The New York Herald Newspaper, March 17, 1862, Page 4

4 NEW YORK HERALD. JAMES GORDON BENNETT, EDTOK AND PROPRIETOR OFFICE N. W. CORNER OF FULTON AND NASSAU STS. PERS cash é advanen, Money sent ty mait will beatthe sige the ‘som “None tut Bank bills current in New Yors DHE DAILY HERALD. two centsver copy. ST per annum. THE WEEKLY HERALD, every Saturaay, at sizcants par aeutle porsoys i por games bo ony pert of Great Beta a copy: nem 6 ‘part reat Br |Gr 8013 to-any part oF the Gontinent, both te fucturte postaje; the mes Betton othe Lat, 1th amd Bat a” each month, atsis ents per covy, or $2 73 per annum. Tuk be nigh HEMALD, on Wednesday, at four eents per . oF $2 wer anmuan s OHO LUN TARY CORRESPONDEN CE, containing important pach solicited from any quarter of the world; used, willba Mberitly pid Jor. Hegr OOR FOREIGN CORRRSPONDENTS 4% PARTICULANLY REQUESTED TO BEAL ALL ‘axb Pack: ‘GPS SENT UB Volume XXVIII. AMUSEMENTS THIS EVENING. NIBLO'S GARDEN, Broadway.—Macic Saint COLLEEN Baws WINTER GARDEN, Broadway.—Taz Bsuix oF THE BKAsos. ere owmnacwe THEATRE, No. $44 Broadway.—Tux Love HAS. LAURA KEENE'S THEATRE, Broadway.—Tez Ma- Carty; or, tue Peer or Day. NEW BOWERY THEATRE. Bowery.—Bxiax Boromms Co-Leax BORNE—SUPPIAN LOY. BOWERY THEATRE, Bowery.—Stickxer’s Natiowan ‘Cincus. ao PROVOSI'S THEATRE, 435 Broadway—Ricaanp BARNUM'S AMERICAN MUSEUM, Broadway.—Cox Norr—Lyving Hirrororamus, Waate, fo.. at all hours.— Sapak AND KALANabs, afternoon and vvening. Way.—Down 1¥ OLp K-¥-Ky. HOOLEY'S MINSTRELS, Stuyvesant Institute, No, 659 Broadway.—Ermioriay Sosas, Daxces. aa. NIBLO’S SALOON, B MELODEON CONCER! Dancxs, Bunnrsques, dc. —GorrscmaLx's Concer rr. » 539 Broadway.—Soncs, NTRABAND CONVENTION. CANTERBURY MUSIC HALL, 535 Broadway.~Sonas Dances, BuRLESQUES, 40.—INavGCRATION Bate GAIETIES CONCERT ROOM, 616 Broadway.—Drawina Loom ENtT&RTaInMENTS, BaLigts, Pantomrmxs, Fances, 4c. AMERICAN MUSIC HALL, 444 Broadway.—Jzatot Dawanr—Raizxoad—CoLiision-lory seieae ee CRYSTAL PALACE CONCERT HALL, No. 45 Bowery.— Bua.esques, Songs, Dances, &0.— Two Crowns. i PARISIAN CABINET OF WOND! Broadway. Open daily trom 1A M.UOE ME es O88 Broadway. NOVELTY MUSIC HALL, 616 | = aXoY (USIO HALL, 616 Broadway.—Bunzasquss New York, Monday, March 17, 1862. THE SITUATION. The Address of General McClellan has been received with the greatest delight and enthusiasm by the whole army, and by the people in Washing- ton generally. It appears that everything which the rebels could destroy in their retreat was consumed. The Btorehouses at Manassas, with a large quantity of flour, were burned, and the Warrenton station, together with the hotel and five or six dwellings. ‘The bridge over Cedar creek, two miles north of Warrenton, was burned down, and & freight train of fifty-two cars, loaded with commissary stores worth $20,000, was set on fire at Thoroughfare station, twelve miles from Manassas, on the road to Winchester, but were rescued from destruction by our troops before they were consumed. 3 The rebels are said to be strengthening the for- tifications at Fredericksburg with the utmost speed. Allthe negroes in the vicinity are being riven in to assist in the work, and the white resi- tents are being impressed as soldiers. We learn from Fortress Monroe that the rebels re evidently intimidated by the presence of the ‘onitor; and the constant passing to and fro of «acir steamers from Sewall’s Point to Norfolk, for the last few days, indicates the fact that they re- gard the former place as untenable while the Moni- tor lies in Hampton Roads, and that they are re- moving the troops and munitions of war to some Point on the Nansemond river. The frigate Cum- berland, which was sunk by the terrible attack of the rebel monster Merrimac, still keeps her masts above water, and the Stars and Stripes are yet flying at the masthead of the lost frigate. Our correspondence from the Lower Potomac to-day contains some highly interesting details of the late evacuation of the rebel batteries in that neighborhood and the operations of our vessels at Aquia creek. We give in another column a Sac simile plan of the batteries on the Lower Potomac, picked up by some of our troops in the rebel camp. We give some further particulars of the battle at Pea Ridge, Arkansas. The rebels, it ia said, had thirty-five thousand menin the field, among whom were twenty-two hundred Indians under Albert Pike. The rebels acknowledge a loss of eleven hundred killed and nearly three thsusand wounded. Our loss was six hundred killed and from eight hundred to one thousand wounded. We took sixteen hundred prisoners and thirteen Pieces of cannon. In reply to a corres- Pondence from the rebel General Van Dorn to General Curtis, asking permission to bury the dead at the battle of Pea Ridge, the latter states that, although he grants the permission re- quired, he regrets to find that many of the Union soldiers wha fell in that battle were tomakawked, scalped anf otherwise shamefully mangled, con- trary to the rules of civilized warfare, and ex- Presses tho hope that the present struggle may “not degenerate into a savage warfare. The In- “dians of Mr. Pike's command are doubtless re- sponsible for the hideous tomahawking and sealp- ing business. By way of St. Louis, last night we learn that the forces of Generals Smith, McClernand, Sherman, Wallace and Hurlbut, had arrived at Savannah, Tennessee. The