SAINT ALBANS, November 24, 1865.

Brigadier-General HOLT, Judge-Advocate-General:

DEAR SIR: I am in receipt of your letter of the 21st. You appear surprised at my inability to get my draft cashed; not more so than I was myself. The banks here evince no desire to accommodate the Government. At first they appeared to doubt my authority and when I satisfied them on that point they said they did not care to have anything to do with it; they did not see [that] they were going to make anything by it. The Saint Albans bank says they have money to the amount of $4.00 or $5,000 standing out in that way that they cannot collect and do not care to negotiate any more. The First National Bank referred me to the Saint Albans, as that bank had done a great deal of business with the Government, and they (the First National) felt themselves under no obligations to the Government or the War Department. Even your check I had to have signed by a resident of the place before I could get it cashed. Inclosed please find duplicate receipts signed. Since my last I have received a letter from Lamar appointing a meeting in Boston, where he is at present. I will start for there to-night or to-morrow morning.

Hoping my next will be more encouraging.

I remain, very respectfully, your most obedient servant,

WILLIAM CAMPBELL.

On his arrival at Boston he addressed me as follows:

HANCOCK HOUSE, Boston, November 29, 1865.

Judge-Advocate-General HOLT:

DEAR SIR: I have been Lamar to-day. I think everything is all right. He will give me an answer to-morrow. We will start for New York about Saturday, where we will stop for a few days as Lamar wants to see some friends that are stopping there. I did not write to you on my arrival as I expected to see him sooner. I will have to draw on you again this week. You may expect to see us in Washington about the last of next week. Please telegraph on receipt of this as I shall start for New York on Saturday.

Very respectfully, your most obedient servant,

WILLIAM CAMPBELL.

Subsequently I was assured that Lamar on his arrival at New York had declined to come to Washington to testify and had left the United States for Cuba. Still later I was advised that this statement was a misapprehension, superinduced by a false representation of Lamar's, and that he had, in point of fact, come to Washington but refused to give any testimony. I never saw him, and whether such a man existed I have no means of certainly determining.

On the 28th of November, Conover wrote me from New York as follows:

NEW YORK, November 28, 1865.

Brigadier-General HOLT, Judge-Advocate-General:

DEAR SIR: I did not until this morning succeed in seeing McGill and getting the necessary directions for finding Carter. I shall leave by the next train for Toronto. I shall not only find Carter but I think other witnesses as well. If Wright becomes able to leve for New York before my return to Washington I hope you will see that he is fully reimbursed for expenses, &c. His traveling expenses from Charleston to Washington, and afterward from Washington to New York to find me, were defrayed entirely by himself. But for appearing as a witness he would have sailed directly from Charleston to Halifax, Nova Scotia. If he comes to New York before I return to Washington Snevel will see him and make it agreeable for him to remain until he can be used as a witness. He has already satisfied me of his willingness to do so if his extra expenses can be paid by the Government. Presuming that I should return to Washington before he would be able to leave he made no arrangements about his hotel billin case he should wish to leave before my return. I trust, therefore, that besides causing him to receive his traveling expenses [you will] see that he has enough to pay his bill at the hotel. I am confident that I shall be able to produce at least two other witnesses against Davis not less important than those you have seen, and I therefore feel the necessity of making everything as satisfactory as possible to those already in hand, that they may not at any time be found wanting.

In great haste, your obedient servant,

S. CONOVER.