The Sun.
London, England, 1864-07-23 00:00:00

The Invasion of Maryland,

(From the Index.)
There is good reason to believe that General Lee
has for sometime past contemplated this movement.
Weeks have elapsed since we heard that Ewell's
ccrps had suddenly disappeared from the front of
Grant's lines on the Chickabominy. In all proba-
bility, the adeance was decided upon so soon as
Grant's direct line of communication with Wash.
ington was interrupted, and the pursuit of Hunter's
corps was merely an accident. The intention,
doubtless, was to sweep away every Federal soldier
from the Shenandoah, and crush any army that
ventured to oppose the march. Hunter's partial
success may have impeded—it certainly did not
hurry on—Ewell's movement. But nobody could
have played the Confederate game better
than the General who, advancing with his
base in the air down the Shenandoah valley upon
Lynchburg, retreated when attacked in exactly the
opposite direction to that in which alone his army
might have been available for the defence cf the
Northern frontier. It is possible that Hunter had
no other alternative, and that only his rapid march
to Gauley, Western Virginia, saved his force from
destruction. Bat under any circumstances he
has succeeded in neutralising an army of veterans
which at the present time would be of immense
service to the North, and but for his glaring bad
generalship the invasion of the North would
have been a far more critical undertaking. It
would seem that the defence of Lynchburg was
entirely the work of the small body of Confede-
rates who fought at Stanton under General
Jones ; and that Ewell, leaving Lynchburg to its
fate, marched directly upon the Shenandoah valley,
with a view of cutting off Hunter from his commu-
nications, and occupying the Baltimore and Ohio
Railroad. In both objects he has succeeded. Hunter
is isolated and powerless to strike a blow ; and long
before he can be in a position to make any serious
demonstration in Ewell's rear, the mischief will
have been done. Moreover, there can be no rein-
forcements from the Western States, and Baltimore
and Washington must depend for their safety on
their undrilled militia. The question is, whether
this movement is a mere raiding expedition, or a
counterstroke against Grant's plan of campaign ;
although in neither case does it leave any doubt as
to the issue of the struggle before Richmond. The
gathering up of the rich harvest of the Shenandoah,
of the great depots along the Baltimore and Ohio
Railroad, and of the large stores in Maryland, would
be no slight gain to Lee; but we are inclined to
think that something more than a mere red I is in-
tended, and that the object is to compel Grant's
withdrawal of his army for the protection of the
ll‘airaland
lyry and Pennsylvania. The
propitious for such a coup.
m o menacedmen t ie cities
en go
uf
There are not now any real soldiers north of Mason's
and Dixon's line. Every man fit to march with a
regiment has long age been drafted off to Grant.
There is nothing but a badly trained, ill armed, and
badly officered mob of militia regiments to arrest the
progress of the Confederates; and if E well has 50,000
veterans under his command, then Baltimore and
Washington are in danger. The accounts are of course
conflicting.one moment
mionmeenion e
tthee
a mere Norther border
Northern news-
papers
fay
they
are full of terror at the
formidable
the invaders, and picture two
e
ter of invasion
or three whole corps marching upon the cepital. A
orte neatte thenibs
few days will remove all uncertainty. For the pre-
sent it seems to us that General Lee is on the eve of
in its results, any previous operation of the war.
Grant's inactivity is in itself ominous. We
a movement which will surpass in importance, and
hear of siege guns being mounted, and of pre-
parations for a fresh assault ; but the truth
is, that the Federal General is nonplussed.
There are no more flank movements to be
made. Thereis little prospect of a successful
assault. The only thing left is to shell the town
people by
and amuse the Northerna repetition of
the siege of Charleston. This in all probability
will be the end of the operations before Petersburg,
army will remain in
its present position depends much more on the issue
of the expedition under Ewell than the plans of
How much longer the Federal
Gen. Grant. For the time the interests of the war
centres in the movements of the Confederate
troops north of the Potomac. The position of
Sherman's and even of Grant's armyis a matter
of secondary importance. If it shall turn ont
that the fears
nified the strength of the invading armies, Presi-
dent Lincoln's Administration may yet go out
amidst theof the Northerners have not mag.
execrations of the Northern people.
Already there are symptoms of defiance to the een.
tral authority. Governor Seymour's refusal to
permit the departure of the New York troops at the
call of the President may be the first act in another
independence drama. There is conspiracy in Ken-
tucky and martial law. There is Mr Vallandigham
in Ohio. It is hardly
possible not to connect some
of these political facts with the strategy of General
Lee, and to conclude that some other purpose be-
sides that of obtaining supplies on Northern soil,
has dictated the renewed invasion of the Northern
States by the Confederate armies.

A deputation of managers and masters of art
schools waited on Lord Granville, at the Privy
Council-office, on Friday afternoon, It was headed by
Mr Beresford
Hope, who very ably dwelt upon the points
which the schools desire the committee of Council on Edu-
cation to take into consideration before any new minutes
founded on the reccremendatiens of the late select com-
mittee of enquiry Were issued, These were mainly that
there should be an extension
of the term artizan," so as
to include small tradespeople,
clerks, apprentices, &c., and I
that the schools throughout tho country might be cheaply
and efficiently Worked, with an amount of direct fßate aid
equal to all the fees and subscriptions raised by the schools
themselves, viz.,
£20,000, as against £16,635 claimed by the
department of science and art, to have been spent upon the
schools flaring the past year. •
PREACHING AGAINST SUTTLERs.—A coloured
preacher within our lines recently felt constrained to preach
against the extortion of the settlers from which his flock
had suffered. After much deliberation he announced his
text as follows:.-."Now de serpent WAS more staler than
any beast ob de fud which de Lord God has made."--Netv
York 'Sun,