The daily exchange. [volume] (Baltimore, Md.) 1858-1861, 1861-07-01
'he New York Trjb,,0e of Friday nuhliYbod

The New York Tribune of Friday published, with
great flourish of trumpets, despatch from WASH
lngton announcing that the Hon. JOHN NJ. BoTTs
had reached the latter city in disguise and had
made some astounding revelations ia regard to the
weakness of the Southern army and the hopeless.
ness Of the Southern cause. Having some expert
ence of the shallow and shameless trickery tc
which the Tribune constantly resorts to keep ur
the war fever in the North, we did not deem il
necessary to notice this last absurd and menda
cious sensation despatch We knew perfectly wei
that it was entitled to the same amount of credit
as the tribune S statements about the loss of life
at Fort Sumter, aud the atrocities of the "seces-
sion mob'' in Baltimore. The following para
graphs contain the substance of this fictitious mar
rative of Mr.. Boris adventures and of the pre-
cious information he was said to have BROUGHT
from Richmond:
1--WE have received from the Hon. John Minor Potts n
letter dated Washington city, June a. 1861 which he
opens by saying: You will be surprised from me-
ana especially from this place. 1t with great danger
reached here and only under of disguise That
so distinguished citizen of Virginia could only thus
reach the capital of bis country pains more than
surprises The fact is those striking comments
upon the character of the Southern which do
not need to be enlarged upon
But the context of Mr. Bolts, letter il even mora
Psing than the circumstances under which it is written
lie Is IN washington member of nd ia
there presume take his in the House on the
4th of July next. This important fact has been sup
pressed by the Richmond papers, but have the author
NY Of Mr. Bolts himself for the statement these pre-
else terms: i announced myself candidate for the
kchmand District and received 173 votes, which, there
being no opposition, elects me-
'Mr. BoTTs," says the Tribune "ffrther reports
"that General BEAUREGARD has sent a circular
Ito the Governors of all the Southern States in
"whch he makes the following piteous appea:'
IF the Cotton States do not raise and eqp 100 600 men
IN SiT 'cees WE ARE RUINED while he tells his cores
pondents that 'ou troops in this State Virginial to
great etent are busy IN spreSSing iSrec lions among
NE blacks 1hsy are breaking ont in eUery direction Bat
for this your desire to see Washington coud long
since hare been grahfedr
Such is the language of the Rebel general as reported
by witness whose word indisputable that Mr.
desperation OF the cause he represents.
On Saturday morning the Tribune finding that
it had perhaps overdone the sensation business a
little, admitted, in. brief paragraph, that the
whole story was unfounded. 1t said, by way of
explanation, that it had been deceived by the sim.
ilarty of the handwriting of the letter in question
to that of Mr.. Boris. We refer to the affair now
merely because we are satisfied that it is but
another illustration of the INSCRIPTIONS and dis
reputable manner in which that incendiary journal
is conducted. Nobody who is conversant with
the course of the Tribune will for moment believe
that there was any mistake whatever about the
matter. On the contrary, it is evident that. the
report was manufactured for the occasion. and
that the Tribune knew it was an untruth when it
published it. 1t was invented to produce some
such effect as it doubtless has done, in the rural
districts of New York, and of the Western and
New England States, and the Tribune felt perfect
" sure that not three persons out of every ten
who read the report would ever hear of the con-
tradicion. The enormity of the falsehood and
The effrontery with which it was put in circulation
are eminenty characteristic of the concern from
which it emanated