New-York daily tribune., 1861-09-04


mu b tignifcaoce. The Seeessoh
proSs too much, and the doctrines 70 .n'' f
ceik suscsyt;bIe Of very absurd ana aaDg''Oo'
de,EoDmeats. For instance, it justlhes 'D' az
tioS,f Che Western Yireinians in dissoNpe 'no'i
-. .,:.h .,o rest Of the State, and mgot
lo.f ultimately ma they plainly foresee' 10 1ie
" ,;-.,,,.:,r of the Southern COniederacy'
1floarDe5 ny q conversation with b1-'oV
,2r . Of North Carolina, late U. ;. Senator,
ttsS we are about to witness an ehtAe Grange
in e. disposition of the Confederate iorce'' ana
in sae original plan of their campaign. This
cb,tce il tho reluctant acceptance Of necessity
;neS lrabIy commanded by events, and It bOdes
cerkip destruction 20 their cause. il IS 30 lese
thak the dsbandiDg Of their grand army N Nir-
ink by the Withdrawal of the troops to their
resi- ,ctiye States for domestic protection and de-
fenS, against monaccd Federal invasion at weak
andseIposed points of their territory. Humiilat-
ingEls ia this dispersion 70 their pride, and p0r-
tepEms Of ruin 10 their more ambitious aims, 1t 10
corkessed 20 be inevitable, and is adopted as
lasS iorlorn resort TO sayo their homes from sur
rerser 10 the occupation of our trOJpe and per-
halE 20 the horrors of seryile revolt. The formi'
daEe naval preparations of the Government,
thrtatenng attack upon the Atlantic and Gull
colkt. together with the contemplated expedition
do,kn the Mississippi under Gen. Fremont, have
INSPIRED the rank and file of the army with
afiig ght at the danger of their own States, ana
the, are eager to relinquish all their dreams OF
cort,uest and retire 70 the defense of their fami-
lies and property. They would naturally care
but little in the presence Of these immediate and
personal peris, for the myth Of confederate
empire, or for gloryfying jeff. Davis as its head
The leaders, on the contrary, are 30 utterly De-
sotsed with ambition and audacty that they
reckon lightly local and individual losses and
sacrifices in view of the larger results of the
campaign. The welfare of the people Is nothing
to them--tbeir prejudces nOthing--h in the way
of the realization Of their visions Of aggrandze-
meut. They would regard the occupation Of
Florida, for example, as Of tri6ng moment could
they swop it off for Missouri or Kentucky, The
Floridians. however, would demur 70 this The
leaders look solely at the strategic valGe OF
pojnts or territory to be held as won, while the
people view il in a different way, and their
wishes will prevail over the shrewd but
selfish couusels of their cbieftaius. Before this
general break up of the forces in Viz
cina, now confessed TO be unavoidable,
unless bold and successful strike is soon made,
Gov. Bragg says powerful attempt VII DC made to
occupy Mar land and seize Washington. If the eff
fort succeeds they hope thereby to avert or delay
the intended expedition Southwark. But the sue
I'D ha Yrnl1a l.
cal. Lee, Davis, and Johnston have strenuously
opposed the adoption Of the plan, clearly fOreseeing
the disastrous consequences Of failure which looks
more than probable, but they have been constrained
10 Weld TO the dictates of their desperate fortunes.
also learn that the impending attacks OF the Fed
eral forces at different points in the revoted States
have been the cause of much dsquieude 10 the Con-
federate leaders and more especially TO the author.
tiles of the States whose repose is threatened These
latter are largely actuated by the instinct of self
| prcservation and believe that number one is by 10
means 10 be overlooked. They are outstnppng
each other in urging the peculiar dangers Of their
several States and their consequent claims upon the
Confederacy for protection. The States bordering
upon the Mississippi claim, that first to receive
the coming blow they should be the first to be pro-
tected. Louisiana asserts her importance as COM
manding the mouth of the Mississippi, and appre-
hends that New-Orleans il an iTresistiby inviting
point Of attack She fearful, besides that her inn
mense plantation wealth may be destroyed by the
Yankees tapping the levees and visiting her with
deluge worse than Noah's. Georgia dllates
upon the importance of Savannah, and her iys-
III -
Lincoln wants her inland waters for the estab-
iishment of an extensive naval depot. South
Carolina vaunts the consequence Of Charleston
as the great Atlantic port Of the Confederacy
and submits that it would never answer TO al.
low the recapture Of Sumter, the fret trophy Of
the war; And thus one State alleges one claim,
ard the next another.
Not only is there the closest espionage over
suspected individuals, conducted by ofiicous self
constituted Vigilance Committees in the larger
towns, but q systematic suppression or perver-
siou Of facts, together with an incredibly rigid
anal almost absurd censorship Of the press is
maintained, and has been from the outset. In
msny places any lOaCer, vaunting himself as q
"sworn citizen" has the privilege of arresting
bIS Ouo no Hhob 90 sPy' Al edenBot ashs
biz way on tho street be is liable TO be incar-
cesated until he makes good his innocence.
Legislatures and the Confederate Congress Sit
fox the most part, with closed doors. In
slse Of oil this secrecy, however, interesting
az significant incidents sometimes transpire.
rs dssensions in the Rebel Cabinet, and
tS frequent sharp and angry quarrels be-
4 b anI