of the future which
makes 1t desirable to me to be included
in an amnesty bill.
Viewed in the abstract or as a gen..
eral question, would be glad to sec
the repeal of all laws inflicting the
penalty of political disabilities on all
classes of the people. II might, as
prescribed by the Constitution, be left
to the courts to hear and decide causes
and to affix penalties according to pre-
existing legislation. The disCrimina-
10 N ic ~
and impOlitic, if the fact be equality
and the purpose fraternity among the
citizens of the UnitedStates. Convic-
ton and sentence without hearing,
without jurisdiction, and af1ixing PEN
alties by ex post facto legislation, are
part of the proceeding which had its
appropriate end in the assumption by
Congress of the Executive function of
granting pardons. To remove politi-
cal disabilities which there was not
legal power to impose was not an act
OF. SO much grace as to form plausi.
BILE pretext for the reckless diatribe
of Mr.. Blaine. The papers preserved
by DR.. Stevenson happily furnish full
proef of the causes of disease and
death at Andersonville. They are
now, l believe, in Richmond, aad it Is
to be hoped that their publication will
not be much longer delayed. have
, no taste for recrimination, though the
sad recitals made by our soldiers re-
turned from the Northern prisons can
2 not be forgotten. And you will re-
member the excitement those pro-
], duced, and the censorious publications
. which where uttered against me be-
: cause I would not visit on the helpless
, in our hands such barbarities as, ac-
+ cording to reports, had been inflicted
: on our men. Imprisonment is hard
q lot at the best, and prisoners are prone
to exaggerate their suffcrings; and
a such was probably the case ON both
! sides. But we did not seek oy report
! of committees with Photographic IL
lustrations to inflame the passions of
q our people. How was it with. our en-
, emyg Let one example suffice. You
' may remember published report of q
committee of tho United States Con
, gress which was sent to Annapolis to
, visit some exchanged prisoners, and
r which had appended to it the photo
f graphs of some emaciated subjects
' which were offered as samples of pris-
r oners returned from the South. When
, a copy of that report was received l
sent it to Colonel Ould, Commissioner
' for the Exchange of Prisoners, and
learned, as anticipated, that the pho
tographs, as far as they could be iden-
p tilted. had been taken from men who
1 were in our hospital when they were
liberated for exchange, and whom the
hospital surgeon regarded as GONZALES
a cent, but toe weak to be removed
q without injury to themselves. The
, anxiety of the prisoners to be sent to
I their homes had prevailed over the OBJ
l jections of the surgeon. But this is
: not all, for l have recently learned
, from priest, who was then at Anna
polls, that the most wretched looking
, of these photographs was taken from
! a man who had never been prisoner,
\ but who had been left on the sick list
!. at Annapolis, when the command to
(which he was attached had passed that
place on its southwark march. What
n ever may be said in extenuation of
I such imposture, because of the exIgen-
! cies of war, there can be no such ex-
a cuse now for the attempts of MI.
, Blame, by gross Misrepresentation and
: slanderous accusation, to revive the
4 worst passions of the war, and it is to
!. to be hoped that, much as the event is
). to be regretted, it will have the good
+ effect OF evoking truthful statements
i in regard to this little understood sub
/ ject from men who would have pre-
. ferred to leave their sorrowful story
q untold, if the subject could have been
n allowed peacefully to sink into obli-
!, won. Mutual respect is needful for
2 2 the common interest, is essential to a
I friendly, union. and when slander is
!. promulgated from high places, the
public welfare, demands that truth
! should strip falsehood of its power for
I evil.
Il am, respectfully and truly, =.
Your friend,