that General Jackson captured quite a number of men raised for the lincoln army in Northwestern Virginia, with the approbation and under the authority of the usurped government which has been inaugurated in that section of the State. Many of the men so captured are native Virginians and all of them are citizens owing allegiance to the lawful government of the State. These men thus found in arms have been guilty of treason against this Commonwealth and richly deserve the punishment which the law attaches to their crime. I request therefore that these men be turned over to the State authorities to be tried for treason under this act of the General Assembly.

2. The fourth section of this same act declares the punishment for advising or conspiring with a slave to rebel or make insurrection. For more than a year past the officers and sliders of Lincoln's army laws of the Commonwealth and encouraging them to abscond from their lawful owners. They have used every appliance to array them in hostility against the people of Virginia and to induce them to aid in the prosecution of this wicked and infamous war which is being carried on against us, violating both in letter and spirit this section of our statute. At this time we have a large number of officers captured in the recent battles on the Chickahominy, all of which I believe took place in Henrico County. There can be o question therefore in regard to the question of jurisdiction in these cases. I request therefore that some of the more prominent officers may be turned over for indictment and trial for violating the fourth section of the act referred to. If these persons have violated our State law and a jury shall so find, then they deserve and should receive such punishment as the law prescribes.

There is an additional question. Private citizens engaged in agricultural, mechanical and professional pursuits who have not taken up arms during the war have been seized, torn from their homes and families and carried to remote points where they have been imprisoned and many of them have been harshly treated. In the negotiations now pending for an exchange of prisoners could not a clause be inserted which would prevent the repetition of such outrages?

Respectfully,

JOHN LETCHER.

OLD CAPITOL PRISON, Washington, July 30, 1862.

Honorable G. W. RANDOLPH, Secretary of War.

SIR: We, the undersigned, are held here by the Federal Government of the United States (having been arrested for that purpose) as hostages for Charles Williams, of Fredericksburg, and Peter Couse, Moses Morrison and Thomas Morrison, of Spotsylvania County. We are all citizens of Fredericksburg, having families at home who are rendered very uncomfortable by our absence. If therefore no important policy of the Confederate authorities would be violated by the release of said Charles Williams, Couse and the tow Messrs. Morrison we would respectfully ask that they be released that we may also be released by the Federal authorities. We are assured that in case Williams, &c., should be released we will be. A petition in behalf of several of us was sent to Richmond from Fredericksburg. The last one of the list was arrested after that petition was forwarded, and besides we are not sure that the petition reached your Department as