The Sun.
London, England, 1864-01-21 00:00:00

THE SUN, LONDON, THURSDAY EVENING, JANUARY 21, 1864.

present may be one of the occasions, for everything
confirms the fears of those who foresaw from the
first that no trifling danger was impending.

The elections which have recently taken place in
,he Confederate States of America have given occa-

sion to a very decided expression of the general
feeling. Sufficient time has now elapsed since the

first outbreak of hostilities to submit the endur-
ance of the people of the South to a pretty severe
test. It was easy to talk of independence and

patriotism when words were the only weapons, and

resistance to Federal encroachments entailed only
verbal sacrifices. But to persevere in the course they
have chosen, in the face of all the loss entailed by
the blockade, of the desolation of their fertile coun-

ry, of the spoliation of their luxurious homes, and

,he voluntary abandonment of ease and leisure ;

o preserve their ardour, unabated by disaster

and discouragement, by the blood of thousands of
their citizens and the veil of mourning thrown over

countless happy homes; to accept cheerfully per-
sonal sacrifice and national burdens, trusting not to
the doubtful sympathy of foreigners but to their

own internal resources, with faith undimmed by
misfortune and courage unabated by difficulties—
to do all this as the people of the Southern States
have done, proves that the Confederation is some-
thing more than a name, and that Southern inde-
pendence is an accomplished reality. Hencefor-
ward, were their subjugation possible, it must be as
a conquered State, not as a crushed rebellion. The
Union, about whose preservation the Federals
declaim so loudly, is no longer in existence. It is
numbered among the things of the past, as surely
as that older system whose last remnants expired
with the Treaty of Independence, and the attempt
to force the dominion of the Northern people on
the South is wellnigh as hopeless as the struggle
to re-establish the authority of the mother
country over WASHINGTON and his contempo-
raries. The Federals, bent on their headlong
course, refuse to recognise the strength and invete-
racy of the Southern feeling towards them.
Greenbacks are plentiful, and speculators and
capitalists are reaping golden harvests from the
national misfortune. Trade is flourishing in New
York, and the commissariat supplies and a thousand
other fresh sources of profit make ample, though
temporary,amerds for the loss of the old traffic with
the South. Not yet have their professions been put
to so stern a test as the principles of their antago-
nists; not yet have their preachers and orators had
to support the platitudes of the pulpit or the plat-
form in besieged towns, in ravaged states, in want
of the common necessaries alike of war and peace.
Mr. BEECHER might weigh his words a little more
if they entailed six months under the care of a
Southern General BUTLER, if the Confederate ranks
could furnish such a parallel. New York might be
a little less eager for the maintenance of the Union
if it entailed the adoption of a resolution like that
just passed unanimously by the Upper Chamber of
the Senate of Georgia, which orders that every able
bodied male citizen, from fifteen to twenty years
old and upwards, be immediately enrolled, supplied
with arms, and sent to actual service for the defence
of the State. This is but a sample of the spirit
that breathes through every public address made
by the leaders of the Confederacy. The Governor
of Georgia, in his message to the Legislature charges
the people of that State by the recollection of their
sufferings in the past, and the degradation which
awaits them in the future should they be subjugated,
to lay aside all past differences and personal con-
siderations, and to gather rnund the altar of their
country. " While we evidently desire peace on
honourable terms, let us hero again renew the
solemn pledge to each other, that, come life or
death, come weal or woe, we will never sheathe the
sword till constitutional liberty is established,
Georgia is free, and these Confederate States are
recognised by all the world as an independent
Power." This appeal was readily responded
to by the Legislature, the Senate passing
a resolution confirming the secession of the
State, and bath Houses conjointly declaring
their determination to persevere with the
war until the great object was gained. Still
stronger was the language of Mr. HOSCUEL JOHN-
STONE, who has been fitly selected as one of the
representatives of the State of Georgia in the Senate
of the Confederate States. There was, he declared,
no step backward ; and reminded his hearers that it
has never been recorded in history that 8,000,000
of united people resolved to be free have failed.
" We cannot," ho added, in words of impassioned
earnestness, "we cannot yield if we would. Yield
to the Federal authorities—to vassalage and subju•
gation ! The bleaching bones of 100,000 gallant
soldiers slain in battle would be clothed in tongues
of fire to curse to everlasting infamy the man that
whispered,.' Yield 1 " In North and South Caro-
lina the messages of the governors show not the
faintest sign of hesitation or of regret. Every-
where we find the same sentiments, briefly epito-
mised by Governor BONHAM, of South Carolina,
when he says that the people " have counted the
cost, and have determined on independence or anni-
hilation." A proof of the inflexib,lity of the
Southern resolution stands unmistakeably before
the Northern gaze in the battered walls of Fort
Sumter. Into that dauntless little fort nearly
30,000 shot have been poured, until the very means
of attack are converted into purposes of defence.
The long-talked of assault, which was to display
all the resources of Northern naval power, only
resulted in the utter discomfiture of the assailants,
The Keokuk lies under the waters of Charleston
harbour, while more than one of the boasted Moni-
tors had cause to rue the steady fire or the Confe-
derate guns. Bat though the sun has risen and
set nearly 2,0'0 times since the siege was undertaken,
his beams still light up Fort Sumter—a mass of
ruins, it is true, hat ruins with the Confederate fl
floating dauntlessly above them. It is truly, as
has been said, a moral rather than a material
triumph. The fort, though comparatively value-
less as a fortress, stands as an enduring testimony
to the skill and daring of the Confederates. It is
a fit type of the cause, which may be ruined, but
Iwill never be abandoned.
d