force of the rebels in the vicinity was variously stated at from 30,000 to 100,000 men. The division of General Lewis Wallace advanced on Saturday to Purdy, in McNairy county, and iurned the bridge and tore up the track of the rullroad leading from Humboldt to Corinth, Missis- «ipl, cutting offa train laden with rebel troops. MISCELLANEOUS NEWS. Ry the arrival of the steamer Ariel we have in- teresting news from the Isthmus of Panama. The intelligence from the United States of Columbia is very important. Mosquera, with a large force, was @dvancing upon Antioquia, and great excitemen* Prevailed. Large bodies of guerillas had entered Bogota and devastated the city, seizi ig the patri- ptic crown of Bolivar, among other things. A de- cree giving full protection to foreign property had been promulgated by Mosquera, Cuanal’s entire army had been cut in pieces. Three other Vene- suelan provinces, besides Maracaibo, had declared their independence and given their adhesion to the Columbian Union. An attack on © a taktens as faracas was Regla, died at Panama, of dysentery, on the 18th of February. A very serious accident, caused by the breaking of a rail, occurred on the Hudson River Railroad, on Saturday, by which five of our noble volunteers, belonging to the Ninety-fourth New York regi- ment, on their way to the seat of war, were killed, nd several others severely injured. The bodies of the killed were immediately returned home, and the wounded brought to this city and placed in the hospital, where they will be tenderly cared for until fully recovered. A full account of the accident, with a list of the killed and injured, will be found elsewhere. We publish in our paper this morning the pro- gramme showing the manner in which it is pro- posed to celebrate the return of the anniversary of the birthday of the patron saint of Ireland. The United States steamship Saranac arrived at Panama on the 3d inst. The British steamships Clio and Termagant, and the French corvette Galate and stcamer Casini were in that port the same date. Among the rebel commissioned officers taken at Fort Donelson and now confined at Camp Chase, Ohio, there are:— Clerks... Planters. Teachers. rere Mechanics. Physicians. ele sia According to a report made to the Adjutant General of Virginia it appears that the whole num ber of men drafted in cne of the districts was two thousand one hundred and two; but of this number only five hundred and sixty-one were obtained. The report says:— Reported themselves... Failed to report...... Government em 1 hi exeipt Physicaily disabled... Euxiployed substitutes. Confederate States officers, exempt. Virginia State officers, exempt. Employed on railroads, exemp' Police officers, exempt. . Firemen, exempt..... Bank officers, exempt. is Ministers, exempt..... IT Our armies have reclaimed one hundred and fifty- five thousand square miles of territory that one year ago were either in open rebellion or bordering on revolution. The Kentucky Legislature will adjourn to-day, to meet again on the 24th of November. We learn that the government had paid the cost of the construction of the iron gunboat Monitor previous to her leaving this port, with the excep. tion of twenty-five per cent, which was reserved asa guarantee that she should perform as repre- sented. She has performed. Twelve canal propellers are building at Rome, N. Y., torun on the Erie canal and North river, between that place and New York city. William Leffingwell Foote, aged thirteen years, second son af Commodore Foote, United State, Navy, Flag Officer of the Mississippi gunboats, died of scarlet fever at his father’s residence in New Haven on the 14th inst. Judge George W. Miller is up for Governor of Missouri. Sample Orrand James H. Birch are also candidates. The salt works in Onondaga county, N. Y., manufactured last year 7,200,391 bushels of salt— 1,884,697 bushels of which was the product of solar evaporation, and the balance of artificial heat. The State duties for the year was $72,000, and the expenses incurred by the State was $45,000. ‘Wall street was quiet on Saturday; there was no sensa_ tion and no news of any kind, though every one seems to supposo we are on the eve of startling events. Stocks were steady, the Erie shares and bonds being active at an advance. Money was easier and exchange lower, bankers bills being sold at 11134. The specie export of the day was $237,070. ‘The extreme inclomency of the weather on Saturday, interfered with the activity in some branches of trade. The cotton market was quiet, and sales moderato, having reached, in small lots, about 340 bales on the basis o¢ about 27¢c. for middling uplands. Good middlings were scarce, and held at 29c. a 30c. The flourmarket was without change of moment, and the sales moderate, and chiefly made to the home trade. Wheat was firmly held, while the market was inactive and sales limited. Corn was easier, while sales were tolerably active, closing at 5834c. a 0c. for Western mixed. Pork was in some bet- tor requess and firmer, with sales of new mess at $13 75 a $13 8744, and at $10 75 9 $10 873; for new prime. Su. gars were steady, while tho sales embi 742 hhds. Cubas at full prices. Coffee was quiet, and no sales of moment reported. Freights wero steady, while engago- monte were moderate, ‘The Order of the Day. Major General McClellan, commanding in person the Grand