The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1861-10-18
The Last Letters frcm the Core
spondent of the London Times.
MI .Russeils last letters 10 the London Tirass
contain some in teresting observations upon
affairs as they are on the American con tinent.
We select several extracts:

contain some interesting observations upon
affairs as they are on the American continent.
We select several extracts:
CABINET AsIAosITIEs AT WASHINGTON.
do not attach any importance whatever
10 rumors, but it is within my own personal
knowledge that serious personal disiikes tx
isl between the members of the Cabinet The
President, IN the main, cuItivates the init
macy, and perhaps approves the councils Of
VI seward, but he is exhibiting rude vigor
of his own--rude because il is dis played opeIi-
iy--which proves that he can reduce his Cabi-
net 10 what II really is according TO the
American theory--a mere board of heads of
derar hnents who may be asked their opinion
OF any matter Us amici cUria by the President,
or Who may be put on one side if he pieasts
Mr. Seward, wise in his generation, confines
MS attention TO the onerons business OF MS
own department., but others of his colleagues
distinguished themselves by IN unlucky as
sidnity in termenting themselves with The
affairs OF departments which do not belong
TO them, and "every thing by turns and moth
ing long are the tsredos OF every plank III
the ship of State.
Mr.. Lincoln, who has n right to go every
where, (and do everything he likes apparent
iy,) eVinces q solicitude natural enough i'll all
that is going on in the army, the navy, and
the other branches of the public service, and
has lately turned his atten ton to the subject
OF big guns and ordnance. 1t would sur
prise AN Englishman, whose notions OF the
functions of President, founded on the pop
ular idea that they were those OF u milder
sort II chief mag iStracy than that which we
have the happiness to possess, probably re-
stric Sed his powers to that OF veto or approval,
by signature, of acts of Parliament and The
sending OF messages, 10 be told that Mr.. Lin
COLI is not only head OF The army and navy,
but lhat. in such questions us the propriety OF
relieving Fort Sumter by ilitary and naval
eXpaIition, the Illinois lawyer studied books,
heard arguments on both sides, and finally
determ med ON the course to be pursued. -
Pray observe with what Subt!ety the Sou III
erners have acted in the language they have
used in familiar correspondence and in the
press, when speaking of the United Sta ties.
They never mention the name of the ex-great
Republic. The United States Army is to them
.sLincoln's mercenaries - The United States
Navy is "Lincolns war ships and
on through all the varieties of Lincoln
''hordes," "baT hal arians," " 'Yankees y .ssav-
ages &c They endeavor to fix on the Pres
ident the direct personal responsibility of the
whole conflict, and to restrict the agents he
uses in WagIng ii to the Yankees of the New
England States.
The mass of the South are fighting fer Il
Union of their own, to which they have in
sehsibly transferred their LOYALTY and their
national feeling, which unquestiopabIy is
great, IN the old flag, and beheke they are
lighting against an alien enemy--one Abr;l-
ham Lincoln-Whu is aided and abetted by
the powers of darkness and their Yankee o.
etiicients. Aud yet I have reason to believe
MIR. Lincoln is one of the most moderate men
in the section ofhs own Cabinet which looks
TO internal politics, and that in the pre-. ent
dlStracung Excursions, he generally inclineS
to the view that the North is not making
war against slavery, and that the results of
her success need not be the liberation of the
negro. Mr.. Blair, who is q downright
coveDanter ofthe American sort and with
whom the Southern shareholders sons
Of Beiial-"a sword of the Lord and
Gideon man, who could smite philistines
mp ana thigh from the rising to the
Going down of the sun-and several hours
after-With grim satisfaction in being IL
chosen Instrument speak of course meta
phorically, and not physically-has a great
influence, derived from the clenrness OF his
head, his persistency, and the rigdity of his
prlnci pies a'Lo z his paI ty but his doctrines
Wond most likely end in contining the Unite
States TO the original New England settle
lnents, or III establishing Il dictatorship rest
ing on bayonets. What prelacy, popery, and
monarchy were to the men OF the first cove
nant, Southern rights slayeholding included
are 10 Mr.. Blair. Nor are they less SO to Mr.
