The Sun.
London, England, 1864-06-09 00:00:00

;RICA,

/From tit& 21mes Correspondent.)
NEIN' YORK, May 27.
The half truths coley eyed in Mr. Stanton's official
telegrams from AV eshini;ton and the tress exagge-
rations or wilful falsehoods of the non-official
despatches that daily pour into New York from
Philadelphia, B tltimot e, and Washington are so
unsatisfactory in the. one case and so deceitful in
the other that people have ceased to believe
either in victory or defeat until the full circum-
stances are detail ed in the regular correspondence
of the newspapers. Thus, on Wednesday, after
the departure of the European steamer, no one be-
lieved on telegraphic authority that Grant had
stolen a march upon. Lee, outflanked his army,
and compelled him to make a disastrous retreat
upon Richmond ; tb ough these assertions wero
made in extra editions of most of the morning and.
evening journals, and were vociferated through tae
streets by the stentorian newsboys whom Ireland
furnishes to America in never-failing nursabers.
Yesterday the facts bicame somewhat less cenfused,
and to-day the public learns that, althou'Ah Lee has
abandoned Spottsylvania Court-house, it was net
because of any movement Grant had made to compel
him to do so; that the Southern army had been
falling back to the stronger lines betweeen the North
and South Anna for 24 hours before Grant was
aware of Lee's strategy; that Gra-at followed, but
was compelled by the utter exhaustion of his troops
to give them a day's rest midway between Lee's old
and new positions ; that Lee will fight in the place
he has chosen ; that he has been reinforced both by
Beauregard and Breckenridge,; and that if defeated,
or compelled to retire towards Richmond, he
will
still have the means to contest the ground in a long
series of battle-fields, before finally intrenching him-
self in. the Confederate capital, whereas Grant, if de-
feated, will run the risk of seqing himself cut off
from his communications witie Washington, if he
do not make his escape by his gunboats, or be
otherwise placed in a precarious or untenable posie
tion. Such, shorn of all sub't.erfuge and mystifica-
tion, appeared to be the state of affairs up to a late
hour this evening. During the whole of 3 esterday
a violent storm of wind and rain raged in this city,
and as it came upon us from the south, and pro.
bably extended to Virginia, Grant may have found
it expedient to extend his period of repose, from the
sheer impossibility of advancing through the mud.
That such is Mr. Stanton's belief is es ident from his
latest despatches, in which he informs the public
that two or three days will elapse before any
further news can be expected from the Army of the
Potomac.
It is declared by the Government—and there is
every reason to believe the statement to be true--
that Grant's army at this moment, when it is about
to enter upon its second series of battles, is as strong
and efficient as when it crossed the Rapidan on the
2d instant; that, 'whatever the number of killed,
wounded, and missing me.y be in the bloody
battles of the Wilderness and Spottsy lvania, the
number has been supplied by reinforcements.
But as no account has ever yet been pub-
lished of the exact numerical force of the Army
of the Potomac when it commenced this critical
campaign, the following estimate, derived from
an authority not likely to be misinformed or
self-deceived, may be found of interest. It may
at the same time be depended upon as being as
nearly accurate as it is possible to make it :—The
main army on the 2d inst. was composed of 218,000
men, of whom more than half were veteran soldiers,
in a high state of discipline and efficiency, and the
remainder new Elect comparatively raw recruits,
most of whom had never been under fire. To these
are to be added 18,000 negroes, attached to Barn-
side's command, and 10,000 other negroes perform-
ing camp duty, ba". thoroughly armed and equipped.
Butler's corps, operating from the Peninsula, and
now all but hopelessly imprisoned in intrenchments
of his own rearing, numbered 35,000 men, both
white and black, Sigel's corps, constituting the ex-
treme right wing of Grant's army, operating in the
valley of the Shenandoah, was 30,000 strong ; and
the cavalry, under Kant; Sheridan, and others en,
gaged in raids iu the rear of the Confederates, cut-
ting the railroads, and doing other damage to the
communications of Gen. Lee with his bases of sups
ply, num bared about 10,000_ These various items,
including infantry, cavalry, artillery, and every
arm known to military duty, made a grand total of
321,000 men.
Thu Confederate force opposed to this mighty
hest is not believed by those best acquainted with
the resources of the South to amount to more than
170,000 men. Some estimates place the number at
less than 100,000. Those who believe the higher
number to be correct consider that Lee's main army
is 115,000 strong; that Beauregard's command is
50,000, and Imboden's cavalry 5,000. This force,
though inferior in number to Grant's, would be
amply sufficient, considering its moral strength, as
well as its superior knowledge of the ground, and,
without disparagement of Grant's abilities, its supe-
rior generalship, not only to hold its own, but to
gain the victory outside the walls of Richmond,
The amount of the slain in the battles that
commenced on the sth, and ended for a while on
the 15th, will probably never be known, but that
the atatement current last week, and for the publi-
cation of which the Baltimore Transcript was sup-
pressed, that the total losses were not far short of
70,000, was not much if at all exaggerated may be
surmised from the following authentic figures, made
np to the 16th of this month, when the army rested
from its labours, and its commander took advan-
tage of the state of the roads to recruit. On that
day the number of wounded left under treatment at
the temporary hospitals of
Tho Wilderness and Chancellorsville was.... 2,100
At Fredericksburg, where every house,
as well
as the
pathways of the streets were fu11....
12,950
At Alexandria ............................ 2,000
AtWashington .......................... 12,150
At Georgetown
At Baltimore and other cities northward 3,600