Army of the Potomac, has issued, from his headquarters at Fairfax Court House, the following brief, stirring, Napoleonic Order of the Day, which we republish from our edition of yesterday:— ‘Soupmes oF THE ARMY OF THE PoToMAc:— For @ long time I have kept you inactive, but not without a purpore. You wére to bo disciplined, armed avd instructed. The formidable artillery you now have had to be created. Otner armies were to move and accomplish certain results. Ihave held you brck that you might give the death blow to the rebellion that has distracted our once happy country. ‘The patience you have shown, and your confidence in your General, aro worth a dozen victories. These pre. liminary results are uow accomplished. I feel that the Patient labors of many months have produced their fruit. The Army of the Potomac is now a real army, ‘magnificont in matorial, admirable in discipline and in- struction, and excellontly equipped and armed. Your commanders are all that I could wish. The moment for action has arrived, and Tknow that Ican trust in you to save our country, AsI ride through your rauks I seo in your faces the sure prostige of victory. I feel that you will do whatever I ask of you. The period of inaction has pased. Iwill bring you now face to face with the rebels, and only pray that God may defend the right ! In whatever direction you may move, however straago my actions may appear to you,ever bear in mind that my fate is linked with yours, and that all I do is to bring you where I kaow you wish to be—on the decisive battle field. It is my business to place you there. I am to watch over you as a parent over his childron, and you know that your General loves you from tho depths of his heart. It shall be my care—it bas over bean—to Sain success with the least possible loss. But I know that, if it is necessary, you will willingly follow me to our graves for our righteous cause. God smiles upon us! * Victory atiends us! Yot 1 would not have you think that our aim is to be obtained with- out a manly struggle. Twill not disguise ft from you, that you have brave foos to cncounter—foemen well worthy of the steol that you will use so well. I shall demand of you groat, horoic exertions, rapid and long marches, desperate combats, privations, perhaps. We will share all those togother,and when this sad war is over wo will return to our homes, and feol that we can ask no higher honor than the proud consciousness tha! we belonged to the Army of the Potomac! GEO. B. McCLELLAN, Major General Commanding. This terse, emphatic, patriotic address quick- ens the blood like the call of a trumpet. Is- sued from the headquarters recently occupied by the retreating enemy, it is itself an earnest of the victories it predicts. It will inspire the army with invincible ardor, the nation with renewed confidence, the world with adiniration. It points onward to victory. It demonstrates that all apparent inaction has been in fact the organization of success. It foretells the conclusion and the result of this sad civil war To the army it says: Forward! You shall soon be face to face with the enemy! To the coun- try it oxplains the hotves of past preparation, the gauses of the present advane?, the certaint of ultimale triumph. To the world it anabunces that our generals and our soldiers have no other object but to conquer peaee, no other ambition but to save the Union, no other desite but to return to the homes which patriotism dap forged them to leaye (or the battle fed, NEW YORK HERALD, MONDAY, MARCH 17 1862. Thus this comprehensive order not only in- spires our soldiers with enthusiagm and nerves them for heroic exertions, fatiguing marches, desperate combats and hard privations, but it alike rebukes those fanatics who complain of past inaction, and those Europeans who de- clare that the issue of this war is uncertain and its probable finale a military despotisia. When McClellan took command the Army of the Potomac was to be disciplined, armed and instructed. It is now ready for action, “a real army,” admirably disciplined, excellently arm- ed and equipped. That heavy artillery, which Napoleon declared omnipotent, was to be pre- pared. Itis now supplied, and is magnificent in material and formidable in numbers. The armies led by Halleck, McClernand, Wool, Buell, Thomas, Grant, Mitchell, Banks, Smith, Schoepff, Curtis, Sigel, Pope, T. W. Sher- man, Burnside, Rosecrans, Lander, Mulligan, Canby and Geary, and the fleets and gun- boats under Dupont, Goldsborough, Stringham, McKean, Farragut, Porter, Ward and Wor den, had their preparatory work to do in Mis- souri, Kentucky, Tennessee, Western Virginia, Arkansas, North Carolina, Georgia, Mississippi, South Carolina and New Mexico, and their re. sults had to be accomplished before the Army of the Potomac could move to complete the plan. Now these results are attained, and McClellan moves. His armies have encir cled rebellion like the coils of an anacon™ da, and now, like the head of the serpent, the Army of the Potomac strikes the death blow. The abolitionists need no longer search in vain to find the master mind which has organized victory. They may read his name signed to this Order of the Day. General McClellan an” nounces, what we have always claimed, that he alone has devised the great cam- paign which is to annihilate treason; has planned those preliminary results which the nation so heartily applauded; has held back his favorite division that it might be led by himself to glory; has so arranged his plans that, under his own command, the Army of the Potomac shall win the decisive battle, to which all others have been but preparatory, and which will save the country. Whether the rebels make a stand upon the line of the Rap- pahannock and Rapidan, or whether, dispirited and demoralized, the rebel army retreats and dissolves, is now of but little moment. The General who asked of us confidence and pa- tience now announces our speedy reward. The nation endorses the promise that hence- forward there shall be no higher grade of honor than that of a soldier of the Army of the Potomac. Promotion or Genera, Woot.