The Sun.
London, England, 1863-07-13 00:00:00

THE SUN, LONDON, MONDAY EVENING, JULY 13, 1863.

sword of one out of the two contending armies—no
patriot, no statesman,no far-sceing philosopher who
can grapple with great principles, and make his
countrymen understand and adopt them. The only
philosophers have been the abolitionists of the stamp
of Mr. Wendell Phillips and Mr. Horace Greely—
men whose philosophy brought on the war, but
which has been utterly unable to control or shape
it. The mass of the people, impulsive for a short
and sharp campaign, have long since cooled down
to the ordinary temperature of the sordid atmos-
phere in which they have their moral being, and
are beginning to find consolation for the degrada-
tion of the conquest that appears inevitable in the
fact that, at all events, their conquerors are Ameri-
cans, and that both parties to the family quarrel
were so high and so mighty that Europe was afraid
to intervene in a struggle so tremendous. A false
step, however, on the part of General Lee may
divert the feeling into a new channel. An unex-
pected victory to the Northern arms may set them
frantic with the old patriotism, or something else
that masquerades under that name. It is despair of
Mr. Lincoln, his Cabinet, and his generals, and dis-
like to revolutionary violence to dispossess them or
set them right, that makes the Northern public
sympathise with such gallant Americans as General
Lee and Mr. Jefferson Davis; but if Mr. Lincoln,
his Cabinet, and his generals should, by what bil-
liard players would call a " fluke," achieve a great
success and drive the Southern invaders back into
Virginia, the whole aspect of Northern feeling would
be changed, and the people would clamour for war
and subjugation as obstreperously as ever.
The action of the Federal Administration hasnot
been of a nature to show that it had any foresight
a month ago, or that it has any now. General
Hooker, knowing that his army was demoralised by
its want of confidence in him—a fact on which he
ought to have acted long before General Lee
had foiled and outwitted him—desired in the
very face of the foe to be relieved of his
command. The President granted the request—
unaware, apparently, of the immensity of the
peril involved in such a change at such a moment—
and appointed as his successor General G. B. Meade,
of whom few had ever heard, who has gained no
laurels in the battlefield, but who is known to the
Army of the Potomac as an excellent topographical
engineer, and a painstaking, hardworking General
of Division. It is in favour of General Meade that
he is not, like his predecessor, a " rowdy," a profane
swearer, and what is called in America a "blower"
or boaster ; but a quiet, unassuming man, with the
language, manners, and reputation of a gentleman.
This is a great though unappreciated advantage.
The democratic soldiers of America may consider
themselves the political, or even social equals of
their officers, but they like to see a gentleman in com-
mand—if rowdies themselves they detest rowdyism
in their officers. And this was one of the secrets of
M'Clellan. He was just to his men, careful of their
health and comfort, never indulged in the language
of the bar-room and the " groggery," never lost his
temper or his good manners, or forgot what was due
to: his own dignity or that of the ;humblest per-
son with whom he was brought into contact. In
these respects General Meade is said to be his equal.
A few days will show what other qualities he has to
fit him for his perilous station. If he be not as good
a soldier as General Lee—which few venture to hope
—it will fare ill with the luckless Army of the Po-
tomac, which now serves under its seventh com-
any confidence in one of
mender, and never put
them. Had Mr. Lincoln seen fit to appoint that one
—the unfounded rumour of whose recall sent gold
down one and a half per cent. yesterday, and stocks
up in a still greater proportion ; had he sent to him
the instant that General Hooker desired to be re-
lieved, he would have inspired it with new life and
hope, and deprived the coming battle of much of its
inequality. He has not done so, and the conse
quence is that the great majority of people look upon
General Meade's defeat as all but certain, and resign
