The Sun.
London, England, 1862-10-14 00:00:00

"To give you an idea of the alarm and despair
among the timid and wavering is more than I am
able to do. We all know what the reasonable con-
struction of the law would be, but Butler has un-
limited power and will use it. He is applauded by
the populace in the North for his merciless treat-
ment of ' Southern rebels.' He has an eye to the
next Presidency, and is elated and flattered by the
popularity his course seemingly gives him, and he
will spare nothing. He has no family pride, no
honour to uphold. He is of the populace. His
brother, Col. Butler, who is at the head of the Com-
missariat Department, was formerly a negro trader;
he has realised a colossal fortune by speculating on
our miseries. He has made us pay 40 dols. a barrel
for flour, and when the port of New Orleans was
open to commerce he would not permit the Govern-
ment tow boats to bring any vessels up the Missis•
sippi, and the owners of cargoes gladly sold to him
at his own price rather than lose them altogether,of
which they were in danger by passing many weeks
at the mouth of the river. Thus for some time
he continued to keep the market in his own hands,
he being in partnership with his brother the Gene-
ral. At the same time, through the newspapers, he
appealed to the bad passions of the poor, assuring
them that the richer classes were the entire cause
of the dearness of provisions and of their miseries.
Confiscation has few terrors for us. We had long
since made up our minds to lose all for our country.
The worst feature of it is that we shall not be per-
mitted to go into the Confederacy, where friends
abound, but must starve in the streets of this
wretched town. There is a worse fear haunting us
every hour—the black population ! There is no
longer a doubt that they are armed, and we are de-
fenceless. Last night theyhad a Union meeting of the
free blacks; slaves, of course, composed the majority.
I hear they discussed the wholesale massacre of the
white population, It is enough to render us maniacs
to live as we are now doing. The European nations
by merely recognising us would have given us a
different position. Ido not know what to make of
England. Certainly the whole legislation of the
North is ruinous to English commercial interests.
Fear of the power of the North seems to have para-
lyzed her. She is wrong if she imagines the pre-
sent struggle is going to exhaust the North. When
their debt becomes too burdensome they will by an
act of Congress wipe off the national debt. What
Ito them is national honour? Who knows anything
lof the rulers after they have passed away ? They
are obscure individuals placed in power by the po-
pulace. Scarcely one of them knows who his great
grandfather was ; many have never heard of their
father. Springing from the dregs of European po-
pulation, what do they care for sustaining either
their own or a nation's honour ? Had England and
France recognised us, and enabled us to break the
blockade and get arms, we should have desired no-
thing more. We have had everything to contend
against. We always depended upon the North and
England for all manufactured articles, and there-
fore had no manufactories. Cotton and sugar being
most profitable, we cultivated little else. Our ports
have been blockaded ; we have been thrown entirely
upon our own resources. The war has been carried
on in the most highly cultivated and most thickly
inhabited portions of the country. The ruin and
devastation of the Northern hordes have never been
equalled by a civilised people. Hav© you read the
Northern accounts of the terrible retribution for
what they choose to term the murder of General
M'Cook ? Seventy-five innocent men who were
pursuing their peaceful avocations were hung, 60
houses burnt, while the women and children were
turned roofless and penniless upon the world !
committed
hitetecdaumsaenayaouctlerarggyes.
aashmvri.llLe,l;liot,
'M'Cook was a
who was President of the Female
barmu toenlgv h
others,
imnanN,
Academy at Nashville, to be stripped and publicly
whipped. It is said he was shot by the brother of
a young lady who aysa at school at Nashville, and
,
who had been insulted by ~
M'Cook. You remem-
ber a dear friend of mine, whom you knew when
you were here; she told me that she saw last Sun-
day, while standing at her street-door, three Yankee
officers cross over the street, one of them walked up
to a young boy of 19 who is paralysed 1 a Mr. --,
and slap him on the face, and curse him as a d
Southern rebel, and use other language I could not
write, to which the poor cripple made no answer.
He then put his hand on his revolver and threatened
to shoot him, though inside the door stood a young
lady who must have been shot had he fired his
pistol. As soon as 'Air, 's agitation permitted
him to speak, he demanded the officer's name ; the
Coward replied, 'I do not give my name to d------
rebels.' He then walked off, but evidently being
encouraged r.aged by, the other officers, he returned and
1" n''"l.st"i'd another cowardly
rui„, slap. Three weeks ago the
creants scarcely dared look us in the
face, but now they
can insult us
hundreds the
should only tire
with
know. we arc unharmed and they
in6ulitlanunity. I could multiply to
we are daily subjected to, but
Sou, you
must excuse my excited,
incoherent style,butl
am half
contending ferdings. werne__ mad with a thousand
of
new ind4;nities, new ;:rtour friends but to hear
monster Boiler is surrounding With which the
life and property to the other vvils, what
is
loss
of
us? You English ought to feel sonit-'''' threaten
as the events of the Indian war must still c''lmPassion'
your memories. be fresh

"You have never read of such exalted patriotism
as the women possess. To give one's life for one's
country is quite natural, but they profess their readi-
ness to starve for theirs which from present pros-
pects there is probability of their doing, should
Butler carry out his threats. They never lose their