The national Republican., 1861-08-29
BLANKE ETS, SALT, &c.

We copied the other day. from letter writ
ten to Charleston from Richmond, an extract
stating that the (rebeD Government could sup
ply no blankets, and that none could be pur
chased in Richmond and calling upon the cit
izens of Charleston to furnish them from theiI
private houses. We have since seen a similar
call in the Memphis .ippea., with the additional
uggestion that people living at home can get
along with cotton comforts" the same article
4 young lady, who had been a governess in
the family of u wealthy gentleman in Georgia
NOW u colonel in the army, and who left his
house two months ago, reported that not a
blanket was LETT in it, all having been contri-
buted tor the use OF the troops. This informa.
tton, from vartous quarters, concurrng to the
game point, can leave no doubt that the South
is hard pushed for at least the one article Of
blankets, and is already obliged to look fol
them among the private stores of house keep
ere.
Wars were waged for thousands of years
before blankets were known. They are q
convenient form Of textile fabric for camp life
hut that special form is not indispensable. In
some shape, however. unless they go back to
clothe them by day and to sleep under at
night and if the stock Of blankets in their
markets is already exhausted, the stock OF
cloths OF any kind is not likely to he large.
The resource of the stores of private house.
keepers cannot be a very great one in the cot
Ion Conlederacy, where half the dwellings are
negro cabins, and where large portion of
III! balance are occupied by poor whites, >
who never owned Il blanket who never have a
spare yard OF cloth, an extra suit Of apparel
or even II single decent one. Something may
done in the towns in the way Of making the
elthugiasm OF rebellion available in the form
"i clothing and blanketng the army, but it is
a resource soon exhausted, and once exhausted
n exhausted forever
\ luorc Immediately pressing want among
The Coulederates, is that of salt 1t is want
which Affects everybody. Salt is to-day worth
threc CT four prices in Richmond and Peters
hurg and will soon be unobtainable at any
priCc. The Virginia papers say that the
recovery Of the kauawha Salines is, Of itself
worth Il campaign. There is salt in Western
Texas, but that cannot be reached and dis
lvibuted through the South.
In the fur North, where meats can be pre-
,Grved in winter by freezing, salt is less abso
lutely Indispensable than at the South, where
il is always required Tor that purpose The
want Vi it, or very high prices for it, will be
found TO reach everybody, and in very tender
point. Ecbellions and revolutions in Europe
have been oitentmes caused by new taxes
upon "alt. a rebellion which deprives the
people OF their salt, in addition to thousand
other priyations, will soon become odious to
those who suffer by it,
Current events are removing the delusion
that cotton is king. Blankets, salt, coal,
pork, and corn, it is beginning to be seen are
ot ON" importance. These rebels cannot eat
their cotton. and cannot even wear it, because
they cannot Manufacture it. II is now. not
Satau kingdom, but cotton's kingdom, which
l. tumbIing down. if indeed, the two dynaslies
are not idcntcally the same thing. under two