Chase, who possesses, after all, the largest
and most solid brain in the Cabinet, bat who
had no ohl' ction at one time 10 let the South
go if il liked, believing thai the system on
VIII ich it was founded must be in the end, nd
that not distantiy, the means of iuflicting Il
punishment and vengeance on the seeding
States far more terrible than any either the
army or navy of the North could execute.
sPECULATIoNs oETHE POLICY OF THE CONTEST
ANTS.
| All that can be seen or heard leads to the
| belief that the Confederates are prep, ring for
some great effort, End that they have retired
Oh tons of their force from before Washing
| ton, either as device to blind their antagou-
| ist while making it, or to cooperate with the
| r It OF the army by Il serious demonstration
/" hove I'D below the city. II the Con irttpra e
| i..ive novod hey mean to do some ~ chi {.
tt cyc. I~c-rcely retire and hope to male h :
1 ter leap by doing 50. Inactivity on both
sides, coupled with prodigious eXpendi-
ture, are the best If not the only chance
| of compromise and peace Successes on
either side revives the hopes of complete
ultimate triumph Of the one, and stmu-
| la tes the animoSity and the display of the re-
| sources Of the ether. There is one thing to
| be taken into consideration as an element of
| peace. During the winter the armies must
! 20 into quarters. Even so far south as Vir-
| ginia the weather is frequently very severe !;
| snow lies many feet deep on the ground for
| weeks at a time. The Potomac is occasion
| ally frozen over completely The roads al
ways indifferent, become rivers of mud and
slush through which it would be nearly i'm :
possible to move men, and guns, and baggage.
| When the armies are in winter quarters, will
! the politicians work for peace or for war q
Or will the leaders of divisions be permit
| ted to carry on operations in the ice and snow,
] remem bering the great success Of Washing
| ton after the traject, which is SO often
| represented in bad engrayings all over North
| America? II is obviously the in tereSt OF Beau
| regard to strike a great blow before winter
sets in, and thus siren then the base for nego-
| tations; but Gen. Mcclellan, / am satisfied
| will not move man if he c;.n help it un til
| the very end of this mOnth or the beginning &
| of October. About that time there will be
| kind inquiries about the second fifty millions
| of the loan, and no doubt increased vigor on
the part of those who are opposed to the war.
| But if Gen. Mcclellan obtains any very con
siderable victory andis able ut the first stroke
| to break through the shell with which the
| COnfederates have covered their soft parts in
| the interior of the States, some measure short
| of secession and Independence may satisfy
| them and when they are menaced with de-
struction they may put up with an offer to
| live on fair terms with their conquerors. II is
| to be seen whether the latter will then offer
them what they might have easily obtained
| at earlier stage of hostility.
THE NORTHERN ARMY
| Slovenne eSs of dress and gait, when off duty,
| long locks, unbuttoned coats, unpublished
| boots and equi pments, mark many of the men,
and the practice of salutinS officers, even OF
| high rank, is rather exceptional. But things
| are vastly improved. Gen. Mcclellan knows
| that he has Il mum ber of brave and in telli-
| gent men in his hands; they are not an army,
| nut they are the making, as we say, of a splen
| did one. They have been formed into bri-
gades aud divisions; but that is for the conve-
| nience of commands, as the brigades are not
| in Il condition to act in that initial capacity
| The drills to which the men are subjest ted are
| still of the most elementary character, but
| their marching is very good indeed, and some
| attempts recently made to direct brigades
| from point 20 point and to shift them from
one camp to another, with orders As to the OBJ
| seryance Of time, have been satisfactory. The
! cavalry force is now augmented, and one
| smart corps, dressed in blue tHnics, with yell
| low braid, like our Seventh Hussars, passed
| through the other day in very good order.
/ There are Polish and Hungarian CoIonels
raising regiment of Lancers and another Of
| Hussars, which will make the squadrOns in
| the field reach u respectable figure.
| Some of the regiments are sent into the
| field from their States in excellent style, and
| l was very much struck by the completeness
| of the way in which the 18th Massachusetts
| Regiment was turned out, with baggage wag-