The Sun.
London, England, 1863-01-09 00:00:00

THE SUN, LONDON, FRIDAY EVENING, J

which the President may think it wise or expedi-
ent to pursue on the Ist of January in reference to
the emancipation of the slaves of rebels. If he
modify his first ill-omened proclamation or drop all
action on the question except that promised in his
Message to Congress, he will cast himself loose
from the more violent of his Republican friends,
but he will gain the support of all moderate men in
the Conservative party. If, on the contrary, he
persist in his proclamation, and thereby do his ut-
most to light up the flames of a servile war in the
South, he will turn against himself the whole
feeling of the Middle and Western States, and for-
feit the confidence of everybody but the fanatical
preachers, the strong-minded women and the puri-
tanical tyrants of New England and -Western New
York, a loud-talking but a numerically weak sec-
tion of the community. Persons claiming to
on
orbe ino
Mr. Lincoln's confidence assert that he is
the anti-slaveryquecsitaimonat;iotlloVbhuet willtha t nothe
e only
will
l notgo
withdraw his p: o
emancipationinl
States,of the
slaves
dini tt,h
the, nlody
ailncalus dwe heeltlas
granting compensation irrnhtehe7
ronelbn
n case,
of o
tbu_
day
with-
holding it in the other.
as-
serts in its Washington correspondence that on
Wednesday last Mr. Lincoln, in the course of con-
versation, declared " that he would not withdraw
his New Year's Proclamation of Freedom, if he
could—and that he could not, if he would." If such
be Mr. Lincoln's policy, he will assuredly end the
war by it. The independence of the South will be-
come a fait accompli, by the refusal of the Northern
people to lend themselves to the coutinuance of a
struggle which they will then know to be hopeless,
and which they will denounce as alike cruel and
unjust to the South, and fatal to the peace, happi-
ness, and prosperity of the North—that never could
expect to Hy° on terms of amity with a Confederacy
in which they would have striven to excite the most
diabolical of all wars—a war of races and of slaves
against their masters. It is just possible that Mr.
Lincoln may be as rash in this respect as his Aboli-
tionist friends assert ; but the probabilities are,
notwithstanding the confident predictions of the
theorists of the press and the pulpit, that he will
hesitate, amid all his assumptions of responsibility,
to assume so fearful a responsibility as this, and
quietly suffer the Ist of January to pass without
any mention of the subject; adjourn it, in fact,
sine the, and fall back on gradual emancipation in
or before the year 1900.

The special Register of the United States army,
Regular and Volunteer, has been officially made up
to the Ist of August, and has just been published.
According to this document the Yolunteer army in-
cludes 40 majors-general, 200 brigadiers-general,
3,132 surgeons and assistant-surgeons, 10,280 cap-
tains, 43,640 sergeants, 85,600 corporals, and
873,000 privates. The statement that such a force
is in the field is not credible, though it is not at all
incredible that the Government provides rations for
such a multitude and owes the " greenbacks" to
pay them. There is no such army in existence,
and the Government knows the fact. The dead, the
wounded and the sick—the twice and thrice en-
rolled—the deserters (supposed to number at least
100,000), and a host of parolled prisoners, all figure
on the list. If a census could be taken in one day,
it would be found that a discount of 40 or 50 per
cent. would have to be deducted, to reach the exact
number of available heroes, American, Irish, and
German, who are engaged in this stupendous war.
Perhaps, however, the Federal Government is not
acquainted with a circumstance that is notorious in
Maryland and Pennsylvania, if not in New York—
that the forging of Confederate paroles is a regular
and highly lucrative trade in the Border States—
that immense numbers of them are sold to the Federal
troops at 25 cents each—and that armed with these, I
duly bearing the names of the battles in which they
were supposed to have been captured, the Union
soldiers depart from the battlefield to the farm,
workshops, or offices, which they deplore they ever
quitted. If the Government would but take stock
of the numbers of really parolled Union soldiers, and
compare the result with the numbers of those who
possess apparent proofs of having been captured and
released on their word of honour not to bear arms
again during the war, it would perhaps find as
many men as would compose an army of twice or
thrice the numerical strength of that which has
been sent to New Orleans under Gen. Banks. But
the statistics of the War-office are on a level with
the finance of the Treasury, and it will not do just
now for the Government to admit that either can be
in error.

