The New York herald., 1861-12-18

GENERAL PHELPS Silly ABOLITION PR0CiA-
MAr,oN.-General Phelps, in command Of the
advance brigade Of our troops at Ship Island,
Mississippi, belonging to General Buffers ex-
pedition, seized the occasion of his occupation
Of said island for the production Of very silly
abolition proclamation.
II is addressed "to the loyal citizens of the
Southwest" and it opens with the astounding
declaration that his command will be governed
by the absurd idea "that every State that has
been admitted as slave State into the Union
since the adoption of the constitution has been
50 admitted in direct violation Of that consttu-
ton" Now, we dare say that there are not ten
men in Tie brigade Of General Phelps who will
subscribe to any such faliacy and that there is
hardly one man M thousand among our six
hundred and fifty thousand Union soldiers who
believes in any such nonsense. He next tells
the people of Mississippi, Alabama and Louisi-
ana that their territory is needed for free labor;
that the people OF the North want elbow
ROOM and that the people of the Southwest, in
sticking to their abominable institution OF
slavery, are standing very much in their own
light.
Not satisfied with all this, he tells the Catho-
lie cre0les OF Louisiana that it was the in
toerable despotism of the Catholic church Of
France which brought down upon that country
that horrible, ghastly and sweeping revolution
of 1889, with its Reign of Terror, and that the
despotism of slavery is quite as grasping and
rcmorseless as the despotism of a corrupt and
powerful church. Finally, he informs those
Southwestern people that "all our efforts, how
ever small or great, whether directed against
the Interference of governments abroad or
against rebcllious combinations al home, shial
be for free labor including free labor for
.'the four millions OF Africans held as slaves in
o,lr Southern States.
This beats Fremont all hollow; and il FIRE.
mont was instructed by President Lincoln to
modify his proclamation, by cutting out its
emancipation hercsics there can be no doubt
that General Phelps will be required TO
take down bis enormous abolition standard
General Phelps has the reputation of an excel
lent soldier; but he is poor stick Of a politi-
clan. Among Catholics he plays the Puritan
among Cavaliers he is Roundhead, and he
appeals to the loyalty Of shareholders by fatty
informing them Chat his mission is to relieve
them of their slave property, and to substitute
free labor that the war is for this purpose; that
he expects no favors and does not ask any.
1t is pity that General Phelps was permitted
to go to ship Island without specific instructions
from the government. His proclamation, in
stead Of winning friends among the people TO
whom il is addressed, will increase the number
and violence of his enemies. General Butler,
General Dix. General Sherman and General
naleck, i'll their operations among a slavehold-
| ing people, have acted like sensible and saga
| cious men. We presume, too that General
| Butler, ia assuming tue supreme command
| in "the Southwest" will issue an authoritative
proclamation to the effect that this war on his
part, and on the part of his government, is not
war for the substitution of free labor over the
domains of Southern slavery, but that it is a
war for the integrity of the Union" slavery
and all, Us guaranteed in the clear and unns-
takeabls compromises Of the constitution of HE
United States.
Meantime the President, as COMMANDMENTS
chief of the army and navy, should issue at once
general proclamation for the universal guild
ance of our army and naval officers engaged,
or who may be engaged, in this war. This will
avoid any such .tour pas for the future as this
very pompous, but very silly, abolition proca-
nation OF General Phelps.