The Sun.
London, England, 1864-05-02 00:00:00

THE CIVIL WAR IN AMERICA.

(From the Times' Correspondent.)
NEW YORK, April 15,
The Mississippi has been again closed to naviga-
ion by the capture by the Confederates, under

Forrest, of the strong position of Fort Pillow—
situated on a high bluff above Memphis. The tele..
graph reports a general massacre of women,
children, and negroes, by Forrest's soldiers; but
such stories have been so often repeated, and as
often found to be the grossest exaggerations, or most
baseless untruths, that few people are found to be-
lieve in them. it is clear, however, that the attack
was vigorous and the defence desperate ; and all

but certain that Memphis will share the fate of
Fort Pillow, and surrender to the impetuous
Forrest. Whether he will be able to hold both or
either depends more upon the force of gunboats
that will be sent up the river from New Orleans to
aid in dislodging him, than upon the army likely
to be opposed to him. The circumstances of the
capture excite the ire of the New York journals—
not against the officer in command, but against the
administration, which, having an almost unlimited
number of gunboats at its disposition, and the con-
trol of the whole internal navigation of the country,
should have left such a point at the mercy of a coup
de main from the land side.

If the Administration, in its wisdom, should
think it advisable to strengthen Gen. Sherman in
the \lississippi region, at the expense of the army
of the Potomac, the capture of Fort Pillow may be
the prelude to stirring events oa the Rapidan or the
Peninsula. The roads of Virginia, under the in-
fluence of the genial spring weather of the last few
days, have again become passable for horse and
foot, ar.(.l perhaps for artillery, in which case a
move may be hourly expected that will either make
or mo.r General Grant, and which in case of
failure will play havoc with the whole North, and
lead to more critical cnnbinations, political and
social, as well as military, than any previous event
of the war.

In this city, however, the gold questior, take, pre-
cedence of the movements of armies in the estima-
tion of almost everybody. Tow is gold ?" is the
re
common question of the stn ets and the hotel lobby
as well as of the coo:a ting- house ; and even the
women seem to be as interested as the men in ob-
taining a reply. The speculators have been so ram.
pant during the last three days as to have seriously
alarmed every member of the Cabinet. Yesterday
morning, although the price fixed for gold certifi-
cates by Mr. Chase was 65 premium, 'it ran up, in
consequence of the great demand for exchange in
payment of the recent heavy importatiors of Euro-
pean luxuries and other causes, to 89; and threat-
ened, unlees checked by the agency of the Govern-
ment in throwing a few millions into the market
in excess of the demand, to reach 100. Mr.
Chase, finding Washiegton too remote from the
scene of danger, hurried to this city, the real
metropolis of America, to consult with the
leading bankers, and to ascertain from closer inspec-
tion waether it were possible for mere gamblers to
prod'ace a rise so remarkable; or whether the con-
stant issue of paper, the increasing debt, and the fear
of men who can see a little way before them, that
notwithstanding all his immense preparations for
victory it is possible General Grant may be defeated
in Virginia, and that a social as well as a financial
convulsion may follow, did not all
depre-
ciate his "greenbacks." Th d eombine to
announcement of the
this errand was sufficient,
Secretary'shnw ever,
to
seer
nr arrival al on
;cold down about 15 per cent, in
minutes, but the fall was not suss
twice as
mrstar:l
ne operators bethought themselves that
Mr. Chase had not, in reality, any considerable
amount of gold to sell, that if he sold it he would
no longer be in tha position prescribed by law—of
paying the interest of his "five twenties " in coin—
and would, consequently, have to come into the
market within a fortnight as a buyer, if he would
keep faith with the public and avoid a commercial
panic. There considerations not only prevented a
further fall but caused a recovery of price, and to•
day gold stands at 741, or 91 per cent, above the
price at which Mr. Chase's agents sell gold certifi-
cates for the payment of Customs' duties.
It is not, however, the demand for American gold
to pay the Customs' duties whioh mainly enhances
the price, but the demand for foreign exchange, that
is to say, for English and French gold, to pay for
importations and for permanent investments in
Europe. People who have made hundreds of thou-
sands, or perhaps millions, in greenbacks, are be-
ginning to be apprehensive of future political con-
vulsions. Real estate, which once had such charms
in their eyes, has lost a portion of its pleasantness,
and the grim spectre of a popular outbreak looms
blood-red upon their vision, and a reign of terror—
but too probable if great disasters should befal the
army of the Potomac—would drive hundreds if not
thousands of them out of the country, to seek an
asylum in Europe. Many wealthy merchants,
bankers, and contractors, are quietly preparing for
such a catastrophe, and exchanging their greenbacks
for English Consols or French Rentes—in other
words, for gold to be left at their disposal in London
or Paris. The names of some very prominent Ameri-
can politicians, as well as merchantsand
millionaires
are freely mentioned as having adopted this coarse;
and unless Gen. Grant will achieve a victory to re-
assure them, Mr. Chase, with all his good will to
beat down gold, will he able to effect but little, and
greenbacks—worth at present little more than half
their nominal value—will continue to depreciate,
until the paper dollar will have no greater purchas-
ing power than an English shilling.
The Americans have been slow to understand their
fiscal condition, but a glimmering of truth has begun
to dawn up mt them. It is of little avail, however,
if they wilt not make personal sacrifices to sustain
the eational credit, that they should be alarmed at
the prospect before them. Congress will neither
vote a Property Tax Bill, nor will the people pay
such taxes as Congress has already imposed, unless
it be those indirect taxes which are levied on com-
modities of daily consumption. The income-tax,
from which so much was expected, produced last
year no more than 450,000 do's., or at the present
rate of exchange about £55,000 sterling, instead of
the 150,000,000 which it was estimated to
yield, which sum, contributed by the people in
support of the war, would only pay its expenses
for the fifth part of a single day. The carelessness
or inexperience of the tax collectors may account
for a portion of this astounding deficiency; but un-
less 99 per cent of the whole American people pos
sess inJomes of less than 600 dols per annum, at
which point their exemption begins, there toilet have