Though the subject has not yet been publicly
mentioned, a great naval expedition of iron-clads
has been silently prepared to attack Charleston, in
South Carolina. Some of the vessels have already
started to rendezvous at Port Royal. The expedi-
tion is to be under the command of Commodore or
Admiral Dupont, and will in all probability be on a
scale of magnitude sufficient to decide the great pro-
blem of the efficiency of iron clad ships against iron
clad ships, as well as against stone walls. The de-
fences of Charleston have not been neglecte3, and
are known to be off a scale commensurate with the
importance of the position. It may be taken as cer-
tain that every resource of military and engineering
science has been employed to defend the approaches
and the harbour of that city. Forts, chains, sunken
vessels, and torpedos have all been brought into re-
quisition, and two, if not three iron clad rams of
the most powerful construction will dispute the pas-
sage with Commodore Dupont whenever he shall
be ready to make the attempt.

i The Falmouth correspondent of the New York
Iribune writes on the 24th ult. :
" Whether or no the chief officers in command of
the Army of the Potomac have received any instruc-
tion from the still higher powers that ' winter
quarters' is now to be the order, none but them-
selves can positively :say ; certain it is, that the
soldiers are everywhere acting upon the supposition
that the ' rebs ' are to be permitted peacefully to
enjoy their occupation of the Fredericksburg
heights for some time yet. Everywhere is heard
the sound of axes cutting down the sparse pine and
cedar, and still scantier oak trees, that make up
the thin forests of this part of the Old Dominion.
Every where goes constantly on the work of build-
ing log huts, of putting up turf chimneys, of ceiling
up and roughly flooring the interior of huts, and of
erecting stables for officers' horses ; in short, all
things show that the men have resolved to make
themselves comfortable in their present quarters for
the rest of the winter. From head-quarters, too,
come floating certain straws which are universally
accepted as significant of the direction in which the
official wind is blowing. Many officers having com-
mands, and many other staff officers indispensable
in case of a renewal of active operations, are said to
have procured leaves of absence for a length of
time that will enable them to spend the holidays
among their friends at home. For the soldier there
is no leave of absence, no visit with friends, except
such vicarious visiting as may be carried on in the
guise of cheery, comforting letters, which are, let us
hope, more plenty at this time of year than any
other—for the soldier there is little Christmas
cheer ! ' hard tack' and ' salt junk' taste no different
on Christmas-day than before or after, and if he can
get a canteen of whisky to make an evening toddy
he is only too happy. Let
us not be too hard on
him, for even such a celebration is better than none.
I have, however, seen pinned on one or two tents a
sprig of holly, in humble remembrance of the holi-
day which should draw all men closer together,
and when loving kindness should rule over all the
earth. General Hooker's central grand division,
I with which my duties specially lie, is encamped in
the same position, or very nearly so, as it occupied
before crossing the river—,the officers, like all the
others, those who can, getting leave of absence ;
the men, like all the others, those who must, stay-
ing in camp, and making themselves as eom-
fortable as possible for the rest of the winter.
No movement, and no present signs of one.
The only thing that I observed that might pos-
sibly be construed into an indication of a speedy
advance in some direction was a simultaneous move-
ment of the pontoon trains ; but it appeared to be
only in obedience to an order of General Woodbury
to concentrate the trains, that they may be put in
perfect order, and be ready the minute they chance
to be called for. There being in camp a rumour that
J, E. B, Stuart wets about making another ' raid