LATEST INTELLIGENCE.

LREUTER'S TELEGRAM.]

KIEL, JAN. 21.

The Saxon battalion stationed here has suddenly
received marching orders. It will leave to• day for
Nordtorf, and advance to-morrow to Hohenwestedt
in the north-west of Holstein, where the Saxon
brigade will be concentrated.
The Austrian troops are expected to arrive here

AMERICA.

NEUTER'S TELEGRAM

,Per the City of Manchester, via Roche's Point,
Jan. 21, 12 35 a.m.)
NE W YORK, DEC. 9.

There is no important news from General Meade's
army. A detachment of Confederate cavalry drove
in the Federal pickets at Flint Hill, near Fairfax
Court-louse, on the night of the sth inst., but re-
treated after exchanging a few shots with the skir-
mishers sent out to meet them. Many of the
veteran troops are re-enlisting for the war, and the
condition of the army is said to be,excellent. Con-
federate deserters report that many of Lee's troops
would gladly avail themselves of Mr. Lincoln's
amnesty if they had the opportunity. A trade
agent has been appointed to sell to the destitute
population within the Union lines provisions, cloth-
ing, and other necessaries of life.
Despatches from Cumberland, Maryland, state
that the Confederates in West Virginia are very
active. The garrison at Petersburg was surrounded
yesterday by the Confederates, who have driven
the Federals out of Burlington. Cumberland, Md.,
is threatened with immediate attack by Fitzhugh
Lee and Rosser. The passenger trains on the Bal-
timore and Ohio Railroad have been stopped, and
great excitement prevails. The Confederates are
report:d to be moving in three columns. They
captured a train of 36 waggons yesterday. General

Imboden has been attacked at Winchester and driven
back. A heavy snow storm prevailed.

Coles' Maryland Cavalry encountered a large
force of Confederates near Rectortown, Va., re-
cently, and lost 57 out of 75 men,

A despatch, dated Cumberland Gap, Jan. 6th,
announce that an overwhelming force of Confede-
rates, estimated at 4,000, under General Samuel
Jones, made a descent upon the Federal troops,
numbering about 300, at Jonesboro', Va. The
Federals, who were guarding a region, which was
the main reliance for forage for the Union troops
in that department, made a desperate resistance,
but finally surrendered, after losing 60 men in
killed and wounded.
Latest advices from Chattanooga disclose no im-
portant events in that region. The weather had
been very severe, and several soldiers had been
frozen to death at Bridgeport. Many of the troops
were re-enlisting for the war. The Confederate
lines were 35 miles from Chattanooga. General Joe
Johnson was reporting to be making every exer-
tion for increasing the number and efficiency of
his troops.