—We learn by intelligence from Washington, which we pub. lished yesterday, that in the executive session of the Senate on Friday afternoon a strong feel- ing was manifested in favor of placing General Wool in a more important position than he now occupies, and involving more active and com- prehensive duties. This feeling was developed, it is said, in a marked manner during the dis- cussion upon the confirnMion of Major General McDowell. The truth is, that not only in Washington, but throughout the country, has the feeling been universal for a long time that General Wool is entitled to the position of Major General, and to the opportunity of active service in the field. He is only a Brevet Major General, an honorary title conferred upon him for distinguished services in the Mexican war- That title does not enable him to rank with Major Generals in the field. We think he de- serves such promotion, not only from his long military experience and fidelity to the govern- ment, but for his efficient and judicious dis- charge of his duties since he assumed command at Fortress Monroe. No military blunder has since happened in that district. General Wool is better entitled to the full rank of Major General in the army than some who have been promoted to that position. No one will pretend to compare his military capacity with that of Fremont. Justice, as well as expediency, de- mands that he should receive the appointment without delay. Tue Reversion 1s Sovruery Feeuo.— Hitherto wherever our troops have penetrat- ed into the territory recently included in Rebeldom, whether Tennessee or Virginia, the people have taken to flight at our first approach. They had been told that our army would confiscate their property and free their slaves, and that they themselves would be given over to the worst passions of an infuriated and unbridled soldiery. No wonder, therefore, that the poor, deluded people fled when the Union forces marched into their cities. But when they saw that our men acted, as all the Union troops have done, like gentlemen, respecting persons and property, and protecting instead of destroying, and so presenting a remarkable contrast to the lawless and riotous conduct of their own troops, they saw that what had been told them was untrue, and with returning confi- dence they returned themselves, bringing with them their slaves and whatever other property they had taken away with them in their flight. Those who have returned feel perfect security, and their example is being followed by the remainder, who are flocking back to their homes without the slightest apprehension of danger. This has resulted in a great revul- sion of feeling among tho Southern people. They begin to seo that we are not the monsters that the rebel leaders represented us to be, and the Union sentiment is spreading and develop- 's| ing itself with groat rapidity, and there is every sign that this rebellion is on the verge of breaking down as suddenly as it appeared to springup. Even the rebel newspapers as- sist us to this conclusion; and that the great bulk of the people are sick and tired of the war and its consequences, and would rejoice to be again at peace under the protection of the flag of the Union, we have abundant testimony from all quarters. Ovr Guxnoats—A number of wooden gun- boats are now being constructed for the gov- ernment by an order of an old date. Recent events point out the necessity of having them cased with iron, and the same remark applies to all our old vessels-of-war which are strong enough or capable of being sufficiently strength- ened to bear the iron armor. The Western op- position to a powerful navy is completely overcome by the achievements of our gunboats in the waters of the Mississip i, Tennessee and the Camberland, and there Will be little dim- culty ‘how In cartying the measure we sug- gest through Congress. Let it be taken up at once. Anticies Omrrrep in THe Tax Birt—Coal and lager beer, articles of very general con- sumption, and which would bring @ large re- venue, te the gavexamenb ‘ 94 aM ' The Lesson of New Madrid, The evacuation of New Madrid conveys $ lesson of great significance. Itis @ fatal symp- tom of the breaking up of the rébellion—a patent fact of its speedy dissolution. New Madrid was the last stronghold in Missouri. On Saturday we learned by official des- patches from Generals Pope and Halleck that, after several days skirmishing and a number of attempts by the gunboats of the enemy to dis- lodge General Pope's batteries, the rebels evacuated the forts and intrenchments at New Madrid, leaving all their heavy artillery, field pieces, tents, wagons, mules