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page) the good feeling that existed in
the country toward that Power, and although paper after paper was put forth by
able and cautious men to show that England had always done the same thing, and
therefore could not complain of our doing it—yet when the nation was reminded,
what in its exultation and excitement it had forgotten, that it had a
traditional policy founded in natural justice, and that it was bound in honor to
abide by that policy, the whole nation willingly released its hold upon the
traitors and let them go.
To say that it was only making
the best of a bad situation, and that if one of our hands had not been tied we
would have welcomed a war with England, is to say that Great Britain was right
in 1812, to insult the memory of Perry, and to go backward fifty years from
international equity. No, the people of this country know what their principle
in the matter is—they know it is right, and they have character and intelligence
enough as a people to do the right, when they are reminded of it, even in a
moment of deep excitement. It was not the Government against the people, it was
the Government quietly reminding the people of their own honor, and justly
presuming their loyalty to it.
Mr. Russell will not do justice to the fact, of
course, for he has a theory to sustain and his own prescience to justify.
The other instance of the
strength of our system is the order of the President releasing all political
prisoners. It is no longer necessary to hold them, not because the rebellion is
suppressed, but because the cause of the people is safe in their own hands.
Public opinion can now deal with treasonable sympathy.
It is easy to see that the year
which ends on May day will be the brightest in our annals.
PRO AND CON.
As the various party conventions
of the States meet and pass resolutions, it would be well for them to avoid the
part of Dogberry. The residents of glass-houses are warned by the proverb to be
cautious. Democrats are not rebels, and Republicans are not secessionists. Let
that be understood at the beginning; and then the Democratic Conventions will
not virtually resolve that the Republicans are the authors of the war, nor will
the Republican Conventions resolve that the Democrats are secret traitors.
The Democratic meetings lay
peculiar stress upon the constitutional guarantees of the rights of States, and
of the rights of property, and, in general, of all constitutional rights. They
are very excellent things to lay stress upon. We are all fighting as hard as we
can for that very Constitution. But why such remarkable zeal of talk, as if
somebody or some party, except rebels, had ever called those rights in question?
There are two points of which
Republican Conventions should beware: first, of supposing the rebellion to be a
Democratic Party movement; and, second, of supposing Bright, Powell, Bayard,
Vallandigham, and the Hon. B. Wood to be typical representatives of the
And there are two points of which
Democratic meetings should be equally careful: first, of covertly calling the
rebellion a consequence of any unconstitutional Republican action; and second,
of supposing that the Democratic party is exclusively national and
constitutional. For the enlightened members will not forget that all those who
are trying to ruin the nation and destroy the Constitution were politically
known as Democrats.
The Democratic and Republican
parties have each their theory of the Constitution. If either assumes to be its
especial guardian, it will expose itself to great ridicule. Recrimination is as
useless as it is endless. For instance, a Democrat taunts a Republican by
saying—"If you had not made such a row about Slavery there would have been no
rebellion." And the Republican replies—"If you had not openly supported by votes
and money the faction which threatens to break up the Government, if it did not
succeed, there would have been no rebellion."
When the war is over and the
Government restored to its supremacy parties will instantly be formed. But they
will be formed under the Constitution; and they will differ upon questions of
its meaning and of the policy of administration, not of the existence of the
HUMORS OF THE DAY.
[SCENE—Jeff Davis in his
Counting-room, reading.] J. D. reads :
DAVIS & CO. IN ACCOUNT WITH
LINCOLN & CO.
To prisoners, as per bills
" prisoners at Roanoke 2,500
" prisoners at Fort Donelson
By prisoners, as per bills
Balance due E. E 16,865
Above you have statement of
account up to February 16. We will accept your notes for balance at 30 days,
with adequate security. Otherwise we shall take legal measures for
collection. LINCOLN & Co.
P.S.—The Missouri account is not
yet posted up. We think it will show a large balance in our favor, for which we
shall demand immediate payment, or satisfactory security. L. & Co.
"SIMON (BUCKNER) SAYS."
SIMON SAYS, Show your Hand.—"
NASHVILLE, Tenn., Feb. 10. A private dispatch says Fort Donelson is safe, and
can not be taken."
