The New York Herald Newspaper, December 4, 1862, Page 4

JAMES GORDON BENNETT, EDITOR AND FROPRIETOR. OPFIOR N. W. CORNER OF FULTON AND NASSAU STS. "ERMS cash én advan veut by mail will be at the | reer the conten “Hone but Bank ‘its Sutrent in New Fork NCE, containing nt VOLUNTARY CORRESP ONDE: YOR, contatads pe mre mewe, soli ‘rom any quarter of Uhera!!) for, g@rOuR Fountcn Cona’s. Onde! az Prnncbliay iinateareo vo Seat ait Lerraus amp Page: es Best 8. “(V0 "NOTICE taken of anonymous correspondence. We do not TED VERTISEMENTS roneced every day én ADVERTIS®MENTS rom ; advertisements in. sorted tn the Wewkiy HeRaLp, and in the California and Eu- ropean Filitons = PRINTING cacouted with neatness, cheapness and des- patch. Volume XXVM. AMUSEMENTS THIS EVENING. pfcananr OF MUSIO, Irving piace.—Mason Jones’ Ora- jon. MIBLO'S GARDEN, Broadway.—Msrsuona, WINTER . Broadway.—Ius.axp As It Was— In anv Our oF PLage—Harrr LAURA KEENB'S THEATRE. Broadway.—Bronperrs NEW BOWERY THEATRE. Bowery,—Soouncs or Da- ‘MASOUS—AtuM rs oF THE Mist—Man Asout Town. BOWERY THEATRE, Bowery.—Rvru—Asraopst—Bor. wun iar, . BARNUM’S AMEKICAN MUSEUM, Broadway.—Dares- ACK S PERFOR 19¢ BRARS—GIANT GtRL, &C,. at all hours, mma, Ice QuEEN's Vow, at 3 and 7% 0 clock P.M, BRYANTS’ MINSTRELS’ Mechanics’ Hall, 472 Broad- way.—KT10riAN SONGS. BURLESQOuS, Daxoes, &c.—HAND A-LO°® BRovnens WOOD'S MINSTREL HALL, 514 Broadway. —Eraioriam Bones, Dances, AC.—FLAT Foor Jaxx. PALACE OF MUSIC, Fourt: Minstaris—Sones, Dances an TRING HALL, Irving place.Tenwss Conor .t. * ANERICAN MUSIC HALL. N: LETS. PANIOMIMES, BURLESQURS, & GALETIES CONCEKT HALL, 615 Broadway.—Daawing Rgow EXreRiaiNwENTS. NOVELTY GALLERY OF A PARISIAN CABINET OF W Open duly rom 10 A. M. th BOOLEY'S OPERA 110U Bones, Dancxs, Bowirsgons &c CONTINENTAL WALL, Patorson.—Geo. Currsty's Min- srreLs. nth strect,—CaMPBELU's Bonisques. Camneyo’s 444 Brondway.—Bat- o. 616 Broadway, NOTICE. On and after Sunday next the price of the Dairy Herawp will be three cents per copy. The price of the Westy Henatp will be two dollars per annam. THE SITUATION. The news from General Burnside’s army is not of vital importance. A cavalry picket, sixty strong, stationed at King George Court House, Va., was attacked early on Tuesday morning by a party of rebels, three hundred strong, who crossed the Rappahannock in small boats between the Court House and Fredericksburg, thereby cutting off the pickets from the main army. Forty out of the sixty men escaped, and others are expected to arrive. Captain Wilson, the commander, is stil] missing. The loss of life on either side is not yet ascertained. Citizens residing in the neighbor hood are known to have been engaged in the contest. General Burnside has issued an order dismissing Captain George Johnston, of the Third Pennsylvania cavalry, for allowing his command to be surprised while on picket. The correspondence, as published in the South- ern papers, from General Sumner to the Mayor and Common Council of Fredericksburg, explains why that city has not been bombarded. A reconnoissance in force was led by General Geary from Harper's Ferry on Tuesday morning, and was reported the same afternoon three miles beyond Charlestown on the Beverley turnpike, en route for Winchester. Further intelligence of their.movements was hourly expected. An expedition sent out by General Peck on Monday from Suffolk, Va., recaptured the celebrat- ed Pittsburg battery, and drove the rebela across the Blackwater at Franklin. Several of the rebels were killed and wanded and over thirty taken prisoners. A brilliant naval affair took place on the 25th of November, near the mouth of the New river, North Carolina, The gunboat Ellis, Lieutenant Cushing commanding, went on an expedition up that river to Onslow, and captured the town, several arms and vessels. When returning the vessel grounded and was fired upon by the rebels. To prevent her from falling into the hands of the enemy the vessel was blown up, the commanding officer himself applying the match, A special despatch from Holly Springs, Miss., to Chicago, reports the evacuation, on the Ist inst., of Tallahatchie and Abbeville by the rebels and the occupation of those places by the Union troops. The rebels are reported falling back to Oxford, Lafayette county, Mississippi. ‘Thénews from the South breathes deeply of re- taliation and prospective heavy fighting. The re- bels demand “an Austerlitz or Jena” before any peace can be obtained. They assert that Sigel is afraid of Jackson, and runs away from him when- ever he or a scouting party of his command ap- pears in his front. An outery is made for the raising or purchasing of an effective navy. The Conscript law is stills subject of contention be- tween Governor Brown, of Georgia, and the rebel | government, and the Lynchburg paper compares the position of that State with Virginia, asserting that Georgia has as yet suffered nothing from the war, Generals Johnston and Polk have joined thoir commands in the West, and’ other generals have recently been sent to new positions. The rebel privateer Alabama was spoken by the