and military stores. Nowhere now in Missouri floats the Confederate flag. It may have been a military necessity to abandon this strong position, after recent events in Kentucky and Tennessee. But to leave all the heavy artillery and field pieces, consisting of twenty-five rifled twenty-four- pounders of the former kind, and thirty-two batteries of field pieces, being two hundred and seventeen guns in all, together with several thousand small arms, so much needed by the rebel confederacy, an immense quantity of cannon ammunition, hundreds of boxes of musket cartridges, three hundred mules, tents for an army of twelve thousand men, and other property estimated as worth a million of dol- lars, is something not so easily explained, un- less upon the hypothesis of a complete caving in of the rebellion and the utter demoralization of the disheartened troops. It is stated that, being surrounded by the Union army, and fearing an assault at daylight, just as in the case of Fort Donelson, the rebels escaped unperceived across the river in the night, during a violent thunder storm. Their force has been variously estimated at from 6,000 to 15,000 men. In escaping capture they have done somewhat better, owing to the lucky accident ofa thunder storm, than the Fort Donelson men; but the result is not very different. For all the use these dispersed and disorganized troops ever will be to the rebel cause, they might as well have been taken prisoners. They are without arms and ammunition, and it is evident they had no confidence in themselves or their leaders; otherwise they would not have fled without a struggle. To surrender or fly, leav- ing their arms behind, seems to be now the order of the day with the rebels. At Port Royal, Roanoke, Fort Henry, Fort Donel- son, Fernandina, Brunswick, Columbus, Bowl- ing Green, Nashville, Manassas, Winches- ter, and on the Lower Potomac, this has been the case,and now it again occurs at New Ma- drid. If the Confederates saved their cannon they might retrieve their fortunes; but without artillery what could the bravest troops do against the formidable batteries with which the insurgents will now have to contend. It is evident that there is a great scarcity of all kinds of arms at the South. The shotguns in the hands of the troops are about as numerous as rifles and muskets, and so scarce are the lat- ter that at Florence the recruits were com- pelled to drill with wooden muskets, a speci. men of which we have in our office. Cannon of the same material were found on the forti- fications at Centreville. Among the guns found in the rebel batteries of the Lower Potomac was an Armstrong cannon, which was imported from England to Savannah, and brought thence to Virginia—a proof that cannon are far from abundant in Rebeldom. Owing to their hope of European intervention to break the blockade, if not to go greater lengths, the rebel govern- ment appear to have manufactured few cannon or small arms of late, expecting to get all they needed from abroad. Notwithstanding, there- fore, the number of arms of all kinds stolen by Floyd, that big thief did not steal enough; they have no time now to manufacture any, and they cannot get a supply from Europe. Their want of arms alone, therefore, would defeat them, if there were no other causes in operation to con- tribute to that regult. Truly did Jeff. Davis say that they attempted too much. A battle in Virginia, if thg insurgents will fight, will be the finishing aot ia is a Terx,Asovt.—When the American rebellion broke out all revolutionary schemes in Europe were instantly suspended. The gigantic pro- portions of the movement, and its far spread- ing consequences, paralyzed all minor enter- prises of a similar character. Now that our troubles are coming to an end, we may expect to see revolutions cropping up everywhere abroad. The reactionary movements in Naples, the restlessness of Hungary, the angry politi- cal differences between the German govern- ments, and the fierceness of the debates of which the French Senate has recently been the theatre, reminding one of the impassioned con- troversies in the Chambers which preceded the fall of Louis Philippe, all indicate that the temporary lull which the American rebellion had caused in national and party conflicts in Europe is rapidly approaching a termination The Mexican imbroglio will not serve very long asa safety valve for the animosities which are being industriously fomented between England and France by the French democrats. The prompt suppression of the rebellion here, and the consideration that we shall soon have an army of nearly a million of men unemployed, will render both Powers but too glad to back out of it. They will have enough to do at home to protect themselves against the efforts of the red republicans, who are again every- where actively fanning the embers of the revo- lutionary fires which have slumbered since 1848, This time England will probably come in for her share of the trouble. Slow in every- thing, she may be the last to catch the revolu- tionary fever, but the sufferings of her popula- tion are such that she cannot hope to be ex- empted from it. The meed of sympathy which she has given us in our misfortunes we need not say will be returned to her, “ measure for measure.” Tux Coxprriox or tie Staeers—Now that the season of frost and snow has gone by, we expected that