The Sun.
London, England, 1861-10-18 00:00:00

TIIF 14877-DAY IN THE STATES.

_(Froin. the Special Correspondent of the Times.)
RACINE, WISCONSIN, SEPT. 2G.
The Confederate States had their day of prayer
and fasting and humiliation more than three
months ago, and on Thursday, the 13th of June, the
bishop and pastors of all the various congregations
in the South were praying for success in the com-
ing contest with their bitter enemies and oppres-
sors, and using very much the same language h2fore
the throne of lleaven as the preachers of the North
indulged in today. The religious union of the
States is ruptured rather on the question of slavery
than on the States' rights, and even the Roman
Catholic Church exhibits a schism on that point in
its smooth and varnished surface, and shows the
Bishop of New York and the Bishop of New Orleans
engaged in open controversy. I cannot answer for
the mode in which the day was observed in other
parts of the Union, but I know that in Chicago,
through which I was passing at the date prefixed to
this portion of my letter, the injunctions to close
the shops were not altogether attended to, although
the churches were tolerably well attended, and the
observance marked with decorum. The small edifice
which serves as the Protestant Episcopal Church
was nearly filled by a respectable congregation, of
whom the majority were as usual women ; and the
Bishop of Illinois, in a subtle and rather dramatic
course, seemed to indicate to his hearers, that the
rebellion was a sin against Heaven, the consequences
of which were only to be averted by the individual
repentance of the nation as Christians. Nor did he
spare those sins of the United States, and at one
allusion to those who sought to make fortunes out
of their :country's misery by exorbitant profits and
charges on contracts many a glance was exchanged
among his auditors. The adaptation of our Liturgy
to republican institutions and persons offers some
difficulties, and it excites a curious train of thought
to hear the prayer for the Queen used in behalf of a
President who goes out of office at the end of four
years, but who is followed by the entreaties of the
Episcopal Church for his eternal welfare to the end
of his life. The occasion was improved by a de-
mand for an eleemosynary contribution for the
Home Guard—that is, for the bishop's clergy and
missionaries. But men's thought and words were
far more occupied by General Fremont and the Pre-
sident than by the fast day, if one may judge from
the conversation of all men. On the whole, the
majority of the people here, so far as I can judge,
support the General and condemn the President's
letter, and even the President himself sometimes, in
unsparing language. " Strange," they say, " that
he could think it expedient to exhibit such solici-
tude about the rights of the slaveholders, when he
had not a word to say in reference to a much more
serious matter—viz., the threats of General Fre-
mont towards such white people as he may find in
rebellion." The German, or, as it is oddly styled
by the Americans hereabout, the Dutch population,
is with Fremont to a man, and they are a most
powerful and important element in the fighting and
voting powers of the State of Illinois. To them this
is indeed a rebellion, and they carry out the doc-
trine of the Government at Washington (on which,
however, it does not presume to act) that the Con-
federates are rebels, and should be treated accord-
ingly, while the Government only ventures to con-
sider Mr. Davis and his friends as rebels, and will
not yield on that point even for the sake of the
Federal prisoners in his hands, while they gratify
their pique by refusing styles and titles and their
military or civil ranks to the chiefs and officers of
the Government at Richmond. The democrats, of
course, are irritated and indignant, and declare Fre •
moot ought to be removed immediately. Continual
accusations are made against him in the newspapers,
which are only of consequence as indicative of the
serve, which are to drive him
designs of those they
out of the service. He is accused of waste and extra-
vagance in his contracts, of personal inaccessibility
and hauteur, of dilatorieiss and neglect of duty,
which has led to the loss of Lexington, and of niner
other offeinrea No rnrlL). that, ne nas no money,
and is therefore obliged to procure necessaries for
the public service on credit, and in competition with
the Governors of various States, and consequently
at higher rates ; that he is constantly thwarted and
impeded by demands for troops; that he sees his
regiments takeu away from him by orders from