themselves to it with a kind of bewildered curiosity,
like that of children at a play, asking with their eyes
rather than with their tongues, "What next ?"
Mr. Lincoln and his advisers do not show to any
advantage in their persistent hostility to the only
man in whom, rightfully or wrongfully, their
principal army, and that on which the safety of the
Republic depends, has any confidence. It is as-
serted by some who are in a position to be well in-
formed that Mr. Lincoln, in view of the pressing
danger, proposed so lately as Friday night last to
waive his personal objections to General M'Clellan;
that he was supported by one member of the Ca-
binet, Mr. Seward, and opposed by all the rest;
and that he yielded to the majority against his own
judgment. Mr. Jefferson Davis has a will of his
own in such matters. Being an excellent soldier
himself, no inferior soldier can be palmed upon him
as a military genius. Political trickery is not
allowed either to place a man at the head of an
army if he be incompetent, or to displace him if he
be efficient. Had Mr. Lincoln been equally wise
in this respect, it is likely that he, too, might have
had, not merely one, but half a dozen good Generals
in his service, and that at this moment the war
would not have been transferred with all its attend-
ant horrors from Southern to Northern territory.
One reason given for the violent opposition of the
Cabinet to General M'Clellan, and for Mr. Lincoln's
easy acquiescence in their decision, is that he is a
formidable candidate for the Presidency. Mr.
Seward alone has renounced the vain ambition of
filling that dangerous chair ; and to him, therefore,
M'Clellan is a soldier only, and not a politician.
To all the rest, and to Mr. Lincoln himself, who
dreams of re-election, he is a politician, and there-
fore a dangerous and hated rival. General Meade
is in a happier position. He was not born
in America, and, according to the Constitution,
is ineligible to the Presidency. When, 48 years
ago, he came into this troubious world his
father was Consul of the United States at
Cadiz, and husband of a Spanish lady, so that
Gen. Meade, though he may fill any other office in
the State, can never become President, unless he
carve his way to the office by the sword, and set the
law and theSonstitution at defiance. All the Fe-
deral cfficers who happen to have been born of
American parents in Europe or elsewhere are con-
sequently, in mercantile phrase, "looking up."
Their chances of promotion are presumed to have
greatly improved, since Mr. Lincoln's principle of
action in this important matter became generally
understood.
In its urgent want of soldiers the Cabinet has
spread its net to catch the returning veterans whose
time has expired—a body, it is supposed, of between
50,000 and 60,000 tried and hardy men. Were
M'Clellan re-appointed, a large proportion of them
would willingly re-enlist. They have been some-
what unfitted for peaceable pursuits by their long
service in the camp, and having tasted the fierce
excitement of battle are unhappy for want of it.
But they do not care to serve under " rowdies" and
" blowers," unless upon much stronger inducement
than has hitherto been held out to them. The mere
danger of the country is not a sufficient stimulus to
their patrietism ; and the Adjutant-General, under
the instruction of the War Department, has offered
bounties to the amount of 402 dols. a head to such of
them as will return to service for three years or the
war. It is too easy to ascertain the effect the demi .
ment has had, or will have, on the minds of this
class ; but the indications are that the Federal Go-
vernment will not be able to purchase another army
of 50,000 in this manner, though willing to pay up-
wards of 20,000,000 of greenbacks, in addition to
the regular charges for the maintenance and equip-
ment of such a host. And the fact that at such a
time such a bribe should have been offered shows
that the Government, though empowered by Con-
gress to raise what armies it pleases by a forced
conscription, is afraid to resort to so unpopular a
measure. If there were any
patriotism left in the
country to be acted upon, now is the time, the
world will think, when Mr. Lincoln should have

