The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1860-01-11


and o2o bags Java, and s5ols packages Of all kinds
combined. Freghts were steady aud rates unchanged
The Political, Financial and Social
Condition OF the Cowntry-special Re-
ports to the Herald.
Our country is at this moment in one of those
crises which sometimes decide the fate and
always unsettle the affairs of nations. History
is not without its parallels for the present con-
dition Of the model republic; and it appears to
many sensible and practical men that we, in
the first flush Of our young glory, are on the
verge Of the abyss in which the proudest
ancient nationalitics were engulphed
1t would be idle to deny that there is
marked difference of opinion upon certain So
cial questions between the people of the several
sections of the country and 1t is likewise patent
that this difference, at first purely phianthro-
pic and philosophical, has been seized upon by
the trading politicians of both parties to foment
discords, to incite treason, to stir up sedition
and to promote instruction, incendiarism,
blood and rapine. These vile doctrines, as set
forth in Mr.. Stewards bloody and brutal
Rochester manifesto, have been practically
carried into effect by the John Brown invasion
of virginia-an act which is hailed by large
portion Of the republican party as the COM
mencement of the irrepressible conflict pre-
dicted by Mr.. Seward.
AS might naturally be supposed, this infa-
sovereign State has, }Cr The time being, over
ridden every other topic of the day. 1t finds
its way into the halls of Congress and the bust
ness correspondence of the merchant; it is
talked over by the fireside of the farmer; it is
the prime topic of discussion in the journals,
! the clubs, the pulpit, the tavern cliques and
the village debating societies, from one end of
the country to the other.
1t has seemed to us that it would be very de-
sirable to ascertain the effect Of this state of
things upon the people of different parts Of the
country, and to draw, if possible from the facts
themselves, some general deductions as to the
probable result to the political, financial and
| social affairs Of the Union But where to OBJ.
tain the fasts? In the most peaceful times
| naked fact is almost the most difficult thing to
be had in the world. Now, 1t would appear
almost an impossibility for any one to arrive
| at any definite conclusion as to the feeling of
the country from the usual sources
the newspapers and the debates in Congress.
AS for the former, it is melancholy fact that,
out Of the metropolis, there can but rarely be
found an Independent, self-sustaining journal
The editors write, therefore, to suit their pecu-
liar locality or their especial patrons, generally
small politicians. The debates in Congress
ore no: more reliable than the newspaper &C.
counts, and for similar reasons. One member
tells us that the whole South is in state of
feverish agitation bordering upon open rebel
lion. Another says that the recent occurrences
have created in his State, Georgia, no particular
excitement. Senators from Wisconsin and Mas
sachusetts deny that any considerable portion
of their constituents sympathize with John
Brown; while, on the other hand, we learn that
in these same localities he is canonized as
saint, and his gallows lie exalted to pitch of
sanctity only exceeded by that allotted to the
true Cross
In this state Of things the public in seeking
for information looks naturally to the metropo-
htan press the only press worthy the name in
the country. Such journal as the New York
HERALD should spare no pains nor expense. to
supply accurate information upon all impor.
tant matters, and especially upon the vital
questions at this moment asitatinc the
confederacy. That has always been our well
settled principle.
Acting upon this principle, we have resolved
to give, during the present winter, an accurate
and faithful daguerreotype of the state of the
despatched Special Reporters to the South
the North, the East and the West They will
inquire fully and report faithfully the state of
the public mind the effect of the present ex-