the War Department, but received no written answer, and no acceptance of the offers. The newspapers charged that the Secretary of War declared he would not exchange healthy rebel prisoners for our sick and skeleton men in the enemy's prisons, because it would add to the number of fighting men of the rebels, and few, if any, to our ranks. If this was his motive, it is less honorable than the abolition effort to protect the negro. Another motive may have contributed something to this resolution. By painting the horrors of the rebel prisons and the frightful condition of our men in them, a feeling of burning vengeance might be engendered, and result in the friends of the prisoners, and thousands of others, rushing into our ranks to crush out those guilty of the crimes imputed to the Confederates. But whether Mr. Stanton used the words attributed to him or not, there can be no question that the Administration was impelled by the motive attributed to him. Whether the thought originated in the cabinet with Mr. Lincoln or Stanton, or in the field among the officers, it is certain that General Grant acted in conformity with it. The authority of Swinton, in his work, "The Army of the Potomac," has never been called in question. At page 171 he says: "The South did not so much lack men, as the men lacked interest in the war. The conscription then became odious, and evasion universal, while those who wished to escape military service readily found those at home willing to open their ranks, let them slip through, and close up behind them. It finally came about that men enough to form three armies of the strength of Lee's lay, perdu, beyond the power of recovery of the Richmond authorities. To this must be added the fact that a prodigious number of Confederate troops-probably as many as there were in the ranks of both Lee and Johnston-were, during the last eighteen months of the war, kept out of the field by being retained as prisoners at the North, under a fixed determination of General Grant not to exchange them—a measure that was certainly an effectual agency in the Lieutenant-General's avowed plan of 'hammering continuously against the armed force of the enemy and his resources until by mere attrition, if by no other way, there should be nothing left of him." Swinton was with the Army of the Potomac, and

saw and heard what occurred, and a witness to the avowed objects of General Grant, who was certainly acting upon the motives imputed to Stanton. Concerning this there can be no mistake. This renders it perfectly certain that the thousands who perished in rebel prisons were the helpless victims of a policy acted upon by Grant, and assented to, if not dictated, by Lincoln, Stanton, and the Administration. They at first pretended that the rebels would not exchange. That pretence has been effectually and conclusively disproved; and we now have the fact staring us in the face that the non-exchange was the fault of our side, carrying out a fixed determination not to exchange, under the apprehension that the Confederates would return to their ranks and do service, and that our soldiers were not sufficiently patriotic to do so, which is a gross slander upon them. It was the Confederates, and not our men, who sought, at this time, to slip away from service. Our army was almost entirely composed of volunteers, while theirs was largely made up of unwilling conscripts, to obtain which General Grant said "they have robbed the cradle and the grave." Our commissary and pay departments were well supplied, while their commissariat scarcely prevented starvation, and their paymasters were without available money. General Johnston, after his surrender, attributed their failure to these deficiencies. Hence, if the exchanges had been made, it is probable that a greater proportion of our men than of the Confederates would have returned to the field for duty. Our men had a right to demand an exchange, without regard to its effect upon the fighting part of the army. We had volunteers enough to do all the fighting, without murdering our men in the Confederate prisons, for fear their exchange might add to the numbers of the fighting men of the enemy. The laws of humanity, the laws of war, the laws of duty required this, but all three were violated; for which no valid excuse can be rendered, whether the fault lay with the Administration, or with Grant, whose disregard of the health, comfort, and lives of his men, since his campaign from Washington to Richmond, has become so proverbial. There can be no denial of the existence of the inhuman abandonment of our soldiers to the fate of starving, sicken

ing, and dying prisoners, nor that it was the duty of the Administration to rescue them, if among human possibilities, nor that they were neglected and abandoned to die in filth and rags, far away from friends and home. Cursing those who thus kept them was no remedy. There was an easy one offered, and the Administration would neither accept nor openly refuse. For this inhuman conduct the Administration, and especially Stanton and General Grant, are responsible. They meet the same condemnation so freely bestowed upon the enemy by the country. The facts of history trace the fault to them-to motives which no man with a human heart can approve. They have not even attempted to defend themselves, or to show that the fault belonged elsewhere. Silence is their best shield. But the country is now beginning to. understand the matter-is finding out that this great crime against our soldiers was part of a settled purpose of those controlling our armies-a plan prepared in cold blood to terminate in miserable deaths. Let the people look to the facts, contemplate the motives, and pass the proper judgment upon those guilty of such cold-blooded and inhuman conduct. Let a lesson now be taught which shall protect against future repetition.

