exercise of this power by the Governor is that at present there are paroled within the limits of this city several prisoners who go where they think proper. They are I believe generally invalids, and that at each of the three prisons there are reception rooms for visitors to converse with and hold interviews with the prisoners, and that an average of about a dozen people with permits from the Governor exercise this privilege daily. Besides this for the benefit of all curious people there is a regular line of omnibuses running daily from the capitol to the camp, past the chain of outer sentinels to the commanding officer's quarters, and any one who desires to spend twenty cents may visit the camp and go where they please except inside the prisons. The consequence of this is that there are always driving about the camp a great number of hacks, carriages and omnibuses laden with idlers and others who everywhere and at every turning infest the camp, inspect everything, interfere with the duty and very much with effective discipline, and infuse into soldiers and officers, the commanding officer not excepted, the same desire for show and the display of authority and indifference to it as would characterize an entirely undisciplined body of men under the immediate gaze of curious civilians anywhere. The commanding officer is vain of his consequential position and the exhibition of arbitrary authority before citizens; his officers (those few in camp) emulate him, and there follows a general neglect of other duty and a general confusion everywhere. Much of this is due to the presence of visitors in considerable number. I represented this to the Governor and to the commanding officer, and yet the prohibition of visitors was violently opposed by both. The object seems to be to make Camp Chase popular. In connection with the matter of your release of prisoners the Governor remarked that authority should be delegated to some one at this point to examine into the cases of and when they thought proper to release prisoners. He said that the commanding officer at the camp should not be a good soldiers so much as a lawyer who should personally examine under oath if necessary the prisoners upon their asserting their innocence. Permit me to say that this has been literally acted upon. Colonel Allison, the present commanding officer, superseding Colonel Moody is not in any degree a solider; he is entirely without experience and utterly ignorant of his duties and he is surrounded by the same class of people. But he is a lawyer and a son-in-law of the Lieutenant-Governor.

It was, colonel in this interview with the Governor that great difficulty in whose existence I had ever believed but never before

seen arose before me in all its colossal proportions, viz, the misunderstanding of the extent of his own authority over the camp and such an exercise of it as would prevent me, without his permission, from establishing your desires unless I came in conflict with him. I did not deem myself at all justified in even suggesting to him in more than the most general terms the fact that you had the entire control of all matters concerning prisoners. This he seemed to understand and I discussed the subject no further, determining to yield to his points as far as he deemed necessary and leave the sequel to one having more authority to act. I consequently have made no further objection to the non-visitors who had no friends in either the guard or prison camps be excluded, and the regulations were officially submitted to the commanding officer, Colonel Allison, with that understanding.

I will now state the condition of the prison and camp, the means taken from their improvement and the difficulties in the way of a rigid