CITY POINT, March 31, 1863.

Lieutenant Colonel LUDLOW.

SIR: I inclose to your a slip* which I this morning cut from the Baltimore American of the 28th instant. It is only one of the many confirmations which I have lately seen of the truth of what I told you at our recent interview, to wit, that since your declaration that it was not the intention of your Government to take any more political arrests or arrests of non combatants you have made more of such than during any previous equal space of time. I shall that belief of mine to my Government for its action. I put it to any conscientious man whether it is fair that you should expect the release of all pulicidal prisoners held by us when you are daily making arrests and imprisoning the parties.

In this view of that case it makes no difference that the parties arrested hailed from a country claimed by both of us. You demand the release of men arrested by us in that country and insist upon your privilege of arresting and imposing. Is that fair? Is that right? If you understanding is that you are to be at liberty to imprison citizens of Virginia who are loyal to the South and that we are not to imprison or keep in confinement men who are disloyal to the South arrested in the same State I assure you it is one which will not be accepted by me in any shape or form. You have not asked that much in negotiation and yet your people are practicing it. These men and all others in their situation must be released and such practices abandoned. Otherwise it is worse than idle for us talk about political prisoners.

Your obedient servant,

RO. OULD,

Agent of Exchange.

CITY POINT, March 31, 1863.

Lieutenant-Colonel LUDLOW, Agent of Exchange.

SIR: In the delivery of officers which you intend to make to us you must take into consideration the large number (more than 200) whom we have captured, paroled and released since the President's proclamation. I am entitled to equivalent for them. You can bring in any paroles of a like kind yourself. Upon your application I recognized this principle in the case of the Fredericksburg officers. Even after I had ceased delivering officers I surrendered to you of those in our possession a number equal to those whom you paroled at Fredericksburg. I ask the recognition of the same principle now.

Respectfully, your obedient servant,

RO. OULD,

Agent of Exchange.

FLEMINSBURG, KY., March 31, 1863.

Honorable JO. HOLT,

Judge-Advocate-General U. S. Army, Washington, D. C.

DEAR SIR: Having notice by the letters of the Washington correspondent of the Cincinnati Gazette that you were taking proof of the returned six prisoners of that expedition # consisting of twenty-two men sent out by General Mitchel to capture a train in Georgia, and that Parrott received 100 lashes to make him tell [who was] the main

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* Not found.

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# For "Railroad Raid" in Georgia, see Series I, Vol. X, Part I, pp. 630-649.