Hill was indicted by the grand jury at the last term of the U. S.

district court for the wetsern division of the district of Iowa for treason against the Government. His offense as I am informed consisted inwritin letters to the rebels, of which the following is a sample: *

Without entering into details it is sufficinet to say that the fact that he wrote the above letter and others is established beyond dispute and is not denied by him. His trial was set for the 7th of January and a special jury was drawn and summoned for the purpose. On Thrusday, the 2nd day of January, 1862, I received from the post-officein Des Moines a official notification from the district attorney who was then in Washington of his purpose to enter a nolle in the case pursuant to instructions received from the Attorney-General of the United States. On Saturday the 5th of the same month, I received an order over the signature of Wiliam H. Seward Secretary of State bearing date of December 28, 1861, commanding me to arrest and convey to Fort Lafayette William M. Hill as soon as he is discharged from civil custody under the present indictment against himin the U. S. district court in Iowa. n the 8th of January I received a letter from the Assistant Secretary of State beairng date of January 2, 1862, advision me that the order above referred to had been issued.

i ddi not stop to make inquiries as to the new light of which the State Department was possessed or the reasons upon which this new adction was based. My duty as an officer to execute the order seemed clear and I resovled to do it. On the evening of the 8th I made the arrest at the Des Moines House inthis city and immedaitely started for Fort Lafayette. There was ntohing unusual or remarkable in the for Fort Lafayette. There was nothing unusual or remarkable in the manner in which the arrest was made. The prisoner was in the office of the Des MOines House when arrested. He quitly made such arrangements for the journey as were necessary, and when he left the arrangements for the journey as were necessary, and when he left the office some time after he was taken into custody other persons who were there during the entire time noticed no unusual occurrence.

On the 10th we were met on the cars of the Mississippi and Missouri Railroad by the deputy sheriff of Scott County, who served upon me a writ of habeas corpus issued by Judge Linderman of the county court upon the application of James Grant, an attorney. Without immediately determining in my own mind what course to pursue I proceeded to Davenport and delivered my prisoner tothe jailer of the county for safe-keeping until again demanded. After consulting with those whose advice I deemed it proper to ask I resolved to disregard the writ as has been repeatedlky done by other marshals having the d\custody of military prisoners. I demanded the prisoner of the jailer, received him and went on my way. On the 16th of January I delivered him to the commandant of Fort Lafayette ashis receipt now in my possession attests. At no time was any unnecessary hardship practiced upon the prisoner.

The above statement has been rendered necessary by rumor and newspaper articles of which the following is a sample:

[Extract from The Davenport Democrat and News.]

MORE OF THE HILL KIDNAPPING CASE.

From one of our citizens who has been traveling in Illinois we gather a few items concerning the movements of the scoundrel Hoxie and his kidnapped prisoner, Cap-

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*See p. 1323 for Hill's letter written to the Union Democrat of Union, Monroe County, Va., which is here omitted.

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