SIMON SAYS, Up.—"NASHVILLE, Feb.
13. We have repulsed the enemy at every point, and driven off the gun-boats. We
have whipped them by land and water."
SIMON SAYS, Wiggle-waggle. —"FORT
DONELSON, Feb. 13. In consideration of all the circumstances governing the
present situation of affairs at this station, I propose to the commanding
officer of the Federal forces the appointment of commissioners to argue upon
terms of capitulation of the forces at this post under my command. In that view
I suggest an armistice until 12 o'clock to-day."
SIMON SAYS, Down.—" The
distribution of the forces under my command, incident to an unexpected change of
commanders, and the overwhelming
force under your command, compel me, notwithstanding the brilliant success of
the Confederate arms, to accept the ungenerous and unchivalrous terms which you
The late storms which have
prevailed hereabout, and caused such unprecedented delays on the different
railroads, have given occasion to some good "sayings" on the part of the
impatient but generally good-natured passengers. One of these, and not the
worst, is the following, which is said to have occurred on the Hudson River
Railroad, whose usual time of five hours from New York to Albany had, through
the obstructions caused by the storm, been extended to nearly forty hours. A
lady, accompanied by her son—a well-grown lad of about 12 or 14 years of age—was
called upon by the conductor for her tickets, as they were approaching the
terminus of the route, when she produced a full ticket for herself, and a
halt-ticket for the boy. Whereupon the following colloquy ensued:
CONDUCTOR. "Madam, is not that
lad rather large to pass on a half-ticket ?"
LADY. "He is large, I confess. I
can see he has grown since we left New York."
The conductor passed. Those of
the passengers who had the means smiled.
A SURE CURE FOR HYSTERICS.—Dr.
March says the best cure for hysterics is to discharge the servant-girl. In his
opinion, there is nothing like flying "around" to keep the nervous system from
becoming unstrung. Some women think they want a physician, he says, when they
only need a scrubbing brush.
MARRIAGE PORTIONS.—At the wedding
of the Count d'Artois the city of Paris agreed to distribute marriage portions.
A smart girl of sixteen, named Louise Noisin, having presented herself to
inscribe her name on the list, was asked who was her lover. "Oh," said she, with
great simplicity, "I have no lover; I thought the city was to furnish every
thing!" The answer created great mirth, and a husband was soon found for her.
Mrs. Partington wants to know if
the Pope sent any of his bulls to the cattle-show?
In a lesson in parsing, the
sentence, "Man courting in capacity of bliss," etc., the word courting comes to
a young miss of fourteen to parse. She commenced hesitatingly, but got along
well enough until she was to tell what it agreed with. Here she stopped short.
But as the teacher said, "Very well, what does courting agree with?" Ellen
blushed, and held down her head. "Ellen, don't you know what courting agrees
with?" "Ye-ye-yes, Sir." "Well, Ellen, why don't you parse that word? What does
it agree with?" Blushing still more, and stammering, Ellen at last says,
"It-agrees with all the girls, Sir."
"How," said a county-court judge
to a witness, "do you know the plaintiff was intoxicated on the evening referred
to?" "Because I saw him, a few minutes after supper, trying to pull off his
trowsers with a bootjack." Verdict for the defendant.
A Welsh editor says, "If we have
offended any man in the short but brilliant course of our career, let him send
us a new hat and say nothing about it."
"I have millions of money," said
a dashing gent to a girl about to run away with him, "but you might as well
scrape up all the jewels and spare change you have got."
"Are you not alarmed at the
approach of the King of Terrors?" said a clergyman to an invalid. "Oh no!" was
the reply; "I have been living six-and-thirty years with the Queen of Terrors:
the King can not be much worse!"
"I know well enough," said a
youngster, "where fresh fish come from; but where these salt ones are catched,
I'll be hanged if I can tell."
A gentleman lately heard a
laborer gravely inform two comrades that a 74-pounder is a cannon that sends a
pound ball exactly seventy-four miles.
Almost every young lady is
public-spirited enough to be willing to have her father's house used as a
Wordsworth cautions a studious
friend against "growing double," but the girls think it is the best thing a nice
young man can do.
"Jim, does your mother ever whip
you?" "No; but she does a precious sight worse, though." "What is that?" "Why
she washes me every morning."