Briti#h bark Mary on the 20th of October, in lat. 41, lon. 69 30. The steamships Ruby and Giraffe sailed from | Greenock November 14, for the purpose of running the blockade. EUROPEAN NEWS. By the steamship China, of Cape Race, we have mews from. Europe to the 23d of November— two days later. The news of General McClellan's removal, which had just been received in England, caused a de- pression in American securities. The London Times says that “ McClellan is sac. riticed to political jealousies,” in consequence of the result of the recent State elections,by the party in power, the General “ being known-tobe a con- ve man and opposed to the violent acte of the Executive.” The Times adds thatMcClellan will be regarded as a“ conservative martyr.” The London Army and Navy Gazette saya :— General MoClellan's removal is an executive “ de, fionce to democrat,” and that the moment was fevorable for “ bold Confederate movements,” The London Army and Navy Gasette questions Geooral Huraside’s ability for bis new appoint. ow Tha text of the Rassian note refusing Napoleon's NEW YORK HERALD. | tates rovestion, —— ears ont fully the tele- contents, published in the Henacp a few days since. It was thought in London that Napoleon would renew his offer of mediation to England in more plain end direct terms. Indeed it was said that the Emperor had replied to Earl Russell’s note be- fore the China left Queenstown. The London Saturday Review thinks that the French Emperor has very important movements on foot in connection with his mediation scheme, inyolving even the recognition of the South and the forming of a direct alliance with the new na- tion, in furtherance of his designs in Mexico. A steamship—name unkuown—had left the Mer- sey, with six hundred tons of arms for the rebels. The Liverpool Post says that the ‘No. 290,” re- cently launched in England, is intended for service in China, and not as a rebel vessel. It was reported that a number of fast English steamers had just been sold to parties intending to employ them in running the blockade. The London Times and Post assert that Secro- tary Seward has no right to complain of the action of England in the case of the Alabama. The Paris journals, with the exception of the Moniteur, reproach the English government for its course on the mediation question, and charge the London Cabinet with being influenced by ‘‘dis- creditable motives.’ Tt was said that France was greatly disappointed at the action of Russia on the mediation plan. The newspaper writers of Paris say that Napoleon's proposition was forwarded to the Courigf St. Pe- tersburg in the first place, and the “‘asseat of the Russian government relied on,” before it was sent to England. The London Herald says that a Liverpool steam- erhad taken out twenty-four French guillotines, consigned toa confidential friend of the Lincoln Cabinet in New York. CONGRESS. Ta the Senate yesterday, the standing commit- tees were appointed. They are the same as at the previous session, except that Mr. Sumner takes the place of Mr. Simmons, resigned, on the Finance Committee, and Mr. Arnold takes the place of Mr. Thomson, deceased, on the Com- mittee on Commerce. A resolution calling onthe Secretary of War for information relative to the arrest and imprisonment of two citizens of Dela- ware gas laid over. The Committee .on Patents were directed to inquire into the expediency of abolishing the Agricultural Department. An in- quiry was ordered into the expediency of indem* nifying citizens of Minnesota for losses by the Tudian outbreak. On motion of Mr. Sumner, a call was made on the Secretary of War for informa- tion relative to the seizure and sale of free blacks by the rebels, and what steps have been taken in the matter. The Military Committee were direct- ed to consider the subject of organizing a hospital and ambulance corps. Mr. Hale gave nutice of a bill repealing the act passed in July last, estab- lishing and equalizing the grades of naval officers. The Senate then went into executive session, dnd afterwards adjourned. In the House of Representatives, a motion was adopted directing a pretty thorough overhauling of the accounts of the Agricultural Department, No other business of importance was transacted, and the House adjourned after a very brief session. MISCELLANEOUS NEWS. . The steamship China, from Queenstown on the 23d of November, passed Cape Race last Monday evening on her voyage to New York. She was bearded by our agent at that point, and a tele. graphic summary of her news forwarded by way of Sackville, N. B., is published in the Henan this morning. The Hibernian, from Londonderry on the 21st ult'mo, reached Portland, Me., yesterday, and telegraphs additional news to that forwarded after she passed Cape Race. Our European ad- vices by the China are two days later than the first report of the China. Consols closed in London, on the 22d ultimo, at 9334 a 93% for money. The Liverpool cotten market was firmer on the 22d of November, and all descriptions of the staple rated a little higher. Breadstutls were unchanged but steady, Provi- sions remained