WASHINGTON, D. C., October 17, 1864. -10. 30 a. m.

Major-General BUTLER, Bermuda:

Are those special cases exchanged? The parole of the officers sent North by the rebels has expired.

GIDEON WELLES,

Secretary of the Navy.

Answer: The exchange is going on to-day.

B. F. BUTLER,

Major-General.

FORT DELAWARE, DEL., October 17, 1864.

Brigadier General A. SCHOEPF, Commanding Post:

SIR: I have the honor to submit the following inspection report of the prisoners of war at Fort Delaware, De., for the week ending October 16, 1864: Conduct, good; cleanliness, proper attention given to; clothing, comfortable; bedding, consists of bunks and blankets; state of quarters, clean and comfortable; state of kitchen, in an excellent condition; food, quality of, very good; food, quantity of, they receive their full allowance; sinks, are kept clean by tide and force pumps; policing of grounds, very well conducted; drainage, very good; vigilance of guard, faithfully performs its duty; security of quarters, good, no prisoner has escaped this week; policing hospital, admirably conducted; attendance of sick (nurses), every possible attention is paid to them; cleanliness of hospital, could not be better; hospital diet, very good and sufficient; general health of prisoners, about 3 1/2 per cent. sick, only two deaths during week.

Very respectfully, your obedient servant,

GEO. W. AHL,

Captain, Acting Assistant Adjutant-General, Inspecting Officer.

HEADQUARTERS DEPOT FOR PRISONERS OF WAR,
Elmira, N. Y., October 17, 1864.

Colonel WILLIAM HOFFMAN,

Commissary-General of Prisoners, Washington, D. C.:

COLONEL: The continued prevalence of disease and death in this camp impels me to call the attention of the authorities to what is apparently the cause, to wit, the existence of a stagnant pond of water within the inclosure. Nothing else that I can see produces the large mortality among the prisoners. The camp is clean, water pure and abundant, and rations wholesome. The medical officers attribute the large proportion of the sickness prevailing to the effects of this body of impure and malarial matter. The remedy for this evil, for such I conceive it to be, is attainable. A stream of water can be introduced from the river by digging a trench and laying pipe about 6,000 feet. The cost of wooden pipe of six-inch diameter would be, as I learn upon inquiry, about 75 cents per foot. The digging and laying could be done principally with prison labor and a small expense. I am informed that the estimated cost of laying pipe of this description is about $6,000 per mile. Your attention was first called to this almost intolerable nuisance in a letter from these headquarters, dated August 17, 1864, recommending that a ditch be dug from the river and allowing