At a wedding the other day, one
of the guests, who is often a little absent, observed, gravely, "I have remarked
that there have been more women than men married this year."
ON Tuesday, February 18, in the
Senate, resolutions of the Wisconsin Legislature in favor of furnishing relief
to the famine-stricken people of Ireland were presented and referred. The House
joint resolution, directing the illumination of the public buildings on Saturday
evening, Washington's birthday, in honor of the recent victories, was adopted.
The case of Senator Starke, the new member from Oregon, whose loyalty is in
question, was then taken up, and a long debate ensued, but, without taking
action on the subject, the Senate adjourned.—In the House, the Treasury Note
bill, with the Senate's amendments and some modifications, was reported back by
the Ways and Means Committee, and made the special order for Wednesday, at 1
o'clock. The Senate's joint resolution tendering the thanks of Congress to
Commodore Dupont, and the officers and men under his command, for the decisive
Port Royal in November last, and the Senate's resolution tendering
the thanks of Congress to the Army and Navy for the series of brilliant
victories over the enemy, were both adopted. The Senate's amendment to the
Fortification Appropriation bill was concurred in. A joint resolution directing
that the public buildings be illuminated on Saturday evening, the anniversary of
Washington's birthday, in honor of the recent victories, was unanimously
adopted. A resolution, that, as a mark of respect for the memory of the killed,
and sympathy for the wounded in the recent battles, and as a testimonial of
admiration for the undaunted courage of the soldiers, sailors, and marines
engaged, the House do now adjourn, was unanimously adopted, and the House
On Wednesday, February 19, in the
Senate, the bill increasing the number of naval cadets, and the resolution of
Captain Wilkes, were indefinitely postponed. A joint resolution,
authorizing the Secretary of War to confer the brevet rank of Lieutenant-General
for eminent services, was introduced. A joint resolution, authorizing the
President to present prizes and medals to enlisted soldiers, marines, and
sailors who may have distinguished themselves in the war, was adopted. A
petition from citizens of New York was presented, asking that the name of South
Carolina be expunged from the list of States, and the territory divided between
North Carolina and Georgia.—In the House, Mr. Hickman offered a preamble and
resolution, the first embodying a paragraph from a Baltimore paper, which stated
in effect that, upon searching the office of a journal called the South, in that
city, letters were found impugning the loyalty of Senators Bayard and Saulsbury,
of Delaware, and Mr. Vallandigham, of Ohio; and the second directing the
Judiciary Committee to inquire into the truth of the allegations against Mr.
Vallandigham, with power to send for persons and papers, and to make report
thereon. Mr. Vallandigham vehemently denied the accusations, asserting that he
had not written a syllable to any person south of Mason and Dixon's line since
the outbreak of the rebellion. He furthermore stoutly proclaimed his undying
loyalty to the
the flag of the
republic. The discussion which ensued was quite lively. Finally, Mr. Hickman,
taking into consideration the fresh protestations of loyalty on the part of Mr. Vallandigham, withdrew the resolution. The House in committee discussed the
Treasury Note bill, and considered the Senate's amendments, and reported
progress. Pending the question on concurring with the Senate, the House
On Thursday, February 20, in the
Senate, resolutions in favor of the expulsion of Senator Powell, of Kentucky,
who is charged with disloyalty, were referred to the Judiciary Committee. The
bill providing for the establishment of a National Armory at Rock Island was
discussed, and the Army Appropriation bill passed. The Treasury Note bill was
received from the House, and a Committee of Conference appointed on the
amendments disagreed to.—In the House, the Treasury Note bill was taken up.
Several of the-Senate's amendments were rejected, and the bill is now in the
hands of a joint committee of conference.
On Friday, February 21, both
Houses of Congress adjourned after very short sessions, out of respect to
President Lincoln and his family, in their recent affliction. The Homestead bill
was briefly considered in the House, and Speaker Grow made a speech in favor of
its passage. No further action was taken upon it.
On Saturday, February 22, in the
Senate, a little routine business was done, when a message was received from the
House that the ceremonies incident to the day were about to commence, and the
members proceeded in a body to the Hall of Representatives.—In the House, the
galleries set apart for the public were densely crowded. Many persons were
unable even to gain admission to
the Capitol. After the House was organized, Mr.
