The Sun.
London, England, 1864-11-05 00:00:00

rHE SUN, LONDON, SATURDAY EVENING, NOVEMBER 5, 1864

hopes and expectations. No one can doubt that if
Sherman is routed in Georgia, and Grant held im-
potently at bay until Christmas in Virginia, it will
be impossible for Mr Stanton and his myrmidons
to get together such an.army as will be adequate to
the commencement of another spring campaign in
1865. The darkest hour of the night is proverbially
that which immediately precedes the dawn; and it
is not, in my judgment, unreasonable to expect that
this hour of gloom through which the Confederates
are now passing—the darkest and profoundest which
I have ever witnessed—is the herald of a day about
to arise with healing on its wings, which will re-
store to this distracted and sorely troubled the
blessings, once so lightly esteemed, of tranquillity
and peace.

OCTOBER 12.
I❑ many previous letters I have remarked that a
knowledge of the histoire inedde of the Western

Confederate Army during the last three years is
. .. .. _ _

indispensable to a right understanding of Western
events, and will constitute a key without the pos-
session of 15 hich no future historian need attempt
the task of a chronicler. It would require more
space and time than I can at this moment command

to throw fall light upon this subject; but in con-
. _

nectiun therewith I may remark that the true great-
ness and goodness of General LCC'd character is in

no way made more apparent than by stating the fact
that the army over which he has so long presided
has, comparatively speaking, no secret and mysteri-
ous history of its own, whereas the Western army
reveals a tissue of intrigues, quarrels, self-seekings,
and recriminations which are enough to sicken the
heart of any patriotic man. It is my belief (as I
have often said before) that the Confederate army of
the West was originally composed of vastly inferior

material to that which constituted the Confederate

army of the East. Moreover, in regard to the

Federal armies precisely the reverse of this state-

ment is the truth, The best Confederate army (that
of Virginia) was opposed to the worst Federal army
(the Grand Army of the Potomac) ; the best troops,

_ .
on the other hand, that the Federals have sent into

the field wore opposed to the Confederate army,
which has successively obeyed Sidney Johnson,

- - -
Beauregard, Bragg, Johnston, and Hood, and which

falling from its originally low standard, seems to
have deteriorated step by step as it was tossed sue.

cessively from one commander to another.
It has been the fashion, since the fall of Atlanta
and the disasters which have attached to this luck-

less army under the command of Hood, to assert
that, if the command had been left undisturbed in

Gen. Joseph E. Johnston's hands no such disasters
would have occurred. It is not denied by the parti•

sansof Gen.johnston that Atlanta would have fallen

in any case, but it is asserted that, after its fall, Gen,

Johnston would have effected marvels. I confess

that I feel myself wholly unable to take this view

of the case. If Johnston had been left in command,

Atlanta would certainly have fallen i❑ July instead
of falling as it did oh Sept. 2. It is difficult to appre-
ciate the value and importance of the six weeks thus
gained by Hood. Those six weeks threw Sherman's

success so far back into the year that no fresh
Western campaign on a grand ecal© was possible in

1861 for the Yankees. It has been said that it was

a singular and unprecedented fact that, in spite of
Johnson's incessant retreats, his army continued to
place the utmost faith in him, and that it was
never:demoralized. I answer that his army was de-

moralized, and that becanas it was demoraFzcd i

took pleasure in and approved th© retrograde tactics

of General Johnston. Ic was easy for it, after it

found that Hood intended to expose it to nothing
but hard knock?, and that a large party in the

country resented the removal of Johnston, to ex-
caim, "We will not fight under this man; give
us back Johnston." It is my belief that in all his-

tory few commanders have ever assumed the re-

sponsibility of leading an army under more unfa-
vourable and discour32ing circumstances than those
which surrounded Hood when pat in command i❑

July last. His army had had its morale insensibly
sapped by the caution and frigidity of his prede-
cessor. It was the general cry of grumblers, of all
who lovo to find fault, of all who have a grudge

against President Davis, that Johnston was one of
the greatest generals of all time, that his'army
loved and trusted him, and that to separate such a
general from such an army could result in nothing
but disaster to it and to the ccuatry. There is
nothing wonderful in the fact that an army whose
spirit and moralu were low should love a general
iike Johnston, who nil little cis 'i fall back,
and whose high reputation for personal courage
and for ability shielth!d both himself and his army
from any imputations. But I think there aro at
this moment few well wishers to the Confederacy
who do not believe (whatever they may have
thought a month ago) that the change from John-
ston to hood under Beauregard (which is at pre-
sent the txact peai►ian of tffairs) is a charge for
theabetter.