by crossing the Rappahannock somewhere near •
Deep Run, I went out of my
special dominions, in-
vaded the territory held by General Sumner's grand
division, and took a 20 mile ride up the river to the
United States Ford and thereabout. I found the
fordsaptlicgkueatredd by some of the regiments of ed
and the shores of the river
Gene-
ralvigi-
lantly
Pleasanton's cavalry brigade."
Another correspondent, writing on the 25th ult.
from Tobago, on the Rappahannock, 30 miles below
Fredericksburg, says
Since my last visit to Port Conway the fleet has
been increased from five to nine of the largest gun-
boats floating upon inland waters. The guns they
carry are all of the largest calibre, and have been
thoroughly tested in many engagements. General
Lee, either fearing so formidable a foe or desiring
to capture them all in some bold night attack, con-
centrated a large force near Port Royal, and a few
days after the battle brought two batteries to bear
upon them, supported by at least one division of in-
fantry. The weather at the same time turning ex-
cessively cold, Capt.M'Kray, commanding the fleet,
fearing that he might be frozen in, and be in danger
of attack from the greatly superior force of infantry,
fell down the river 10 miles below Port Royal, to
Tobago Bay, where the river is very wide and is
seldom frozen over. He is now where his transports
can easily reach him throughout the entire winter,
and also where he can be of service to General Burn-
side whenever it is thought best to again move the
army. The rebel force, stretched from five miles
above Port Royal to Tobago Bay, is variously esti-
mated at from 10,000 to 20,000. The troops are
nearly all from North Carolina, and under command
of one of the Hills, but which one I have been
unable to learn. These rebel generals, I have been
informed, have changed their commands lately, so
that it is quite difficult to tell exactly where they
are. When I left the right wing the day before
yesterday I was told by a deserter that they were
in front of General Sumner. To-day I have been
told by one of the same trustworthy persons that
they are in front of General Franklin's extreme left.
It is but of little consequence, however, who com-
mands these übiquitous fellows, so long as it is cer-
tain that they are always in front of somebody and
ready to fight upon the first good opportanity.
Having successfully repulsed the attack upon his
centre, General Lee now, undoubtedly, contemplates
a movement on his right, near where General Burn-
side made his first feint. Rebel pickets, thinly
posted, extend as far down as Urbana, and under
cover of the night cross over to the side and exa-
mine our lines. Night before last, information was
received from a trusty black, who came over the
river on a frail raft, that the rebels contemplated
another dash upon a squadron of the Bth Pennsyl-
vanian Cavalry, who now guard the extreme ad-
vance on the left. Major Kenan had his men pro-
perly posted, and would have captured the whole
party had not some of them, without orders, fired
their guns before the party were fairly within
range. Upon discovering that their enterprise had
been divulged by some one, they sprang to their
rafts and boats, and reached the other side with a
loss of but two or three, who were seen to drop in
the river. Four thousand cavalry, now guarding
the river from six miles below Fredericksburg to
Tobago Bay, are subsisting entirely upon the rich
' planters in the valley. Not an ounce of food of any
kind has been brought to them from the depot at
Falmouth. Men and horses are living upon the
very best the valley can produce, and I doubt if
there is a table in New York on this Christmas-day
covered with a greater variety of dishes than many
beneath the tents and booth huts of our cavalry offi-
cers. The sailors, too, upon the gunboats are really
getting tipsy on the domestic wine they have ma-
naged to get hold of by some underground trans-
portation."
On the 24th another skirmish took place on the
Blackwater, four miles above Franklin. The Con-
federate pickets were driven in, but the Federals,
finding a considerable force behind, had to retire.
The Cairo correspondent of the Chicago Times,
writing on the 20th ult., alludes to the critical posi-
tion of the Federals under General Grant :
" Your readers would be astounded with the an-
nouncement that the rebels had made their appear-
ance between Hurehaldt and Jackson, thus threaten-
ing our rear, and temporarily cutting off tho com-
munication with the army of General Grant. Such
is the fact, and should not have surprised us. It is
however, a matter of more wonder that all this should
have been accomplished without being anticipated
and met by our troops. The state of affairs, as
nearly as it can be ascertained from Columbus, is
this :—A force of cavalry, some say a mere guerilla
party, others an army of 15,000, has succeeded in
cutting the telegraph wire scuth of Humboldt,
burning a bridge on the railroad, and causing a very
general panic throughout the section of country be-
tween there and Jackson. There is a very easy
solution of this affair. General Morgan, of the rebel
cavalry, after the capture of our forces at Hartsville,
Tennessee, was next heard of in the vicinity of
Columbia; next we hear of rumours of an advance
on Fort Donnelson, and finally they approach Jack-
son, having in the meantime crossed the Tennessee
river. Jackson is a fortified position, garrisoned
by a considerable force of troops. Cotton bales, of
which there was an abundant store, were, we under-
stand, being transformed into barricades. A very
considerable opposition may be expected if Morgan
should attempt to seize the place. General Grant's
forces have not as yet refused to fight, and fight
nobly, whenever they have been attacked. General
Davies, whose command fought so nobly at the last
battle of Corinth, is in command of Columbus, and
new troops are daily pouring into that town, An
offensive movement from the direction of La Grange
and Columbus may soon be expected against the in-
vaders. The only means left in our hands is, how-
ever to chase them beyond the river with infantry
in light marching order. Cavalry we have
not enough of. The Tennessee is rising, and
must, if watched, prove a serious obstacle to
Morgan's return. Our particular weakness
at this time is, that any point of the road
above or below may be suddenly attacked
and destroyed. It must not be supposed that this
raid will produce any derangement of the plans of
Gen. Grant ; it is, in fact, hardly worth his notice.
There will be no turning of his whole army buck.
It will, for a few days, cause some delay in getting
supplies to the front. Luckily we are not entirely
dependent upon that line. In a pinch, provisions
can be taken, either from Memphis or Friar's Point,
to the army overland. The roads are bad, and this
fact leads us to another conclusion, which should
have been reached long before. The line of com-
munication is too long. From Columbus to Oxford is
200 miles—to Grenada 240. This is, in point of
time, convenient—it is accomplished by the tele-
graph. It costs thousands to guard its entire length,
but it enables us more firmly to hold the territory ;
and, above all, it is a grand avenue for the procur-
ing of cotton; but it is too long. History seldom
records so large an army hanging to its support by
so long and slender a thread. The obvious way out
is,th utso
sfihnoihrste
nt ht eh
eroade froof ml a
nMd e
co
ao paihmi su tnoi Ga
tr
ieonna dbaand
y,
140
miles. Of the river we have absolute control."
Later accounts show that the movement towards
Jackson was a feint to divert attention from Holly
Springs, which was seized by the Confederates, the
Union forces being dispersed or destroyed, and the
Government property burnt.