Crittenden, of Kentucky, in consideration of the fact that the presentation of
flags was not contemplated in the joint resolution providing for the
celebration, moved that the ceremony be omitted. This gave rise to a long debate
as to the propriety of the proposed presentation, which ended in the adoption of
Mr. Crittenden's motion, 70 to 61. At this juncture the members of the Senate,
headed by the Vice-President, entered, with the heads of Departments, the Judges
of the Supreme Court, and the representatives of foreign Governments—officers of
the Army and Navy, including General McClellan, coming last. The ceremonies then
commenced with a prayer by Rev. Mr. Stockton, after which Colonel Forney read
the Farewell Address, which was listened to with profound attention. The House
On Monday, February 24, in the
Senate, Senator Wilmot urged speedy action on the bill abolishing slavery in the
District of Columbia. The joint resolution respecting compensating railroad
companies that have received grants of land for the transportation of troops was
taken up.—In the House, Mr. Roscoe L. Conkling, of New York, offered a
resolution declaring the thanks of Congress due to Major-Generals Halleck and
Grant for "planning" the recent movements of their respective divisions. Messrs.
Cox, of Ohio, and Washburne and Kellogg, of Illinois, objected to assaulting the
reputation of General McClellan, and the resolution was referred to the
Committee on Military Affairs. The Post-office Appropriation bill was passed.
The House then went into Committee of the Whole on the Indian Appropriation
bill, and Mr. Shellabarger made a speech on the subject of emancipating slaves.
THE FALL OF NASHVILLE.
We are in possession of positive
intelligence that Nashville is in our hands. A dispatch from
Cairo states that
General Buell occupies that city; and if this statement requires any
confirmation, we have it in the fact that the Richmond Enquirer, in an extra
published on Saturday evening, publishes telegrams from Augusta and
announcing the evacuation of Nashville. Colonel Lee, who has just been released
from durance at Richmond, also states that he was confidentially informed by an
official of the rebel government that Nashville had fallen into the hands of the
THE SURRENDER OF CLARKSVILLE.
The details of the surrender of
Clarksville, Tennessee, by the rebels, are furnished in the official dispatches
Commodore Foote to the Navy Department. It appears that on the approach of
our forces two-thirds of the citizens fled in alarm. At the request of the Mayor
of the city, and the Hon. Cave Johnson, formerly Postmaster-General of the
United States, Commodore Foote issued a proclamation assuring all peaceable
citizens that they may pursue their avocations without interruption. Commodore
Foote represents that a strong Union sentiment prevails at all the points on the
river which he has touched upon. The rebel armed forces retreated from
Clarksville to Nashville, and destroyed the fine railroad bridge across the
Cumberland River, against the remonstrances of the citizens, whose devotion to
the Union is thus more strongly verified. An iron rolling mill, belonging to the
Hon. John Bell, was totally destroyed by one of our gun-boats. Commodore Foote
announces his intention of proceeding further up the Cumberland River with his
gun-boats and six or eight mortar boats.
FALL OF RUSSELLVILLE AND
Dispatches from Louisville announce that
Cumberland Gap and
Russellville are in possession of our troops. At the former point the rebels at
one time hoped to make a formidable stand, but the accumulation of our victories
have demolished their expectations in that respect.
The Richmond Dispatch of Saturday
publishes intelligence of the
Goldsborough expedition, from
Suffolk, Virginia, and Norfolk, to the effect that our gun-boats had ascended
the Chowan River, on the 20th ult., as far as Winton, North Carolina, landed the
troops there, and reduced the town to ashes.
OUR PROGRESS IN MISSOURI.
General Curtis has driven the
flying rebel army from Springfield clear into Arkansas, sixty-five miles south
of Springfield, and on Sunday night the
Stars and Stripes were fluttering over
the soil of Arkansas.
General Halleck telegraphed to
Washington on 18th that
Brigadier-General Price, brother of the rebel chief, and several officers of his
staff, were captured.
General Price, whose career has
been like that of a fox before the hounds, was again overtaken across the
Arkansas border by our troops on 111th, at Sugar Creek, where he made a feeble
stand, in combination with
Ben McCulloch's command, and was again put to flight.