It was scarcaly to be expected that.the dissatis-
faction of the general public, and of a large For.
tion of the newspaper press, sho'itd not find an echo
in the breasts of some of Hood's subordinate gale-

rale. Hood himself was young, and far inferior iz
military rank to some of those over whose heads he
was put. He was bereft of his right leg and cf
portion of the bone of his left arm, and was, in the
estimation of some, pro tanto inferior to a sound
man. Consequently, there have since he took the
command been bickerings and heartburnings among
officers in high places, which have added grievously
to the demoralisation of the army. It is not necese
sary to say more now on this staject than that in
my belief Atlanta would never have fallen had every
man in Hood's army, officer and private, striven to
do his whole duty strenuously. It is impossible,
however, now to regret that Atlanta should have
fallen. The indications are that its fall is going to
be one of the greatest blessings to the Confederates
that has occurred since the commencement of the
war, as I will subsequently explain. But in order
to reap these benefits, which seem now to bo like
frait ripe for the plucking, it is necessary that there
should be no such tack of spirit and earnestness as
pervaded portions of Hood's army at the commence-
ment of September, and it is my hope that a new
spirit has now possessed it, for the following reasons.
It must be known to your readers before the are
rival of this letter that President Davis had just re-
turned to Richmond, after a visit to Georgia; The
result of his visit is that General Beauregard is put
in command of the whole of the South-west of the
Confederacy on this side of the Mississippi, just as
General Lee is in command of Virginia and North
Carolina. It must be owned that the arduous
task assigned to General Beauregad is " periculosve
plenum opus alt ae ;" but my belief is that of all men
in the Confederacy, he is, after General Lee, the
fittest for the place. It is no secret that the con-
tact into which Beauregard has laiely been thrown
with Lee has contributed to elevate him greatly in
Lee's estimation. Perhaps the brigla.test attribute
of Beanregard's military genius is that his views of
campaigns, of strategy, and of large systems of de-
fence aro wide, far reaching, and comprehensive. He
has benefited by this war in experience and practical
knowledge as much as any distinguished officer who
has been engaged in it, and there is in him no die.
position to intrigue, to work secretly and indirectly
by inspiration of newspapers, or to sin against any
of the axioms prescribed by the code for the guid-
ance of great soldiers in all ages. Moreover, there
attaches to Beauregard, as there attached to Stone-
wall Jackson, a kind of electric popularity, whieh is
of wonderful value to a general who commands mer-
curial and undisciplined soldiers I:ke these Confe-
derates. His name will be to Hood's army a tower
of strength ; the advantage of consulting with him
on all strategic Al questions will be greatly prized by
Hood; and I anticipate from the union of Beau-
regard and Hood as many advantages as are popu-
larly attributed in the North to the union of Grant
and Meade. But the visit of Mr Davie to Georgia
has elevated the morale of Hood's army in other
ways. Ho has assigned to Gen. Hardee (an able and
admirable soldier, but indisposed to act under Hood,
to whom, if Hardee had accepted the command of
the Western army offered to him last autumn, he
might now have been giving orders) a separate
command. He has inspirited and invigorated the
entire population of Georgia, indisposed them to
give heed to the factions of which, since the
fiat days of the Confederacy, the soil of Georgia
has been the scene, and set them heartily to

the prosecution of the only important business
which is now bofore them—that is to say, of
the war. But, above all things, he has raised
the spirit of Hood's army; he has taught it to

entertain misgivings as to the policy of always
falling back, and has reconciled it to its present
manly and enterprising commander. Nor is the re-
ward which this hitherto unsuccessful army is likely