the contractor for street cleaning would make up for his past inaction by remov- ing the accumulations of the winter from the public thoronghfares, But instead of doing this he has merely loosened the masses of ice here and there, and left them to obstruct the public traffic, greater obstacles than before, til they melt away. This will probably occur in the course of a month, and meanwhile the streets will be kept wet and dirty by the gradual thawing of these piles and boulders of ice and snow. We submit that it is, or ought to be, the duty of the contractor to cart all these away in the same manner that he is re- quired to do ashes and other rubbish. What is the use of paying for street, cleaning if th * eota are not gleaned? : Pesiic Taxation anp Paival® Exrenpi- TURE—For nearly a year we have béda tributing by taxation anything towards the cost, The national credit has thus far amply sufficed to provide the necessary means; but on the Ist of May next the new Tax bill is to come into operation, and we shall then expe- rience the novelty of being really taxed. Schedules will be left at our houses or offices, which we shall have to fill up with the particu- lars regarding our incomes and real and per- sonal property, together with the names and salaries of our clerks, if we have any, and as much besides as may come within the scope of the bill. We shall have to pay three per cent upon our annual income, less six hundred dol- lars. Our gold watch will act as a perpetual reminder that we pay a tax of a dollar a year for the privilege of wearing it; our billiard table, if we keep one, will add to its original cost twenty dollars a year; and we shall other- wise begin to feel that we have arrived at the dignity of a national debt. We shall not grum- ble at the change, however. Taxation will never be so popular as ours. Every man will pay with patriotic willingness the cost of pre. serving our national integrity against the great conspiracy which we are now so rapidly and decisively defeating. We anticipate that there will be few or no attempts at evading the provisions of the bill, and that the effect of the latter upon individual incomes will be hardly perceptible. That it may lead to the curtailment of extravagance in living we think highly probable; but this is of itself highly desirable. We have been too long given to wasteful habits, and whatever measure is likely to check the evil and encourage mode- ration and thrift is to be commended. A vul- gar love of display has been, and is still, one of our social weaknesses; and if the new Tax bill leads us to improve our taste in that re- spect, as we think it will, who can deny that it will be productive of much national good. Re- trenchment in superfluitics will be the order of the day, and it is to be hoped that our wives and daughters will be the first to set and the last to withhold the example. That the uses of tax- ation will not be confined to social life, but ex- tend to every branch of the government sor~ vice, we have little doubt; for, with alarge na- tional debt’ to pay off, a more general interest will be taken by our influential citizens in the political welfare of the country, and we shall be more careful than we have been hitherto as to whom we elect to represent us. The salutary effects of taxation are thus likely to be very widely felt, and we may congratulate our- selves on the prospect before us. Tae DemoraLizep Conpition or THE REBEL CaritaL.—The Richmond journals tell us enough about the deplorable condition of that city to show that it is a hotbed of vice and a perpetual scene of disorder. They remind us that before the beginning of the war it was the most quiet and orderly city of its size in America; that its streets were as silent at night as those ofa village; that not a sound was to be heard save the deep roar of the river as it rushed over the falls. But since then a change has come over the capital of the Old Dominion; and such a change! The old population has been ob- scured by the vast influx of people from all ends of the confederacy, and these have brought with them such an amount of ruffianism, blood- shed and drunkenness as perhaps never before darkened any city in the world. Martial law may have done something to improve this con- dition of things; but Richmond affords us a good example of the fruits of rebellion. The same demortlization prevails, more or leas, wherever that flaunting lie, the rebel flag, is still to be scen, and a moral pestilence and the plague of tyranny overshadow the once sunny South. The Southern people now begin to see the suicidal folly of the ee haa yey may it be said by thejr léading journals that the murmurings of discontent are becoming general, and that many are despairing of the end, and even anxiowis tg renew their alle- ‘=<. Sasges te fiance 10 an eo at Wushington. The days of the rebellion are fortunately numbered, and the people of the South have cauaé ic Te- joice at the prospect of being released from a condition of anarchy and ruin. Wooven Mcskets.