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(Previous
Page)Meanwhile those measures are sure to be taken, and they will cut
the fangs of these gentry at the same time.
TELLING SECRETS.
THE
letter of Yulee, which was printed in facsimile
in the Harper of last week, is one document of a secret history of rebellion
which will doubtless be unearthed as our arms advance and we occupy the
rebellious section. The Nashville Union is already upon the scent. It appears
that the editor of the Louisville Courier was last July an active but secret
agent of the conspiracy. With every disclosure of this kind the national
deliverance will appear only the more marvelous. It will be an interesting
inquiry for the historian how far the plot had ripened in the city of New York
in the good old days of Gustavus W. Smith, and Lovell, the Jacques of that
redoubtable Robert Macaire. However, as General Gustavus, unlike General Floyd,
only stole himself away, we ought not to complain.
The definite secret organization
of the conspiracy was doubtless complete as to a few leaders. Of course much
must have depended upon the developments of popular sympathy which could not be
previously calculated. That
Jefferson Davis's knowledge of the whole
military distribution and sympathy of the country, gained from his occupancy of
the War Department, was of the greatest service to him is evident. That his
residence for two summers in Maine gave him an opportunity, which he used, to
inform himself practically of Northern sentiment is of course unquestionable;
and that a vast mass of correspondence and documentary evidence awaits the
historian is beyond doubt.
Yet, in case of an absolute and
sudden reverse, much of this material will be destroyed. Senator Harris, in his
speech upon the confiscation bill, said that few people are aware how difficult
it would be to convict Davis of treason. Where is he to be tried? Who are the
witnesses? He and his confederates are men shrewd enough to remove all dangers
which they can foresee, and a trial for treason must be rather conspicuous among
them just now.
The seized telegrams of last May
also will be a quarry for the patient delver. How extremely shaky in their shoes
certain gentlemen must have felt on the morning of that announcement! Here were
people who had been playing with fire and suddenly the house blazed up! Here
were people who had insisted that "the South" (which had filled and controlled
every nook and cranny of the Government for years) was "oppressed," and was more
than half justified in taking "redress" by arms. How much of all this sympathy
was to appear in their telegrams must have greatly exercised these worthy
gentlemen. They have the consolation of knowing that History will not be
ignorant of the facts, but will duly record the names of all who substantially
and morally favored a treason which is destitute of a solitary plausible
pretense.
FOR US OR AGAINST US?
THE correspondent of the New York
Herald, in one of its late numbers, reports that the rebels had a regiment of
mounted negroes, armed with sabres, at Manassas, and that some five hundred
Union prisoners taken at
Bull Run were escorted to their filthy prison
by a regiment of black men. There is little doubt also, that the fortifications
at Manassas and those at
Yorktown were the work of the
slaves. The same paper reports that "the rebels
dug up the remains of our soldiers, and made spurs of their jawbones, cutting up
their skeletons into every conceivable form, and sending the trinkets home to
their friends."
There is plenty of authentic
confirmation of these barbarities.
Will some one now say why, if
slaves are to be armed at all, they should be armed against our friends instead
of our enemies? And is it not clear that the "atrocities" which it was supposed
the slaves, if freed, would instantly fall to committing, are already
perpetrated by the rebels? There is no recorded San Domingo "horror" more
horrible than this last story.
At least twenty thousand slaves
have been liberated by the necessities of the war. Will any friend of the
rebels, so fearful of the ungovernable passions of emancipated slaves, please to
mention the master whose jawbone they have cut into spurs or whose skull they
have made into a drinking-cup?
A NEW LITERATURE.
THE great rebellion will produce
a literature. For a long time the most exciting and interesting books published
will be the histories, annals, memoirs, biographies, journals, and disquisitions
growing out of the war. There is a literature of the English rebellion, which
was Macaulay's strong point; and a literature of the French Revolution, in which
Theirs is profoundly versed; and in like manner new names and fames will be made
by the works that will be inspired by this enormous war.