;0 reap far distant or long deferred. I have the best

authority for saying that the boldest move which has
as yet been attempted in this war—the move by
which Hood threw his army from the south to the

north of Atlanta, and fixed his claws upon the line

of Sherman's communications—is of hood's sole

origination. It remains to be seen whether, in the
event of Sherman's adopting almost the only course
which seems open to him—l mean in the event of his

attacking Hood behind his intrenchments—the
much abused Confederate army of the West will
strike a blow whin►h, if successful, will do more to

end the war than dozens of such battles as were

fought in 1861 and 1862. It is my belief that

Hood's army, inspirited by the manifest sagacity
which is disclosed in the movewhichit has just made,

will prove itself worthy of its vigorous young com-
mander, and will gain for itself and for him a repu-
tation which will eclipse the comparative failures of
three and a half years. If ever there was a war in
which laudace, l'audace, toujours l'audace should be
the motto of Southern generals, it is the war in
which we are here engaged. The two most success-

ful generals of this war, Stonewall Jackson and Lee,

are the rashest; and the present promising and dar-
ing move of Hood will prove (unless I am mistaken)

before October has closed that it is only by rashness
that telling and staggering blows can be dealt.

The details of the movement by which Hood de-
scribed wellnigh three-fourths of a circle, and swung

his army round Sherman, are described to me as
having been very Ekilfully executed. Leaving the

railroad which runs south between Atlanta and

Macon, Hood seized possession of the railroad
which, running in a south■westerly direction, con.

netts Atlanta with Montgomery, as though he
wished to bar Sherman's passage to the latter city.

After fixing himself on this line he made great
show of vigorously intrenching himself, and secretly
threw his pontoons across the Chattahoochie River,

the course of which lays a little distant from his left.
He was not disturbed by any reconnaissance or

scouting party of Sherman's. It may be that here-
after Sherman will disclose as much strategic abi•
lity as he has heretofore displayed pertinacity while

advancing on Atlanta ; but it 'rust be confessed
that the appearances are that he showed blind and

arrogant depreciation of his enemy and culpable
inactivity about watching that enemy after the Fe-

derals had once got possession of Atlanta. It seems
to me hardly conceivable that succour to Sherman
can come from the North before his supplies are so
reduced as to compel him to issue forth from his
stronghold of Atlanta. The most vigorous acd for-
midable of all the Confederate cavalry chiefs—

General Forrest—has long been "on the rampage"

along the skirts of Tennessee, Northern Alabama,
and Northern Mississippi. Oar Lat accounts re.
present Forrest as having retired before a very large
force of Federals into Northern Mississippi, and it
is reasonable to anticipate that if his pursuers turn'

southwards towards Hood's rear Forrest will hang
on their ekirts and harass and delay their march by
every means in his power. The vast distances of
the South over which Sherman has triumphed in his
advance on Atlanta are likely to emercisa the same
unfavourable ilifiLleCC3 upon him in his present situ-.

ation as they have never failed to exercise upon. al

other Fceleral commaLders who have thrust them,

selves deep into the bowels of their enemy's bound%
less and desolate country.
The actual lino held by the army of Hood, whose
head=quarters are at Dallas, commences a few miles
❑orth of the Marietta, where his left rests on the
railroad, with his centre at Dallas, and his right
reaching down towards Alc.bima, whance he draws
his main supplies. By his adventurous move he has
transferred the scene of military operations once
more into that rugged and mountainous country
from which, in the opinion of selaiers, Johnston
never should have allowed himself to be driven into

ths plain around Atlanta. Never was there
_appa-
rently such an instance es regards warlike opera.
tiou,3, of the truth of Juvenai's lines
Evertere domes totas optrontlus ipsis
Di faciles.
We have ali read with what shouts and acclama.

tions,with what pealing of bells and what discharges
of cannon, Sherman's " great Union victory'' and
the " capture of Atlanta" were celebrated in the
Northern States—yet there is reason to believe
that the C.)nfederates are justifiel.in thithirg that
out of this capture of Atlanta will arise for their
enemies such discomfiture as has not been hitherto
parallelled in the course of this war. The disparity
between the armies of Sherman and Hood is, if I
am rightly informed, by no means considerable.
From this passage of the war the Federals will learn
what they have been told a thousand times by all
dispassioi;ato spectators—that to take towns in the
interior of vast hostile territories like these South-
ern States is one thing, to hold them is another.