Several of his men and a large quantity of their arms—thrown away in the
confusion—were captured by our troops. General Halleck telegraphs that General
Curtis had also taken possession of Bentonville, Arkansas.
GENERAL McCLELLAN ACROSS THE
General McClellan rode across the
river on 20th, for the first time in a long interval, visiting the head-quarters
of the different commanders of divisions and brigades. The camps are represented
to be in splendid order, both as regards health and discipline. All that the men
now require is a fair chance to relieve the quietude of camp life by the
activity of the battle-field.
MEETING OF THE REBEL CONGRESS.
The "permanent" rebel Congress
was inagurated at Richmond on the 18th ult. Vice-President Stephens formally
opened the session of the Senate. R. M. T. Hunter was elected President pro tem.
of that body. In the House, Thomas S. Bocock was elected Speaker. In his speech
on entering on the duties of his office he said: "The gaze of the world is fixed
upon us. Nations look on, curious to see how this new system of government will
move off, and what manner of men have been chosen to guide its earliest
movements." In excusing the acts of himself and co-rebels Mr. Bocock alludes to
the Federal Government in the following terms: "When ambition and interest
seized upon it and destroyed its integrity they were not allowed to appropriate
the rule altogether to themselves. Fanaticism came forward and demanded to be
received as a participant of power with them, and it claimed not in vain.
Beneath the sway of this unholy triumvirate justice was forgotten, intolerance
was established, private morals were ruined, and public virtue perished. All
feeling of constitutional restraint passed away, and all sense of the obligation
of an oath was forever lost. The whole machinery of government degenerated into
the absolute rule of a corrupt numerical majority. Already the weaker section
was marked out for destruction by the stronger, and then came disruption and
overthrow. Since then tyranny the most
absolute, and perjury the most
vile, have destroyed the last vestige of soundness in the whole system."
The inauguration of
Mr. Davis was
not attended with any enthusiasm whatever, according to statements of parties
who witnessed it, use is the installment to office of the "permanent" government
received with much favor, if we can judge from such language as the following,
from the Richmond Whig of the 21st, the day before the ceremony took place. That
journal says: "Judging by results so far, it (the government) is the most
lamentable failure in history, and suggests to the reflecting mind that the most
signal service which that government can now render to the country is the
surrender of the helm to abler and better hands. In view of the past, the
present, and probable future, the pageant of to-morrow is a bitter mockery and a
miserable compensation for the ruin of a free people. A child with a bauble, an
old man with a young wife, are partial illustrations of the deplorable folly."
MORE BRIDGES BROKEN IN ALABAMA.
Dispatches from St. Louis inform
us that a most important point has been gained by the destruction of the
railroad bridges at Decatur, Alabama, and at Bridgeport, seventy miles below, by
the Unionists in Northern Alabama, emboldened, no doubt, by the appearance of
the Union gun-boats under Lieutenant Phelps, who recently proceeded as far as
REBEL PRISONERS IN INDIANA.
The papers announce the arrival
at Indianapolis of 5000 of the rebel prisoners from
Fort Donelson. They present
a miserable appearance, being dressed in multi-colored rags, and using pieces of
carpet for blankets. They state that they have been wretchedly fed and cared for
during the last six months, and say that the rebellion is pretty well used up,
as far as they can judge. The captive officers do not wear any uniform, and in
appearance, it is said, do not seem much superior in social position to the mass
of the privates.
THE BRIDGE-BURNERS NOT TO BE
General Halleck has issued an
order remitting the sentence of death upon the bridge-burners to imprisonment in
the military prison at Altona, in consideration of the victories recently won
and the increasing demonstrations of loyalty among the citizens of Missouri; but
he declares that if the rebel spies shall again attempt to destroy the railroads
the original sentences shall be carried out.
GENERAL SCOTT TO GO TO MEXICO.
General Scott was
nominated to the Senate as Minister Extraordinary to Mexico, with functions such
as he exercised in the pacification of the Northwestern Boundary question. A
project of a treaty, substantially assuming the Mexican debt due to England,
France, and Spain, the interest on which amounts to three millions a year, was
also sent to the Senate. The treaty guarantees our payment of it for five years.
