New Orleans daily crescent. [volume] ([New Orleans, La.]) 1851-1866, 1861-08-07
CONGREGATION.

The Lincoln Congress has had under considera-
ton, and the telegraph announces that it has
passed. bill providing for the con6scation of the
property of the Rebels. Such o measure was de-
hberately recommended in the report of the Secre-
tary of the Treasury, who put it upon the ground
that retaliation of this sort would be perfectly
proper on those who were guilty of involving the
nation in the calamties of ciyilwar 1t would be
difficult to establish the proposition that zoe in
yoFed the United States in war, seeing that we are
making no war upon them, but they are invading
our territory and making war upon us-but, letting
TINS pass, occurs to us as useless waste of time
TO be passing bill contscating our property. We
would be glad to know what the Lincoln soldiers
have been doing in Virginia all this time, except
contiscating property? They have been doing
worse than that. They have been destroying
property and rendering it valueless wherever they
could put their hands on it. They have nearly
burned down Hampton, a town of twenty five hun
dred inhabitants. They have destroyed most of the
village of Fairfax Courthouse. They have sacked
and burned private dwellings wherever they have
gone. Worse than all, they have, with sacrilegous
hands, defed several of the old Colonial churches
in Virginia, built by the Episcopalians out of i'm
ported brick, and more than century old-fng
knocking down the old tomb-stones where men of
past generations have been.quietly sleeping for so
| long time. What is the use of passing bill of
contiscation, when things much worse than eonfs-
cation have been going on in Virginia ever since
the Abolitionists first set foot upon her soil:
| And then we have it gravely announced by tele-
graph that Picayune Butler has written to Lin
| coins Secretary ofsWar that had it not been for
| the withdrawal of so many of his troops from
Fortress Monroe he could have carried out scheme
he had planned for the capture of large number
| of slaves. he has seized a great many already,
| and put them at work at the Fort He had made
preparations. we suppose, for another raid among
the detenceless plantations of the Yorktown penu-
suia, for the purpose of burning houses. destroy
ing crops and running off negroes. When we
think Of the unchecked Vandalism Of the Lincoln
rufhans and thieves in Virginia for the last two
months, we may well wonder that the Abolition
Congress should seek to give spurious color of
law to such proceedings, by passing an act of con-
iscation. There is no sense in doing, under pre-
tence of legal right, what has been done so long
with impunty by the high hand.
The business of confscating the property of
Rebels will be about the same kind of job as that
of collecting the direct tax wherewith we are to be
assessed. Louisiana's share Of the direct tax is,
we believe about six hundred thousand dollars.
The collector OF that tax will have good time of
it, but the one that undertakes the confiseatine
business will have still better. Thus, whoever
should undertake to confscate the property of
Rebels in this city, would have to take the whole
CITY bodily. The Lincoln Government will con
hscate, and do worse than confscate, wherever
accident gives it chance, as in the neighborhood
OF Fortress Monroe and in Northwestern Virginia
butt is childish piece of business to be talking
about such thing, except in the presence of the
Abolition army. The game, however, is one that
two can play at and we are very certain the South
will not be the looser by the operation.