The Sun.
London, England, 1862-11-18 00:00:00

7HE DISTRESS IN THE NORTH.

MANCHESTER, MONDAY.
The Central. Executive Committee met this morning at
the Town Hall. The Right Hon. the Earl of Derby pre-
aided.

The Hon. Secretary reported that £19,300 had been re-
ceived during the week just closed, and that the balance in
the bank was £76,565 before making grants to-day. During
the week letters had been received from Edinburgh con-
taining £2,000 (the first remittance from that city), and
£l,OOO from Melbourne, making in all £10,550 15s. 11d.
from that city. He also reported that there had been a
great difficulty in obtaining offices and warehouses for sort-
ing and packing the clothing. Lord Ducie had, however,
placed a large and commodious warehouse in New Cannon-
street at their disposal till next June, free of rent. He (the
hon. secretary) thought it would be well to call the atten-
tion of persons sending clothing to special individuals, that
it would in future involve a cost of carriage from Man-
chester. The railway companies still carried to the central
committee free of charge, and also free from the central
committee to the local relief committee, but not to special
individuals.
A number of contributions having been annour the
meetin broke up, • •

THE CIVIL WAR IN AMERICA.

(From the Times' Cor•r•esponden t.)
NEW YORK, Now. 4.

The interest in the elections absorbs that of all other sub-
jects. Withont speculating as to results Which will be par-
tially, if not fully, ascertained before this letter is de-
spatched, I shall employ the inters al in directing the atten-
tion of the English public to one or two other matters that
do not excite so much notice here as they would under other
circumstances, but which aro none the less important in
their bearings upon the momentous struggle in which the
Northern people are engaged. If Mr. Seymour and his
party be elected to power in New York, there will be a
modification of the existing despotism and a chance of
peace. If, on the contrary, they be defeated in favour of
Gen. Wadsworth slid the Republican ticket— one of the
candidates of which declared on Saturday that the failure
of the North to subdue the South would be a calamity
" only second to the destruction of the Christian religion"
—there will be a super- Austrian aggravation of misgovern-
ment, and a prolongation a the war until the North shall
have lost not only its prosperity, but the last vestige of its
liberty. Like a weak and irresolute man, the Government
is spasmodic in the energy it displays, Everything it has
to do is done by fits and starts. The war, vigorously car-
ried on one day, relaxes into " comfortable quarters" on the
next. Opposition to slavery inflames the Presidential mind
in the morning, and dwindles away by nightfall into the
cautious conviction that, if slavery be wrong, it is not Mr.
Abraham Lincoln's business to set it right. Ministerial
vigour boils up for a week or two in violent arrests of un-
offending citizens for supposed sympathy with the rebel-
lion, and then cools off for a month, allowing treason to be
spoken by important persons as freely as if the country
wore in the full enjoyment of constitutional liberty, though
bubbling up at intervals to scald some minor offender. For
the last three weeks the Government has been in its cold
fit. The President has issued his proclamation, and sub-
sided into the quietude so greatly needed after such ex-
haustion. M'Clellan, having nearly achieved a de-
cisive victory at Antietam, has taken time to re-
flect upon the past and the future, and manifested the
usual vis tnertice of all heavy bodies that rash people would
impel too suddenly into space. The War Secretary, having
nearly filled Forts Warren, Lafayette, Delaware, and
M'Henry with political prisoners, has taken a siesta, and
allowed a little liberty of speech to the few impatient spirits
who yet vindicate their claim to an Anglo-Saxon origin by
grumbling at the errors and misdeeds of men in power.
There has been a little Saturnalia of free discussion in con-
sequence. The Rev. Henry Ward Beecher, an ultra-Abo-
litionist, has declared " that the country is going towards
disunion and despotism, because one of the most honest men
who ever held the Presidential chair is not a man of
affairs ;" " that there has been a waste and slaughter of
men in M'Clellan's and Pope's battles that the Government
has never cared to estimate, and will never dare to publish;"