flat. It was rumored in Paris that a plot against the Emperor's life had been discovered. Indeed it was reported all over Germany that an attempt had been made to assassinate him. The Italian Par- liament had assembled, but there was no speech from the throne. The Prince of Wales and crown Prince of Prussia had had an attdience with the Pope. Forty-two Polish officers of the Russian army had been condemned to most severe’ military punishments. The distress in the maaufacturing di-tricts of Eugland was becoming more and more intense. The elections fora new goverament in Greece had commenced. There was a probability that Prince Alfred, of England, would be chosen king. The general news from the continent of Europe is not important. At last, after several months iaefectual efforts, the Mayor has hit upon a suitable nominee for the important office of Street Commissioner. At the mecting of the Board of Aldermen yesterday, Charles G, Cornell, now Senator and ex-democratic Aldermun, was, after a secret session, unanimons- ly confirmed. Robt, L. Darragh, republican, nomi- nated by the Mayor for the office of Assistant Cro- ton Water Commissioner, was also confirmed. Mr. Dayton, the defeated republican candidate for the Ninth Aldermanic district, sent in his resignation for the remainder of the present term; but the Board, duly appreciating his invaluable services as a debater, who has always been in the minority, declined to accept. The Board will meet again to-day at oue o'clock. The Board of Education held their usual fort- nightly meeting last evening, the President, Mr. Curtis, in the chair. The minutes of the last | necting having been read and approved, a com- munication was read from the special teachers of the Fifteenth ward, asking for an increase in salary. In connection with the communication Mr. Miller, of the Seventeenth ward, offered a reso- | Jution to the effect that so much of the by-laws | passed on the 24th of September lest, relating | to the employment of special teachegs, be amend- | ed by striking out the words at the end of section 137 as follows:—But any excess over those rates may be paid out of the stated fund for the ward in case there shall be any balance ef the gaid fund remaining after the salaries of the regular teachers in the ward schools have been fally paid,’ and that the Committee on Teachers be directed to report the foregoing to the Board at its next meeting. On motion, the matter was referred to the Committee on Bylaws, to report at the next meeting. The clerk, in obedience to a previous resolution to re- port all expenditures for the furtherance of the dered to be laid on the table and printed. The following is an abstract of the report:—Site, build- ing, &¢., $157,369 82; library, $18,837 47; support, $525,874 07. Total, $680,080 36. A report in favor of instructing the male youth of the schools, from fourteen years old and upwards, in military tactics, was ordered to be laid on the table and printed, after which the Board adjourned to Wednesday week. e The. Commissioners of Emigration met yester- day, when the following statements were sub- mitted:—Number of emigrantg arrived to Novem- ber 26, 69,296; arrived since to December 3, 203, Total, 69,199. Arrived at same date in 1861, 64,395. The number of emigrants on Ward's Island, up to the date of the report in the present year, Was 617; in 1861, 774; in 1860, 673; in 1869, 787. The Treasurer's report showed a balance in the bank on the Ist of January, 1862, of $3,515 05; eggregate receipts, November 26: Free Academy, read a long report, which was or.’ of passengers, $1,757 70; disbursements as per previous account to Novem- ber 2, 1862, $144,767 64; current expenses of November 19 and 26, $10,800 47; balance in bank, $16,728 45. ‘The canvassers will meet to-day at twelve M. The stock market opened dull yesterday, but gained Strength toward the close of the first board, and be- twoen the boards and throughout the afternoon was bueyant at an advance of 2 por cont on the active Speculative shares, Money ‘was active at 6 per cent. Gold rose to 13%}¢ and closed at 1323;. Exchange om London ciosed at 146, ‘The cotton market was steady yesterday, at 670. & @80. for middling up'ands, with sales of 1,100 bales. There was tess doing in flour, wheat and corn, which opened at # further atight rise in prices, bat closed with ®@ downward tendency, The markot for provisions was moderately active. Moss pork closed at $1 12 a $13 25, ‘aad pritne to choice ard at O%c. a 97%. Thoro was con- siderable animation in th» market for whiskey, tallow, hay, tides and leather, but less activity in most vther Drauches of business, eave ocean freights, which were somewhat. brisker, thoogh rates were depressed and tending towar | The Reeall trom Harrison's Landing— Important Letters cf General McClelian and Gencral Halleck, In connection with General Halleck’s official report of the operations of the army since bis, appointment to the post of General-in-Chief in Juty last, we publish this morning two very important letters touching the recall of the Army of the Potomao from