The material is not only copious,
but a thoughtful care preserves it all. The librarian of Harvard University
invites contributions of every published scrap upon either side relating to the
struggle. Such an illustrated paper as
Harper's Weekly is a current, vivid history of
the war brought down to the latest dates; while Mr. Putnam's "Rebellion Record"
is an unsurpassed collection of the material of history. It is not digested, nor
condensed, nor shaped in any way, but it is a most thorough and careful record
of every document, speech, letter, description, report, debate, printed in full,
and ready for the selecting eye and sifting hand of the historian. It is, in
fact, the block of marble and the tools. The artist has only to bring his genius
with him, fall to work, and hew out an imperishable history.
It will, nevertheless, be a long
time before the final story of the conspiracy can be written. It must be sought
and studied in its causes, and followed
into details of which much is now
hidden. But a grander theme, loftier, more picturesque, of profounder
significance and interest, never allured the student. Not Sallust in the
Conspiracy of Catiline which he saw, nor Livy in the Annals of Rome which he
brought down to his own day, nor Thucydides in the Peloponnesian War in which he
was a soldier, nor Xenophon in the retreat of the ten thousand which he
conducted, had a more inspiring theme than this act of the great historic drama
in which the Anglo-Saxon race, upon a new continent, annihilates, by the popular
will and arm, the last hope of Despotism, and enlarges human liberty by
constitutional laws.
As this great struggle, by
revealing to us our own manhood, releases us nationally from our childish
dependence upon European criticism, so it will emancipate our literature from
foreign subservience. Our literary genius is especially historical, and the
skill with which, by various hands, we have told the story of Spain at home, in
America, and in Europe—the story of early France, of the Netherlands, and of our
colonial existence, will now illustrate with even greater fervor the triumph of
the civilization of Liberty.
HUMORS OF THE DAY.
A SEA CHANGE.—The necessary
reconstruction of the navy will effect an entire change of nautical phraseology.
"Shiver my timbers!" will become obsolete; and the corresponding exclamation
will be, "Unrivet my plates!" Instead of "Scuttle my coppers!" the dramatic Jack
Tar will have to say, "Foul my screw!" or "Smash my cupola!" and whereas he used
to utter imprecations on his bowsprit, he will henceforth perhaps invoke injury
on his bowsplitter.
"THE VOICES OF THE DEEP."—Dr.
Dufosse proves to us
that fishes have voices. Lending
our ears to this fact, we wonder what language are the fishes in the habit of
speaking? We suppose it must be the language of the Finns.
"THE CHILDREN OF WEALTH."—Of all
the "Children of Wealth" the greatest, without exception, are the Roths-children.
So enormous is their wealth, that we are assured by a confidential clerk in
their establishment that many and many a time it has been almost beyond Baring.
SPIRITUAL WEAKNESS.—We have been
asked why spirits, such as those that communicate with Mr. Foster, the conjuring
"medium," can only write under the table? We answer, Because spirits of that
description are below proof.
They were sitting side by side,
And she sigh'd, and then he
sigh'd. Said he, "My darling idol!"
And he idled and then she idled.
"You are creation's belle,"
And she bellow'd, and he bellow'd.
"On my soul there's such a
weight," And he waited, and then she waited. "Your hand I ask, so bold I'm
grown," And she groan'd, and then he groan'd. "You shall have a private gig,"
And she giggled, and then he
giggled. Said she, "My dearest Luke,"
And he look'd, and then she
look'd.
"I'll have thee, if thou wilt,"
And he wilted; and then she
wilted.
An Irishman being asked why he
left his country for America, replied, "It wasn't for want; I had plenty of that
at home."
Anna Maria Story was married to
Bob Short. A very pleasant way of making a "story short."
"Illustrated with cuts," said a
young urchin, as he drew his pen-knife across the leaves of his grammar.
Women never truly command till
they have given their promise to obey.
A certain old bachelor of our
acquaintance, whenever he is intoxicated, fancies himself married; he sees every
thing double, even his blessedness.