From Arkansas we learn that Col. M'Cullough
was ordered to march with 8,000 men of his com-
mand from Brownsville to Vicksburg, reached
Little Rock on the 10th ult., and was then ordered
to proceed with his command to reinforce General
Hindman, at that time pursued by General Blunt.
‘Callough had joined General Hindman
sCionlcoenet
lhleibattle of Prairie Grove, intelligence of
which could not have reached Confederate head-
quarters prior to r Cullough's advance.
The Helena, Arkansas, correspondent of the New
York Times asserts that the Federal General Hovey
has been selling captured negroes to the planters
in exchange for cotton.
The Richmond Inquirer of the 20th ult. has an
editorial criticising the movements of General
Burnside, and representing the impossibility of the
Union Army of the Potomac reached Richmond by
way of Fredericksburg.. It says,—
" Should it cross and compel Gen. Lee to retreat,
it will have the passage 01 our rivers—the MAO,.

pony, South Anna, North Anna, and Chickahominy
—to effect before it reaches Richmond, and a line of
80 miles to defend and keep open in its rear. At
any season of the year such a feat would be imprac-
ticable. To attempt it now, with Lee's veterans dis-
puting every inch of ground, would be an act of
madness. To cross lower down the Rappahannock
would be more difficult, for no railroad would then
furnish supplies to the Federal army, and there are
none in the exhausted country through which they
would have to pass. At Port Royal the river is
three times as wide as at Fredericksburg, the hills
on the south side equally as high, and a creek im-
mediately above and one just below the town. It is
a cal de sac which, if the Federal army enters, it
may never escape from. Throughout the whole
length of the Rappahannock either there are hills
extending to the river, and forming bluffs which
render its passage by an army impracticable, or
hills of great height a short distance from the river,
which, occupied by our army, will prevent, as at
Fredericksburg, the advance of an invading enemy.
Burnside cannot advance, nor can he winter his
army where it now is, for the Potomac and Rappa-
hannock, three winters out of four, freeze up so as
to prevent any other navigation than that by steam-
boats. The army would starve long before a suffi-
cient number of such boats could be collected and
brought into service, so as to furnish its supplies.
It often happens that even these iceboats cannot
force a passage up or down those rivers. Burnside
cannot advance nor can he stand still. Can he re-
treat? The Potomac is tempestuous, and its Vir-
ginia shore everywhere shallow. It Would require
three weeks' time to convey his army, its waggons,
horses, and stores, by transports to Washington;
for they are scarce of such vessels on the Potomac,
and have found it difficult even to transport sup-
plies to the army. Besides, the river will probably
freeze up and prevent this mode of retreat. If the
retreat is conducted by land to Alexandria, Lee
will harass his rear, and perhaps greatly damage or
destroy his army before it reaches Washington.
Yet we believe this retreat by land is his most feasi-
ble mode of escape, and that he will be compelled to
attempt it."

