The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1862-04-22

AA eAlullu l0f0skY.
TUES - 49,. ........ NPklL =,
Thu ei,Aotlea.
The sams feeling which pcrvadsd tho city
on the eve Of the 6ght at Manassas SCENE to b.
prevalent now. Il IL Of restless anxiety, not
in the sIishtsst degree tirged with fear. The
crisis does not appear 70 a. to be 40 momen-
tons as It WA on the former occasion. II onr
army had bssn defeated st Manassas, the blow
would have been well nsgh fatal to the Con
iederacv. The only army which, at that Pc
,iod, we possessed, would have been utterly
destroyed The enemy would have advanced
apon us both from Fortress Monroe and
Warrington, and there would have been no
thing to keep him back. He would have az
rived here almcs; wi,hou. opposition, He
-veuld have possessed himself Of sll our arms
ana munitions. ani would thus have struck "A
deAdi, blew at the very heart of the Confed
eraey We were bnt half organized then, and
Iaa,, Of the Confederate States " ere far worse
OF than we were
Now the case ia very different. Should cur
srmy Re even compelled to fall back At York.
,bere arc many excellent battle fields aetwesu
as and York, on every one of which we can
u 80 3 Stand. Our ,hancas Of success in.
S.ea - with avery step ws take from the DIE =
~stsr. Within iweniy-f,ur hears, t!rs9
to.Is, independent OF that now Confronting
the enemy on the Peninsula, could be cjl-
ie.tsd around this eIty. II me meantime, 9se
hall hat ~ all IAN ..,,
h"st o-lr srTry on the contrary, we have:no
doubt thRt,if not moi thaa thee to one, they
will bs deie ted should they attemp, 10 ad-
vance
Ia the meantime, il - greatly to b" deplored
,a4; the War Office does not take rome ste, e
t, let the cat'ic know the truta with regard
Z, all such resuiis they ara sure TO hea- OF
IN au exaggerated form through the Northern
ysperl- 1t is iE portant thai they shc1ld know
tae trutt from the fountain head The nays
tery whiel, hsrgs ever that cfiee is TO us uu
accountable. OF course, as We said yesterday
we would not have military movements ex.
posei while there can be any possible reason
fer seping them concealed Bat when they
have already CONS TO an Issue, and this AN
wha. possible harm can there be in letting the
pablo know the exact truth from the most
an'hentic so1rcs the War oHce 7 Even the
reports which we got from that source, aud
which never come until long after the Yankee
Statements have been published aud circulated
throughout the Oonfederacy, are go mesgre
that they excite no feeling but dissppoint
"a hava had fur of
she battle of Shiloh on which we can rely
Why cannot Gen Beauregard write nara
tive, or dictate one TO q secretary and why
cannot tbs War Office publish it
We hold that the reports of Generals rela
tivs 10 battles should be published at once,
NOT kept back for months. 1t is done by every
other Government in the world, 80 far as we
are aware. During the great French wars,
The French people had bulletin every two or
three days from the Emperor. The Duke of
Wellingtnn's dispatches from the Peninsula,
were first laid, by the War Secretary, be fore
Parliament, and by Parliament sent to the
press. The people thought they had a right
know what was going on, and they would
know it. Even in Russia, the people were
kept constantly advised of what the army
was doing. In Austria alone were they kept
in the dark, and We cannot see that Austria
ever derived much benefit from the conceal
N snt. 10 the war of India, the London pub
Tic had the dispatches Of their Generals con-
SANITY laid before them in the newspapers,
and Napoleon III in his Italian campaign,
SAINT long bulletins, for the public, by the tele-
graph, nearly every day.
The appearance Of mystery on the part of
tho War office, whatever may be thought of
it by oficials, mas most dsleterious effect
Where there is mystery, the imagination Of
those not in the secret always puts an uufa-
ve1able Interpretation upon it, If battle has
ossn fought the circumstance coon bee ,mes
known, and il studied silence be observed
with regard TO the result the public is sure to
believe that it is defeat. They can see no
reason why the department should keep i.
from the people if it be victory The de.
par ment, il seems 70 us, ought to req lire ID
narrative of every defeat or victory from everr
General, and lay i, befars the public as soon az
recsived. The Roman Sepa.e--the grand OK
anplaT for all War oficers-aluaya rarsued
CHS course. When news came of the o,sss
kons defeat OF Thrasy msne, tie first thing
the Consul did, by order OF the Senate, was 10
call an assembly of the people. He rosa TO
s'd,ess them, and began his speech with I'VE
have su&ersd q great defeat the Roman army
bas been desrsysd At Thrssymeae, aud the
Censul Flame aius is among tbs slain' The
people were overwhelmed Ut frat with con,
sternahon; bot they gathered oouage from
despair, and soon began to think only Of re-
pairing the disaster. How much better Was
this than to leave the peorls in the dark,
when II Wa in possible to conceal the truth
from them more than . very few days.