The Sun.
London, England, 1865-01-06 00:00:00

children of the same family, is not only destroying our 1
national resources and the best blood of the land, but
threatens to dissolve that Union which philanthropists and
publicists have regarded as the precursor of a C ,nfi deration
that, by combining under Federal institutions a 1 nations of
the earth, would obviate every motive fo: future war, and
thus perpetuate universal peace."
But to return. The mission to Hungary of Mr.
Mann having been referred to in President Taylor's
Message, the Austrian Charge d'Affaires at Wash-
ington, Mr. Hulsemann, addressed a Note to the
Secretary of State, Mr. Webster, protesting against
certain expressions in Mr. Mann's instructions, and
complaining of the steps taken by the United States
to encourage the Hungarian rebellion. An angry
answer to Mr. Hulsemann's note emanated from
Mr. Webster. Your readers, if any of them care to
investigate the case, will find a full narrative of it
in the sixth volume of Webster's works. Mr. Web-

ster says
Questions of prudence arise in reference to new States
brought by successful revolutions into the family of na-
tions ; but it is not required of neutral Powers to await the
recognition of the parent States. If the United States had
formally acknowledged the independence of Hungary, it
would not have been an act against the law of nations, pro-
vided they took no part in her contest against Austria. . • •
Nothing will prevent the people or the Government of the
United States from exercising at their own discretion the
rights belonging to them as an independent nation, and
expressing their own opinions freely and at all times upon
the great political events which may transpire among the
civilized nations of the earth."
Now I ask your readers, after perusing these two
American precedents, to say whether it is conceiv-
able that such a revolutionary war as the Confede-
rate have waged against the Federal States, could
have been carried on prior to 1861 in any other part
of the world without the Washington Government
having been 'swift to recognise and to welcome the
new State into the family of nations ? For nearly
four years war, waged with such reckless lavishness,
sustained upon such a prodigious scale, and en-
forced by such a multitude of combatants as would
long ago have been fatal to some
,first-class Euro-
pean Powers, has dashed vainly against the rock
opposed to Mr. Lincoln by the Confederate States.
For nearly four years all the functions of Govern-
ment have been uninterruptedly exercised by Pre-
sident Davis over an area vastly larger than the
whole of Europe. In spite of the promises of
Mr. Seward, and the speeches of thousands of
Yankee stump orators, no disloyalty to Mr. Davis
has been perceptible in the ten States over which he
claims sway. Not a pound of cotton finds its way
to New Orleans, Vicksburg, Pensacola, or Key
West, excepting such as has been forcibly carried
there by Federal soldiers or sailors. In his circular
of May 28, 1862, Mr. Seward announced that a
servile war was about to be added to the horrors of
which the slave States are the arena. I defy Mr.
Seward to adduce to-day, two years and a half after
his circular was written, one solitary grain of evi-
dence indicating the existence of a servile war in
the Confederate States—one solitary instance of in-
fidelity or insubordination among the slaves plenti-
fully:scattered over the voiceless solitudes of the
South, upon plantations occupied only by old men,
women, and children. Again and again has the
rebellion been crushed (on paper)—first, by the
anaconda's strangulation; secondly, by famine;
thirdly, by financial exhaustion ; fourthly, by in-
ternal insurrection ; fifthly, by exclusion from the
outside world ; sixthly, by want of men, cannon,
muskets, and gunpowder ; and seventhly (as is at
this moment the cry of New York journals), by the
cutting-up system of Sherman. But the rebellion
lives and.thrives, and gathers force and increasing
resolution day of ter day and year after year. It is
possible (though I do not for a moment anticipate
it) that Richmond may fall in 12 or 24 months ; it
is possible that Sherman may carry fire- and sword
into Georgia, as many of his associates have carried
it into Virginia and into every other State which
they have entered. But that it is possible either to
resuscitate the Union or to exterminate five
millions of Anglo-Saxons and three millions
of slaves (all as bitterly opposed to the Yankees
as are their masters) I emphatically deny. The
harmony of feeling and interest, the idem
sentire, (ague idem relic of the two sections is a
thing of the past. Under these circumstances
your readers will understthul that the following
bold announcement which has just appeared in the
Richmond journals is received with something, very
much like a sneer : •
"At the banquet of the Lord Mayor of London Lord.
Palmerston said that he trusted that the contending parties
in America would soon find it better to be reconciled than
to fight, and that these disputes which have bedewed the
American continent with blood will be settled by amicable
arrangements between themselves."
It is seldom that a voice from the outer world
reaches Richmond ; but is it surprising that men
with arms in their hands, with passions roused and
intensified by four years of savage strife, should re-
gard such tame words as these, emanating from a
man whom they consider unjust to themtelves as
little better than an insult ?
Intense interest continues:to be expressed here in
regard to Sherman's progress in Georgia. Your
readers have long been aware that upon the 12th
inst. Sherman cut loose from Atlanta, setting fire,
as is alleged, to the city, and darting with five army
corps, and a large cavalry force, into the heart of
Georgia. It is difficult to estimate each army corps
as containing less than from 6,000 to 7,000 men,
and thus, with a cavalry force estimated at 9,000,
Sherman must have with him at least 40,000 men.
His force is probably the finest army which the
Federals have ever had in the field. He is said to
carry with him everything. necessary for success in
his hazardous expedition, such as indiarubber pon-
toons and all that science has invented to facilitate
rapidity of movement in an army._ advancing
in light marching order. - Nevertheless, it must
be confessed that he has done hitherto wonder-
fully little harm, and effected almost nothing
(luring i.the 15 days which have elapsed since he
started. It is, of course, difficult to know where the
whole of Sherman's army is, but it is believed that
up to last night he was on the line of the Oconee
River. The bridge which carries the Georgia Cen-
tral Railroad (connecting Macon with Savannah)
over the Oconee Riveris long, and adjoining it there
are five or six miles of high wooden' trestle-work,
which carry the railroad over a vast cypress swamp
to the west of the Oconee. The bridge and trestle-
work were attacked by a part of Sherman's forces
on the 24th, 25th, and 26th, but up to the latest ad-
vices the Federals had been drawn off by the
Georgia troops and by Gen. Wheeler, who is be-
lieved to he in the neighbourhood of Sandersville
with 10,000 cavalry. It is believed that Sherman's
main force was yesterday. near Milledgeville, where
it is presumed that the State-house and other public
buildings were burnt. And here I may remark that
already the earnestness and zeal of the Georgians as
Confederates have been wonderfully stimulated by
the savage and ruthless spirit which Sherman and
his men have everywhere exhibited. If there were
much truth in the alleged disloyalty to President
Davis of Governor Brown and Vice President Ste-
phens, it would have been easy for Sherman by ap-
plying to Georgia an antiphlogistic treatment to
cultivate and encourage the Union sentiment of
Georgians. But, with the fatuity which everywhere
attends Mr. Lincoln's emisaries, Shermap has left
nothing but embittered rebels in his track. Men are
not to be coaxed back into the Union by burning
their barns and houses, stealing their horses, cattle,
poultry, hogs, slaves, provisions, and waggons. It
is already seen in Richmond that there will be little
occasion hereafter to complain of Georgian luke-
warmness. In the interest of the Confederates,
nothing could be more desirable that the destruction
of Governor Brown's house and barns in the neigh-
bourhood of Canton, by Sherman.
It seems
Admiral Porter
Sherman
to be the general impression here that
strike for the seaboard, and, in the
words of the Northern 'ournals " exchange signals
with A
attacking any fortifiedllP°n
haat
Augusta
very.uanypsa)osritlf,ahinlelt
fore these words
It is, towns, such as Macon or
of course,
he Atlantic coast,"° with-
out Augusta.
against either of these toweris
tsshieblebethmatayalbmeost be-
given
to this impression by written
his course after leavirv, Atlanta movement of Sherman
h and such preparation
gsfaorresome d
the first instance on his r h
igattiti;na:it he diverged from
and left Macon on
has been made to receiveb
inevitably detain him (pro ably
seems'C to
attacks that town. Two thin
to Sherman—time and ammunition. It