—We have received, with the following letter from our Cairo correspon- dent, a rude imitation, in wood, of a musket, the barrel painted green, and the stock being a dirty brown, with a green butt. It has no lock, trigger, ramrod or nipple, and bears about the same relation to an ordinary fowling piece that a scarecrow does to a human being:— Caio, fil. March 5, 1862. James G. Benet, Esq. :— Six—The accompanying ffondescript was captured by our gE at Fiorenco, Alabama, on the 11th of last month. It is one of about eight hundred seized, and was usod by the rebels, in the absence of genuine arms, for drilling purposes. Commodore Foote bas presented one to the Governor of each loyal State, and desires me to presont this to you, with his compliments. Tam glad that the flag I sent you to presont to the city of New York, from Colonel Morgan L. Smith, has been received and presented. Colonel Smith desires me to thank you for taking the trouble you have in duly pro- (ope it, and says ho will endesvor soon to secure one for I The mere fact that the rebels have had to re- sort to such an odd contrivance in drilling their recruits shows that their supply of small arms must be unequal to their requirements; but, necessity being the mother of invention, they have made wood answer where steel was wanting. Asa curiosity of secession it is al- most as interesting as the flag of the “ Black- land Gideonites,” which was sent to us for pre- sentation to the city a few days ago. As there are eight hundred of these timber dummies on their way to the loyal States, the public Byne- rally may soon have an opportunity of seeing with what manner of guns the rebels teach the young idea how to shoot. Postat Facturrres—We are glad to observe that the Post Oflice Department is ready to es- tablish, as soon as Congress shall give the au- thority, the free, delivery of letters in cities, with aniform rates of postage for local and general letters. This is an improvement in our postal system of which we are much in need, and it will doubtless be fully appreciated by the public, an le contributing to the gene- ral convenience, Mave considerable effect ia in- creasing the business of the department. At present there are so many drawbacks attending the employment of the Post Office, especiaty } in the transmission of city letters, that the com- mercial and social intercourse of the commu- nity is seriously affected thereby. The people of all sections of the Union would be brought into closer relations by such a system as that which prevails in England, and we hope that it will not be long before the Post Office in Ameri- qa Will become as popular an institution as it varry- out for’ 1 ing on a great war without indtvidually con- | as he woul —___ > eae is in yvagland, where almost every one looke hig Jaily bateh of letters as regularly fo.” his breakfast. Tam Taneares XD D=STHLCTION OF THE Cor. TON AND Tozacco Ci0%S-—Tne Febel Congress, in passing @ bill makin,” #¢ the diity of tall mili- tary commanders in the se. "Vice of the Sonfede- rate States to destroy all Cotton, tobaccd or other property which could be of use to the North, whenever, in their judgmen* they likely to fall into our hands, have plewned am outrage upon the civilized world, which, if ear- ried into execution, will brand the leaders of the rebellion with fresh infamy, and consign to still more hopeless ruin the people who have been drawn to take part in this gigantic con- spiracy to dissolve the Union. The desperate resolve of the desperate men who have staked their all, present and future, upon the success of this unholy revolt against the federal autho- rity, may be ranked with the worst acts of the Goths and Vandals, It is an atrocious design, worthy of the bridge burners, and shows an un- limited appetite for wanton destruction. The Jacobins of France were never actuated by @ worse spirit than the ringleaders of this rebel- lion, who would destroy everything and sacri- fice every interest of those around them for the sake of aiding their own diabolical ends. What will be thought of such a scheme of destruction in Europe we well know. It will excite, as it deserves, general disgust and indig- nation, and show to the world what manner of men the rebel leaders really are. Yet these are the individuals who held out to the South the prospect of a better state of things than existed under the protecting sway.of the Union. Not content with devastating the land by the sword, they wish to lay it waste by fire, and so consume the last vestiges of the substance of those who have been forced to drift with the tide into the sea of troubles in which they at present find themselves. But it is to be hoped that our troops will be able to prevent the per- petration 6f this barbarous crime, and capture before the hand of the destroyer has time to burn. For the sake of civilization, we trust that the evil designs of these traitors will be frustrated. NEWS FROM WASHINGTON. ‘Wasutraron , March 16, 1862. MAJOR GENERAL HITCHCOCK CALLED TO WASHINGTON. General E, A, Hitchcock, who recently declined the appointment of Major General of Volunteers, was sum- moned here from St. Louis some days ago, when ho was visited by Mr. Stanton, the Secretary of War. What transpired at the interview has not been announced; but it was of sufficient importance to tho interests of the country to induce General Hitchoock to reconsider his declination of the Major Generalahip. Waiving all con: siderations of a personal naturo, he consented to accept the appointment. After this he left for New York, but was almost immediately ordered to roport himself to the President. He arrived on Friday, and will now have his permanent place here. Though