WALTZING.
At first they move slowly, with
caution and grace, Like horses when just setting out on a race;
For dancers at balls, just like
horses at races, Must amble a little to show off their paces.
The music plays faster; their
raptures begin;
Like lambkins they skip, like
teetotums they spin; Now draperies whirl, and the tiny feet fly,
And ankles, at least, are exposed to the eye.
O'er the chalk-covered room in
circles they swim: He smiles upon her, and she smiles upon him;
Her hand on his shoulder is
tenderly placed,
His arm quite as tenderly circles
her waist.
They still bear in mind, as
they're turning each other, The proverb of "one turn deserving another;"
And these bodily turns often end,
it is said,
In turning the lady's or
gentleman's head.
Why is a lady's hair like a
bee-hive?—It holds the comb.
The young lady who was "driven to
distraction" is now afraid she will have to walk back.
Poverty humbles pride. A. man,
when he is short, can hardly carry a high head.
"I tell you, love, I have got the
plan all in my head." "Ah, then it is all in a nutshell."
Which travels at the greater
speed, heat or cold?—Heat; because you can easily catch cold.
Man's wedding-day is called
"bridal day." The word might be written "bridle."
War is a lottery, in which every
customer may expect to draw a sword.
This life's contradictions are
many. Salt water gives us fresh fish, and hot words produce coolness.
"What a clever invention is the
sewing machine!" said Jones. "Yes, sew it seams," replied Smith.
Young women are never in more
danger of being made slaves than when the men are at their feet.
SONGS WITHOUT WORDS.—Those of
that blessed baby.
The man who would try to stab a
ghost would stick at nothing.
Present your wife with every
thing she wants, and perhaps she will be quiet for the present.
DO YOU GIVE IT UP?
Why is a Bramah key like a
hospital? Because it is full of wards.
My first in great cities is
oftentimes sold;
Clothed sometimes in silver, and
sometimes in gold My second a beast, the terror of men,
Who roars in a desert, and lives
in a den.
My whole is a thing not now very
common,
'Tis something between a horse
and a woman. Pil-lion.
When is it dangerous to walk in
the fields?
When the hedges are shooting.
What letters in the alphabet are
most destructive to beauty?
D K (Decay).
Why is a dog like a tattling
person?
Because he is a tail (tale)
bearer.
Who was the first whistler, and
what tune did he whistle?
The wind, "Over the hills and far
away."
If a man were to fall from the
Monument, what would he fall against?
His inclination.
DOMESTIC INTELLIGENCE.
CONGRESS.
ON Tuesday, April 22, in the
Senate, the select committee on the case of Senator Stark, of Oregon, made a
report that the committee find that Mr. Stark is disloyal to the Government of
the United States. The report was ordered to be printed. A resolution was
presented, calling on the President for copies of all orders of the General
commanding, instructions, etc., given to General Sherman, lately commending the
South Carolina Military Department. The bill establishing a Department of
Agriculture was taken up, and Senator Wright's substitute was rejected. The
consideration of the bill confiscating the property of rebels was resumed, and
Senator Davis, of Kentucky, commenced a speech against the bill, which, he said,
was a measure of gigantic injustice. Without concluding his remarks, Senator
Davis gave way for an executive session, and subsequently the Senate
adjourned.—In the House, Mr. Morrill, of Vermont, offered a resolution, which
was adopted, requesting the President to strike from the army rolls the name of
any officer who has been known to be habitually intoxicated. Mr. Morrill stated
that he had been assured that the commanding General of the Union forces in the
fight near Yorktown, on the 16th inst., in which the Vermont regiments suffered
so severely, was drunk at the time, and fell off his horse into the mud. When
pressed for the name of the General, Mr. Morrill declined to give it. A motion
to lay the Confiscation bills on the table was negatived, ayes 39 against 65
nays, and Mr. Bingham's bill was selected from among them, as embodying the
views of the House on the confiscation question. The vote stood 62 against 48.
Pending the question on the passage of the bill the House adjourned.