me not improbable that Sherman may get to the
coast, though not without the loss of many men ;
but what will he do when he gets there ? Can any
one pretend that if Gen. Lee had a fleet co-opera-
ting with him on Lake Ontario, and no great army
before him in the first instance, it would not be pos-
sible for him to march with 30,000 men through the
heart of the Northern States, and, without attacking
any fortified town, to establish connexion with his
fleet? It seems to me that Sherman's present ex-
pedition will end as unprofitably for the Federals as
would such a move as I have imagined if it were
possible for General Lee.
The only disappointment which is at this moment
felt in Richmond is in connexion with Hood's long
detention on the Tennessee river. Shut off as is the
Confederate Government from any communication
with Hood, except of the most flimsy nature, it is
impossible to know the causes which have retarded
his advance into Tennessee ; but it was hoped, and

. _
it is still hoped, that, relieved from any solicitude
about Sherman, Hood might strike a daring blow
in Tennessee, where General Thomas is believed to
have little else than raw Federal troops to oppose
to Hood's fine army. It was understood yesterday
that General Bragg was at Augusta, General Hardee
at Savannah, General Dick Taylor at Macon, and
General Beauregard rapidly approaching the latter
place from the West.
There has been daily expectation of an attack
upon General Lee's lines before Petersburg and
Richmond, and never have I seen such an attack
more ardently desired by the Confederate army
than at present. There are indications that some
such move is contemplated by Grant, and ample
preparations have been made to receive him. Never

since the commencement of the war was more
serene confidence entertained about the safety of
this city and Petersburg, be Grant's force what it
may, than at the present moment. _

_
DECEMBER 5.
Information has just reached me of a conversation
held last week, in which the interlocutors were
General Grant and a gentleman who returned to
Richmond on the 2d inst. from the North, bearing

a letter of introduction to be presented en route
from Mr. Seward to General Grant. It is well

known that the gentleman in question (who is a
foreigner), is in intimate relations with the Confede-

rate Government. He paints General Grant as a

gentleman of eminent courtesy, tranquil and dig-
nified in manner, free from the proverbial bluster

of his countrymen, and studiously conciliating in
language. General Grant commenced the conversa-
tion by extravagant laudations of President Davis
and General Lee, especially of the latter, whose equal
morally and intellectually is not, according to the
Federal General's professed opinion, to be found
among eminent military men anywhere upon earth.
He proceeded next to make the startling assertion

hat' Richmond is a doomed city, and that Mr.