Secretary Camoron had nearly deprived the country of one of its oldest and ablost military commanders, yet it is now a source of sa- tisfaction to know that the President and Secrotary Stanton bave near them one whose military judgment cannot bus be of the greatest possible advantage at this time. THE ADDRESS OF GENERAL M’CLELLAN TO THE ARMY OF THE POTOMAC AND ITS EFFECT. ‘The promulgation of tho address of General McClellan to the Army of the Potomac has occasioned intonse dolight here. It has aroused the enthusiasm, not only of the rank and file of the army, but among the masses of the people, These demonstrations have greatly chagrined and terrified the fanatical faction that have boen barking at the heels of the Commanding Genoral. The indignation against these mischief makers in this community is daily increasing. Tho Northorn teaitors and their aiders and abettora shrink from the further prosecution of their schemes, The folly of their attempts to detract from tho morit or the high position of General McClellan is apparont to all nfen of sense, who know that it is in the power of the General at any moment to refute all their falsehoods by the simple publication of the military or- ders and instructions issued by him from the time he assumed the duties of General Commanding, THE TAX BILL AND THE PRESSURE ON THE COMMITTEE ii OF WAYS AND MEANS, Toviay han baum dygjed B® Een! meqrare fo lobby work upon the Tax bill. Delegations are here from w+ Now York Chamber of Commerce and the Boston and Philadelphia Boards of Trade, in consultation with the Committeo of Ways and Means and other mombers of Congress. The drug interest is powerfully represented, and the effects of the bill upon patent medicines are feelingly sot forth by them. They have prepared a me- morial showing that the proj taxation will raise the pric’ of pfOprictary medicines from ong hyndred to two hundred and fifty per cent, and that their trade will pay directly and indirectly under the bili, seven millions and seven hundred and fifty thousand dol- lars, while tho banks and savigs institations pay only eight hundred thousand dollars. The manufacturing in- terests of New England aro laboring with the committee. They complain that the bill imposes burdens upon pro- duction in opposition to true policy, and they contend that the effect of the tax will be to close a large number of the mills, and ruin much of the industry of tho country; that under the bill taxes will bo accamulated to eight or nine per cent, upon the same article, as it pagses through various processes conducted by different manufacturers; that the highest degree of production is obtained by a division of labor, and to this our manu.” facturing system is pending, but the proposed bill willy it ia claimed, chock this enlightened policy. The framers of the bill believe that tho tax of three per cent will be paid by the purchasers of manufactured articles, but to this tho delegation reply that the prices sometimes fal, while the raw material rises. Hon. Erastus B. Bigelow, of Boston, will present to the committee a plan which he believes will simplify the bill one half. NOTICR TO POSTMASTERS. A notico to postmastors has just been issuea by the First Assistant Postraaster General, as follows:— ‘The Postmaster General has ordered tho blank agency at Cincinnati, Obio, to be transferred to Buffalo, N. Y.,on the Ist of April next. All postmasters now supplied with blanks from Cincinnati will, after that day, send their orders to the blank agont at Buffalo, N. Y., where the printing is executed undor contract, and whence they will be supplied. DEPARTURE OF COLONEL CAMERON'S REMAINS FOR HARRISBURG. Col. Cameron’s body left on this afternoon’s cars for Harrisburg. The bodies of one rebel captaimand also privates, which the enemy in their fight from Man: neglected to bury, were interred on Friday by a detach- ment of our troops. THE MILITARY GOVERNOR OF THR DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, General Wadsworth to-day entered upon his dutics as Military Governor of the District of Columbia, oecuyying tho Provost Marshal's late effice. AN INDEPENDENT STROLL AND ITS PROBABLE CON- SEQUENCES. Lientonant Baum, of the Twenty-seventh Pennsylvania Volunteers, acting as ordnance officer on General Hooker's staff, and John C, Grogg, telegraph operater, wont to tha Virginia side om Tuesday for an independent stroll and ex- ploration of the late rebol camps. They succeeded in pass. ing the Union pickets, and have no doubt been taken, as they have not roturued to their camp, Tho wife of a Union man im the vicinity of Dum/rics reports having soon the rebel scouts passing her house with two pri- soners. Contrabands continuo to come in daily, and report that ory negro who could be, was driven to Fredoricks- burg, there to be employed in the erection of fortifica- tions, while the white population were boing impressed im tho ranks. FEARS OF DISEASE IN WASHINGTON. ‘Tho physicians of this city are boginning to discuat seriously the probable eflects of the dead horses and othor offensive matters around the camps that encircle Washington, It is feared that a miasma will be created jn hot weather by the decaying animal tor, proju- dicial to the health of the Cy eg the army shall have gone Sofith. The Sanitary Commission will bs alled upon to devise some moans for gv oiding (ho evil.