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both in quantity and quality, to the fare furnished to the convicted felons in many of the jails and penitentiaries throughout the country. And this is the 'decent subsistence,' offered to men who have been arrested, and are held on suspicion only, and who have not ceased to demand an open investigation of any charges that may possibly have been preferred against them; a demand which has been persistently denied. I have no grounds for imputing to Colonel Burke, or the officers of this garrison, any intentional disposition to treat us unkindly. But acting as they state themselves to be, in obedience to the orders which they have received, we are subject to various harsh and arbitrary restrictions, which are utterly irreconcilable with the idea of 'kind treatment,' whilst they are equally unnecessary for the ensuring of our safe-keeping. I deem it useless at present, to go more into details, as I have already described the condition in which we are placed, in three communications to the Hon. the Secretary of War, on the 1st, 7th and 12th inst. respectively, and in one to Lieutenant-General Scott, on the 8th inst., of none of which does any notice appear to have been taken. Should you, sir, however, desire a fuller statement than I have here made, to be addressed directly to yourself, one shall be forwarded, as soon as I may be apprised of your wishes.
"I have the honor to be
"Your obedient servant,
"CHARLES HOWARD."
Not the slightest notice was taken of these letters by the persons to whom they were addressed, unless the few chairs, and sheets, and blankets, which were furnished some time afterwards, were distributed by special order from Washington.
To show how desirous the officers of the Government were, at that time, to keep, even from the families of the prisoners, all knowledge of their actual condition, I am permitted to cite this letter from Mr. Gatchell, one of the Police Commissioners of Baltimore. Lieutenant Wood refused to forward it to its destination. It was written in pencil:
