The Dorset County Express and Agricultural Gazette.
Dorchester, Dorset, England, 1862-05-27 00:00:00

Jo tip anD Colontat

FRANCE.—The Mexican question is the chief triple
with the Parisian journalists. The correspondent of •
London contemporary, writing on Weduesday evening,
says he cannot help speaking of Mexico, for it is more
than ever on the order of the day. The semi-official
eeereals will not take a hint from the modesty of the
eemeeur, which conteute, itself with ening the text of
official documents, and continue to write in paseionate
terms against the good sense of the country, which, as
expressed by all the independent prom approves of the
conduct of Spain and England. The Petrie, making a
false application of the America proverb, in itself
questionable, "our country, right or won" affects to
be quite shocked at the attitude of the Steck, l'resse,
Opiemion Nuliortale, and Temps, and says that. since
Pr Moe Is at war with Mexico, the conduct of these
jonerials—which write "just as if they were puhlieheti
at London or Madrad—cannot he justified "under
any pretext," and it sasigns as • reason for thie position
that "it is elementary, as a matter of tatriotism, that
when • country is engaged in • war, all criticism should
be hushed." This "elementary" principle, the Patric
seem is so well understood in Englund that the people
there must be much surprised at the unexpected support
Which they find on this side of the Seine. The Pups,
giving at length • form and body te the injurious
Insinuations which have been thrown out against
Veneta' Prim, says that be deserted the expedition out
be personal spite, bemuse his ambitions pretensions to
eourue the command ha chief of the three armies were
not gratified.
In smother article the Patric ear :—" The French
Government k anxiously occupying itself with seeding
supplies to the French expeditionary corps in Mexico,
the condition of which is in every respect excellent.
Independently of the vessels of war which have been
placed under orders for that purpose, several meridian
vessels have been chartered to convey stores to Vera
°CMS and the France a fine ship belonging to
Marsedles, le about to proceed to Toulon to ship pro-
visions for the squadron of Vice-Admiral Juries de la
Graviere. The soldiers and sailors taken from
Martinique and etubarked on board the Ardeute,
which conveyed-them to Vera Crux, are about to be re.
placed by others from the mother country ; and it is said
that, if necessary, reinforcements will leave France at
theebelte—
erine of the
Victor
ITA Y.
.King ictor Emmanuel left Naples for
ttenoa on Wednesday. At the same time Prince Napo-
leon left for Palermo. It is ist-ited that the canons of
!_Januarius shut up the cathedral the moment that
iltlis e Emmanuel had left it, and proceeded to perform
e rites of purification of the holy place, whishen their
bpjlion. had been polluted by the foot of a sacrilegious
usurper. The Minister of justice has reselved to pro.
Strait.] them helms the Council of State. It would be
edifying to know how these good canons explain the
conduct of their saint, who performed his miracle for
Victor Emmanuel keit as readily as he had done it of
old fee Ferdinand and Framers. There is some talk of
te
entograph letter Nova the Esupreas to time Pope, in
which she is mid to urge him to be resigned to a proxi-
mate solution of the Roman question.
AftTßlA.—Rumoore prevailed very strongly a few
air tack that the health of the Empress of Austria
had Musk in the meet sudden and alarming manner. The
betasehe Pad of Vienna states that, from authentic
Itforination, it is able to contradict those rplismirs.
Her Majesty was attacked about a fortnight since with
a rheumatic election in her feet, but up to the present
time it has not exceeded the limits of a simple indispo-
sition. The face that the Empress was unable to walk,
and had to be Weed on every occasion into her carriage,
caused the worst fears to be erroneously entertained.
AMERICA. —CAPTURE OF New ORLEANS. —A oorre-
spandest of the New York Times, speaking of the
remoter* of New Orleans says: The Confederate steam
ram Manassas, supposed to be alike invincible and
invulnerable, and on which the Confederates had
greatly relied for the defence of the river, was ntterly
destroyed and sunk by. the broadsides of a wooden
steamer, the Miseissippe. In view of this facet the
naval Powers of the world will surely wait a little for
new lights before they utterly despair of the efficacy of
their ancient hearts of oak, and incur enormous expense
to supersede them. The other, equelly suggestive of
caution, is that "the chain cables which were fastened
on the outsides of the wooden vessels proved an
admirable protection to their machinery, as in every
ease where the shot struck them it bounded off without
penetrating." This if it be a fact, is certainly one
which is worth knowing and turning to account.