Harrison’s Landing: The first is from General McClellan, earnestly pleading against leaving the peninsula, and the second is the reply of General Halleck, quite as earnestly urging the necessity of this evacu- ation. The reasons presented by General McClellan in favor of holding his position on the James river are very forvible. Hetthere holds a strong position, a secure base of operations, commanil- ing both sides of the stream, and he is within twenty-five miles of Richmoud. ‘His army is in ® good state of discipline; be has the advantage of the powerful co-operation of & fleet of gun. boats. He fears that the removal of his army to Aquia creek will prove “disastrous in the eXtreme to our cause;” that it will demoralize the army; that it will have “a terribly depressing effect upon the people of the North,” and that “there is a strong pro- bability that it would influence foreign Powers to recognize our adversaries.” He says that “here, directly in front of this army, is the heart of the rebeition,” and that “it is here (in front of Richmond) ‘that all our resources should be collected to strike the blow which will deter- mine the fate of this nation.” With these views General McClellan asks for reinforcements, and entreats that the order for the removal of his army from the peninsula may be rescinded. Against this order, so full of dangers and dis- asters, as. he considers it, he pleads with the earnestness and eloquence of a man pleading case of life and death. 2 Gen. Halleck, in his reply, says, “You, Gene- ral, certainly could not have been more pained at receiving my order than I was at the necessi- ty of issuing it.’ He says that, against the ad_ vice of higtrofficers, he had delayed this deci- sion as long aa he dared delay it, Hut that after full andmature consideration, he is convinced there isno other alternative. The rebel army, he un- derstands, is 200,000 strong, and is daily re- ceiving reinforcements—it is between the army of General McClellan and that of General Pope, and, separated as these two are, neither ean help the other in case of attack. Gene- ral Pope’s army cannot be diminished without uncovering Washington, Maryland and Pennsylvania, and McClellan's cannot be reduced without inviting an attack in full force by the enemy. He does not think that McClellan’s troops will be demoralized by their removal, and he contends that the new base of operations at Fredericksburg possesses many desirable advantages. General Halleck furthermore says that it is beyond his power to furnish the reinforcements desired by General McClellan, reasonable as are his requisitions; that it will require several weeks to raise new troops equal to the emer- gency, and that in the meantime the army on the pestilential banks of the James river in August and September would be seriously weakened by disease. With various other con- siderations in justification of the withdrawal of General McClellan’s army, General Halleck says:—“I have not inquired, and @o not desire to know, by whose advice or for what reasons the Army of the Potomac was separated into two parts. I must take things os I find them. I find our forces divided, and I wish to unite them;” and tor qping this “only one feasible plan has been presented.”’ Here, then, ts the case on both sides. The ar- guiment of General McClellan in favor of hold- ing fast to Harrison’s Landing, as the moat ad- vantageous base of Operations for an advance upon Richmond and for the defence of Wash- ington, is positively unanswerable— provided always, that the reasonable reinforcementg asked for could have been promptly supplied him. It is very evident that this was the opinion of General Halleck. The recall ef the army from the peninsula, then, was not the choice made between two or three strategical movements at his option; but he declares that it was his only alternative, and was forced upon him asa painful necessity. And wherefore? Because he had no reserves from which he could possibly spare the thirty-Ave thousand addi- tional troops suggested by General MeClellan as sufficient to enable him to push into Rich- mond, notwithstanding the rebel army of two hundred thousand men, and because the june- ture of Gen. McClellan and Gen. Pope, indis- pensable to the safety of both armies, could only be effected in the way adopted. The case, then, is perfectly clear. We see from this convincing letter of Gen. McClellan, and from this conclusive letter of General Halleck, that the disasters of the last sum- mer to our army in front of Richmond and our army in front of Washington are directly traceable to two controlling causes—one, the division of the Army of the Potomac into several inferior armies, beyond supporting dis- tance of each other, around a semicircle, the commanding central point of which was held by the superior masses of the enemy; and the other cause the absence of a reserved force from which General McCleMan might have been enabled to bold the rebel army to the defence of Richmond till routed and dispersed. Where, then, lies the responsi- bility? We trace it directly to the War