that " M'Clellan suffers from fatal, hopeless, and ineradi-
cable timidity, and is more pained to have one man shot
than to have a thousand rot in the hospitals ;" and that
there "is a deep, widespread, and increasing disccntent
with this weak and helpless Administration." And Mr.
Stanton sleeps, and makes no sign to the Provost-Marshal.
On the other side, Mr. Fernando Wood—an ultra-Demo-
crat—has had the courage to say that, if the President will
not inaugurate a change of measures, the country will in-
sist on a change of men; that "some second Napoleon will
sit in the White House and dictate terms to the country ;"
that, for his part, "if he is to live under a tyrant, he pre-
fers an able and bold tyrant to a mean and petty despotism,
such as that at present existing ;" and, finally, " that he
does not believe it is possible to conquer the South by mili-
tary triumphs— but that the South will come back to the
Union underDemoeratic and Conservative administration.'
Mr. Elijah Purdy, a prominent member of the same party,
and known as the " War-horse of the Democracy," exhorts

his friends at Tammany Hall to do their duty at the polls
" by" putting out the vagabonds " who have got temporary
possession of the Government." And still Mr. Stanton
makes no sign, and the Provost-Marshal moves no finger to
point towards Fort Lafayette.
But there are symptoms of a break-up in this official
apathy. The hot fit is coming on. The snoozing giant is
going to rub his eyes, put on his seven league boots, and
stretch forth his long arms to clutch the two hardy people
who dare not only to form their opinions, but to utter them.
The Rev. Mr. Beecher may perhaps escape, for Mr. Stan-
ton is not bold enough to excite the ire of all the young and
old ladies of Brooklyn who " sit under " that pious come-
dian ; but it will in all probability fare hard with Mr. Fer-
nando and Mr. Benjamin Wood,—with Mr. John Van
Buren, Mr. Elijah Purdy, and Judge Macon, if not with
Mr. Horatio Seymour himself, for the "treasonable effron-
tery" they have displayed in denouncing the imbecility of
the Administration. Already a beginning has been made.
General Butler has arrested three Episcopal clergymen of
New Orleans for refusing to pray for Mr. Lincoln, and
despatched them under military escort to this city, to be in-
c4rcerated in Fort Fafayette. The agent of all three arrests
was the redoubtable major whose interruption of the service
at St. Paul's Church in that sorely oppressed city was re-