Total wounded
33,800
To these have to be added the prisoners—
amounting to about s,ooo—and the stragglers and
deserters, probably to as many more. Adding all
these together, the total loss to the main army of
the Potomac, exclusive of the slain, will amount to
43,800. What the losses of Butler in the peninsula
and Sigel in the Shenandoah Valley were in killed,
wounded, and missing have not been so closely esti-
mated ; bat it is conjectured that Butler's were
about 8,000 and Sigel's 5,000, which if correct would
sum up the whale loss, exclusive of the slain, to
upwards of 56,000 men.

From the obstinacy of the battles and from the
spirit of both armies it is probable that the losses
sustained by the Confederates were proportionately
as large as those of the Federals. It is equallyprobable
that in the conflict about to be renewed the massacre
inflicted by each army upon the other will be as
savage as before, and that Grant will neither over..
Whelm Lf e, nor Lee Grant, until 160,000 shall have
been killed, wounded, or taken prisoners. Bat fright-
ful as this estimate is. no one in New York seems
to be in the least astonished or shocked by it—not
even the preachers of the Gospel of Peace, or the
tender-hearted ladies who preside at sanitary fairs.
There appears to be a horrible fascination to the
mind of the Americans in the thought of the multi-
tudes who have perished, and must yet perish,
before peace can be restored, if
they ht
Judge be
y
r
the reckless nonchalance w
Nvithohni:h ma
under Grant is universally Which
of,
That such
holocausts of slain are
.possible is considered as in
some sort a proof of the greatness of the people,
and of their infinite superiority to any other in
the world. "The greater the debt, the greater the
slaughter, the greater the fierceness of the contend-
ing hosts, the greater is our great country, Sir
—a country that can affml to lose a million of
men and never feel the loss, Sir; and to owe four
thousand millions of dollars and be none the
worse, Sir ; a country, Sir, that will be reunited
without a slave in it, Sir ; and that will
send General Lee to drive the French and
the Emperor Maximilian out of Mexico in
less than six months, Sir ; and that will send
General Grant to 'Montreal and Quebec and annex
the whole of British North America, jest as soon
as it is convenient—may be in three months, Sir ;
and that is destined, by the blessing of the Lord,

