The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1861-10-02

WHAT is BEAuREGARD ABOUT This question
is the ruling topic Of the day. It puzzles mil
tary critics, and politicians who can see through
q milestone. The general idea is that Beaure-
gard is falling back again to repeat the old
ruse of Bull run. But that trick is played out.
Then again, it is supposed that the rebel army
of the Potomac is undergoing division into
two grand columns--the one to ford the river
above the Great Falls, and the other to ferry it
below Washington, somewhere between Deco
| guam and Matthias Point. But as this plan of
operations would, if seriously attempted al
most certainly result in the destruction or cap
ture Of both these columns, we have no idea
that it will be tried. But, again, it is supposed
that Beauregard is falling back in order to send
a heavy detachment of his troops into Kentucky,
| to capture that State and its vast army sup
plies before General Anderson is strong
enough to resist body of twenty or thirty
thousand men. This is plausible con-
lecture, at first sight, but it ceases to
be admissible when we come to consider
the distances and difficulties of army trans
portation between Manassas and even the south
ern border of Kentucky. The transfer in the
South by rail of so small an army column as ten
thousand men distance of six or seven hundred
miles is not trihing task, nor one to be accom-
plished in two or three days; but it is a serious
undertaking Of two or three weeks, supplies and
| all included.
| We incline to the opinion that Beauregard has
definitely abandoned the programme of the con-
quest Of Washington; that he is preparing to
move his troops back to Richmond for their
winter quarters, and that in due time, if not in
terrupted in his movements his vast army will
be concentrated from the Chesapeake Bay along
the York and James rivers up to and around
| Richmond, leaving only small detachments to
hold or dispute the strategic positions in his
rear, including those of the lower Potomac The
tide on the Potomac has turned; it is on the ebb
to the rebels, and it will inevitably carry them
of. They have eaten out the country around
Manassas; winter is closing upon them, and if
they cannot march forward into Washington
they must march backward to Richmond. This
is our explanation Of Beauregard's late myste-
rious movements. If Washington is impregna-
BILE, he must look to the Offences of Richmond;
for if the one place is secure the other is in
danger.
REVOLUTION IN CoMMERCE-KMG CorroN DE-
THRoNED-The exports from this port to
Europe during the past week amounted to over
three millions of dollars. Formerly, in peace
times, our exports averaged about two millions
of dollars and great proportion of this
amount came from our cotton trade. With the
exports of the past week cotton had nothing
whatever to do. Breadstuffs loaded our ships
and swelled up the immense sum of our expor-
tations. The experience Of the past few months
has proven that Europe can do without cotton,
at least for time; but Europe cannot do with
out food. The total or partial failure of crops
throughout almost the whole Of Europe has
made this country the granary of the world just
now. The revolution in commerce which this
war inaugurated has dethroned the Southern
King Cotton, and the Northern King Corn now
regns instead. Poor Cotton cannot feed his
own subjects at home has no revenue, and gets
no more adulation abroad. King Corn is the
monarch for the times. Long live King Corn
The DAILY TRIBUNE Nor PAYING ExPENsEs-
The Hon. Massa Greeley substantially confesses
that the Tribune is a losing concern but
he wishes to have it understood that all his
daily contemporaries are in the same dilemma;
that advertising is the life blood of news
! paper, and that, in these war times, there is
comparatively very little advertising and so on.
That this complaint will apply to the Tribune
is manifest from glance at its columns; but if
Massa Greeley will put on his spectacles and
glance over our columns he will discover that
our advertisers may be counted by the regi-
ment; that their contributions would make of
themselves an interesting newspaper, and that
still they come. And the simple fact is that
the HERALD, for this conservative community,
answers all the purposes of an advertising me-
dunn SO well that generally our practical and
intelligent business people, from millionaires to
| tidy chambermaids, consider it unnecessary to
| 80 elsewhere with their advertisements.
THE HUMBUG OF THE CLOSING OF THE Pc
roNAc.-One of the city journals has been
ringing the changes for some days past upon
the dreadful discovery made by the Quadrila-
teral champion Of the I" elbows of the Mncio"
that the elbows of the Potomac are closed up and
under the lock and key of the rebel batteries
II appears, however, at last, from government
authority, that all these alarms about the
blockade of the Potomac are absurd; that not
single vessel of any sort has been interrupted
in its passage up or down by the rebel batteries;
that the rebels have not fortified single point
along the river, and that the few guns which
they have been shifting from point to point
really amount to nothing. So much for this
Quadriateral blockade of the Potomac.
FoRTIFYNG CNCINNArI.-Fortifcatio have
been commenced in Cincinnati, and all laborers
who offer their services are engaged upon these
works at seventy five cents day. We submit
that the best way to fortify Cincinnati is to ex-
pei the rebels from Kentucky; and for this pur
pose being abundantly able to do it, the popu-
lous State of Ohio should at once send over
twenty or thirty thousand men to the assistance
of the Union Kentuckians under General Ander-