RAILWAY INTELLIGENCE.

ANUARY 9, 1863:

Telegraph Routes to Australia.

(From the Brisbane Courier.)

In the present advanced state of telegraphy,
when we hear of our Yankee friends carrying a wire
up in a balloon, and signalling from the clouds the
movement of a hostile army, and when the extension
of the mysterious agency of communication is be-
coming a subject for consideration in all civilised
countries, we are not surprised to find the project
of connecting Australia with Europe once more
mooted. By the mail just arrived we learn that a
deputation had waited upon the Secretary of State
for India, Sir Charles Wood, " concerning the esta-
blishment of telegraphic communication between
India and China, and India and Australia, via
Singapore," the proposition being that the Indian
Government should give a subsidy towards the sec-
tion of the line between Rangoon and Singapore,
contingent upon the successful working of the cable.
The reply of Sir C. Wood was, we are told, suffi-
ciently definite, the right hon. baronet stating that
he should feel it his duty to recommend the Indian
Government either to carry out the work at its own
cost, or assist a private company in constructing
the line, as soon as he was assured that the sections
beyond Singapore was in a state of actual forward-
ness, or certain to be completed.
The promoters of this new scheme are said to re-
present forty banks and firms trading with China
and Australia, and their objects appear to be to
establish telegraphic communication between India
and Australia, and India and China. This would
enable us, supposing that instantaneous communi-
cation were once established between this country
and India, to obtain intelligence from Great Britain
in sixteen days, and this interval of time should be
shortened to as many hours when a submarine cable
has been successfully laid between Aden and Kur-
rachee. We cannot, however, express our approval
of the route proposed by the promote-s between
Java and Brisbane. From Singapore, via Batavia
to Cape Sedano, at the eastern extremity of
Java, a telegraph line is already con-
structed, and it is proposed to carry it from thence
(Cape Sedano) to Brisbane, a distance of 3,024
miles, by submarine cable, touching at Coepang,
Port Essington, Cape York, and Cleveland Bay—
at each of which places it is proposed to erect
stations. The distances between these points are
severally as follows :—From Cape Sedano to Coe-
pang, 590 miles; from Coepang to Port Essington,
525 miles ; from Port Essington to Cape York, 635
miles; from Cape York to Cleveland Bay, 619 miles;
from Cleveland Bay to Brisbane, 655 miles. This
portion of the line—from Java to Brisbane—is esti-
mated to cost not less than £1,100,000, but it is