Sir, to whip all creation." Stich is the talk of
thousands of New York heroes who have never
smelt powder, except on the 4th of July; end such,
with scarcely a change of phraseology, is the staple
of hundreds of leading articles in hundreds of news-
papers throughout the North. This may be indomis
table resolution, or the heroism that knows no such
word as " fail," or it may be mere brag and bravado,
born of conceit and emptiness; but it looks, to eyes
that are not American, uncommonly like the pride
which we are told, on the highest authority, goes
before destruction, and the haughty spirit that
precedes a fall.
Mr. Lincoln's friends will not permit the deeds of
the army wholly to divert the minds of the public
from the Presidential election of November, and are
taking every possible means to procure his nomina.
lion as the candidate of the Republicans, at the great
Convention of the party which is to assemble on
the 7th of June at Baltimore. Every State in the
Union is busy choosing its delegates to that body,
and some States not in the Union will be as fully
represented as those that are. Louisiana, Florida,
Arkansas, Tennessee, Virginia, and North and
South Carolina, claim to be present. Tile two
Carolinas have already chosen their representa-
tives; and as both of these States are in Confe.
derate possession, except a few corners on the sea-
board, where the Federal armies and gun boats
have effected a military occupation, the Federal
army and navy,
together with the camp followers,
black and white, have constituted themselves into
State Conventions, organised meetings, drawn up
resolutions, carried them in the most approved
fashion, and duly instructed the delegates so
named to vote for Abraham Lincoln, and for
none but him, at Baltimore. It is expected that
upwards of 1,500 delegates will assemble, and
that Mr. Lincoln's nomination is assured. It is not
likely, however, that this result will be attained at
Baltimore without a split in the party, and exceed-
ingly probable that the largest and most energetic
section will muster strongly at Cleveland, and
nominate either Gen. Fremont or Mr. Chase. The
schism is keenly watched by the Democrats, who,
if they keep well together, and agree upon one can
didate, have a very good chance of winning the day
by the weakness and divisions of their opponents.
All doubt of the willingness of Governor Sey-
mour to try conclusions with the Government on its I
right to supersede the law and the constitution of
the State of New York has been removed by the
publication of this letter to Mr. Oakley Hall, the
district attorney of the county. The Governor affirms
that "if" the offices of Journal of Commerce and
the JJ'orld were entered by armed men, the property
seized end held by violence for several days with-
out due legal process and without the sanction of
State or national laws, the offenders must be pun-
ished. He directs the public prosecutor to look into
the facts, and, if they be as stated, to prosecute the
parties implicated, and to call upon the sheriff of the
county and the heads of the police for any force or
assistance he may need. It is to be regretted that
Mr. Seymour did not confine himself to these in-
structions, and refrain from following them up by
a long, vague, and rhetorical disquisition, fit only
to be spoken in a debating Society, upon the bless.
ings of liberty and the evils of arbitrary power.
" For more than 80 years," says the Governor,
"we as a people have been engaged in building up
a universal faith in the sanctity of our jurispru-
dence. It is this which carries our commerce upon
every ocean, and brings back to our merchants the
wealth of every clime. In utter disregard of the
sensitiveness of that faith at the moment when
the national credit is undergoing a fearful trial,
the organs of commerce are ee'zed and held in
violation of constitutional pledges by military
force and arbitrary orders. These things," he adds,
are more hurtful to the national honour and strength
than the loss of battles. The world would confound
such acts with the principles of our Government,
and the follies and crimes of officials will be looked
upon as the natural result of the spirit of our in-
stitutions. Our State and local authorities must
repel this ruinous inference. If the merchants of
New York are not willing :to have their harbour
sealed up and their commerce paralysed, they
must unite in this demand for the security of
persons and property. If this is not done, the
world will withdraw from their keeping its
treasures and its commerce." Such phrases in a
speech at a public meeting of sympathising Demo-
crats, or in the mouth of Mr. Oakey Hall, when
arguing before the court on the necessity of calling
General Dix to account for his actions, would be
unobjectionable, if not wholly pertinent ; but in an
official notification to legal functionaries, who ought
to be supposed to need no lecture from the Governor
or any one else, on such a subject, they suggest
Buncombe and not business. The merchants of
New York, instead of being convinced by the rea-
soning, have very generally laughed at it; while
others, not merchants, who know the full impor•
tance of the question, have a misgiving that the
Governor's courage will never take any other shape
than brave word, ; that he will bark, but not bite;
and that nothing will come of Mr. Oakey Hall's in-
vestigations. It is possible, however, that such
persons do the Governor injustice, and that he
really means to force a decision from the State
Courts on Mr. Lincoln's right to suppress a
newspaper, either temporarily or permanently.
It is obviously his duty to do so, irrespective
of consequences. If his purpose should be de-
feated by the apathy of the people or their ac-
quiescence in wrong, by the timidity or ve-
nality of the Courts, or by the general belief
that, although Mr. Lincoln may have usurped
powers not belonging to him, it is better in a time
of war to submit to encroachment than to weaken
the hands of the Executive—the disgrace will not
attach to his name. It seems clear, however, that
if the Governor should zealously pursue this course
he will have no great amount of popular sympathy
to sustain him. The people have temporarily, per-
haps permanently, lost their love of liberty. War,
paper money, and a lavish expenditure, have demo-
ralised them. An all-pervading thirst of public
plunder leaves no room in their hearts for the
nobler feelings that created and can alone maintain
their Republican Government. Even the House of
Representatives, where, if anywhere, some form of
Protest against the arbitrary action of the President
should have found an expression, refused to con-
sider the matter, or listen to a speech on a motion
for inquiry.