corded in my last. The three unfortunates arrived this
morning, and many learn in prison, if they will, that it is
safer to denounce Mr. Lincoln as an imbecil in Brooklyn
or New York than to refuse their prayers for him under
the benign auspices of General Butler. In New Hamp-
shire a person named Batchelder has been arrested by the
Provost-Marshal for " disloyal practices" not specified. A
writ of habeas corpus was applied for and granted. The
Provost-Marshal telegraphed to Ar.•
to do. Mr. Stanton replied that ho was tO plead his warrant
from the War Department, and that if the civil power at-
tempted a release di the prisoner he was to appeal for the
United States in the vicinity. The Provost-Marshal pleaded
as advised, and the judge, whose name is Bell (misspelt
Pell by the War Department, as if the exact name of so
insignificant a person as a judge were not worth recording),
yielded the point after hearing the arguments of consul.
He said that it seemed to him inexpedient and useless to
issue an order for an attachment which could not be en-
, forced; that the Government of the United States had
plainly expressed its determination to resist by force any
attempt of the civil authorities to deliver the prisoner ;
that he received this, not as a threat, but as the announce-
ment .of a settled resolution,—which, with the vast armies
under its command, the Government had the ability to exe-
cute against any force which the State (of New Hampshire)
could command for the execution of the law,. He therefore
declined to take any further action in the case. The ques-
tions occur, if such Ministers and such judges as these had
existed in the time of the Stuarts in England, would there
have been any popular liberty in England at the present
day? And would the United States themselves have been
other than a conquered dependency ? And are the Ameri-
cans, who submit to such high-handed despotism, the
worthy or the unworthy sons of English ancestors, having
any right to boast of John Hampden, the pilgrim fathers,
or George Washington ?
Mr. Batchelder's case is bad enough ; but worse remains
behind, Last Friday Mr. James 8,. Lackland, described as
a prominent lawyer of the city of St. Louis, was arrested
in his office at noon by the Provost-Marshal of that city
in consequence of a speech delivered by him on the previous
evening, in which he not only asserted that Secession was
caused by the Northern Aholiti mists, but "that he had
no faith in Mr. Chase's paper currency." He -was allowed
to remain at liberty for a few days on parole, in order that
he might prosecute a forgery case, in which he is engaged
as counsel, after-which he has pledged himself to return to
custody. In the same State of Missouri, Mr. Temple Orr,
a judge bf one of the courts, was arrested on the previous
day at Jefferson City for the offence of declaring the pro •
clamation of President Lincoln to liberate the slaves un-
wise, impolitic, and uncalled for; and because he publicly
expressed doubt of the power of the Administratio-n to
carry out " lawfully" the objects of that proclamation.
But a worse case that either of these remains behind.
A young married lady, a native of :New Orleans, 20 years
of age, and said to be remarkably handsome, was
heard singing Secession—and therefore treasonable—
songs, after a private dinner party in Washington. She was
informed against by an outside listener, said to be a police
agent from New York, taken into custody, and conveyed to
this city, where she was locked up in the police Sell of the
station-house in Forty-seventh-street. A friend to whom
she communicated her trouble called upon the Deputy
Provost Marshal on the day after her arrival, to make in-
quiries, and was informed that she was a " silly Secesh
woman," and would immediately be sent home to her friends
In New Orleans. The zealous friend remonstrated on the
harshness, if not injustice, of detaining her in a common
cell, reserved for thieves, prostitutes, and disorderly charac-
ters, and was informed, with a significant look and sharp
accent, that the lady was a spy who ought to be hanged,
and that he would do well to mind his own business if he
did not wish to be sent to Fort Lafayette. This was 41 days
ago, and the young lady still remains at the police-station.
It should be added, for a clearer comprehension of the
animus which directed this proceeding, that there may have
been something more than a song at the bottom of it, inas-
much as the lady's husband is a Secessionist, and that, like
Mr. Lincoln, she has or had a brother in the Southern army..
An application for a writ of habeas corpus is forthwith to
be madein her behalf, unless the Government on the threat
of publicity should be so far ashamed of, the tyranny which
it has knowingly or unknowingly countenanced as to order
her release. The story seems Incredible, but it is asserted
to be true by cit;zens of the highest character, and if the
Government be unwise enough to force it before the courts
on the application for a writ, the details, hitherto unmen-
tioned in any of the newspapers, will nd their way to the
public with a far more damaging effect upon the Adminis-
tration than any other imprisonment which the proclama-
tion of martial law has afforded.
Philadelphia has tilled up, by high bounty money among
its German and Irish population, its quota under the
draught. There will consequently be no conscription in
that city. The desire continues to grow in intensity that
the same result may be reached in New York by the same
means; or that at events the operation of tho draught may.
be postponed till the Ist of January. Among many other
circumstances which have come to the knowledge of the
police and the Government, and] which render the latter
somewhatfact that fearful
arf:ai
clubs oro of the
oc
h eassia ns
consequences
o of f
baouc°rninsg o el
iPt other
ii°i
h
men, too poor to pay for substitutes, and not in a position
to go to the war without ruin to their business and their
fall/14es' 44" 14°4 orgailiztA throughout the citio of New

York and Brooklyn, all the members of which have pledged
themselves to resist the draught, by force of arms if neces-
sary. With the secrecy that must envelope the delibera-
tions of such clubs, it is not easy to ascertain their numbers,
their plans, or their mode of operations, but sufficient is
known of their doings to cause much anxiety to the Govern-
ment, find to make quint people wish that the power of the
"almighty dollar" might .nain be tried to raise the men
required, and so avoid both the eanger and the scandal of
an unpopular conscription.

