, 1861-12-09
From Our Own Correspondent

iron Our Own Cor7espoldent.7 |
WASHINGTON, Dec. s, 1851.
Since the New York papers llaye ventilated |
somewhat the Cabinet disagreement, it may
not he improper to recur to it. Extraordinary
and M-directed efforts were made to keep it |
secrct-as though such thing were possible |
when the Secretary Of War, who felt himself |
to be in the right, and who knew he would
probably be sustained by Congress, and Ger
tain1y By the country, had no interest in hid
ing it under bushel, but 7cry considerable
interest in setting it on q lill. The Govern
mcnt censor at the telegraph Office, refused to
send the news over the wires to New York;
nevertheless, the Herald reporter managed to
slncgg.le confused account through, in
kind Of cipher, which escaped detection. Il
is presumed that no such dispatches we're al
lowed to 80 West; Zone w:as left at the office
about nine O'clock Monday evening for tho
Chicago TR1BCSE). This censor, By the way,
is likely to gain the attention of Congress, BY
his ofRcious meddling with political news. HI
is Tooden-headed customer, appointed not
l.y the Government, but by the telegraph COM
pany. When he finds himself puzzled as to
quently does, he either requires the person
writing it to go and get the endorsement OF
some member Of the Cabinet, OF he goes OF
and consults with some one more wooden
suppress It.
Alter this channel Of information was cork
ed up, or supposed to be, efforts were made
By somebody other than the Secretary Of War,
to recall all copies Of his Report which had
tcen sent in advance to the principal cities
for publication. All these precautions failed,
as might hArc been expected, for if single
cory Should happen TO get into print in news
paper foI1ll, it would necessarily travel from
Dan to Becrshcha. The sequel proved how
futile were the efforts made TO cast out the
devil from Secretary Calncron's Report While
The dispasc clles were yet going on that errand,
the Baltimore Sst'i was printing the originnl
document: so, also, was the New York Tribune.
The Philadelphia papers and the New York
Papers other than the Tribune, published only
the c.nasculated copy. Whether the San and
Tribune wcrc enabled by accident or design,
10 print the report, as first written, is inlnla-
tcrial. The fact was bound to come out, and
the sensible way to treat it was to allow the
truth to be announced to the country at once,
and thus avoid world Of unpleasant and 1,n-
necessary suspicious.
Since the affair became public here, the
question has been frequently asked, whether
SECRETARY Cameron would resign, or whether
the President would remove him. Some per-
SONS think that proper self-re5pect would iu~
Guce the former to tender his resignation,
willie others believe that the same sense Of tit
ness would prompt Mr.. Lincoln to demand it,
H. say the one party, t'Mr Cameron
deems tue principles which lie llas cnunciated
10 4,e vital part of his policy, and essential to
Office, he must now NECESSARILY resi- gn." ''1f,s'
say the other party, ''Alr. Lincoln deems the
! principles which lis Secretary has elunciated
| aud adhered to SO obstinatelF, vitality wrong
| if he has any care for unity III his councls-if
| he would not have this Secretary pulling one
| way, that Secretary pulling another way, and
both pulling contrary to their Chief, he must
| surely require him to resign predict that
| lie casuist: on both sides will BE- disappoint-
cd. I saw Mr. Cameron in the Senate Cham
ber this morning, and lie remarked jocularly
| that he wished Wilmot would take the
| War Department. and let him conc
| h:.ck 10 the Senate. In this, think, hc was
| perfectly sincere. I think he would like to
exchange his seat in tho Cabinet for one iii
| the Senate, but would not like to exchange
Ills seat in the Cabinet for one in the rural dis
| 1ricts Of Pennsylvania Nor is it ut all likely
That the President will remove his Secretary
| OF War. lii lis Message lie says that he ap-
pointed Gen. Mcclellan Cumnlandcr-in Chief
| in obedience 10 popular sentiment. Hc will
hardly venture to disp1acc Mr.. Cameron in
| defiance Of popular sentiment. presume,
indeed, that he has no inclination to do so.
Il was Il part Of the story, Oh Monday and
| Tuesday, that Mr. Welles's Report had been
decfoed by tic President in the same way rs
Mr. Camcron's, and for the same reason; hut
| this does not appear to hare been the
fact 1t is the universal remark that
| Secretary Ncucs>s report is one Of the
/ al'1est papers ever given to the country from
| the Department OF the Navy. Indeed, it is
I time for The country to acknowledge that the
| administration Of the navy throughout, eS~
I ccpting few supcr;lnn1.atcd officers, is excel
| lent, and that the results, as now exhibited
| in all quarters, arc fully equal to every ocea-
sion where Yankee ships and Yankee crews
| cn 1t: ll,aur useful. Undoubtedly j large
share Of this efficiency is due to Captain Fox,
the Assistant Secretary; yet this f!et rather
ing to alr. Wclles The Port Royal cxpcdi~
lion was certainly the most perfect adaptation
Of lncan5 TO ends that our naval history
gives any account Of. All the commanders
were comparatively new 1ncn-not new
TO the navy, but new to tlle country: In
PISSED over some fifty names Of senior OIL
GERS. and came nearly to the bottom Of the
list Of Captains. The event has shown that
Dupont was tic man. Then he had Com
1l:,laler Davis for lis fleet, Captain, or
Executive officer, and Lieutenant c. R: P.
Rodgers, Of the Naval Academy, specially
detailed to navigate the flag ship Wabash, in
whose wake the bonlbarding fleet followed.
Davis and Rodgers are two of the most skill
1ul and intrepid young officers in the navy.
| the Coast Survey, who knows more about the
/ harbors and inlets Of South Carolina than any
South Carolinian since the Revolution, accom-
panied Com Dupont as general pilot anc
| consulting officer. These arr but single itemt
indicating the thorougIlness and perfection O
| The expedition in !: naval point Of view
| II mast be said, in mitigation Of the verdict
pronounced on the military part Of the affair
| that the soldiers and volunteer officers wcrt
st, t'cmor.lizvd hy the great storm off Hattera.
that only the $50 marines could be brough
into line when the forces landed. All els
was confusion. disorder, and scasickncss 0
the most wretcled kind. This does not cx
cusc the tiddlc-faddling about the Bcaufor
negroes. nor palliate the barbarous conduct O
: tic Lieutenant, who shocked the nerves Q
| lie rebel clergyman ty trying to force til
| Sherman proclamation upon him.