follows, carefully guarding the reply by excepting those under charges or regularly convicted before some competent tribunal of offenses known to municipal law, the laws of nations or of war. General Hitchcock seems to have made no such exception in his acceptance. Does General Hitchcock mean that all the prisoners of war whom we have convicted of offenses shall be released, treated as prisoners of war, or sent home for their equivalent?

Unless this is the desire of the Department and it is intended so to release those men we have under conviction, the proposition of General Hitchcock appears to be not sufficiently guarded. I am sorry General Hitchcock did not address his communication to me instead of Major Mulford. Mr. Ould has been in the habit of addressing his communications to Major Mulford upon some supposed freak of non-recognition of myself as agent of exchange, but suppose such reason does not exist for the action of General Hitchcock and take it to be a mere oversight.

It will be seen that Mr. Ould is willing to make exception of those convicted or held under charges of breaches of municipal law, but not of the laws of war or of nations, and that he expressly puts into his exception whether the breaches of municipal law occurred before or after the capture of the prisoners of war. In that sentence of Mr. Ould there is ground for very careful reflection, because the Confederate States hold that the freeing of slaves is a breach of their municipal law and they may claim to hold any one of our prisoners of war as excepted from the proposition, because of some supposed breach of their laws in regard to slaves.

Indeed, that is the very ground of Davis' proclamation in regard to turning over officers of the United States to the Governors of the several rebel States for punishment, and I think that before we should agree to the proposition finally this matter should be very carefully scanned and critically examined. To do this certainly will require the application of a single mind to the business of negotiations, or if more than one mind is brought to bear upon it they must be minds acting in concert and making proposition upon careful consultation. Therefore, I respectfully ask that the propositions of General Hitchcock may be submitted to me before being sent, so that we may not be apparently at cross purposes in our negotiations.

Awaiting instructions, I have the honor to be, very respectfully, your obedient servant,

BENJ. F. BUTLER,

Major-General and Commissioner of Exchange.

[Indorsement.]

OCTOBER 7, 1864.

Major Mulford's reference to General H. was made during an absence of General Butler from his habitual station. All of my communications to Major Mulford were intended for General Butler when practicable; in most of them I so stated.

E. A. HITCHCOCK,

Major-General of Volunteers.

HDQRS. U. S. FORCES, JOHNSON'S ISLAND AND SANDUSKY,
Johnson's Island, Ohio, September 18, 1864.

Captain JOHN LEWIS, Acting Assistant Adjutant-General:

CAPTAIN: I have the honor to submit the following Sunday morning report of the condition of the prison and prisoners:

The grounds in the inclosure are well policed; the roads and walks in course of construction prevents their being in perfect condition. The