On Wednesday, April 23, in the
Senate, a resolution was adopted instructing the Military Committee to inquire
whether any General in the army before Yorktown had exhibited himself drunk in
face of the enemy, and if any measures had been taken for the trial and
punishment of such officer. The bill recognizing the independence of Hayti and
Liberia, and providing for the appointment of diplomatic representatives
thereto, was taken up, and Senator Sumner made a speech in support of it. The
consideration of the Confiscation bill was then resumed, and Senator Davis, of
Kentucky, concluded his speech in opposition to it. Senator Sherman, of Ohio,
offered an amendment to this bill, specifying that the act shall apply to
persons who may hereafter hold office under the rebel Government; but the Senate
adjourned without taking action on the subject.—In the House a bill
appropriating $1850 to indemnify the owners of the Danish bark Jorgen Lorentzen,
illegally seized by the blockading squadron, was passed. The Military Committee
made an important report on the subject of coast and harbor defenses. The
consideration of the Confiscation bills was then resumed, and the bill pending
on Tuesday was laid on the table by a vote of 58 against 52. The next bill taken
up was to facilitate the suppression of the rebellion, and to prevent the
recurrence of the same. It authorizes the President to direct our Generals to
declare the slaves of the rebels free, and pledges the faith of the United
States to make full and fair compensation to loyal men who have actively
supported the Union for any losses they may sustain by virtue of this bill. This
was debated by Messrs. Olin, Colfax, Dunn, Bingham, Lehman, Hickman, and
Crittenden. After further debate, without action, the House adjourned.
On Thursday, April 24, in the
Senate, a communication from the War Department, covering copies of contracts
made by that department for 1861, was presented. The bill providing for the
recognition of Hayti and Liberia, and establishing diplomatic intercourse with
those countries, was taken up, and Senator Davis, of Kentucky, offered a
substitute, authorizing the President to appoint a Consul at Liberia and a
Consul-General at Hayti, to negotiate treaties. The substitute was rejected, and
the bill passed by a vote of 32 to 7. The consideration of the Confiscation bill
was then resumed, and Senator Collamer made a speech against it. Senator
Sherman's amendment to the original bill, limiting confiscation to persons who
held certain offices under the rebel government was agreed to—yeas 27, nays 11.
The further consideration of the subject was then postponed, and the Senate went
into executive session.—In the House, the Confiscation bills were taken up, and
after some debate the House, by a vote of 90 to 31, referred the subject to a
special committee. Mr. Vallandigham, of Ohio, quoted from a speech of Senator
Wade, in which the latter charged the former with disloyalty to the Union, and
emphatically pronounced the Senator "a liar, a scoundrel, and a coward," and
expressed his readiness to meet him any where. Mr. Blake took up the quarrel for
Senator Wade, and Mr. Hutchins offered a resolution declaring Mr. Vallandigham's
language a violation of the rules of the House and a breach of decorum, and that
he is deserving of and is hereby censured by the House. Pending the question on
the resolution the House adjourned.
On Friday, April 25, in the
Senate, resolutions from the Legislature of Ohio concerning the rebel prisoners
at Columbus, Ohio, saying that the loyal feelings of the people of Ohio had been
outraged by the fact that the rebel prisoners at Camp Chase were allowed to
retain their slaves by Colonel Moody, thus practically establishing slavery in
Ohio in the name of the people of Ohio, and solemnly protesting against this
outrage upon the loyalty of the people of Ohio. The resolutions were accompanied
by a note from Governor Tod, saying that Colonel Moody did not permit it, but
that the negroes had been sent there as prisoners, and that Colonel Moody was
obliged to take care of them. Senator Wilson said he should call the subject up
on Monday. The bill establishing a line of armed steamers between San Francisco
and Shanghai and Japan was passed. A bill protecting United States officers from
suits growing out of arrests of disloyal persons was referred to the Judiciary
Committee. An executive session was held and a number of army appointments
confirmed.—In the House, the bill providing bounties for the widows and heirs of
volunteers was discussed, and Mr. Dawes defended the Government Contract
Investigating Committee from the assaults made upon them during their absence.