De- partment and to the malign abolition influences operating ‘upon that department to tho over- throw of the well considered plans of Generals Scott and MoClellan, and to the suspension of enlistments by an abolition Congress at the yery time when the rebels were doubling their armies on every side by a sweeping conscrip- tion. The case is clear, and cannot be success- fully refuted. '| Ne@peteom III. Averse to the Shedding of Bleod. The newly appointed French Minister of Foreign Affairs, M. Drouyn de Lhuys, in his recent circular to the Cabinets of St. James and St. Petersburg, asserts that his imperial master Napoleon II. wishes to intervene in the strug- gle going on between the Northern and Sonth- ern States of America on the score of humanity, and for the express purpose of putting a stop to the “shedding of blood.” We confess to great astonishment at this desire on the part of Louis Napoleon, and conclude that we must have been greatly in error in forming our gstimate of his Majesty’s character. The journals which relate the events of the revolution that bore in its bloody arms the princely adventurer to the Presidency of France tell horrible tales of the shedding of blood done at his instigation. We read of squadrons of heavy eavalry charging through crowded thoroughfares, crushing to lifeless masses men, women and children; awful details of hand to hand encounters at the barricades cause us to chill with horror. In those days Paris was rife with murder, her gutters were filled with blood. Louis Napoleon did not then call for mediation to preveat its shedding: Every Frenchman will gravely tell you “he would have seen every soul in France perish rather than balk his ambition.” Later came the coup detat—the stroke of genius which was to raise him to the pinnacle of glory, to en. dow him with the crown which adversity and treaciciy tore from the brow of the first Na- poleon. : His measures were taken to prevent all oppo- sition, or at any rate to drown it in blood-——the blood of ett France, were it necessary. No scruples were felt when the orders for a general mesracre were issued. “Put down all opposition” were the words used by Napoleon on that occasion, addressed to the officers in his secret; “put down all opposition at once; atrike your blow surely, quickly; our success depends pon instantaneous and energetic movements. If the people rise, crush the.” Here we find no traces of the present desire to avoid the shedding of blood. Ouce firmly seated upon that coveted throne, Napoleon loudly asserted, “Z’empire c'est la poix’—the empire is peace. Yet we find him, aided by England, carrying on that long and arduous struggle with Russia, and shedding oceans of blood. He did not at that period de sire any mediation or intervention to cause a cessation of so “sad a state of affairs.” The Crimean war terminated, it was supposed the | era of peace for France had arrived. A short season passed, during which she was making gigantic warlike preparations, and all Europe trembled. Then, upon one bright, clear New Year’s morn, Napoleon allowed an equivocal ex- pression to escape him while in converse with the Austrian Ambassador, and Europe knew that her fears were real, and that blood would be shed. And blood was shed, as the rank grass upon the plains of Lombardy will attest this many a year to come. It,flowed in streams, de- luging those beautifal valieys and hilltéps; and yet even then Napoleon called for no mediation, desired no intervention to stop the “dreadful shedding of blood.” In Cochin China, for years, the French troops have been shedding blood, and yet this Emperor, so sensi- tive to the shedding of American blood, has not seen fit to order a cessation of the campaign against the Amanites. Perhaps he has a greater regard for American gore—deems it, perhaps, of a superior quality. In Mexico some sixty thousand Zouaves, Chasseurs de Vincennes, Voltigeurs de la Garde and Chasseurs d’Afrique, to say nothing of the Artilleurs, with their rifled cannon, are preparing to shed blood; but, then, that is Moxi- ean blood, and here, as in Cochin China, the quality of the article may be deemed inferior by the EmpéePor Napoleon, who evinces so much regard for American blood and such dis- taste for its shedding. We have surely cited instances eudugh to prove the hypocrisy of the plea made by Napoleon for a coalition against us on the score of humanity, and now we may fairly ask how this man can dare to present it for the acceptance of Europe, he whose name was built up in blood, stamped upon the pages of history in bloody, indelible characters, sur- rounded by want, famine and misery; by crushed nationalities and sacked capitals, by hecatombs of corses—what right has this offspring of battle and blood to dictate to us that our struggle, one for all that man deems holy and just—liberty and indepen- dence—must cease, forsooth, because blood is spilled? Ere he takes upon himself the task of humane interference in the affairs of the world, let him set his own house in order, recall his troop, from Rome, Mexico, Cochin China, disband his handreds of thousands of soldiery, lay by his immense fleets of iron-clads, destroy his huge military transports—let hin disarm; and then, with a show of plausibility, he may seek to put down war here or elsewhere upon the score of his horror of the shedding of blood. Until he has done all these things his mediation is @ farce, his interference an insult we should promptly and terribly resent. When M. de Lhuys ‘sends forth another circular upon mediation we hope he will say nothing about bloodshed- ding. The subject is a sore one for his imperial master. Mock Puiwantarory or THe Evrorean Go- VeRNMENTS.