" We pray very hard in Illinois to-day, sir," said
a gentleman to me, " because it's very awkward to
have these Confederates coming up on our flank
here; • they are now in a line with Quincy and
Hannibal, and if Fremont does not stop them we
have only our prayers to trust to." Another gentle-
man, one of the Judges, remarked, with some
truth, "I fear we never would hare had this day of
prayer and humiliation at all, only for the battle of
Bull's Run." It is obvious that, instead of going
down the Mississippi just now, General Fremont
is going up the Missouri, and it remains to be seen
whether ho will succeed in driving the Confederates
out of the north-west of Missouri. Before he left
St. Louis yesterday (27th) he authorised another
innovation on the policy of the Government by ex-
changing a Confederate prisoner in his hands for a
Federal colonel. Jefferson city, the capital of Mis-
souri, 125 miles west of St. Louis, will be the new
base of his operation. Lexington is 100 miles as
the crow flies to the north-west of Jefferson, but it
is considerably farther by the river, which is about
half a mile wide, and flows rapidly. The rail
road will enable Fremont to collect his troops
speedily, but his forces are inferior in numbers to
the Confederates, who are said to have concen-
trated the corps of Price, Rains, and M'Cullough
to oppose him, and if he is beaten, his position and
that of Missouri, as far as its Federal relations are
concerned, appear hopeless. At the other side of the
Missouri river there is a railroad, 0n1y.40 miles
away, which leads to Hannibal and Quincy, and
thence across the river to the Illinois railways ; and,
looking at the map merely, it seems feasible for
the Confederates, as they are in light marching
order and have little or no baggage, to make a dash
at it, even after defeat, which would effect a most
powerful diversion. Their forces are estimated at
25,000 men. Fremont has under him less than
20,000, and he cannot take all of these from St.
Louis; indeed, there is already an outcry from the
Western States that their troops are taken away for
the purposes of the Eastern and Northern States,
and that they are left without adequate defence;
and there seems to be a disposition to localise the
contingents of each State, possibly because people
are becoming ignorantly impatient of the inactivity
of the large armies gathered around Washington.
Few of the States, except the smaller and more
populous of the New England group, have turned
out such a proporticn of men as might be expected
from the number of voters, and one journalist here
brays forth a terrible blast on his organ, and calls
on the residue to drill diligently. For what think
you ? In order that they may be able to fight their
fellow-countrymen at the end of the war in case the
successful and pampered legions should wish to
serve the purpose of their military leaders, and
take more power than they have a right to claim !
It will be observed that lowa is to raise its contin-
gent without recourse to draughting, as Secretary
Cameron wishes to rely on the loyalty of the people ;
but I hear that there is a considerable peace party
in the State likely to carry their doctrines into prac-
tical effect. It was my intention to have visited St.
Louis before my return to Washington, and to have
witnessed some of the operations down the Mississippi
had the expedition been ready to start, but the intel-
ligence from the capital indicates the possibility of ac-
tive operations and I return thither on Monday (30th)
there being no train to-morrow. It would be use-
less to follow General Fremont to the Far West, as
no one can tell where he will move to, and it would
take at least 3-!, days to send a letter from Jefferson
to New York, and still more to Boston, for the
steamers, while the telegraph would convey the
practical results of his movements with some trust-
worthiness up to a few hours of their departure.
Those operations are most important, but the theatre
at Washington is larger, and I therefore return
before the curtain is raised once more for the ter-
rible drama of battle. If the hostile armies could
only move up here, all their infantry, cavalry, and
artillery might mancouvre splendidly on these mar,.
nificent prairies—regular fighting grounds and war
carpets, and all that they would need would be
generals capable of handling such masses of men,
It is scarcely necessary to observe that there is not
anything like the numbers on either side which the
New York journals state, and that the totals fall far•
short of the very round numbers of the romantic
Alnaschars.

I have two anecdotes of two peers, who might be
said to come under the description of half-witted. In their
case, the same sort of dry Scottish humour came out under
the cloak of mental disease. A Scottish nobleman of the,
last century had been a soldier the greater part of 1,;-
but was ebliged to come home on acerration of
mind, superindumi propensity. Desirous of-
under due restraint, and, at the same time, of
engaging his mind in his favourite pursuit, his friends pro-
cured a Sergeant Briggs to be his companion and overseer;
and to render the sergeant acceptable as a companion, they
introduced him to the old earl as Colonel Briggs. !long
asked how he liked the colonel, the earl answered, buttrye
well ; he is a sensible man, and a good soldier,
smells damnably of the halbert...Reminocctices of ,00ta
Life and Character,