Both Houses adjourned till Monday.
On Monday, April 28, in the
Senate, a communication relative to the number and ages of the slaves in the
District of Columbia was presented and referred. The bill providing for the more
convenient enforcement of the laws for security to keep the peace and good
behavior was passed. Petitions adverse to the Tax bill, and asking a reduction
of the proposed tax on tobacco, were presented. The Senate held an executive
session, and confirmed a number of military appointments.—In the House, the
Speaker announced the following as the Special Committee on the confiscation of
rebel property: Messrs. Olin of New York, Eliot of Massachusetts, Noel of
Missouri, Hutchins of Ohio, Mallory of Kentucky, Beaman of Michigan, and Cobb of
New Jersey. Mr. Olin declined to serve, and it is believed Mr. Sedgwick will be
elected in his place. A resolution was adopted calling for the official reports
of the
battle at Pittsburg Landing. A resolution that the Judiciary Committee be
instructed to inquire into the expediency of reporting for punishing all
contractors guilty of defrauding the Government, with penalties similar to those
for grand larceny, was adopted. A joint resolution was referred to the Committee
on Commerce, authorizing the appointment of commissioners to negotiate
concerning the Reciprocity Treaty, and authorizing the President to give the
necessary notice for terminating the present unfair treaty. The consideration of
the report of the Government Contract Investigating Committee was resumed. Mr.
Sedgwick, of New York, defended the Secretary of the Navy from charges of
inefficiency
brought against him; and Mr.
Stevens, of Pennsylvania, defended
General Fremont from the aspersions against
his official conduct. Mr. Ashley reported back from the Committee on Territories
the bill to prevent and punish the practice of polygamy, and to annul certain
acts of the Territorial Legislature of Utah establishing the same, and it was
passed.
GENERAL HALLECK ON THE MOVE.
Dispatches received in St. Louis on 25th state that the advance-guard of the
Union army attacked the rebels on Thursday, and drove them back toward Corinth.
General Halleck was, according to this account, at the last dates pushing his
entire army vigorously forward. Another dispatch, received in Chicago from
Cairo
on 28th, describes a reconnoissance in force which took place on 23d, when our
troops surprised a rebel camp, and had advanced to within six miles of
Corinth.
They remained at this point from eleven o'clock in the morning until three, and
saw no sign of the rebels in front. The continual rattle of cars and sounding of
steam-whistles on the road toward
Memphis were heard, giving ground to the
impression that the rebels were evacuating Corinth and pushing on toward
Memphis.
THE ARMIES AT CORINTH.
It is surmised, on pretty
reliable data, that
General Beauregard has now over one hundred thousand men
under his command at Corinth. A large portion of them are, however, raw
recruits, brought in by conscription.
General Pope, with nearly his
whole force, arrived at Pittsburg Landing on Monday last to reinforce General
Halleck.
OUR ARMY BEFORE YORKTOWN.
General McClellan telegraphed to
the War Department on 26th that a portion of his troops had captured a lunette
of the enemy in front of
Yorktown, driving the rebels out at a charge, without
returning their fire, and occupying the work. Our loss was only three killed and
twelve wounded, although our men had to face a heavy fire as they advanced on
the work. General McClellan represents every thing going on favorably in spite
of the rain, which appears to pour down constantly in that region.
FIRING BEFORE YORKTOWN.
The latest accounts which we
have—up to Sunday night —say that firing had been going on all day in front of
the rebel works. Our naval vessels, with their superior armament, were doing
fearful execution on the rebel batteries, while the fire of the rebels falls far
short of their mark. Skirmishing between the land forces is kept up very brisk,
and it can not last many hours before a general and terrific engagement will be
brought on.
AFFAIRS AT FORT WRIGHT.
