death, imprisonment to hard labor, or confinement in irons, except upon sentence of death, of any person in the military or naval service of either belligerent, before execution of the sentence the copy of the record of the trial and conviction shall be submitted to the agent of exchange of the accused party, and unless a communication of an order of retaliation within fifteen days thereafter be made to the agent of exchange furnishing the record no retaliation for such execution or for such punishment shall be claimed or executed by the other party.

By this continual necessity for retaliation because of unauthorized acts of individual officers and the cruel treatment of prisoners of war by confinement in irons, causelessly or without hearing, which might call for retaliation on the other side, can be prevented, so that the Confederate authorities and the Government of the United States can both assume the responsibility of any act of this sort before it is committed, and not be called upon after the act is done to either assume, disapprove, or retaliate it.

If all the points of this discussion in the memoranda could be fully settled, and the principle upon which paroles should be allowed on the one side and on the other could be adjusted and faithfully acted upon, I do not see why the exchange under the cartel ought not to go on. The cartel was a very hard bargain against us, but still it is our compact, and I suppose it is to be stood by. The details of these paroles, I have no doubt, can all be perfectly and satisfactory settled upon the principle I have suggested, none being claimed or allowed on either side except where officers and soldiers of known and recognized military organizations shall have been captured, provided always, that citizens may exchanged for citizens. This question of paroles becomes of less consequence to settle in detail, because, after allowing all the paroles of the Confederates claimed by them as now existing on their behalf, and allowing the 10,000 paroles at Vicksburg declared exchanged, which the Confederate commissioned claims he had a right to declare exchanged under the cartel to meet an equal number of prisoners actually delivered to us at City Point, which we number of prisoners actually delivered to us at City Point, which we have the right to declare exchanged, there will then remain a balance of paroles in favor of the United States of some 25,000 men, the Confederate commissioner claiming to have now in his hands only 16,000 paroles.

I would suggest, therefore, that, passing the first questions which I now desire to bring to your notice, that I have authority to settle and determine all these questions of paroles upon the basis suggested in the "points of discussion" and in this note, because I think it important to get these questions out of discussion and out of difficulty, and settled between the Confederate authorities and the United States, in order that the only question which shall prevent a full and just carrying out of the cartel shall be very important, one which stands at the head of these points of discussion, because, while I do not believe that the good sense of the country, the justice of the Government, or humanity toward our suffering brother soldiers in the Confederate prisons will permit us for a moment to break off the cartel upon any difference arising from either of these questions about paroles, number and details of paroled men, which can be settled upon the basis adjusted in this note, yet I do believe that the dignity of the Government, its rights, to its self-respect, and the respect of other nations, require us to hold with a hand rigid as iron the point of discussion first presented, and that we shall be justified, not only by the judgment of the civilized world, but by the self-respect of our Government, and by the consent of all good