—The English and French journals in the interest of the rebels have been in the habit of setting forth the crueltics falsely charged against the federals in the conduct of the war as one of the principal grounds for an armed intervention in our affairs. It might easily be shown that there never before-was a rebellion in which the effort to restore the au- thority of the regular government was marked by less of a vindictive and persecuting spirit than the present one. Even the shooting of the ten rebel prisoners in Missouri by Col. MeNeil, about which the tory organs in England have Yaised such an outcry, militates nothing against this assertion. It was the act of an individual in command of a local force, and owing no re sponsibility to the national government. Were we (8 trirn to the history of the Irish and Scotch rebellions we could point to hundreds of worse atrocities perpetrated by militia and yeomanry without their being called to'account for it. In the case of Col. McNeil, there is no doubt that if the facts alleged are established proper pun- ishment will be meted out to him. Whilst the unavoidable incidents of civil war are being constantly perverted into arguments favoring their desire to break as up, the indif- ference with which the European governments regara the horrible atrocities committed under their own eyes in China to edifying to witness, In the war now waging there between the im- perialists and the rebels we hear of women and ‘ll this in the presence of English and French officers. Here, surely, is a case for interven- tion, if inhumanity in the conduct of » war for the suppression of a rebellion is to furnish ground for the interference of one nation in-the affairs of another. Both England “and France, however, will allow the Chinese to continue to cut each other’sthroats without troubling them- selves about the matter. Their fine strung sen- sibilities have no present motive for exercise in that quarter. The Report of the Secretary of War. The report of the Secretary of War states that at the time of date the Union army in the field in ten different departments numbered over 800,000 men, and that when the quotas are filled up the force will amount to a million of men, and the estimates for next year will be based upon that number. As the estimated cost of the army is about a thousand dollars per man in the year, the bill will therefore foot up a thousand millions for the next year, in addition to the same sum for the period of the war aiready elapsed. This is a formidable debt to incur if we should be no nearer the attainment of the object of the war at the end of the next year than at the end of the present. If success should crown the struggle, and the Union is restored as it was, under the’ constitution as it is, the nutioa will not grudge the expenditure of men and money; but if the war should fail] in the future, as it has done in tlie past, then woe to those who have had the conduct of it, with boundiess means at their com- mand. The issues by the Ordnance Depart- ment include 1,926 field and siege pieces and 1,206 fortification — cannon, 7,294 gun carriages, caissons, mortar beds, tra- velling forges and battery wagons; 1,276,686 small arms, 987,291 sets of equipments and ac- coutrements, and 213,991,127 ronuds of ammu- nition for artiliery and small arms. By Mr. Stunton’s own confession “a force has been placed by the people of the United States at the command of the government to maintain ils authority more mighty in all the elements of warlike power than was ever before arrayed under the banner.” Let us see what the Secre- tary of War has accomplished with it. The Secretary gives a historioal sketch of the various military operations in the South, includ- ing the battie at Pea Ridge, in Arkansas, where the Union troops under Curtis and Sigel won a glorious victory. ‘Secretary Stanton omits the name of Sigel. He is equally unjust to Buell; for, while he takes credit for the fact that Bragg’s army was driven out of Kentucky, he forgets to say it was Buell who drove him, while, on the other hand, he censures him for allowing the rebel army to eseape. In the same way, while he magnifies the unimportant ser- vices of others, he omits mention of the name of McClellan and his two great battles of South Mountain and Antietam in connection with that part of his report which speaks of “the invading army which recently threatened the capital and the borders of Maryland and Pennsylvania has been driven back beyond the