The Confederates are making great efforts to
complete the railroad from Greenborough to Dan-
ville, Virginia, in order that they may have by
spring a double means of communication between
Richmond and the gulf States.

There is nothing definite from Knoxville or
Longstreet's army. Latest accounts represent
Longstreet's position to .oe "stubborn and strong,"
as he had open communication with Virginia cud
North CAroline, and was believed to be receiving
reinforcements.

The rebel Generals Marmaduke and Price, with
about 6,000 men, mostly cavalry, were near Arka-
delphia, Arkansas, on the 23d of December. Union
sentiment in Arkansas is said to be rapidly in-

creasing.
Advices from texas disclose acme stirring events
'a that region. The rebel General Magruder is
said to be very unpopular on account of the severity
of his rule. He issued an order to burn the towns of
Indianola and Lavacca, lest they should fall into the
hands of the Federals, the inhabitants not only
refused to obey the order, but are said to have orgy •
nised to resist it. Refugees were continually
coming into Baronsville. All citizens who have
remained there have had the oath of allegiance
administered to them. These who refuse to take it
are sent across the Rio Grande into Mexico. It i 6
reported that the rebels are concentrating all their
available forces in Western Texas, at San Antonio,
and Austin.

The minute men have been ordered by General
Magruder to report at those points. It is said
that the rebels have a small gunboat in Lavacca
Bay, but nothing has been seen of it yet. General
Banks will probably not move into the interior of
the State until he received such additions to his
present inadequate force as will insure success. At
all events there will be no active operations on his
part until the secret expedition which left New
Orleans on December 30 is heard from.
Governor Bramlette, of Kentucky, has issued
orders that five rebel sympathisers shall be arrested
for every loyal citizen carried off by rebel guerillas.
The rebels have been for some time past clucen-
trating near Jackson, Tennessee, under Generals
Forrest, Roddy, and Chalmers, It is believed this
force now numbers from 20,000 to 25,000 men, and
that they purpose making a dash upon Paducah,
Kentucky, Columbus, or perhaps Memphis. Gen.
Grant is fully informed as to the contemplated
movement, and is amply prepared to guard against
disaster. _ .

Advices from New Orleans to January 1 have
been received. A mass meeting of loyal citizens
was called fur the Bth January, the object being to
consider the formation of a Free State Government.
Nearly enough have been enrolled to enable the
State to return to the Union under President Lin-
coln's proclamation. A secret expedition left New
Orleans on Deuember 30, the strength and destina-
tion of which had been successfully disguised from
the public. It is believed, however, that it is in-
tended to operate against Mobile. An entrenched
camp will probably be formed at Pascagoula, and
an advance from thence against Mobilo as soon as

the rainy season is over.
A line of signal stations is to be established along
the Mississippi to assist in preventing the depreda-
tions of the rebel guerillas.
General Kirby Smith now commands the entire
rebel force west of the Mississippi, and is said to be
organising a force of 1,500 for an attack upon Little
Rock, Arkansas.
In the Senate Wilson, of Massachusetts, intro•
duced a resolution to expel M. Garrett Davis, of
Kentucky, for alleged treasonable sentiments con-
tained in his resolution relative to prohibiting
military officers from interfering with elections. No
vote was taken on the subject. A petition was pre-
sented by the Society of Friends, asking exemption
from the draft. M. Howe, of Wisconsin, offered a
resolution, requesting the President to call out one
million of volunteers forlitary Committee. ninety clay 3, to terminatA
reso-
e
the war ; referred to Mi
lution was offered by Senator Movill, of Vermont,
requesting the President to notify to the British
Government the desire of the United Sttes to ter-
minate the Reciprocity Treaty with Caanada ; re-
ferred to committee on foreign relations.
In the House of Representatives the joint unlit.
tion to eaten 3 the psyment of bounties to volunteers
from the sth of February to Ist of March was
adopted. After a short executive session in the
Senate, both houses adjourned until January 11.
The Washington correspondent of the New York
World states that the official reports place the
Union losses in killed and wounded at Chancellors-
ville at 28,000 men.
A Mr. Palmer, secretary to the collector of the
port of New York, has been arrested and sent to