I have reason for thinking there is a gross ore
aggeration about the numbers which are ordinarily
assigned as estimates of Grant's strength—nor can
the is composed compare
with the material
materialrwhich of that his
which advanced on
Richmond under M'Clellan, or even of that army
which fought the battles of May last. There never
riamy y
was a moment when more deserters came into the
Confederate lines, and it is observed that these de'
serters are not as of yore chiefly Irishmen, English..
men, or Germans, but they number among them
many Northerners of American birth. Two nights
ago 10 deserters escaped from Grant's meshes and
sarrendered themselves to Lee, of whom upwards
of 90 were men born upon this continent. Strenuous
efforts are bring made to swell Lou'a numbers by
calling into the ranks detailed men, by sulAtituting 1
and by getting into
the service that large body of men who have got
negroes for white teamsters,
" State exemptions" and have hitherto escaped con-
scription. It is estimated that in the two States of
Virginia and North Carolina there are not less than
30,000 men between the ages of 18 and 45 who have
got exemptions from Governor
Smith or Governor
Vance. But the most significant fact, as indicating
that this struggle of the South for independence
will never be abandoned for years to come, is that
everywhere—on the streets, in
the railroad cars,
and among private circles—the propriety of arming
and putting the negro into the ranks is eagerly
discussed. There has always in
the South been a
sentimental antipathy to setting children to do the
work of men, or, in other words, to seeking from a
feeble, unwarlike, and submissive race the ex.bibia
tion of passions and
the exercise of qualities which
have been always regarded as the attributes of a
dominant and superior race. But it remains if ems
sion demands for the South to exhibit how the
negro when placed
side by side with the master
whom he has known and loved since the infancy of
both will fight for the
maintenance of slavery against
his brethren who seek to compass its forcible
abolition. The words recently employed by Mr
Lincoln to the afoot that ;ho had 200,000 negroes
under arms, and that ho should like to see
how any Northern man who proposed to employ
only white soldiers would carry on this war, have
sunk deep into many a Southern heart. It will be
a strange corollary to this war if the campaign of
' 1865 finds 20,000 armed negroes from the North
trying conclusions with 20,000 armed negroes from
the South,
and if the ocean of blood which has
already been spilt is darkened by a fresh current to
be added to itlnext year, flowing from theveins,of
that hapless race which seems likely to be involved
in a conflict whose passions it cannot sharp and
whose prizas it cannot appreciate.

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those hideous ulcerations which render life almost intoler-
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than the destructive process ceases and the constructive
business begins—new healthy growths appear to nil up the
lately painful excavated pit.

Alleged Extensive Frauds.

A well-dressed man, named William Miller, described as
of Gray's-lodge, Grays, Essex, was yesterday placed at the
bar of the Mansion-house, before Mr Alderman Stone, who
was sitting for the Lord Mayor, charged with having em-
bezzled various sums of money, amounting to over £5OO,
received by him on account of his employer, Mr Daniel D,
Dymes, merchant, 9, Mincing-lane.
Mr Humphreys, of the firm of Humphreys and Morgan,
appeared to prosecute; and Mr Gole appeared on the part
of the prisoner.
Mr Humphreys gave a brief outline of the facts of the
case, from which it appeared that the prisoner was manag-
ing clerk to the prosecutor, and in that capacity had the
general control of the business, and had authority to sign
for prosecutor cheques and bills for business purposes. Mr
Dymes left home in June last in consequence of ill-health,
leaving the management of the business in the hands of the
prisoner. Mr Dymes returned to business on the 4th Octo-
ber last, and saw the prisoner there on that day. Ho went
again on the sth, expecting to find the prisoner there, but
he did not make his appearance, and it appeared that ho had
absconded, and wrote a letter to Mr Dymes, in which he
said that in consequence of circumstances which had oc-
curred in his absence he could not return to business. The
prisoner went to America, and Mr Dymes a day or two back
received information that he was returning, and communi-
cated with the police, and the prisoner was apprehended by
Detective-sergeant Huggett, on Thursday, as he was leav-
ing the ship. It appeared that the prisoner drew a bill on
his brother in Madras, which he signed for prosecutor in
Mr Dymes' name, for 5,000 rupees. This bill was sold to
the Chartered Bank of India, and realised £486, which was
paid by a cheque, and was placed to the debt of Mr
Dymes at the Union Bank. The cheque was crossed, which
Mr Humphreys observed was probably the reason of its
being paid in, for it appeared that on the 3rd October the
prisoner directed one of the clerks to fill up a cheque for
exactly the same amount, to which he signed Mr Dymes's
name by procuration. This cheque was cashed by one of the
clerks, who handed the money to the prisoner, who ab-
sconded with that sum. Independent of that, since MrDymes
had been back to business he had had claims made upon him
to the extent of between £30,000 and £40,000, of which he
knew nothing whatever, and Mr Humphreys said Mr Dymes
really at the moment he was speaking did not know in what
position he stood—whether he was a sound man or not. Not
only had the prisoner entered into transactions to the amount
he had mentioned without the knowledge of Mr Dymes, but
it appeared from inquiries which had been made that he had
entered into speculations on his own account to the amount
of about £lB,OOO, and hod drawn cheques on Mr Dymes's
private account to pay the deposits to the different brokers.
The prisoner had left no account whatever or any docu-
ments at the office by which Mr Dymes could have been
made acquainted with his transactions.
Mr Dymes was called, and said prisoner was in his service
as managing clerk, and had authority to sign cheques and
bills for all purposes of trade. He had a salary of £6OO a
year, and had been in his service about three years and a
half. In consequence of ill-health he went away in June or
the beginning of July last, leaving the prisoner to manage
his business, and returned permanently to business on the 4th