130.-WHAT OUR COUNTRY WAS, IS, AND MAY BE.

1. The scattered colonies of 1776 contained fewer white men than now inhabit New York. Being unwilling to be controlled by a distant, unlimited government, in which they were not represented, this handful of men declared their independence, fought, and won it. Since the organization of the constitutional Government in 1789, our progress and prosperity have been almost magical. Out of our then Territories ten new States were formed and admitted, and at the last census contained near twelve millions of industrious and thrifty inhabitants. The purchase from Spain became a State, where tropical productions arrive at perfection. Mr. Jefferson's acquisition of Louisiana has resulted in organizing and admitting ten new States, leaving seven Territories for future consideration. In 1860 our population exceeded thirtyone millions, and our wealth had increased proportionably fast. The more important minerals were found in endless abundance,

while the precious metals were met with in immense quantities and seem inexhaustible. The surface of the country is covered with railroads and canals. Cities and villages have sprung into existence almost in a day. Agriculture spread over the land with the speed of a cloud. Our sails whitened every sea upon the globe, and commerce brought profitable returns. Our prosperity and credit had no bounds. Every interest had its worthy representatives achieving success. The arts and sciences flourished with us in a manner unknown elsewhere. The learned professions were represented by industry, erudition, and the highest order of talent. Our army and navy had acquired a character and renown not inferior to those of any other country. Every interest was rewarded by an adequate return. The people everywhere were industrious, prosperous, and happy. Our Government was everywhere respected, and all courtesy paid to our flag-the Stars and Stripes and our institutions looked upon as models suitable for imitation. We claimed that ours was a land where the laws, and not individuals, governed. We were independent and happy. Travellers from abroad generally expressed their admiration of our simple but beautiful system of government. They found what Benjamin Franklin had so strikingly illustrated in his device for our old copper coins. On one side, thirteen small circles linked together with one in the middle, with the words "We are one;" and, on the other, the sun and a dial, with the words "Fugit," and "Mind your business." They found the States linked together, forming one great national Government, and saw a whole land engaged in "minding its own business," and achieving success by its skill and industry. They saw numerous small governments exercising useful and important functions, beginning with the school district, and ascending to the town, county, city, and State governments, all complete within themselves, and looking after all the interests within their jurisdiction; and up to the national Government, intended as a protector of the whole, and their representative abroad, confining itself to the few functions. conferred upon it by the States for the good of the whole. This beautiful machinery, if properly worked, will never jar. There is none on the globe so well adapted to aid man in working out his

happiness. When our countrymen return from an examination of foreign institutions, they are confirmed in their opinions concerning the perfection of ours, when honestly and efficiently managed. Prior to 1860, our State governments for home purposes, and the national to attend to foreign affairs, were satisfactory to the people. With few exceptions, they believed we had the best institutions ever contrived by man, and our prosperity and happiness were proof of this fact. But the demon of discord came, and things changed with the speed of thought.

2. Our country, once so prosperous and happy, is now changed to one of grief and sorrow. To a great extent, prosperity has been blighted, and happiness has vanished. Instead of the love and good-fellowship which once existed, we have envy, hatred, and malice, and all uncharitableness. The hopes of no nation were ever so suddenly dashed to the ground. Sectional candidates for the presidency and vice-presidency were selected by one party, with avowals of fierce hostility against fifteen of our sister States because of their domestic institutions, and, owing to a division in the ranks of the other party, ending in running two sets of candidates, it proved triumphant. Neither Congress nor the new Administration did any thing tending to heal existing difficulties, but much to increase them; an unnecessary insurrection sprang up and drenched the country in blood. More than a million of men perished, bringing sorrow and mourning to almost every hearthstone in the land. Desolation followed the track of war, fruitful fields were destroyed, and homes of plenty became heaps of ruins. Life-long friendships perished, and brothers, sons, and fathers, became bitter enemies. Industry was paralyzed, and thrifty labor ceased. The hatred between North and South equalled that of ancient times between Scotland and England. The whole South has become impoverished, and the North nearly overwhelmed with debt. Peace, heretofore so magical and potent for good, brought no relief. It was followed by a war of unconstitutional laws and arms on one side, and helpless groans and lamentations on the other, even worse than those occasioned by the war where both sides were actors, and gave blows as well as received them. Violence of feeling has increased, and especially at