appealed to it boldly and called out half a million
of men to save the endangered nation. Nothing has
so greatly shown the weakness of the Northern cause
as Mr. Lincoln's disinclination to use his weapon in
the extremity of his need. The conscription is a
dead letter, and Mr. Beecher's assertion that "God
and the negro must save the republic," if it is to be
saved at all, receives an unexpected commentary in
the stern resolve of the working classes, rural as
well as urban, from whose ranks alone the army can
be efficiently repleted, to take no part in a salva-
tion of which they either despair, or have ceased to
take any interest. _ .

Under all aspects, the present seems the darkest
hour of Northern fortune. While Gen. Lee is threat-
ening the national existence at one paint; the clash
of arms resounds at a hundred others. Gen. Dix,
with 10,000 men, is marching towards Richmond,
with the fond hope that the Confederates may not
have left sufficient force to protect it—a hope that
may prove illusory. Vicksburg, which has been re-
provisioned and reinforced, and all Gen. Grant's
bravery and strategy have been up to this time em-
ployed in vain. Port Hudson makes equally stub-
born defence; and as Gen. Magruder has advanced
through Texas to the country of the Bayou Teche,
and cccupied all the rich district conquered but two
months ago by Gen. Banks, and has arrived by that
route with 17,000 men to the relief of Port Hudson,
it is feared not only that Gen. Banks' little army
will be compelled to surrender, but that New Orleans
itself will pass into the hands of its rightful owners.
The army of Rosecrans is on the move to crush
Bragg at Tullahoma, but Bragg, whose forces have
been greatly diminished to augment the invading
hosts of Lee, has slipped through his fingers in full
march to Chattanooga, the key to the central rail-
road system of the Mid-South, where he can defy
an army thrice as strong as that of Rosecrans. Upon
this position the Confederates have for more than a
twelvemonth expended all their available resources,
as well as all skill and science, so as to make it in
every respect the most formidable on the continent.

WIMBLEDON PRIZE MEETING.

The shooting for the first stage :of the Queen's
Prize was brought to a conclusion on Saturday.
The silver medal and a Whitworth rifle, value £2O,
was won by Private Wisker, 2d Essex. The other
winners were as follow :
Whitworth Rifles, L 5 each, and the Association
Badge Sergt. Millard, St. George's; Private
Miller, Ist Gloucester ; Sergt. Winser, 3d Kent ;
Capt. Henderson, 12th Cornwall; Private Ridler,
Ist Gloucester; Private Pace, 26th Kent; Private
Phillips, Ist Shropshire; Sergt. Allen, 25th Somer-
set; Corporal Worth, Bth Warwick; Private March,
12th Norfolk; Sergt. Bingham, Ist Gloucester;
Private Adamson, 47th Lancashire ; Corporal
Marshall, 6th Lincoln ; Ensign Bland, Bth Lanca-
shire ; Colour Sergt. Gale, 10th Surrey ; Private
Richardson, 10th Norfolk ; Private Cranford, 16th
Renfrew; Private Fidler, sth Isle of Wight; Sergt.
Graham, 2d Wilts ; Sergeant Benning, 2d Bedford;
Capt. Coldcleugb, 7th Durham ; Private Wyatt,
Ist City of London ; Lieut. Mariner, 9th Middlesex;
Private Mackenzie, London Scottish ; Sergt. Smith,
15th Derby ; Sergt. Curtis, 15th Glamorgan ; Cor-
poral Whitehouse, 3d Leicester; Sergt. Brookes,
12th Middlesex ; Private Rhead, 12th Gloucester.
£5 each and the Association Badge— Sergt.
Darley, 9th Leicester; Corporal Clitheroe, 9th
Lincoln ; Private Ellis, Bth Surrey ; Corporal
Allen, 14th Wilts; Corporal Russell, 29th Kent;
Corporal Taylor, 21st Middlesex; Private Richard-
son, sth Lincoln ; Lieut. Brougham, 15th Stafford ;
Private Trotter, 4th North York ; Private Birkley,
2d Tower Hamlets; Lieutenant Beavan, 17th Gla-
morgan ; Sergeant Haynes, 16th Surrey; Pri-
vate Murray, Ist Midlothian ; Major Pipon, 13th
Sussex ; Private Bazeley, 3d Cambridge ; Private
Cree, London Scottish; Private Avis, Ist Devon ;
Captain Brookes, 10th Leicester ; Private Chuter,
25th Surrey; Private Coles, Ist Notts; Lieut. Wat-
son, Ist Newcastle; Private Haughton, sth Nor-
folk ; Private Garwood, 15th Norfolk ; Corporal
Kettle, 16th Stafford ; Private Betts, Ist Warwick;
Private Roberts, 12th Shropshire; Corporal White,
39th Middlesex ; Private Kersey, 20th Middlesex ;
Private Walters, Ist Edinburgh ; Private Read,
14th Soffolk.