. _
October last. He had been to the cffioe, however, several
times between those dates. The prisoner had the general
control of his business, subject to his communicating with
him from time to time and advising him in respect of any
new transactions which might be entered into, He constantly
received communications from the prisoner upon the subject
of his business. The prisoner had no authority to draw
money from his bankers and appropriate it to his own use.
The prisoner had authority to draw his own salary. The
prisoner had no authority to draw the cheque produced or
to appropriate the money he received to his own use. The
cheque was dated October 3, and drawn by the prisoner by
procuration fur Mr Dymes for £486 19s 7d on -the Union
Bank of London. When he returned to business on Oct. 4
he commenced going through his affairs with the prisoner,
and on the 5,h when he went he found the prisoner was
absent. He did not know at the time nor had he any rea-
son to believe that the prisoner would not be there ; and he
had never seen anything of him from that time until he saw
him in custody. On Oct. she received a letter from him,
which he had not then with him. Since his return to
business claims had been made upon him by various brokers
to the amount of between -LlO,OOO and £lO,OOO, the greater
part of which were quite without his knowledge, and took
him very much by surprise. Some of the transactions were
known to him and were entered in the books, but they were
by far the lesser part, and would be covered by £lO,OOO or
£12,000. There was no record in the office or dockets by
which he could trace one of the transactions. The prisoner
had no authority in transactions of his own to draw upon
witness's account in respect of these transactions. Early
in the week a telegram was sent to his office addressed to
Mrs Miller, by which he learnt that the prisoner was re-
turning to England, and he accordingly communicated with
the police with a view to having h7m apprehended.
Mr Gole, on being asked whether he wished to put any
questions to the witness, said he should like to know what
charge he was called upon to answer, whether Mr Hum-
phreys was going simply upon the £5OO bill or upon the
whole of the transactions he had alluded to in his opening:
Mr Humphreys said he was not in a condition to proceed
with any charge other than the £5OO at present.
On being cross-examined Mr Dymes said he did on his
return find at his office a share in a coffee plantation. The
amount paid up was, £6OO, but be believed the value was
merely nominal at present. Ho did not know whether the
prisoner had transferred it to him, He believed the transfer
was blank. It could only have been left there by the pri.
Boner. He himself had paid the £6OO fur the prierner. He
had not had cry communication from the prisoner. fled
told him ho had transferred the share to him as a set off
against the £5OO. There were also E 0 shares in the Essex
Water Company, and he believed the amount paid up was
£BO. He had not heard from any one what the prisoner left
shares at his office for. He considered them to go in reduc-
tion of the very large debt account which appeared against
the prisoner.
On being re-examined, witness said he believed the £lBO
had not been appropriated to his business.
George B. Sandmann said he was bookkeeper and cashier
in the office of Mr Dymes. On the 3d October he received
directions from the prisoner to fill up the check produced for
£lB6. The signatures "D. D, Dymes" and "W. Miller"
were in the prisoner's handwriting. The money had not, as
far as he knew, been used in Mr Dymes's business. At the
time the cheque was drawn the prisoner said it was to pay
some bills for his brother in Madras. 'Witness explained
that the prisoner's brother was a merchant in Madras, and
his business in London was conducted through Mr Dymes.
Cross-examined--The prisoner stated he drew the cheque
on his brother. He was accustomed to do so, with Mr
Dymes's sanction, When the prisoner told him to fill up
the cheque it did not occur to him anything was wrong.
ThomasWi!eon, senior clerk in the service of Mr Dymes,
said he cashed the cheque produced, and handed the money,
£ICO in notes and the remainder in coin, to the prisoner,
The prisoner was remanded upon this evidence, Mr Al-
derman Stone declining to ad.nit him to bail,

