The New York herald., 1862-01-06

Soo1>
of severe and painful anxiety. Decentralization
is creeping in, We fully believe, from the insane
and reckless neg lect of the government to sustain
and to cultivate the spirit of our soldery. We
are informed as positive fact that in the ma
jority of the army on the Potomac the practice
OF regimental drills has fallen into complete
disuse!" The troops, we are told, are prey
to ennui, with no other occupation than that
afforded by greasy cards and filthy yellow color
ed novels. The newspapers are filed with adyer-
tisements for Substitutes" and bonuses varying
from 5000 even to $500 are offered. This
is accounted for by the fact of the unwillingness
of decent men to accept ga life of famine, dirt
and vacant idleness." Southern soldiers dis
charged from the hospitals are committing
suicide rather than be constrained to return to
the army" In fine, "the health of the soldiers
is neglected." they are kept in "a dirty, slug
gard condition." "the rowdyism of officers is
passed over" "half rations of commissaries
winked at," and "the vacancy and idleness of a
dgensivs policy held out as rewards to volun-
teering" The consequence is, argues our Rich
mond contemporary, that the right kind of men
cannot be obtained to I'll up the ranks already
decimated by disease and death, and soon to be
further thinned by the termination Ofthe period
of enlistment which is for one year.
This last appears to be the greatest source Of
anxiety to the leaders of the rebellion, and the
most exciting and alarming appeals are made
by the press and the clergy TO induce re-enlist-
ment, by painting in the most hideous colors
the horrors that await men, women and children
should "the Yankee invaders succeed in sub
jugating the South The invasions Of Goths
and Vandals, Huns, Saracens and Turks were
merciful compared with the visitations of the
more barbarous "Hessians" and "Roundheads'
of the North. 1t had been supposed before that
the delay of Mcclellan to advance to Rich
mond, Notwithstanding the fine, dry weather,
and the favorable state Of the roads rendering
the passage of heavy ordnance perfectly prac-
ticable, was caused by waiting for the
result Of the expeditions against the sea-
board, which were expected to draw off large
bodies of rebel troops from the Poto-
mao, but which have not been attended
with that effect as our latest intelligence
informs US the army under Beauregard has
been increased, and now numbers one hundred
and seventy-fve thousand effective men. But
the Richmond Dispatch has at last discovered
the real cause of the delay. 1t says Mcclellan,
fearing to meet the Southern army with equal
or even superior numbers, is deferring his onward
march till the period of enlistment in the South
ern army has expired, and then he will come
L. yyrIz 4b,sa nsr
stances the Dispatch is in state of extreme
trepidation lest the Southern troops should not
re-enlist. 1t laments that ':the hcartless and
brutal neglect of civil and military officials
has put the Southern cause in more peril than
all tie armed legions Of the North; more even
than this-the rust of inactiOn has eaten out
some of the bravest Spirits
All these things are causing the deepest
despondency to the more ardent chiefs of the re-
bellion and many ofShem cannot resist the terri
BILE impression that in brieftime the whole struc
ture of the insurrecton will collapse and vanish
like the baseless fabric of a vision. They see q
mighty military Gordon narrowing around them
and they await with fear and trembling the on
set of Mcclellan. Their hopes of foreign aid
have failed them. AT first, like drowning men
catching al o straw, they exulted in the prospect
Of collision between England and the United
States, arising out of the affair Of the Trent
But he masterly policy of Mr. Lincoln and bis
Cabinet has caused their hearts to sink within
them. The Richmond Dispatch first breaks thefall,
by announcing that the British Ministry would
he compelled, from fear of revolution in Eng
land to resign or to break up the blockade be-
fore next juno. In two days after il comes to
the more sensible conclusion that il is not the
design of Providence that the South should owe
it's independence to any agency but lis own ex-
crtions." How little dependence is to be
placed upon the latter may be judged from the
condition Of the demoralized army, a begsarcd
treasury and an imbecile administration, neither
competent TO devise comprehensive system OF
finance nor to organize or lead armies to victory.
The feeling is now becoming general in vir-
gnia that the leaders Of the revolution are
not sincere, and that they are preparing either
10 fall back upon the cotton States, and leave
Virginia to its fate, to lay down their arms and
sue for mercy, like Georgey in the Hungarian
war. In view of some recent events at Rich
mond, the Eeo1iner of that city Observes
There is q sombie aspect on many faces, and
the belief prevails that If the war is not waged
in earnest we are doomed, and that Vir-
ginia and all the border States must inevitably
be reoccupied by the federal authorities" !"
But the hope of our contemporary is that ''thc
army will not submit, whatever may be the
stipulation of the Confederate authorities" in
other words, it calculates upon an overthrow
of the government of jefferson Davis hy vlo-
lent military revolution.
There can be no doubt that this tyranny has
become obnoxious to the great mass of the
Southern people and the army itself, and that, i
The continuance Of The reign Of This despots'n ,cere
freely and fairly left to The popular ro'e
to-mo,ro,o, speedy end roeid be put to IT, JEFF
ferson Davis has been elected for six years by