calculated that 40,000 messages will be transmitted
annually, or 55 per diem. To maintain the cable
in working order, it will be necessary to keep a
steamer on the route, constantly engaged in effect-
ing repairs when necessary, but the promoters seem
to be sanguine that very little difficulty will be ex-
perienced in this way, the soundings taken having
shown that the different lengths of cable can be
laid on a soft and uniform sea bottom, seldom
exceeding 50 fathoms in depth. The British,
Indian, French, Dutch, and Australian Govern-
ments have all promised to assist the scheme by
subsidy or otherwise, and it is anticipated that the
cable between Java and Brisbane could be laid in
about two years after the letting of the contract.
Although we are glad enough to see the project
of an Anglo-Australian telegraph line being once
more brought prominently before the notice of
British capitalists, we beg to dissent from the
opinion that the best route has been chosen, or the
best plan devised. We have long thought, and
have more than once expressed the opinion in these
columns, that the establishment of telegraphic com-
munication between this colony and India might be
made subsidiary to the settlement of the country,
and it will be unwise in the promotion of an Anglo-
Australian telegraphic scheme, to overlook any plan
for carrying out their object which seems to promise
to be less expensive in the first instance, less likely
to be costly in working, and more calculated to pro-
mote the general benefit, than the sable now pro-
posed. These desiderata would, we think, be at-
tained were the wire landed at Port Essington, and
carried thence to the site of the proposed settlement
nn the Albert River. and from thence, crossing the
Flinders near its mouth, to Port Denison. The
extension of our present telegraphic line to Dalby
is already provided for by a parliamentary vote, and
its further continuation to Gayndah, Gladstone, and
Rockhampton becomes a mere question of time.
Thus far the line would of course be constructed
and maintained at the expense of the colony, and
in the course of years its extension to Port Denison
would assuredly come to pass; but as the pro-
moters of the Anglo-Australian line are pre-
pared to spend upwards of a million in skirting
our northern and eastern coast with a submarine
cable, they might possibly be induced to enter
into negotiations with the Queensland government
for constructing the line overland from Rockhamp-
ton or Port Denison to Port Essington. The only
cable then required between this continent and Java
would be about 1,100 miles in length, and might
be laid down in two sections—from Cape Sedano to
Coepang, and from Coepang to Port Essington.
The undertaking would be none the less national
because the wires ran across Queensland instead of
round it, and our older and wealthier neighbours
would doubtless be as willing to subsidise the for-
mer as the latter project. Queensland would cer-
tainly derive an immense advantage, and she would
have to contribute accordingly ; but for years to
come New South Wales, Victoria, and South Aus-
tralia must assuredly be the principal supporter of
the wire, and it is only natural to suppose that they
would be prepared to contribute towards the main-
tenance of that portion of it running through the
unsettled country. The march of the enterprise has
already led to the extension of the boundaries of a
squatting district to within 300 miles of the head of
the Gulf, and long before the two years stipulated
by the promoters have elapsed, the plains of pro-
mise will be parcelled off into sheep walks. As
the pioneer squatters force their way into the wil.
derness, they will undoubtedly demand from the
Government the protection to which they are en-
titled
; end what is to prevent the preservation of
the telegraphic wires from being made a part of
the duty of the protective force Stations might be
established, at convenient distances apart, along the
whole route, and nothing would more tend to the
rapid settlement and civilisation of that part of the
colony, which is now almost a terra incognita.
We trust, as the Queensland Government will
assuredly have received some official communica-
tions on the subject, that they will, in replying
thereto, give the preference to the overland scheme,'
and recommend it to the nutice of the promoters of
the undertaking. We have reason to believe that
his Excellency Sir George Bowen is greatly in fa-
vour of carrying the wires to the Gulf; and we can-
not imagine that any one, after intelligently consi-
dering the relative merits of the two schemes, would
give the preference to the long stretch of submarine
cable with which it is proposed to girdle our coast.

A Trieste letter in the .14rankfurter Journal
says :—" The first merchant steam-vessel built
here has just been completed. It measures 1,000 tons,
and has been constructed by M. Tonello, who has
the intention of building five others still larger, and
competing with the English line of steamers between Liver-
pool and Trieste. M. Tonello affirms that there are few
maritime places in Europe where the construction of ves-
sels can be carried on at less expense than at Trieste."
The Journal du Havre states that two of Admiral
Fitzroy's meterological despatches were posted up
at that port on Tuesday, announcing high southwest winds
for that day, accompanied by rain, and for Wednesday
winds varying from west to north and east, with a little
snow. The journal adds that as those predictions are cal-
culated for England, and as the columns of wind seldom
occupy a greater breadth than 30 or 40 kilometres, they
may not prove entirely correct on the French side of the
Channel.

[ADVERTISEMENT.] —Holloway's Ointment.—Bad legs,
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To attempt to cure bad legs by plastering the edges of the
wound together is a folly, for should the skin unite a baggy
diseased condition remains underneath, to break out with
tenfold fury in a few days. The only rational and perma-
nent treatment, as indicated by nature, is to reduce the in-
flammation in and about the wound, to sooth the neigh.
bouring nerves, to cool the heated blood as it courses along
its vessels, and to render the thin watery ichorous dis-
charge consistent and healthy. Holloway's Pills should be
taken to purify the blood and expel the obnoxious humours
from the syetera,