Rappahannock.” Who won the battles which drove them back, and who forced ‘them beyond the Rappahannock? General McClellan. And why should not the fact be placed on record, when the Secretary found it necessary to give credit to General Wool for the capture of Norfolk? Strictly speak- ing, Norfolk was not captured at all- After being evacuated by the euemy, it was occupied by the Union troops without capture. Net that General Wool would not have fought like a hero, as he did in Mexico, if he had had a chance given him for a battle. It is exceeding- ly small on the part of Secretary Stanton to ignore the brilliant services of the man who, when called to the command of a routed army; and when the military authorities at Washington and the Cabinet despaired of saving Washington from destruction, rescued the capital from its peril and drove thg enemy into Virginia by the greatest battle of the Wit, which ie anton does not think proper to mention at all, while the most insignificant little battles fought elsewhere are carefully noticed and the names of the generals duly chronicled. Nor is any credit given to General McClellan for his original organization of the Army of the Poto- mac out of a military mob. Aguin, the Secretary-is very oblivious of the causes which placed the capital and Maryland and Pennsylvania in jeopardy. Prince de Join- ville traces those causes direotly to Washington, and General Halleck clears his own skirts. He says he found the army divided on his arrival at Washington, with the enemy between its two divisions. He does not state by whom; but, as lawyer Stanton conducted the campaign before General Halleck’s arrival, we all know who was responsible for the division and the disas- trous events which sprang from it. Why did not Mr. Stanton clear his skirts if he could, and lay the blame where it belonged, if it did not belong exclusively to himself? And why does he not explain his fallure to supply General Burnside with the necessary means for crossing the Rappahannock at I’rede- ricksburg? He ignores the rout of the army of Banks through the valley of the Shenandoah, and the whipping of Fremont by Jackson, who, with asmall force, kept 80,000 men at bay around Washington, all through the misman- agement of the War Department. Pope's ter- rible flight, which resulted from the same cause, is also passed over in a report making nearly six columns in the Secretary's organ. ‘The Sec- retary can give no good explanation of the in- jurious delay in the payment of the troops which has tended to disorganize the army, the families of officers and men being starving at home. He says it was “occasioned by want of funds.” But who is to blame for this? Let Secretary Chase answer for himself. But there are other evils for whieh the Secretary of War just be held responsible. He admits that “a large number of officers and enlisted soldiers who are drawing pay and rations are improper- ly absent from their poste,” and that “the pay and bounty allowed by act of Congress to re. cruits have offered strong temptations to prac- tise fraud upon the muster rolls, and false charges for subsistence.” As to the general progress of the war, Mr. Stanton holds that, ‘whatever disasters our arms may have suffered at particular points, a great advance has nevertheless been made since the commencement of the war.” But whatever advance has been made has been achieved in despite of the blynders aad bungling of the ‘War Department, Mr. Stanton’s great hope in the futare is the almighty nigger. Ho says by emancipation the rebellion will die of itself, and the negroes, as allies, will achieve what» million of Northern men fn arms cannot do. . If there was theslightest da athe negroes turning against ibe tebels whom cumstances hag any disposition to servile insur- rection been exhibited by the colored population in any Southern State, while » strong loyalty to the federal government has been displayed on every occasion and against every discourage- meat.” Now this contradicts itself. If the ne- groes were strongly loyal to the federal go- vernment they would not only show a disposi- tion to insurrection against their masters, but they would cut. their throats. As to the ex” pected aid from the blacks, Mr. Stanton’s argu” ment answers itself. He says:—“So far from the Southern States being invincible, uo enemy was ever so vulnerable, if the means athand are employed against them.” Now these means, whatever they are, have bees equally at hand from the beginning of the war. Why were they not employed before instead of expending so much of the white man’s blood and treasure in vain? But the simple answer to Mr. Stanton’s logic is that the President has pronounced any emancipation scheme by force asno better than the Pope's bull against the comet. We must conquer the white population before we can get hold of the blacks, and when the whites are subdued body but # handful of impotent fanatics will jire the sudden freedom of the black race. Such are the visionary and impracticable men at the head of our national affairs in this great crisis. The Effect of the