The Sun.
London, England, 1864-07-01 00:00:00

stated that there were Federal recruiting-officers
on board, who eommenced their labours among the
passengers as soon as the ship left the Mersey.
These men must have driven a very lucrative trade,
for they not only received the 20 dols. " hand money"
offered by the Government for each volunteer, but
levied a tax upon the recruit himself, varying in
amount with the credulity, or what is here called the
" squeezability" of the individual. To pick up 2,180
doll. in one trip across the Atlantic is so pleasant
as well as so rapid a mode of money making,
that as long as the Federal Government re-
quires soldiers, and the Irish are wiling to
volunteer, it is not likely to be abandoned
by the enterprising Yankees who are sent by
the Federal Government to Ireland to secure
" labourers for the construction of rail ways," which
labourers, being free men, every one of them may—
however much the British Government may object,
change their minds, forego the spade, and doa the
uniform, even before they arrive in the land of
their adoption. But if the legal fiction that a Bri-
tish ship is to all intents and purposes British ter-
ritory be accepted, it is quite clear that the British
Government might just as we 1 permit the esta-
blishment of Federal recruiting.effices in the streets
of Cork or Dublin as on board of Liverpool ships.
The temptation to the poor Melt is enormous ; £lOO
sterling—though Patrick may be, and probably is,
defrauded of more than one half of it, and sells his
life for the other—is a sum greater than he ever
imagined to be his, even in his wildest dreams, and
the possession of a tithe of which very generally
burns a hole in his pocket. To buy himself a watch
or a gold chain is his first thought in most instances,
though the new recruit, in the buoyant, rollicking,
and unfamiliar sense of wealth and independence,
not unfrequently expends his superabundant green-
backs in a very different manner, and rushes off to
purchase—what does the gentle reader imagine?
A new suit of clothes ? By no means. A ride in a
grand carriage, or a dinner at Delmonico's ? Not at
all, He has his own ideas of splendour and aristo-
cracy, and to gratify them he buys himself a pair of
patent leather boots ! To wear these instead of the
brogues and clouted shoon of the Emerald Isle, and to
look like a "rale gintleman"—in the feet it not in the
faee—is the object of his ambition, and he pays hie
18 dole. for a pair with as much contempt of expense
as if the dirty dollars were so manyßritish farthings.
They cramp his feet, it is true, and render walking
uncomfortable to him and ludicrous to the spectator.
But what matters ? "Let us eat and drink, for to-
morrow we die." Let us wear patent leather boots
for once in our lives, even if we are killed ir. battle
to-morrow and require boots no more.

As Mr. Stanton, when contradicting Howard's
forged proclamation—which called for a new levy of
400,000 men, to rescue the country from the ex-
tremity of its peril—took care to inform the people
that a draught for 300,000 men would in all proba-
bility be ordered about the Ist of Jaly, and as it is
quite certain that at least that number of new re-
cruits must be obtained, whether Richmond stand
or fall, the municipality of New York has deter-
mined to see whether its quota under the call, sup-
posing it to be made, cannot be filled on the volun•
tary and high bounty principle. It has 600,000
dots, on hand of its old fund raised for that purpose
last year, to which it has just added by vote of the
civic authorities the handsome sum of 2,000,000
dole. Its action in this matter will extricate the
Government from a difficulty. Men must be pro-
cured; a draught must be ordered; but New York
is full of a population so dangerous and so hostile
to the principle of compulsory service that neither
the municipality nor the Government chooses to
run the risk of exciting a street insurrection. The
draught may possibly be enforced elsewhere, but
New York will be allowed to buy itself out of
danger by the aid of the Irish and the Germans. If
these continue to arrive at the present ratio of
16,000 a week the raw material of a considerable
army—all nominally provided by New York—will
afford the Government all the pretext it needs for
letting this city alone and doing nothing that
might awaken so very fierce a lion in its path as
its labouring population.

Letter from a Soldier in the Confederate
Army.

The following is an extract from a letter just re-
ceived from a young man who emigrated from
Edinburgh seven years ago, and who is now in
Johnston's command in the Confederate army. The
letter is dated Mobile, Ala., May 4,1864 :—" I have
no doubt the eyes of the world are turned with the
greatest interest at the present time in its great
struggle for freedom and independence on this un-
fortunate country. The battles which are to be fought
one in Virginia, the other in Georgia, are ones
which are to decide whether the struggle is to last
much longer or not; if we defeat the enemy it will
certainly be the beginning of the end, if we are
defeated, God knows when the end will be, because
as a people we are determined to fight as
long as there is a man left ; but we do
not anticipate any such result. The army
to a man is confident that the enemy will be
defeated, and when such a spirit pervades an army
to such an extent as it certainly does in ours, ►t is
a difficult matter to conquer them. We are
straining every nerve for the onslaught, whicn,
when the shock comes, will be terrific. Ere this
reaches you the battles will have been fought, but
for the result rely not upon Northern news at first
—wait paitently for an impartial account. So far
this year our arms everywhere have been crowned
with success; we have just received intelligence
confirming the late news of a great battle having
been fought in West Louisiana, where the Yankee
General Banks was routed. It is now three years
since I entered the ser-ice, and I hope to see the
end of the struggle. I have seen some pretty
rough work, but I am not a whit the worse for it,
having enjoyed good health all the time. I
suppose you have heard of the attempt Commodore
Farragut made at Mobile, but many a Yankee will
be made to bite the dust ere they take this place.
They have been pegging away at Charlestoa for ten
months past, and are just as far on in the consum-
mation of their object as when they first started.
If they try Mobile, they will require as many men
as they have tried their "on to Richmond" with
so often. The following are the prices of a few
articles in the Confederacy :—Sugar, 225. per lb.;
coffee, 48s. per lb.; boots, £5O per pair; shoes
£25 per pair ; flour, £7O per barrel ; soap, 16s per
lb,; calico, 44s per yard, worth 5d ; shirting, 30s
per yard ; reels, 8s each ; pearl buttons, lOs per
dozen ; and everything else in proportion."—Seots
man.