A further discharge of troops teok place at Chat-
ham garrison yesterday, when 70 non-commissioned
officers and men of several cavalry and infantry
ecrps, who had, been forwarded from the various
military stations, were discharged from the invalid
establishment, on account of their unfitness for fur-
ther service, and forwarded to their respective
homes, the whole of them having been previously in..
spceted by the Commissioners of Chelsea Hospital.
A general order from the Horse Guards, signed
by Sir J. Yorke Scarlett, Adjutant-General, and
dated the 10th inst., has been received at Chatham,
in which are laid down a code of rules to be observed
by general and commanding officers in granting
leave of absence. Leave of absence granted under
this order to officers might commence on the 15th
inst., or as soon after as the half-yearly inspections
should have been made. Furloughs to non-com-
missioned officers and soldiers may commence from
the Ist of Nov. All leaves of absence are to termi-
nate on the 14th of March, 1862, when, in confor-
mity with the Queen's Regulations, all officers and
soldiers are to be present with their respective regi-
ments or depots. One field officer, ono half of the
captains, and one half of the subaltern officers are
always to be present. No officer, except in the per-
formance of duty, or for the purpose of joining his
regiment, is to quit the United Kingdom without
having first obtained her Majesty's special permis-
sion. Officers employed upon the recruiting service
or upon the staff of the army arc not to be included
in the number fixed for the constant duty of the
regiment or depot. In cases of short leave of absence
being required by adjutants, ridingmasters, quar-
termasters, or veterinary surgeons of regiments, it
will be necessary that a special report be made as
the mode in which their duties are to be performed
during their absence, and stating that the command-
ing officer is satisfied. The proportion of non-com-
missioned officers, trumpeters, drummers, and pri-
vate men to whom furloughs may be granted is not
to exceed 20 per battery of horse and field Artillery,
or 10 per troop, battery of garrison Artillery, or com-
pany. Commanding officers of regiments returning
from India may exercise a liberal discretiOn in grant•
ing furloughs to soldiers who come home with their
corps. The Duke of Cambridge expects that the
general and other officers empowered to grant leave
of absence will strictly confine that grant to the
proportion of officers specified.
Yesterday afternoon advantage was taken of the
fine weather by Major-General Eyre to have a
brigade field-day of the troops composing the gar-
rison of Chatham under his command, additional
interest being felt in the proceedings by the public
on account of this being the first occasion of the
Infantry and Royal Artillery being brigaded toge-
ther since the latter have been quartered at Chat-
ham. The troops were assembled in front of their
respective quarters shortly after 1 o'clock. The
various corps then marched by different routes to
the Lines, where they were formed at half-past 2.
Those on the ground consisted of the D battery of
the 9th Brigade, Royal Artillery, with a complete
park of artillery, numbering six 12-pounder Arm-
strong guns, waggons and horses complete, under
the command of Capt. Humphreys; the three depot
battalions of Infantry of the Line, under the re-
spective commands of Cols. Jervis, Phillips, and
Fairtlongh ; and the battalion of Royal Marines
Light Infantry, commanded by Col. Gascoigne,
C.B. The troops were formed in contiguous quar-
ter-distance columns, the -Infantry occupying the
centre of the mass, with thE:Royal Artillery and
the Royal Marines on the right and left respectively,
Major-Gen. Eyre, attended by his Aide•de-Camp,
Lieut.-Col. Gordon, Brigade-Major Congreve, and
Major Rodney, arrived on the Lines as soon as thy
troops were formed, and having taken up his
tion at the saluting-post, the manoeuvres opfat:TtetdlZ
commenced by the entire force marcair
miznand of the
saluting. Gen. Eyre then tooadknth
'in°en thron,h
brigade, and put the offi
coPcwcup
i 2.0 corps ied some time, and
series of evolutions
en
agcd acquitted themselves
in whirl, retie troops returned to their
cry satisfactorily. A
quarters
before 5
o'clock. The brigade
field r
dearyss for ti
season will shortly terminate at
a-tsh°tr this

When Lord Erskine was admitted a freeman of
the Fishmongers' Company, I partook of the inauguration
dinner, and, of course, he made a speech on the occasion.
On coming home, he said to me, " I spoke ill to-day, and
stammered, and hesitated in the opening." "I said,
"You certainly floundered, but I thought you did so in
compliment to the fishmongers;'.—Once e Week.