Alabama's Depreda* dons on Oar Commerce, Since the receipt of the news of the capture and destruction of some dozen or more of our ships by this scourge of the seas, there has been @ decided falling off in the shipments from this port to Europe in American bottoms. During the month of November the number of vessels cleared at this port for European ports was one hundred and eighty-two, of which only seventy were American; while the same month last year gave two hundred and forty-two clearances for the same destination, of which one hundred and thirty-eight were under our flag. The fear of this new reigning terror has neg ‘only crippled our commerce, but it has had the effect of suddenly reviving the disgraceful systens of putting our vessels under the protection o foreign flags,so"much in vogue a year ago, when Semmes commenced his piratical cruise in the Sumter. Few persons are aware of the immense number of American vessels that have been placed under foreign flags since the commence- ment of the rebellion, or of the effect it ha® produced, involving as it does an immense loss of American tonnage, and # consequent increase of the tonnage of our commercial rivals. Since April of last year ne less than one hundred and thirty-three vessels, with an aggregate tonnag@ of more than fifty thousand tons, have, by this inexcusable practice, been subtracted from our mercantile marine at this port alone, and added almost entirely to that of a nation ready at any moment to take every advantage of our necessities, and which at the present moment is doing her utmost to aid the rebele in breaking upourgovernment. Notwithstand- ing this, scarcely a week passes that one oF more of our would-be patriotic citizens do nob lend their aid in decreasing the tonnage ef the country. e Through fear of capture by a cruiser which flies the British or rebel flag at pleasure, and the loss of afew paltry dollars, they set them- — selves systematically at work to aid the very nation that built and set the pirate affoat, and indirectly to pull down their own. The starry emblem of onr country’sglory, which has waveg so long and proudly at the mastheads of their ships, whose every timber grow on American soil and was shaped into beauty and grace by American hands and Yankee industry, must give place to the flag of Britannia, because they fear that the old Stats and Stripes, undét whick they have sailed so long and under whose pro” tection they have perhaps amassed fortunes’ will no longer protect their interests. In their greed for present gain they forget their coun- try and the future, and instead of manfully nailing the old flag to the mast they trail itin the dust of avarice and selfishness. Instead of claiming the protection of their country and indemnity for loss by pirates at war with her, they voluntarily place their vessels beyond ber reach and their own control, with no:hope of @ return to the old flag, except by act of Con- gress and the Jeniency of the government they have outraged. To make the matter present even a worse aspect; it fs known that in many cases these transfers are mefely nominal. The British law requires that the owner must declare himself a British subject, and, af a matter of course, his name must ap- pear in the register as such; but in these cases a mortgage for the full amount of the pur- chase money, or a power of attorney to manage the entire affairs of the vessel, is given by , the buyer to the seller, and the seller is still to all intents and purposes the owner, except in name. It is to be hoped'that our loyal and patriotic citizens will consider the importance of this subject, and that they will not sesk by this practice to still further decrease the tonnage of the nation through fear of ioss by the acts of rebel pirates. If we speak thus strongly in. ( condemnation of those who thus misuse their rights and position as shipowners, what * Janguage ought to be used iu reference to the conduct of the Secretary of the Navy, wlio has 80 grossly neglected his duty as to compel these commereial men to disown the Stars and Stripes and seek foreign pretection for their property and patriotism? The government is bound by every principle of justice and honor to protect the intereste and property of her Joyal citizens, and to indemnify them for lossea sustained by them at the hands of those in re Dellion against har. Resvits or tan Carter Erectioy.—As we predicted during the canvass, the election of Tuesday last resulted in a complete and over- whelming triumph of the candidates nominated, by the conservatives, and by such majorities that it may be eafely predicted that we have seen the last of the republican party in this city. The eonservative eandidates for Comp” troller and Corporation Counsel have not only been successful, but the republicans have not been able to secure the election of a single can- idate for Alderman or a member of the lower branch of the Common Council. And, were ft not for the fact that two republican Aldermen _ hold over, there would not be a republican io the city legislature, Eyen of the school®)fficers-—