Nov. 5.
There is little time before the departure of the steamer
this morning to do more than briefly indicate the results of
the great victory achieved yesterday at the polls by the De:
mocratic party, It was generally asserted for sever days
by both parties that there would be serious rioting oh' the
day of election. The Democrats proclaimed that the £to
publicans had planned a popular outbreak, and that the
Government had so far favoured their views as to send
several regiments from Maine and other ultra-Repub-
lican States to intimidate the people, and so create the
breach of the peace, which they pretended to Prec°llt.
It was asserted, on the other side, that the Denyeerafs
had predetermined that the elections should not pass (r.cietl9
over, and that the Abolitionist and Republican candidates
should be mobbed, with the view not only of proving to the
world the unpopularity of the party, but of compelling the
Government to employ a military force. All these predlo'
tions have been falsified by the event. The elections beg°,
and ended with an almost total absence of disturbance, aue''
with no breach of the peace that even party malice could
exaggerate into the name of a riot. Long before noon Yee"
terday it was evident that the whole Democratic ticket Was
in a majority in all the wards of the city; and after the
close of the polls at sunset, it was reported by the Demo'
crats that the majority for Seymour was at least 20,000;
while the Republicans themselves admitted that it might
be as many as 10,000. The lobbies and bars of all the great
hotels in Broadway were crowded throughout the evening;
and at most of these establishments telegraphic despatchee
were hourly received from remotest parts of the State, 04
posted up for public perusal. By 10 o'clock the returne
from the city showed that Seymour had a larger majoritY
than his friends anticipated—amounting to nearly 30,000,
while the despatches from the towns on the Hudson Rigl.'
and on the shore of the Lakes, and from all the rural dis.
triets that continued to arrive until 2 o'clock in the morning
were of a character to justify the belief that the Republicans
had been as thoroughly defeated in the State as they had been
in the city. The papers of this morning contain thee re'
sults of the metropolitan voting as they manifested 011;
selves from hour to hour, but those from the State are 019"
yet made up with anything like accuracy or complete
No one doubts, however, that Mr. Seymour stands high at
the head of the poll ; and it is stated that the present G°'
vernor, Mr. Morgan, a Republican, who has held firm
li
aloof from the proceedings of his brother governors wh°
met at Altoona, led off early in the morning by a vote I°l.
the Democratic candidate. In New York city there Was
some fear at one time that Mr. Benjamin Wood's seat Wag
in danger, inasmuch as he was opposed by a member of bi°
own party, but the fear speedily subsided. General Wall'
bridge, his opponent, though a quasi-Democrat, wee 5
thick-and-thin supporter of the Government, and approve',
its suspension of the right of habeas corpus, while het
Wood had denounced its acts, had disapproved its eendtt
of the war, and months ago had had the courage to
and publish a speech appealing to reason and conta.m.°'
sense for the settlement of the dispute between the N°
and the South, for which a motion was made and jot
expel him from Congress as a traitor. The people Yeetet;
day pronounced between the two, and gave Mr. Woo d. a
majority of no less than 3,289. When it is borne in
that not a single Republican was elected in this city it WP-0
be perceived that a strong and steady reaction 1151
set in against the Government ; and when
is also considered that the State of New ()"',/
' which now gives its vote to Mr. Seymour and !Ile
ticket, gave, two years ago, its vote to Mr. Lincoln mad `l3,
party now in power—a still more significant proof swill to
apparent that the Ultra-Abolitionists and Exterrainat° t
are out of favour with the people, and that reason has
$t
last a chance of being heard above the din and turmoil
this miserable war. Gen. Wadsworth, in one of his ele;:t
tioneering speeches, spoke of the admonition which it nrigkPo
be his duty, if elected, to administer to the President.
word was at well chosen. But admonition was needed
and it has come from a quarter that Gen. Wadsworth 41
not anticipate. The triumph of Mr. Seymour is an achli°:(
nition stronger than words could convey. It marks a
t'o
era in the course of the revolution (for revolution as wae! if
war is running its course in the land), and cannot f", it
properly taken to heart by the President, to bring 114'117a:a
to the constitution, which unwise advisers have P
him to set at naught.
The news from the army of the Potomac, which has
cited but little attention for the last few days, will now
sume its interest if not its importance. The indications' Pi,
present are that the Confederate general is retiring 1112:s,
Gordonsville, and that M'Clollan will advance to Wil'ebttie,
ter, and find it unoccupied. In this case the great 133,1,10
which some of the journals predict as certain to 0'6,4
within a few days, is not likely. The prevalent impres z.tuie
is that the Army of the Potomac has fought its last Wit.
ersuad
for this year, and that it will speedily be sheltered
winter quarters.

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