Davis and General Lee are well aware of the fact.

le pointed out with emphasis that slowly and in-

sidiously the Federal army is constantly advancing
a step, and that never since the 14th of June, when

t crossed to the south side of the James, has it made

a quarter of a step backwards. " The end," he
continued, " must be the fall of Richmond. How
long it will be before the end comes it is impossible

for me to say. General Lee knows the position of
my army to be impregnable on both sides of the

river, and he will attack on neither. Ido not ex-
pect the city to be suddenly eVacuated, but some
day little by little my guns will get within shelling

distance of the capital, and from that hour it is

merely a question of time. It is probable that if at
this stage the resistance be obstinate and prolonged,
the whole city will be burnt to the ground. Any-
how its evacuation by General Lee's army is in the

end inevitable." While this conversation was in

progress a telegram arrived from General Butler on
the north side of the James, announcing to General

Grant that the " Richmond Examiner of this morn

ing anticipates that Sherman will get safe to the

sea coast."

I can assure General Grant that if he was in a
position to arrive at the undisguised opinion of Pre-
sident Davis and General Lee he would come to a
conclusion different from that which he last week
expressed, but which it is difficult to believe that he
sincerely entertains. It is the deliberate conviction
not only of the two eminent men in question, but

also of eighteen-twentieths of the inhabitants o,

Richmond and of ninety-nine-hundredths of the
army which defends it, that the city was never so
safe since the war commenced as at the present mo-
ment. It seems to all men of sense that every time
that Grant has made a tentative movement, either
with cavalry or infantry, or by subterranean
mines, or any other aggre.ssiiie device, and has
been foiled with considerable loss of life, he
has had more than a quarter of a step back-
ward, How many of these attacks have been
foiled since June.,last it is difficult to compute. But
against all these failures, spread over the last five
and a-half months, Grant has nothing to advance
as a makeweight, except the slight but immaterial
advance of his lines upon the Weldon Railroad, and
the capture of Port Harrison on the 29th September.
No one is probably better aware than General Grant
that these two slight advantages have not brought
him an inch nearer to the capture of Richmond. He
is now confronted by a frowning line of earthworks,
which stretches for 33 or 34 miles, commencing at
the Chicahominy River, extending across the James,
and running close, up to the Weldon Railroad on
the west of Reams' Station. I may be mistaken,
but, in common with every Confederate officer I
have conversed with on both sides of the James, it
is my belief that against any portion of these lines
Grant's army, even if doubled in number, will never
prevail. The difficulty and danger of attempting
to get round either or both of General Lee's flanks
at points where the Confederates are operating upon
the inner circle is obviouSly very great. I anticipate
that if Grant's army receives very material accession
of strength before April and during next summer,
the siege of Richmond will be protracted through the
whole of next year. If he is not heavily reinforced
by next spring, we shall see whether he will pass
through 1865 without taking several quarter steps
backward. But, be that as it may, it is already
seen and felt that the advantages to the Confede-
rates of carrying on a defensive struggle so close to
their heart as Richmond are obvious and mani-
fold. The blood propelled through the great aorta
is far larger in volume than the blood which circu-
lates through the temporal artery, and the vigilance
necessitated by the close proximity of the enemy is
of eminent benefit to this brave, but careless com-
munity. In addition, the long-protracted struggle
around Richmond gives the Confederates time to
duplicate such establishments as the Tredegar Works,
and to inagurate supplementary measures for creat-
ing munitions of war all over the country. It never
seems to have entered General Grant's head that the
capture of Richmond will be to him and his associ-
ates but the letting out of strife. But Gen. Grant's
words are robbed of half their significance when it
is remembered that they were addressed to a gentle-
man who would in three or four days be in commu-
nication with the Richmond authorities. It is diffi-
cult not to suspect that Grant shares with his wily
countrymen the sentiment so admirably expressed
in Milton's lines :

•
" Our better part remains
To work in close design by fraud or guile
" What force effected not."

If Mr. Davis and General Lee could be cajoled by
by flattery and undermined in faith by unscrupulously
boastful anticipations, nothing but good could result
to General Grant and his employers. As matters
stand the Federals have to face or explain away the
fact that the mighty host which Grant led across
Rapidan last May has failed either to give him Rich-
mond, or even " to fight it out on the same line, if it

took all the 'summer." Summer and autumn have
passed away, and winter is upon us. In a few months
the summer of 180 will be here, and on what line
does General Grant then propose to fight it out ?
There can be few Northerners gullible enough to
believe that when General Grant began his advance
against Richmond, nearly eight months ago, sup-
ported by between 200,000 and 300,000 men, he
expected to find himself wintering on the James
River, in command of a fifth of that force, and with
Richmond as obstinately closed against him as ever.
I can emphatically assert that be General Grant's
anticipations about his prospects what they may, I
remember no moment during more than 26 months