The Sun.
London, England, 1865-04-10 00:00:00

which would have given him the command of the
whole Federal line south of the Appomattox, and
the failure of the attempt is attributed to the death
of the Confederate General, whose name we are
not told. According to General LEE'S report, his
men captured nine guns, eight mortars, and 500
prisoners, including a brigadier-General and a num-
ber of officers. Two attempts to recover the
captured works were, he says, repulsed ; but, as the
works in the rear could only have been taken at a
heavy loss, the position was abandoned, and the
guns, which could not be removed, were disabled.
The Confederate loss was not heavy, and the
troops, it is admitted by Northern correspondents,
fight with undiminished enthusiasm. LEE'S army
is also to rest, which seems to be the fashion of the
day, though not, we apprehend, for very long.
JOHNSTON'S army is also said to be in high spirits
and good condition, and the Richmond Sentinel de-
clares that SHERMAN has been forced to take up
a defensive position, which is certainly a change of
days. The tide of fortune has perhaps turned, and
it remains to be seen whether the Southern leaders
will take it at the flood. SIIERMAN is evidently
compelled to rest upon his oars, which will give the
South time to drill the slaves, and thus reinforce
their armies. But if the Confederates hope to profit
by the services of the negroes they must hold out
the hope of freedom. Men, of whatever colour, are
not machines, and it is useless to expect them to
work without hope. It is mere selfishness that
shrinks from the abandonment of so-called property,
and that selfishness brings its own punishment, for
it ends, and will end, in the total loss of slaves with-
out compensation. Men will not risk life and limb
without an object, and it is as foolish as selfish to
expect that they will do so. We hope to see this
matter put on a proper footing, and since the
interior of the Carolinas to the west, nearly all
Georgia, and the country east of the Mississippi is
in the hands of the Confederates, LEE will now
receive heavy reinforcements. The suspension of
the Habeas Corpus Act will empower him to im-
press white and black, and he will need all his rein-
forcements, for LINCOLN is obliged to resort to the
draught again. Volunteering has almost ceased in
New York for want of funds to pay the bounties,
which were, unfortunately for Northern patriotism,
the chief inducement. The fact is, the credit of the
North is shaken, and the new secretary, M'Cui,
LOCH, is alarmed at the aspect of affairs, as well he
may be. Should gold fall below 150 their securities
will be worthless, and money difficult to raise by
any means. The powers give to the Southern leaders
increase the Northern uneasiness. The Confederates
are now enabled to raise men and money within
their own territories, and this fact makes the North
anxious for peace. No doubt, the large party who
profit by war contracts, &c., are opposed to any
suspension of hostilities, but those who fill the offices
of State are beginning to see that an end must
come. It is the Federals that are anxious
for peace, and who disguise their anxiety under the
rumours about LEE and the military conference.
The South will not ask for peace conferences again
while the memory of the recent failure is fresh in
their recollection. The insulting demands of the
North have not been so quickly forgotten, and the
only effect of the conference at Fort Monroe has
been to redouble their energies.
The Montreal Court, we learn, has refused the
extradition of the Vermont raiders, on the ground
of their being belligerents, but has detained them on
the charge of infringing neutrality, which is a just
and sensible manner of settling a question, which
threatened some difficulty. General Dix can hardly
deny his own order, which recognised them as sol-
diers, and their re-arrest by the British authorities
is only fair.