The last accounts from Fort
Wright state that the rebels have fourteen gun-boats and the ram Manassas lying
off the forts, and that Captains Hollins and M'Rae were also there. The
cannonade continues without important results.
THE REBELS CUTTING THE LEVEES.
The rebels had cut through the
levee on the Arkansas side of the river, and thus flooded the country for a
distance of thirty or forty miles, and destroying a vast amount of property.
This was done to prevent the advance by land of General Pope's forces; the
result is certain to be fatally destructive to the interests of the Southern
people in that vicinity.
A FIGHT IN NORTH CAROLINA.
Persons from
Burnside's
expedition report that a fight occurred last Tuesday near the canal locks of
Elizabeth City, North Carolina, between Colonel Hawkins's regiment and a force
of rebels. The rebels were repulsed with considerable loss. Our loss is
estimated at fifty killed and wounded. Colonel Hawkins was wounded in the right
breast and his Adjutant killed.
ADVANCE OF GENERAL BANKS.
The news from
General Banks's
corps is important. Our troops are in possession of Staunton. The rebel Jackson
is reported to be resting on the east side of the Shenandoah River, about
sixteen miles from Harrisonburg, on his slow march toward Gordonsville. It is
said that 800 of his men have recently deserted.
LIEUTENANT GWIN'S EXPEDITION INTO
ALABAMA.
Dispatches received at the Navy Department from Commodore Foote contain
the official report of the expedition of Lieutenant Gwin with the transports
Tyler and Lexington to Chickasaw, Alabama, containing 2000 troops, infantry and
cavalry, under command of General Sherman, where they disembarked, and proceeded
rapidly to Bear Creek Bridge, at the crossing of the Memphis and Charleston
Railroad, for the purpose of destroying it and as much of the trestle-work as
they could find. Lieutenant Gwin reports that the expedition was entirely
successful. The bridge, consisting of two spans of 110 feet each, was completely
destroyed, together with some 500 feet of trestle-work and half a mile of
telegraph line. The rebels made a feeble resistance to our cavalry, 120 in
number, but soon hastily retreated, losing four killed. None of our troops were
killed.
REBEL GUN-BOATS AT NORFOLK.
DEATH OF GENERAL SMITH.
Major-General C. F. Smith died at
Savannah, Tennessee, on Saturday afternoon, of dysentery. General Smith was
taken sick shortly after the occupation of Savannah by the forces under him, and
has been suffering and sinking slowly for some weeks, though his condition was
not thought to be dangerous until the past week. His family have been notified
of his death, and are on their way to Savannah.
The French Minister returned from
Richmond last week on the steamer Gassendi. The object of his mission has, of
course, not transpired, but dispatches were at once forwarded by him to this
city for instant transportation to France. No political importance, it would
appear, is attached in Washington to the visit of M. Mercier to the rebel
capital.
FOREIGN NEWS.
ENGLAND.
THE NAVY PANIC.
WORK has been suspended on wooden
vessels in every dock-yard in England, and all hands are engaged in getting
forward iron-armored ships—in fact, employed in creating a navy. Sir William
Armstrong and Mr. Blakeley have published letters to show that guns can be made
of sufficient power to destroy any iron plates now in use, and some highly
important experiments had been conducted at Shoeburyness, by order of the
Admiralty, in that direction. Sir William Armstrong asserts that one of his
guns, of twelve tons' weight, charged with fifty pounds of powder, will break
through the side of any iron vessel afloat. The London Times advocates the use
of powerful and swift iron-clad "steam rams" for harbor defenses, and, for the
fiat time, alludes to the possibility of iron frigates from France besieging the
dock-yards of England, and so forth. Captain Cowper Coles, R.N., offers to
construct a vessel of very light draught of water which will destroy the Warrior
in a short time.
ANOTHER PIRATE.
The Oviedo, a new and large
steamer, sailed from Liverpool on the 22d of March, destined, as was supposed,
for the rebel service in America. She is adapted for a heavy armament, which, it
was thought, she would find ready for her use in some foreign port before
running against the Union blockade southward.
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