The New York herald., 1862-02-27

them to some sense of shame and regard lot
public opinion.
War Debate I'm the Rebel Congress
I" Monsieur Tonson Come Again."
The recent war debates in the rebel Con-
gress, which, from the reports of the Richmond
papers, we have laid before our readers, are
very interesting and suggestive.
Foote-Governor Foote, General Foote, the
Hon. H. S. Foote, the immortal Foote-of
Mississippi, and then of California, but now of
Tennessee, whose native element is hot water,
has been getting up another sensation. AS a
dashing and persevering sensation expounder
of Southern chivalry, Foote is only excelled by
Governor Wise. AS member of the United
States Senate, Foote was always on the floor,
always entertaining, always punctilious, and
always in stew. AS Unionist, though at
first victorious over JEFF. Davis and secession in
Mississippi, Foote was finally foored, and then
he left in disgust for California, that happy
refuge of used-up politicians. But there, fail
ing with his Know Nothing dark lantern to find
his way back to Washington, Foote wiped the
gold dust of the Sacramento off his feet, and re-
turned to the valley of the Mississippi. There
among the fre-eaters of Southern commercial
convention, and then spreading himself for
Douglas; here to-day and off tomorrow, until
at length he turns up in the rebel Congress at
Richmond, a representative from Tennessee, as
rafting, rampant, irrepressible ard implacable
as ever, and still the evil genius of JEFF. Davis,
haunting him like his shadow.
And so we find that no sooner is the rebel
permanent" Congress organized than Foote
pounces upon the administration of Davis. He
offers resolution declaring that, whatever pro-
priety there may have been heretofore in the
defensive war policy of Davis it is now the
duty of his government to ''carry the war into
Africa" "to assail the forces of the enemy
wherever they are to be found, upon the land
or the water, with view to the most ample
indemnity for the past and the most complete
security for the future" Foote does not like
the idea of waiting to be eaten up.
w. w. Boyce, of South Carolina, late man
of mark in the Congress of the United States,
sided with Foote. Those South Carolina men,
whose hearts are in their desperate work, are
the fellows to look their danger squarely in the
face. Boyce was for offensive warfare, and was
for holding on to all the slave States; for, said
he, "we cannot afford to give up one inch of
Southern soil" He referred to the drunken
boast of the rebel Secretary of War, Walker, on
the fall of Fort Sumter, that within q month
the Confederate flag would be flying over the
city of Washington and said, substantially, that,
instead of alarming the North by this threat,
the rebel conspirators should have done the
deed while talking peace. Boyce was right
about this Southern blowing and braggadocia,
because in the very outset it utterly ruined the
chances Of this rebellion. For three months
before the fall Of Fort Sumter, and for three
weeks after the battle of Bull rum this Southern
conspiracy might have succeeded in a European
recognition, by the seizure and occupation of
Washington and Maryland. But from the day
that General Mcclellan had reorganized our
broken army of Bull run, the game was up
with JEFF Davis. From the day when we of
the loyal States had no longer any fears as
to the safety of Washington, the handwriting
was upon the wall against the rebel govern
ment at Richmond.
The earnest South Carolinian, Boyce, thought
it was high time for the Confederates to fight
upon some general plan; that they had been
fighting at random long enough; and he named
Beauregard and Toombs-the bombastic, bois-
ferrous and barbarous Toombs-as the two men
to form q plan. Now, while we must admit
Beauregard to be good officer, we know
nothing of Toombs as military leader, except
from the plan Of warfare which lie recently
urged upon the women and children of Georgia.
That plan would make it their duty to burn
their own houses over their heads, to lay waste
by fire the cities, towns, hamlets, villas and
cottages of the South, their stores of provisions
and their growing crops, their fields and forests,
with the approach of our advancing forces.
But as this plan Of Toombs, though partially
adopted in South Carolina, is no better than
that of the man who set fire to his barn to save
it from the hands of the sheriff, we suspect it
will not be sufficient to defeat the grand en-
circling plan of Mcclellan.
But, to return to Foote. He is always full of
the wonders Of some prodigious mares nest
which he has just discovered. So, in this case,
he never would endorse TIE rebel Secretary of
War (Benjamn) and their Secretary of the
Navy (Alaliory). Foote had found them out;
and no doubt, in this instance, he has substan-
tial ground for his declarations; for Benjamin
is understood to have commenced life as thief,
and Mallory had the reputation Of q loose charac-
ter in Washington Foote, SO far from endors
ing these two men, "intended to make one day
Developments that would astonish at least some
body" for che had facts, taItling facts, which
he intended to bring to bear on the subject"
And so Foote continued at great length to de-
nounce that defensive policy Of his rebel con-
fedcrates which has resulted so dissstrously to
their cause, and to advocate the policy of push
ing the war to Thilade' pbia, New York and
Boston. To pursue this plan, MIR. jenkins, Of
Virginia, mildly suggested that the rebel army
would hare to be increased to double its pre-