The Sun.
London, England, 1864-05-03 00:00:00

as those which declared that women and children
had been massacred ; that one negro had been nailed
upon a plank by his captors and thrown into the
fire, and that five unarmed men had been buried
alive, and had afterwards crawled out of their graves
only to be knocked upon the head by their inhuman
enemy. Mr. Lincoln, in a speech which he made the
night before last at the opening of the Baltimore
Sanita,:y Fair, alluded to these rumours, and said
that the Government had no direct evidence to
con'Airm them, though he himself feared that they
w ere but too true. If they should prove to be
'so, he promised that retribution—probably meaning
retaliation—should follow. But how that retribu-
tion (or retaliation) was to be administered, was a
question which he could not then settle. He did not
think it would be right to take the life of prisoners
in Washington, in Fort Delaware, or elsewhere, in
retaliation for acts in which they had not shared,
and asked his audience if it would be right to take
the prisoners oaptured atVicksburg and shoot them
for acts of which they were not guilty, and which it
would probably be found were the orders of only a
few individuals, or possibly of only one man. Mr.
Lincoln was right to have his doubts. The Federal
Government cannot and dares not retaliate. The
greater the atrocity of the massacres committed--
provided that any were committed at all—the more
impossible it will be for him or his Government to
carry the threat into execution. To denounce such
acts before the great tribunal of civilisation, and to
call upon the Confederate Government not only to
disavow them but to bring their perpetrators to
punishment, is all that is required. To retaliate
would be, in cold blood, to lower the Federal Go-
vernment to the level of the few individuals, or
possibly of the one man, who in hot blood permitted
or ordered the fiendish barbarity complained of, and
utterly u❑ worthy of the President of the United
States. Even to threaten retaliation as vaguely
and indirectly as he did, was a descent from the
dignity of his position which can only be excused
by remembering that Mr. Lincoln is not a ready
speaker, that he wan taken unprepared, and did
not reflect that it is best to say nothing if you have
nothing to say, especially if you bo an Emperor, a ,
King, or a President—or any one else who pos-
sesses great power, and whose lightest words are
severely criticized.

Little is heard in New York of the doings of
Federal Generals in the South. From the little that
is.divulged, it would appear, however, that the rule
of General Banks at New Orleans is as rigid as
that of General Butler. The Louisianas are a
conquered people, and they are made to feel it.
In this respect there is no difference between Butler
and Banks. The one was a tyrant without pity,
remorse, or conscience; and the other is a tyrant
who thinks it possible to be a gentleman. Perhaps
New Orleans has lost rather than gained by the
exchange, for Butler's doings challenged the atten-
tion of the world, and provoked sympathy for the
unhappy sufferers ; while Banks works more
silently, and without creating the public scandal
which Butler seemed to delight in rather than to
deprecate. But that his administration of the
Government of the unhappy region which has fallen
under his control is quite as despotic as Butler's,
will be apparent from the story of his treatment of
one of the wealthiest and most respected citizens of
New Orleans, Mr. James D. Denegre, who has had
the misfortune to incur his displeasure. At the
recent election of a civil Governor of Louisiana, the
nominee of the Federal Government and of General
Banks was, of course, chosen. Though General
Banks had declared that to abstain from voting
would be considered a crime, only 11,000 persons
took the trouble to participate in the election ; and
as there is a force of about 20,000 Federal soldiers
in the city and neighbourhood, it may be easily
understood that 11,000 votes may easily have been
procured, without the participation of any of the
citizens, influential or otherwise. Ou the inaugurao
tion of the Governor so chosen, a Mr. Michael
Hahn, a lawyer in good practice and a native of
Bremen, who emigrated to America in early
life, the military authorities, anxious to give all
possible eclat to the ceremony, invited every in-
habitant of New Orleans whose wealth and social
position were sufficient to render fashionable any
celebration at which he chose to be present. 'With-
out waiting for the !acceptance of these gentle-
men or their families, the official papers were
instructed to announce them as supporters of
Governor Hahn, and as having taken part in the
inauguration. Mr. Denegre, forgetful of the fact
that he lived ander a military despotism, and that
he was suspectedfof the crime of sympathy with the
Southern Confederacy, wrote the following letter to
the editor of L'Abeille de la Nouvelle Orleans, a
journal published both in French and English

