The Sun.
London, England, 1864-10-31 00:00:00

AMERICA.

QUEENSTOWN, Saturday.

The Inman steamer Etna, from New York the
15th instant, and the Canard Royal Mail steamer
China, from New York the 19th instant, arrived at
a very early hour this morning.
A deputation of citizens of Tennesse waited upon
President Lincoln to deliver a protest against the
recent illegal proceedings in that State. The follow.
ing account of the interview is given by Mr John
Lellyett, the accuracy of the narrative being at.
tested by the Hon. Charles Mason :
"I called upon the President to-day, and pre.
aented and read to him the subjoined protest.
Having concluded, Mr Lincoln responded—
" May I inquire how long it took you and the
New York politicians to concoct that paper ?'
" I replied, I was concocted in Nashville, with-
out communication with any but Tennesseans. We
communicated with citizens of Tennessee outside of
Nashville, but not with New York politicians.'
"I will answer,' said Mr Lincoln emphatically,
that I expect to let the friends of Gto. B. M'Clellan
manage their side of this contest in their own way,
and I will manage my side of it in my way.'
",' May we ask an answer in writing ?' I saga

gested.
" Not now. Lay those papers down here. I will
give no other answer now. I may or may not write
something about this hereafter. I understand this.
I know you intend to make a point of this, But go
ahead, you have my answer.'
" ' Your answer, then, is that you expect to let
General M'Clellan's friends manage their side of
this contest in their own way, and you will manage
it in your way ?
" Yes."

.:
~~s~_~

"I then thanked the President for his courtesy
in giving us a hearing at all, and took my leave.
Judge Mason, of this city, was present at the inter•
view, to whom I refer in regard to the correctness
of this report. On stepping outside of the door of
the executive mansion I immediately wrote down
the President's emphatic response, and submitted it
to Judge Mason and another gentleman who hap-
pened to be present, and they both pronounced it
accurate. And now I have a word to say to the
people of the United States who are, or ought to be,
the masters of Abraham Lincoln. The paper which
I had the honour to present to the President is not
the concoction of New York politicans,' however
that might affect its merits. It is the solemn voice
of a once free and proud people, protesting against
their own disflanchisement by the agent of Abraham
Lincoln. It is the voice of those loyal men in Ten-
nessee who have borne the reproach of a people
they still loved, supporting the President in all law-
ful efforts to preserve the Union. The reward of
our loyalty is disenfranahisemeot. The cup of per'.
jury is commended to our lips, because it is known
we will not touch its contents. Judge ye between
the people of Tennessee and Abraham Lincoln. It
may be meet that our solemn and respoct!'ul appeal
should be thrown aside with a contemptuous sneer.
Look to it. If you, the people of the Northern
States, shall sustain this act of tyranny, your own
time will soon come. If the President of the United
States may ' manage his side in this contest' by
setting aside the very letter of the Constitution, and
altering the election laws of the State so as to dig-
franchise his opponents, liberty is already dead.'
No decisive return of the Pennsylvania ele3tions
is yet given. The democrats still claim a majority
on the civilian vote, but do not deny that the sob,
diera' vote will leave a large majority for the Re-
publicans.

The D,mocrats in Missouri complain of illegal
obstruction to their canvass, and have addressed a
protest on the subject to General Rosecrans.
A great number cf arrests have been made, and
business houses dosed up at the instance of the War
D:partment, in Baltimore, Washington, and Alex-
andria, Virginia. The charges are of carrying,Confe-
derate mails and being concerned in blockade
running.

Judge Roll has published in the TVashington
Chronicle a report, eight columns in length, in re-
lation to the secret associations and conspiracy
against the Government in the Western and North-
Western Status. The actual number of persons in
these secret lodges he supposes is 4500,000, which is
the number Vallandigham stated it to be. It is an
armed force, the arms being purchased in Eastern
markets, and consisting of revolvers and carbines.
Oae of the principles of the Order is that Federal
authority cannot coerce a sovereign State, the Fedee
ral power being without sovereignty itself. Another
is that when the Government is administered con-
trary to the strict letter of the Constitution, it is
the inherent_right and imperative:duty of the people
to resist the authorities, and compel them by force
of arms to act constitutionally. The specific pur-
pose of the Order at present,according to the Judge,
is to encourage desertion, to resist the draught, to
circulate disloyal documents, to give intelligence to
the enemy, aid him by recruiting for his army, and
furnishing him with arms and ammunition, and
aiding in destroying Government and private pro-
perty, and the establishment of a North-Western
Confederacy in alliance with the South. Judge
Holt professes to have abundant and reliable testi-
mony establishing these facts.
In retaliation for the employment upon fortificas
Con works by the Confederates of 110 captured negro
soldiers, Gen. Butler has ordered an equal number
of Confederate prisoners to be set upon the excava-
tion of Dutch Gap and:elsewhere:along the trenches.
The correspondent of the New York Times an-
nounces the execution of this order, and mentions
that among the prisonele put to labour were two old
gentlemen who had accidently wandered into the
linee. A reconnaissance towards Richmond was
made en the 13th, and proved the strength of the
Confederate works. The following account is by
the correspondent of the New York, World :
" General Terry, commanding the 10th Army
Corps, during the temporary absence of General
Barney, pushed a reconnaissance with the Ist and
3d Divisions and K.un!z's cavalry towards the
Darbytown road yesterday. The reconnoitring
party being formed with the 31 Division, under
General Ames, on the left, the let Division, General
Birney, in the centre, and Kuntz's cavalry on the
right, and resting on Charles City road, moved
straight forward from their entrenchments, starting
before daylight had appeared. About 9 o'clock our
skirmishers met the enemy's pickets, and in the
skirmish which ensued forced them from their
cover' and drove them steadily before them into
their main works. Skirmishing was kept up from
this time until about 3 o'clock in the afternoon, the
enemy attempting thrice during the while to
'sneak' on Colonel Piaisted's line of skirmishers,
and being each time thwarted. An assault on the
works having been determined on, was ordered at
the aboveementioned hour, the Ist brigade of
the Ist Division being selected for the task. The
prospect of success WAS not very brilliant,
and as the poor fellows composing the brigade
listened to the orders their countenances proved
how keenly they appreciated the futility of
the attempt they were about to make. Still, they
were willing to try it ; they were not men to shrink
from the fulfilment of any order. The work to be
assaulted was some 600 yards from their front; the
space intervening was one perfect entanglement of
'slashed trees,' underbrush and ' cat vines,' and
clumps of laurel; if they reached the work at all it
most he through this barrier. Who, under the cir-
cumstances, will wonder that the faces of these
heretofore invincible veterans should betray the
lack cf confidence they felt in their capability to
succeed ? At the command 'Forward!' however,
forward they started. Their progese is very slow—
almost imperceptible to the distant observer. The
shot of the enemy is finding its range with greater
made' ; valuable cfficers are falling—Col. Taylor, of
the 62d Ohio, is mortally wounded. Msjor Camp,
commanding the 10th Connecticut, has been shot
dead, as also has been a gallant young captain who
commanded the 39th Illinois. At this juncture an
order to fall back is received ; the brigade works
its way rearward to our line, and soon after the
entire party return to their old position inside our
entrenchments. The reconnaisance reveals the fact
that the enemy flee spared no labour to obstruct this
paeeege to Richmond, and, further, that his obstruc-
tions are really of a formidable character. The line
of works attacked yesterday was a new one, and is