Te Mange telt ens Poeoerec.—The Times corres-
pondent, writing on the 9th May says, General
WCiellem haring fought two real battles, has silenced,
though perhaps for no longer a period than a few days,
the tongues of some of his detractors, especially of those
Veto think that "strategy," unaccompanied by blood-
shed, is no proof of military capacity, rend of those whose
animosity is political, and who will not forgive the
young commander for refusing to becouie an
Abolitionist, Pursuing the retreating Confederate.
limn Yorktown to Williamsburg!), lie found himself
'with 30,018 men opposed to a force of 40.000 men under
General Joe Johnston, and gained what he himself
descritais as a brilliant victory. The Federal loss is
estimated at 300 killed and 700 wounded; and, as usual
is all first accounts of battles received from the
victorimem side, the enemy's loss is put down at more
than double those numbers. As General M'Clellan nays
that he has galled a victory, sad as be was left in
possession of Williamsburgh, the place he attempted
to capture, the world is bound to believe that it was a
victory, though not such a victory as it might have been
ansidered had the same telegram which conveyed the
Yews not ant minced at the same time that his opponent
bad continued his retreat and crossed the Cinckhominy,
fletteoving all the bridges behind him. General
M•Clellan before this encounter admitted that he, in all
eirobabilitt, should have to fight many battles before lie
}arched Richmond, as the enemy was determined to
contest every inch of the way. Yesterday—supposing
that the telegrams are to be relied on, which I by ne
means sweet—a portion of his army fought • still
grater hettle then that of Williameburgh, at a place
stilled West Point, at the head of the York river, within
45 'tides Richmoud, defeating the Confederates with
great sleughter," The telegrams give no clear detail,,
and may poseibly be contradicted to-morrow. Congress,
soniewind too Ter, one would think, passed a vote of
thanksto the Generel, apparently as much for what be
is expected to do as for what he has already done ; and
"Om to Richmond !" is the cry in every mouth, It is
jwaposeille, however—aod manythink it very probable
—that M'Claan will enter Richmond as he entered
Mammas and Yorktown, only to find it evacuated and
dismantled, and to find the anal, decisive victory for
which he pants as far off as ever. It is not easy to see
why the Confederates shonld make a stand at Riehmond,
where they may have additional enemies to confront in
the persons of General hi'Dowell end Banks, and their
combined armies, both pressing forward to that city,
when they are Po much nearer to Petersburgli, on the
great line of railway communication to North and South
Carolina, by which they can escape to A hotter climate,
and tear up the rails, destroy the bridges, and cut the
telegraph wires, as they go. They would thus leave to
the Federal Generals, not only along and weary march
through a 'mettle or depopulated country. but the hot
weather of approaching June, as new diffi,ulties to con-
tend against, and so protract the war into the autumn.
But, IA it is never safe to calculate what course either •
cool or • desperate General may adept, it may be
anfficient to note this as among the obvious proba-
bilities of the cue, without indulging in predictions.
There is evidently to be an immediate attempt on the
part of the Federals to recapture the important naval
station of Norfolk. The leerrimac has come out, and the
Monitor has advanced to meet her; each mail-clad Chain-
vion of the sea being attended by a bevy of inferior keighta
and squires; to witness or take part in the tournament.
'The President himself, attended by some of his secre-
taries, went from Washington to Fortress Monroe to be
a spectator of the encounter ; but up to this evening the
telegraphic wires ebbs report a series of unintelli-
gible movements on the pert of both vessels—
the first feints of the duello before the serious
ighting begins, and the sole result of which, on the
fine day, WWI that they severally retired to their former
station., no one the worse or the better on either side,
and none of the spectator,' from far or near in any
respect the wiser for the evolutions which they had
seen through their telescopes or tbeiroperaglassee„ To
the Presidential eye the Monitor mast have appeared
but a black speck on the sea, and the Merrimac but a
speak in a slight degree larger.
