Tri-weekly journal., 1848-01-29

should lose at least twenty per cent. of volun-
teers. | remarked in the isthmus between the
Caspian and Black Seas that the Russian forces
required to be recruited entirely in three years;
TO say they required a renewal of one-third ev-
cry year.
The conquest of that country by Russia af-
fords us lessons we ought to profit by. The
Russian forces overran the Caucasian country
in 1876, and received the submission of the
people. They conquered peace. Well, in
1907 passed through the heart of the country,
which had been garrisoned with twenty thou
sand men for eleven years, at cost of be-
tween sixty and seventy thousand men, or six
or seven thousand men year. At that time il
was necessary 10 wait the departure of train
from post TO post, as 1t was unsafe to move
with less than two pieces ofartillery and full
company of infantry. This state of things con-
tinued until 1910, when the Caucasians organ
lied powerful opposition to their conqucrors,
and up to the present day have conteEded "a
gainst them with advantage. The Caucasus
does not contain more than a million and o
half of inhabitants the Russian empire not less
than sixty millions The Caucasians have no
regular army; the Emperor six hundred thou
sand well disciplined troops.
Both the President and the Secretary build
upa system of line defence, as it is called.
which they easily overflow, because no mill
tary man would suggest such an anomaly
They suppose frontier can only be defended
by a chain of posts bordering on the line;
whereas it is best secured by strong interior
defences. But | did not intend to intrude my
opinion on military matters. Settle what ter
ritory you intend to claim, and tell Mexico you
intend to keep 1t. She will bluster and pro-
test, but never attack you. Her leaders will
bo. alrat
the capital. She will have no means to equip
armies and maintain them on long marches
and distant campaigns; and / hazard nothing
in saying that two or three strong places in the
interior of our line would keep them in check
| for half a century, and in less time we might
/ buy title, If thought necessary. By adopt
| ing this plan peace would come at last with
present indemnity, and instead of raising
thirty thousand men, you would have troops
enough to keep peaceable possession of our
new territory, and might dismiss the volunteer
| force.
To succeed in levying the military contri-
buttons the President speaks Of and provision
ing the army by force, the troops must be very
much increased 1t requiresa very large force
to procures supplies without paying for them
They can only be gathered by formidable de-
tatchments, and our army never has been and
never will be sufficiently numerous to enable
the commanding general to seperate TO many
men from the main body.
/ have given you my opinions very hurriedly
for ii appears to me there is little time 10 lose
in settling the course to be pursued. We car
at this period withdraw ourforces withot dis
honor; nay, such an act would elevate us IL
f the estimation of the world. The slightest re
versa threat Of foreign intervention-migh
render such an act difficult, if not Impractical
BILE. Before our troops evacuate the Mexican
territory that people ought to be told what WI
, intend TO do. 1t is barely possible that the.
, might be disposed to,peace upon witnessingsucl
a movement.
With regard to the details of the defence O
the line-not the line defence-they can b
determined very easily, and think we nigh
be certain of remaining unmolested for twent
: years, and for ever.
With great respect and regard, am, my dea
sir. yours truly. J. R. POINSETT
Hon. A. p BUTLER, U. S. Senate, Washing
} ton.
A Coon KIND OF SIGMA being coverer
with rags and dressed in five jackets, all G
E which failed to conceal his raggedness, bolte
into a store on Green street few days sine
with the exclamation of,
"Worse than look by! Well I've Ii
t myself for Sl4 a month, and find MYSELF"
, ''To do what?" Asked the principal of tn
r establishment
d "To stand on the corner for a paper M,
: sign" ''Cash FOR rags" that's all.-AIbar
$ Knickerbocker.
|