The Sun.
London, England, 1864-06-27 00:00:00

THE CIVIL WAR IN AMERICA,

(From the Times Cor respondent.)
BALTIMORE, June 13.
A story is told in Baltimore by a gentleman Ns ho
was recently in Richmond, that the Southern Pre.
sident was asked in his presence how soon he thought
the war would end ? Placing his hand upon the
head of a little boy, not five yeare of age, Mr. Devils
replied," Not till this child is an old man." Mr.
Davis's sorrowful aaticipatioo is shared in this
city, if not further north. All expectation that the
Federals will conquer the Confederates, or the Con-
federates the Federals, has subsided. The exhaustion
of neither party is deemed possible. The interven-
tion of Great Britain and France has ceased to be
looked for. The capture of Richmond, if Effected—
which few believe—may gratify the pride of the
North, but will not expedite the subjugation of the
South. The strength of the Confederates lies in no
city and no locality, but in the hearts of a people,
whom the prolongation of hostilities may exasperate,
but can never incline to peace. The only chance
that promises speedier results than Northern vie•
tory is Northern defeat, to be achieved over
Grant or Sherman, it matters not which. The
idea
of those who see in the independence
of the South the only chance for the preserva-
tion of the liberties of the North is, that
such a defeat in the midst of the Presidential con-
test would lead to a commercial panic and a furious
agitation of popular passions, out of which would
spring a civil war in the
North. Then it is argucel
the South
might extort the recognition of its inde-
pendence from that powerful
Northern party which
in such an event would certainly arise to prevent
the further disentegration of the Republic. But
Federal success, and
tFbeedeehr
ialld victorye
become
will
youth, the
naot bring
youth a man, and
of 70 winters
the man grow gray with the burden
before the Sautt, will learn submission. The South
can bear defeat. The question is if the North can
bear it without political convulsion. It would seem,
frem the plight of General Grant ; from hie hie,.
tivity for the last eight days—from the fearful
losses he has endured—from the readiness of Gene-
ral Lce to confront and foil him at any point upon
which he may select to hurl his legions—from the
well-known though etrenously denied fact that the
Confederates in every battle have inflicted at least
three times the damage they have sustained ; and
from the fact, equally ominous, but not so stoutly
contested, that a siege of Richmond might consume
the surumer and Grant's army along with it by the
diseases and fevers of an encampment among the
swamps of the Chiekahominy, that this great ques-
tion may have a speedier answer than most people
anticipated a month ago, and that Grant's defeat,
retreat, or withdrawal, is not only imainent from
day to day, but will be followed by complications
ar graver and more perilous than attended .the
drawn battles of M'Clellan and Meade, or the rea
verses of Pope, Burnside,
and Hooker.
The indications to-day are that Grant will try
another change of base, and risk another great
battle, before resorting to the lest extremity of a
siege. Mr. Stanton's curt despatches lead to the
inference that the movement has already com-
menced, and the guarded letters of the New
York and Philadelptia journals name the James
River as the new starting point of his much-en-
during arms. It is, perhaps, sufficient criticism