A Correapondent of the Daily Telegraph says :—Every
day and hour is manifesting more clearly the irresistible
supremacy of the Federal arms by sea and land, but
yet my opinion is, that every day reconstruction of the
Union is becoming more and more impossible. All
along the Mississippi the cry is, "Destroy, as we can
no longer defend?' Thousands of worth of cotton,
tobacco, rice, and auger have been given to Clue flames
or thrown into the rivers rather than permit them to
fall into Northern hands. A people so resolute, so
self-denying as to rain themselves utterly rather than
allow the reiniposition of an abhorred and discarded
yoke, may be vanquished and ground into dust; but
as for " resurrecting" the Union, and extending it over
them, the idea Is a farce. Any steteinents which you
see in Northern papers of the amount of Union 'sentiment
discoverable down South are gross exaggeretions, where
they are not altogether the coinage of the brain. I
thought, and believed for along time, that the Union
would arise again from its ashes; and that its resurrec-
tion would be not only for the benefit of the American
nation, but of the whole family of man. My present be'ief,
growing stronger as the Federal arms from day to day
are proving their ascendancy over the South, is that
the Union is dead and bitried ; that not mole than one
Sontherner in every hundred regrets it ; that New
Orleans will prove as dead to commercial enterprise as
Tyre or Sidon; that the blockade may be lifted, but not
one bale of cotton, not one pound of tobacco, will find
its way to sea, except some small quantity of both
which fell into Federal hands before they could be des-
troyed when New Orleans wee surprised.
RETRIAT or TAB CONFMEHATIB.—The iatelligenw
brought from North America on Tuesday, shows that
the Federal, have still the beet of it on the Yorktown
Peninsula. A fight had taken place at West Point, when
the Confederates were ornurelled to retreat. The Con-
federates seem to be badly off for provisions, as those
captured said they had not tasted anything but biscuit
foe 48 home. Federal forces had been landed at West
Point, to out off the retreat of the Confederates and
prevent their getting back to Richmond. Unless
they make great haste, therefore, they will be
hemmed is between the fire of two armies.
Nothing is reported of the movements of Beau-
regard. Before time Confederates evacuated New
Orleans, they destroyed shipping, it is said, and
cotton, amonnting in 'aloe to ten millions of dollars.
In eaptcring New Orkin's, the 14 Federal gunboats
destroyed 11 Confederate gunboats. iron clad steam rams,
floating Warier, ke. General Butler landed 4,000
troops above the fat, and In the conifer& that ensued
lost only 30 killed and 100 wounded, while the Con-
federates lost 1,100 Men. This, if true, is extra-
ordinary odds. It is stated that Mr. Adams hall de-
melded thee the Fewily St. Pierre, which was so gal-
lantly recaptured by Captain Wilson from the Federal
prize crew, be handed over to her original captors.
lONIAN ISLANDS.—The recaloitrant legislative
Asamnbly of the lonian /elands have Mt' on a new
method of annoying, as they imagine, the English
Government. The treaty under which tbe Seven Plank
was put under British protection, reeuires that England
sheeld nieintedy certain fortifications. It has been
discovered that the Protecting power has violated her
dtristri forfeited her right to hold the islands, by
othemrismin44 ";hia.lbtho,„l! fortifications, and erecting
etre crime and mindanneallor an*

Assembly sends • protest, to be transmitted to the
queen through the Governor. No doubt the Assembly
chuckled over this profound discovery, and considered
it A capital means of annoyance. hut they have met
with their match in Sir Henry Storks. Tue Governor
remind.. the Assembly that it owes its esistence to the
constitutional charter; that tuat charter prescribes
01113. one way for the Assembly to address the English
Crown; and av they have not in this instance taken that
way he quietly hands them back their protest.