STATE OF TRADE.

demand for coal is rather less
thacnlThaPsirbFei jun°
den the case latel
quotatiuointerranean
gh prices are firmly
maintained—double-screened awtluathrtioraude is unsettled. Bars
per ton, freo-on-board. The
iron
being Its to Ils 6d
are quoted at ..£7 lOs ; Scotch
60s 6d open. The freights to the ;ret_!, 593 3d cash, and
continue
to increase, and the present
are some of the
highest which have ever been asked.

intoe"thaseplaininthe amount
LEICESTER, Bth.---There is a steady
of business doing in the hosiery trade.
goods continue in the demand, and the trade generaanidi fancy
a healthy condition. At Hinckley and
_Yols in
business is quiet. The wool-market is rather easy,""ur
but ugstill
high prices are given. Yarns are very firm, and „pizurra
are well employed, prices ruling extremely high.
There
are no stocks of hosiery on hand.
NOTTINGHAM, Bth.—There is a fair amount of business
doing in silk Mechlins and quillings, and a slight improve.
ment has taken place in the demand for black silk lace and
narrow edgings. Mechlin quillings are in fair inquiry, but
other kinds of cotton goods are a slow sale. In plain founda-
tion nets there is no improvement. All descriptions of both
silk and cotton goods are light in stock, There has been
some home and foreign buyers in the market this week, but
their purchase, except for silk quillings and Mechlins, are
not large. The hosiery trade is quiet, both as respects the
home and export trade. Yarns hold firm,

PRIZE DESIGNS,—"As affording the most striking con-
trast, Mr. Benson shows with these a fresh exhibition of
modern watches, with cases made from prize designs at the
South liensinzton Muteum, some of which are fine specimens
of engraving. "—Times, Sept. 15, 1832.
LAIVERTISEMENT.I—HoIIoway's Ointment and Pills.—
Outward Sores.— Daily experience confirms the fact, which
has triumphed over opposition for 30 years, that no means
are known equal to Holloway's remedies for curing bad
legs, sores, wounds, diseases of the skin, erysipelas, ab •
socsses, burns, scalds, and, in truth, all cases where the
skin broken. To
cure these infirmities quickly is of
primary importance, or the compulsory confinement indoors
weakens the general health. The ready means of cure are
found in Holloway's ointment and pills, which heal the
sores and expel their cause. In the very worst cases this
ointment has succeeded in eff, sting
a perfect cure after every
other means had failed of giving any relief, Deal:erste cases
best display its virtues.

SPORT,