Heartless Robbery from a Returned Gold

Digger.

(From the Liverpool Mercury.)

About five years :ago, a Cornish miner, named Thomas
Rowe, left his native country to try his fortune at the gold
diggings at San Francisco, California, He appears to have
been successful, for after working in the mines some time
he saved about £l2O. A few months ago he left California to
return to England via New York. He arrived in Liverpool
on Friday, the 14th ult , by the City of Baltimore, accom-
panied by e man named William Thomas, who had left
Cornwall with him, and Rho had been his companion at the
diggings and during the voyage home. While on the pas-
sage from New York to Liverpool Rowe was taken ill, and
when he was put en shore from the steamer he was so bad
as to be scarcely able to speak. Notwithstanding his weak
condition, it is stated that his companion Thomas left him
to his fate, and proceeded on his journey to Cornwall. While
on the landing-stage Rowe wee "picked up" by two crimps,
who took him to a common lodginghouse, No. 6, Carlton-
street, kept by an old man named Thomas Elliot. He re-
mained there all night, but was removed on the following
morning to the Brownlow-hill workhouse, where he died the
same day. A short time after he expired his wife, who had
heard of his arrival from America, came to Liverpool from
Tywardreath, in Cornwall, where she had been living dui,-
ing his absence. The poor woman, as may be imagined,
was much affected on learning that her husband had died
just before her arrival. She was told at the workhouse that
her husband had left no (Mete. On Wednesdey morning,
a communication was received at the Detective Office,?, from
the superintendent of police at Tywardreath, which had been
written under the direction of Sir Coleman Rashleigh, a
magistrate for the county of Cornwall, stating that from
evidence received it was believed that Rowe had been robbed
in Liverpool of a belt which he wore round his waist, and
which contained £l2O in gold, and some articles of jewelry
The matter was placed in the hands of Detective Inspector
Carlisle and Detective Smith, who, after making inquiries,
apprehended the lodginghouse keeper Thomas Elliott and
his wife Margaret on a charge of robbing Rowe of his money.
When taken into custody £4 193 was found in possession of
the man, and subsequently the officers found, on searching
their house, £BO in gold concealed under the woodwork of
the door. On making further inquiries they found two valu-
able gold rings and a gold nugget at the house of Elliott's
grand• daughter, who resided in Regent-street. Elliott is
82 and his wife 78 years of age. They will be brought be-
fore Mr RA U‘s to-day (Friday), charged with stealing the
money and jewelry from Rowe. It is stated that Themes
Rowe's companion was apprehended at Tywardreath on
suspicion of having committed the rebbery.

THE LEEDS. BANKING COMPANY.—Mr Vice-
Chancellor Kindersley has appointed Tuesday, the 15th
inst., to settle the list of contributors of this banking com-
pany. As the full work of settling the whole list will pro-
bably occupy ripme days, the first call upon such contribu-
tors can scarcely be made in the present month. It is
expected to be made in the present year, and a first dividend
to be paid early in the ensuing year. The list of contributors
will be settled befoore the Vice-Chancellor at his chambers,
3, Stone's-buildings, Lincoln's-inn,