Indiana State sentinel. (Indianapolis, Ind.) 1861-1865, 1861-12-18
Special Correspondent ofthe Chica
From Washington.

/ FROM " tons
What The AtOlitiOsists ia CONGRESS Expect 70 do,
and hoic they expect 20 do it-IHeir Combination
Aqainst The Observation-Disclosures of the
Hlinoie and Michigan CanaI--I'he State De
pertinent Ching up its Secrets--P Proposed Dis
meHbermenfo Of The States Of Virginia aad Mary
land.
WASHINGTON, December IL.
The events of the first week of the session of
Congress have proved the correctness OF the views
expressed insmy letter Of November %. The
opposition to the President, on the part of the
radical and ultra members of Congress, has taken
the form of regular organization. This organ
ization is led by Sumner and TrImbull in the
Senate, and by Lovejoy and Thad. Stevens in the
House. They boast that they can command
seventy seven votes in the House and a clear
jorty in the Senate. anddo not hesitate 20 express
their designs openly They declare they have
nothing to hope from the President, who, they
are convinced is false to all his pledges and has
sold himself to the shareholders But, al the
same time they assert that they fear nothing that
the President can do 10 thwart their designs.
They are confident of being able. In the course of
the next two months, to command two third
vote in both houses on any question they may
bring up. As soon as they reach that point,
they propose to carry over the Presidents veto
| (for they know he will veto them) the following
measures:
/. A joint resolution declaring that slavery is
the cause of the war, and that it is impossible to
bring the war to a successful issue without abOl-
ishing slavery wherever it exists;
2. The total and unconditional repeal of the fu-
gitive slave laws e .sa
3. The passage of bill declaring free, and
ordering our Generals to offer freedom to all
slaves who shall leave their masters;
A. The passage of a, bill confscating all the
property of the rebels, including their slaves;
D. The passage of joint resolution requesting
the President to dismiss Gen. Mcclellan, and to
appoint Gen. Banks Commander in Chief of the
armies of the United States in his place; ~
6. The passage of a bill obliterating the bound
airy line between the States Of North Carolina
and South Carolina, Consolidating the two States
| into one, and calling thenew State 'tCarolina.''
The bills for effecting these objects are already
| drawn up, and are being privately circulated. /
have seen a complete st of them Zone OF each),
with interlineations and erasures in the handwrt
ing of one OF the great ligh-prests of Abolition
| ism lr ODE t.st
The President is fully aware of the powerful
combination that has been formed against him.
And while will do him the justice to say that he
is nsersible to fear, mast also add that he lacks
that frmness aud deciion of character which
alone can enable him to withstand it efectua.ly,
/ and TO overcome it. One of the most prominent
characteristics of his mind is his habit Of permit
ting matters to drift on and to regulate them
selves. The historian who, in future wears,
writes the history of this war will show that this,
and this alone, was the cause of the fall of Fort
Sumter To use his own homely Illustration he
wants 'sto run the machine rs he finds it," and is
unwilling take the responsibility of putting it
in that order in which alone it ought to run. On
the present occasion, it is in his power to rally
around him not only all the conservative men in
Congress, but all the conservative men il the
nation, and to crush this atrocious conspiracy in
the bud. But up to this hour he has done moth
| ing in that direction. Nay, worse than that, he
is inclined to temporze with the INSCRIPTIONS
faction which is undermining his Admins
/ tration. The whole country awaited his
message with breathless suspense. But the whole
country turns away from it, sick with disappoint-
ment. 1t is silent on the very topic of all Others
that the nation is most anxious to have settled.
| Mr.. Lincoln has had the reputation of being plain
and straightforward. But he has been anything
but plain and straightforward in his public mes
sages. No one could tell whether his inaugural
meant peace or war. The whole country wran-
gled over it until the guns of Fort Sumter settled
that point. In this message he will not say what
ought to be done towards the negroes The only
point on which he is explicit is his reaffirmation
that the Chicago platform is law unto him. If
instead of this taur pas, Mr.. Lincoln had said
frankly in his message that he preferred a course
towards the slaves such as has been inaugurateC
BY Gen Dix and Gen. Haleck, there would have
been no more doubts as to where he stands. Thai
one declaration would have rallied around him
all the conservative Elen OF the nation. Every
conservative member of Congress, too, would
have ralliedto his support, and he would have
found himself at the head of party in Congress
powerful enough to defy the radicals to dc
their worst He may do so yet. He can not dc
so now.
/ think, from present indications, that there j;
little prospect of the establishment of a Nationa
Armory and Arsenal at Chicago There are TOT
many conssnding interests here so permit that
Several other cities are alleged to possess greats
interests for that purpose Pittsburg will be ia
vored by those in authority, and at present i
looks as if it might be fixed at that city. In re
gard TO the prospect of the enlargement of tn,
canal, however, SO as to connect the waters @
the Mississippi and of the Great Lakes by means
of canal through which ships may pass, there
is a better prospect OF success 1t will be re
membered that many Yeas ago the late lamenteJ
Senator Douglas urged upon Congress the i'm
portance of doing this Il looks as il it wouls
be done now 1t depends almost wholly, how
ever, upon the manner in which the subject i
handled by the Illinois delegation ia Congress
and / am happy to bear testimony to the abl
manner in which Mr.. Arnold is pressing this mat
ter
During the session of Congress in July last.
resolution was passed calling upon the Presden
for copies of the correspondence between tn
State Department and the European Powers il
relation to the rebellous States The Presden
replied. refusing to furnish the correspondence
a portion of it bas at last been wrung from tn
State Department, and is now published. Ii dis
closes the highly important fact that, as long ag'
as the first week in June, both the Englisl
and French Governments bad decided on the SAM
course of conduct toward the Confederate States
and had instructed their sIectiye ministers t
the United States to call upon Mr. Seward an,
notify him, in the most formal manner, tina
those two nations had decided to recognize tn
Confederate States as belligerent power, and u
give them all the rights OF belleerents. Mr.
Seward says so in his letter to Mr.. DAYTON o
June /: and ne SAYS that those ministers did cal
upon him, in company on the 18th of June, AM
did, each one. hand &c him adispatch of that pur
port from their respective ministers of foreg
affairs. True, Mr. Seward refused to receiv
these dispatches. or to communicate them TO Con
gress; but that does not alter the fact that bot
France and England recognize the Confederat
States as a belligerent power.
The readers of the Times are no doubt familia
with the desire of Mr.. Cameron as expressed il
his report, to dsmember the State Of Virginia, t
blot her from the map, and to partition her ter
rtory among three other contiguous States. Tn
cold-blooded atroeity of the proposal is worthy 0
the brain OF an Eastern tespot, and its malignit
strikes even deeper than has yet appeared Strik
ing ostensibly at the cold Dominion" il is in re
atty at the State of Maryland that the blow
aimed. The wicked proposal Of the Secretary Q
Warwould literally tear MARYLAND limb from liml
He proposes 10 give eight of her counties tall tina
lportion of her territory cast Of Chesapeake Bay