" New Orleans, 'March 6th.
" Sir,—l find my name mentioned in the public prints as
having assisted in the inaugural ceremonies of yesterday.
Although an invited guest I did not attend or participate
therein. Bnt lam still more surprised to find that the old
veterans of 1815, J. B. Planche and Alfred Heiman, were
also present—the former having been dead fur more than
three years, and the other; having been absent since last
spring.

" Yours, &c., JAMES D, DENEGRE."
It was represented to Mr. Denegre, by some of
his friends, that he should have confined himself to
a personal statement, and been discreet enough to
say nothing about the dead Mr. Planche and the
absent Mr. Hennan ; and that in all probability
the military authorities would make his utter the
pretext for visiting upon him the wratt, which they
hac. long been nursing against hi:A for refusing to
associate with General Bank', or his epauletted:sub-
ordinates. The segaci'.9 of these gentlemen was
not at fault; and 1:z days after publication of his
damaging ePisf:te he received the following :
"Headquart,,rs,
the G Provost-Marshal-General, Department of
elf, 201, C4rondelet-street, New Orleans, March IS.
•
_dr James D. Denegre,
I "Sir,—By orders of the Major-General commanding,
you are hereby required to leave this department in five
days from this date,
" At the expiration of that time transportation will be
provided to carry you beyond the lines of the army, and
within the lines controlled by the rebel Government.
" Very respectfully,
" JAMES BROWN, Brigadier General,
" Provost Marshal General, Department of the Gulf."
Mr. Denegra immediately sought Brigadier-
General Brown, and represented that if his presence
in New Orleans were considered undesirable he
would exile himself to Havannah or to Europe, and
pledge himself not to return until the expiration of
the war. He was informed that this could not be
allowed, and that he must be forthwith transported
into the Confederate lines. He then begged the
grace of one additional day, in order to be better
able to make arrangements for the comfort of his
wife and family, whom he would leave behind in
the meanwhile, as they had not been commanded
to accompany him. The request was refused, and
at the end of the fifth day he was escorted by the
military beyond the lines of the Federal army, and
there left to shift for himself as best he might.
Should Mr. Denegre decide to take the oath of alle-
giance to the Confederate Government, he will
doubtless be received with all the cordiality due to
his personal character and the sympathy due to his
sufferings in the cause of the South; but in that
Case his house—one of the finest and most luxu-
riously furnished and decorated in New Orleane—
and all the other property he may have left behind,
will be confiscated to the use of the Federals. Mrs.
Denegre will be turned out of possession, and
come military underling will be installed in her
place to admire the pictures and statuary, and
drink tile wines of the exile. Should Mr. Denegre
desire to save his property, and refuse to take the
oath, the ,Confederate authorities will not allow
him to remain on their soil, and ho will have to do,
as Mr. Vallandigham did before him, make his way
to one of
the Atlantic ports, and run the blockade
to Nassau.,
Prom that point he may reach Europe
at is leisure, happy if, having foreseen the coming
sbteohlri
emy,e
dh
ht oeekdid, or
tm tperexcchn
auatigoningmonths ago, as it is
half a million
of
Federal greenbacks for Parisian goal,
gloomy despotism d) and the
of his native city for the life and
gaiety of the French capital.

Persons in debt may obtain instant protection against
imprisonment or seizure of their goods, and an entire release
from all debts and liaLilities without publicity, by application
to Messrs. Marshall, solio.tors of the Courty,
of Bankruptcy.
Charges under £,5 payable by easy instalments. Offices—
(estabiished 1830), 12, Hatton
-garden. City branch-6, Uoor-
gate-street Bank—Anvz