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 prisoners actually in hand (though a large part of them should have been at once released to meet paroles already held by the Confederates), it at once adopted as its cold-blooded war policy to refuse all further exchange of prisoners, while they satisfied the North by charging bad faith and cruelty to prisoners on the part of "the Rebels."

The Nation seems to think that the question of exchange had nothing to do with the treatment of prisoners. Certainly the refusal of the United States authorities to exchange would not have justified the Confederates in cruelty to prisoners, and so far from contending for any such absurdity, we have proven that there was no such cruelty on the part of our Government. But we do insist that the suspension of exchange threw upon our hands thousands of prisoners whom we were unable to provide with suitable food, clothing, quarters or medicines—that the Federal authorities were again and again informed of the fearful mortality which existed among the prisoners, and of our inability to prevent it—and that inasmuch as they not only refused to exchange, but even to accept the several humane propositions we made to mitigate the sufferings of prisoners, and obstinately pursued their "attrition" policy of "crushing the rebellion"—they (and they alone) are responsible before God and at the bar of history for all of the suffering and mortality which existed at Andersonville and the other prisons at the South, and the still greater suffering and mortality of Elmira and the other prisons at the North.

The Nation also finds it convenient to ignore the testimony we adduced from Federal soldiers, officers, surgeons and citizens which traced the cruel treatment which our men received directly to E. M. Stanton, Secretary of War. On the other hand, we defy proof of an order, letter or intimation of any sort whatever from Mr. Davis, or any member of his cabinet, directing, permitting or in any way conniving at cruelty to prisoners. There are other points to which we have not space even to allude. But if The Nation really desires to get at the truth of this whole question, we would be most happy to discuss with it in full each one of the six points we claimed to have proven, and to print in our Papers everything it has to say on the subject, if it will reciprocate.