Each of the foregoing are entitled to compete in
the second stage for the Queen's prize, value £250,
with gold medal,
The Prince of Wales's prize, value £lOO, was won
by Private A. Rumball, 3d Herts, who made a total
score of 58 marks in seven shots at the 200, 500,
and 600 yards ranges.
The St. George's Challenge Cup, value £250, pre-
sented for annual competition to the volunteer bat-
talions of Great Britain by Lieut. Col. the Hon. C.
H. Lindsay, on behalf of the members of the St.
George's Rifles, was shot for at 200 and 500 yards
ranges, and, as might be expected, created a great
deal of excitement.
The vase was won by Private Jopling, of the
South Middlesex Corps, who was the winner of the
Queen's Prize the year before last. In uddition to
the honour of holding the Vase on behalf of his
corps for the term of one year he is entitled to £5
and the gold jewel of St. George. The following
are the scores of those who tried for the silver jewel,
bronze cross, and photograph of the vase :-
200 500 Total
yards. yards. marks.
Private Jopling, South Middlesex 14 .... 18 .... 32
Sergt. Robinson, 7th Middlesex 12 .... 19 31
Corporal Croucher, 6th Tower
Hamlets l6 .... 15 31
Private Marsh, Ist Norfolk
Private Johnson, 2d Stafford l5 .... 16 31
Gunner J. Hyde, Ist Gloucester
Artillery l5 .... 31
The highest scores made for the other prizes were
as follows :
Enfield, All Comers.-200 yards.—Mackenzie,
London Scottish, 24 ; Capt. Brookes, Leicester, 23 ;
Private Miller, Bristol, 24.
Enfield, All Corners. 500 yards. Private
Haward, Ist Suffolk, 22 ; Capt. Wyon, 38th Mid-
dlesex, 23 ; Ensign Berridge, let Leicester 22 ; Lieut.
Wright, 25th Devon, 23.
All Comers, Small Bore.-200 yards.—Private
Beasley, let Warwick, 23; Lord Bury, Civil Ser-
vice, 23.
All Comers.-500 yards.--Lieut.-Colonel Hume,
55th Regiment, 24; Evans, Derby, 27; Sergeant
Smith, Victories, 28 ; Capt. Jessop, 12th Derby, 24.
All Corners.-600 yards.--Private Blanch, let
Lancashire, 24 ; Ensign Powlett, 4th North York,
22; Sergeant Smith, Victories, 24; Wilkin, 6th
Aberdeen, 24; Penny, Ist Gloucester Artillery, 24;
Ensign Sprott, Liverpool Rifle Brigade, 23 ; Lord
Bury, Civil Service, 23 ; Sergeant Barber, 9th
Middlesex, 23 ; 24 ;
Ensign Peterkin, Cambridge,
Wood, Berks, 23; Canwell, Ist London, 22; Capt'
Webb, Hereford, 22 ; Captain Ross, 6th 'Uticar.
dine, 25.
Extra Prize, first series small bores--800 yards.
—Captain Gregg, 27th Cheshire, 24.
Ens
yards.—
Macrae, n
All Corners, Small Bore-600
acrae, lst Newcastle, 22 ; e 1225th;
Derby, 25 ; Capt. Fenton, 26th Lancashire, Yacaesssh
Capt. Evans, 12th Derby, 22. anrlT,
Enfield, All Comers. Ist Devon,
rdits.o—wEe,nsign Lloyd,
—2ooaynat
14th Middlesex, 24 ; Sergeant
Lancashire, 23 ; Colour
23; Corporal Kershaw, Bth
_rivaYteork, 23 ; Capt. Gibbon,
Sergeant Cook, 3d Willks, Isle of Man,
24 ;
Ist Edinburgh,
23; Lieut. Karr, 7th Surrey, 23 ; Capt. Bridgwood,
2d Staffordshire, :4
n 3 Sergeant Holmes, Ist Man-
chester, 23 ;
Sergeant Palmer, 36th Staffordshire,
23 ; Private Meakin, d
Derby,
erg e a2u4t 24; Private Miller, 13100 bt
h-
-2
Rob-
son, 23
n, Bth Cambridge, ; s
Berks, 24; Capt. Ewen, 2d West York Militia,
23; Lieut. Colquhoun, 4th Dragoon Guards, 23.
Enfield All Comers.-500 yards.—Lieutenant
Gibbs, Bristol, 22; Private Meakins, 2d Derby, 23;
Sergeant Williams, 20th Middlesex, 23 ; Capt. Ro-
wland, 55th Regiment, 22; Sergeant Hunt, 16th