The Burlington weekly hawk-eye. [volume] (Burlington [Iowa]) 1860-1876, 1861-04-27


Dor makes a semicircle around it. On the west
is Fort McRae, in front Barrancas, farther tothe
east the Navy Yard. Around this scmic,rcle for
two miles there are batteries; but these batter
les are more than mile distant. The harbor
Of Pensacola Is good, admitting the easy access
of vessels, so that the fort may be easily reach
ed and is already reached and reinforced. 1t is
provisioned for year, and will be fully manned.
From these facts, we may draw these conclu-
sons: First, Fort Pickens cannot in all proba
bility be battered down. Secondly,it can be
aided by q powerful squadron of ships, which
with the aid Of Pickens, will probably batter
down the shore batteries. Land Engineers
have doubted this. But history is against them.
Lord Nelson did it, and Lord Cochran did it,
The most powerful batteries have been silence d
by ships. It is true there has been great
change in the kind OF cannon used. So thei e
has been in ships; and we doubt whether an ,
more efectual gun has been made than the Ion g
81 FOUNDER, and the 4S pound carronades. Al
any rate, aid can be furnished by the feet sufli.
cient to prevent the success of any assault Or
bombardment Thirdly, it follows from this,
that if the rebels carry Fort Pickens, it must b t
by seige and that requires a long time and
great expense of men and money; and in the
meanwhile other things will come to pass; but
what probability is there that Pickens can b {
carried by sieges 1t can only be done by reg.
ular parallels ON Santa Rosa; and to do tina t
will require twenty Thousand disciplined troop,
but the important fact still remains that any pa
rallels and approaches made on the land side,
will be enfladed by the fire of the ships In a
military point of view, it doest not seem tina t
Pickens can be easily taken. Its regular siege,
by an immense body of forces, may be underta
ken, and in that case the Government will have
ample time to take counter measures, and pro
badly with success.-[ Gin. Gaz. ig8H $50
The SOUTHERN MIsTAKE.-The public journals
at the South are deluding their readers with
stuff like this below, which we cut from the Mem
phs Avalanche paper that ought to know
better: III
~ The PANIC. AT THE NoRTH.-The heart of the
philanthropist bleeds and sckens in contempla-
ting the distress that exists among the people Of
the North. Every day brings additional ac-
counts of the tremendous panic that is sweeping
the Northern cities Stocks are going down,
operatives are turned out to starve, confidence
is destroyed and business is paralyzed. On every
side may be seen the widespread ruin which an
infatuated people have brought upon their own
heads. Meantime there is some distress in the
South, but the people of the Confederate States
are generally comfortable. They breathe freer
and their proud necks more erect, since they
have parted company with their traducers. We
are sorry for the true men in the North who are
involved in disasters they could not avert. But
let them come South, find new fields for their
enterprise, and mend their broken fortunes. We
pity while we despise the poor dupes who pinned
their faith to the traitors who now mock at the
calamity that robs them of their daily bread
Let them turn upon their betrayers In such a
fight our sympathies will be with the hungry.
----- -
kentucky Neutrality.
We are advised, by special dispatch, that Gov
Magofin has resolved not TO call the Legislature
of Kentucky together, but to arm the State to
maintain neutrality, allowing neither the Gov
eminent nor the Confederates to march troops
into Kentucky. The bankers have contributed
100000 for this purpose.
Nations may be neutral in wars between diff
ferent powers, but the neutrality of portion Of
the people OF a nation, when its Government is
fighting to defend its Existence, would be a nov
city, And when it is coupled with threat that
the Government shall he resisted if the emer-
gencies of the common defense make it necessa-
nv to exercise its right to carry its operations
into Kentucky, the neutrality looks very much
like Secession.
Neutralities are very apt to be delusive, espe-
cially armed neutraliiies. Let Us consider how
this novel neutrality of part of the nation will
work, even if undertaken with the most honest
Intentions VIII it prevent kentuckians from
enlistiDg in the Confederate army! Not at all.
Companies and regiments will be formed in
Kentucky all the same, and marched off to fight
against the Government. Then it would seem
the neutrality is only to hold the hands of the
loynl men from assisting the Government-cer-
tainly Il most convenient neutrality for the Con.
ederates and rather better for their purpose
than the open secession of Kentucky, and the
preciptation of her people into their different
atiinities, for and against the Government.
If a neutrality is honestly intended, what does
Governor Msgoffiu want of arms for it? Ger
tainly he cannot apprehend an invasion by the
Confederate troops when SO many Kentucky
sympathisers are joining their ranks? Nor can
he have the most remote apprehension OF an In
yasion of Kentucky from the North, SO long IS
she remains even Hominally in the Union. Are
they to prevent the State being precipitated into
| secession9 The arms will be under the. control,
and the troops under the command, of Gov. Ma.
coffin, who has the name of being himselfi in the
closest affinity with the most reckless precipita
tors They will be placed in the hands of the
same sort VIII this add nything to the public
safetyg
1t seems to be still supposed by the Union men
| of Kentucky and elsewhere, in spite of previous
| performances, that nothing will be done III Ken
lucky, except by formal OF dnance and the popn
| lar vote So it was supposed in Virginia. She
| was 90 submit her secession ordinance to the
vote Of the people before it became binding
Yet she is making war on the Government be
fore she announced the passage OF the ordinance
in Convention. She did it long ago, by Selling
publi, arms before the great Union victory il
the election of delegates TO her Convention hae
collapsed.
Secession, so far, is carried on by striking The
blow first and drawing the formalities after it,
Wien it occurs in Kentucky, it will be done il
that way, and Gov. Magofin's half million
provision of arms will be a most convenien
means for it. We are aware that these remark
will be disagreeabe to many Union men in Ken
lucky, who sincerely think that neutral attitud
is the best they advise for that State, at thi
time But we ask them to reflect upon the pro
liabilities, and to consider whether their attitude
and this preparation, while they will do nothin,
to prevent the precipitation Of Kentucky, will
not furnish the means to carry it ont.
Cincinnati Gazette.