A LETTER FROM SECRETARY STANTON.
The following letter is published
in the New York Tribune:
"SIR,—I can not suffer undue
merit to be ascribed to my official action. The glory of our recent victories
belongs to the gallant officers and soldiers that fought the battles. No share
of it belongs to me.
"Much has recently been said of
military combinations and organizing victory. I hear such phrases with
apprehension. They commenced in infidel France with the Italian campaign, and
resulted in Waterloo. Who can organize victory? Who can combine the elements of
success on the battle-field? We owe our recent victories to the Spirit of the
Lord, that moved our soldiers to rush into battle, and filled the hearts of our
enemies with terror and dismay. The inspiration that conquered in battle was in
the hearts of the soldiers and from on high; and wherever there is the same
inspiration there will be the same results. Patriotic spirit, with resolute
courage in officers and men, is a military combination that never failed.
"We may well rejoice at the
recent victories, for they teach us that battles are to be won now and by us in
the same and only manner that they were ever won by any people, or in any age,
since the days of Joshua, by boldly pursuing and striking the foe. What, under
the blessing of Providence, I conceive to be the true organization of. victory
and military combination to end this war, was declared in it few words by
General Grant's message to General Buckner—'I propose to move immediately on
your works!' Yours truly, EDWIN M. STANTON."
DEATH OF THE PRESIDENT'S SON.
The President's son, William, ten
years of age, was relieved of his painful illness, after a delirium of 90 hours,
by death, at five o'clock on 20th ult.
Mr. Lincoln feels his loss very deeply.
THE BRITISH SMUGGLERS SENT SOUTH.
The British Consul at
has had the assurance to send the crew of the British steamer Fingal, which ran
the blockade, to Fortress Monroe, in order that they might come North. General
Wool very properly sent them back the way they came.
THE QUEEN'S SPEECH.
THE British Parliament met in
session on the 6th of February. The Queen's speech was read by royal commission,
her Majesty being absent in consequence of the death of Prince Albert. The
reference to the American question, in this State paper, must be considered as
friendly. Ministers make the Queen say, "That question has been satisfactorily
settled by the restoration of the passengers to British protection, and by the
disavowal by the United States Government of the act of violence committed by
their naval officer. The friendly relations between her Majesty and the
President of the United States are therefore unimpaired." The Queen-or rather,
her speech—also sets forth that the general condition of Great Britain is
"sound," although "some branches of industry" have endured "pressure and
THE STATE PAPERS ON RELATIONS
The Palmerston Cabinet have
submitted to Parliament voluminous State papers on the subject of England's
diplomatic course, down to December last, during the American war crisis.
Judging from the portions of these documents now printed, we must arrive at the
conclusion that the Government had all the time a salutary dread of being
involved in war with the United States, in consequence of the commission of some
act—underhand or overt—of active sympathy with the Southern rebels, and that the
English ministers had determined to wheedle, to prevaricate, and even endeavor
to intimidate, Mr. Lincoln from time to time, hoping that eventually the
"fortune of arms" would be with the rebels, and then the Queen could and would
recognize them. Indeed,
Earl Russell used the above very remarkable words in a
conversation which he had with Messrs. Yancey, Mann, and Rost on the subject.
MEXICO TO BE MADE A MONARCHY.
The news relative to the
intentions of the allied European governments toward Mexico is very significant.
The Archduke Maximilian, of Austria, having accepted the offer of a throne, it
was immediately announced in London and Paris that the provisions of the first
tripartite treaty-for the collection of debts-do not satisfy the attesting
Powers, and the London Post proclaims that the armies of France and Spain, with
the consent of England, are to immediately march into the city of Mexico,
extinguish the republican executive in substance and form, and then present
Mexico to the world as a "constitutional monarchy." England is to garrison Vera
Cruz and guard the Gulf of Mexico in the mean time.
THE "TUSCARORA" AND THE
The Tuscarora left Cowes on the
6th ultimo, and held to the westward. The Nashville had forty hours' start of
her. The crew of
the Nashville made a great many declarations of their
determination to resist capture by a Union vessel, even to the extent of blowing
up their ship.