The New York herald., 1862-03-23

gressivc than any previous movement OF the Kind OF
that IL would likely be 6nSsrd and upward so for as
anything to the contrary could nov b seen The nour
market was inactive aud sales limited chisay to the
hcme trade, while pricos were sustained Wheat was
quiet and sales limited, while quotations about the
same though in the absence OF transactions Of moment
they nominal for most descriptions. Corn in
fair Demand though hardly Arm, at steady prices.
The sales embraced Western mixed at $50 Soc in store
and o0c. delivered Pork heavy and dull, with
sales of mess at e13 s71S e13 SO. Sugars
quiet and steady whie the sales confined to about
l40 hhds., mostly within the range of &C 7Hc, with
. few hhds. fraction above and under these figures
Coffee quiet, sales Of moment reported.
Frsights steady and the rates within day
or two past were fully sustained.
Coming Events Cast Their Shadows
Before.
From preparations now being made by the
armies Of the Union on one side and by the
rebel hosts on the other, and from various signs
| and indications, the public mind may be pre-
pared for series of tremendous events within
the next fortnight. A number of desperate
battles, some of them of great magnitude, will
be fought throughout the South, probably be-
ginning with Virginia and followed up in other
stas@ with great rapidity. Johnston and Smith
were by last accounts on the line of the Rap
pahannosk, with their late Army of the Poto-
mac, their centre being at GordonsvAle, their
right extending to Fredericksburg and York
town, and their left to the mountains Whether
thoy have since fallen further back, or even
totally abandoned Virginia, we have no means
of knowing. But whether they make stand
or retreat they will have 0Aght at last.
There ID another rebel army in Southwestern
Tennessee and Alabama, Beauregard command
ing tho first corps, Bragg the second, and Al
bert Sydney Johnston, the defeated General,
commanding the wreck Of the army which
evacuated Bowling Green, and has been re-
cruited in its retreat In all perhaps these diff
ferent corps number from aixty thousand to
seventy thousand men, and are in process of
being reinforced daily from the farther South.
They must soon come into collision with the
| armies led by Halleck and Buell., which
have already penetrated Tennessee and
Alabama. Albert Sydney Johnston was,
by latest intelligence, at Decatur, Ala
bama, and Beauregard was at Corinth, in
Mississippi, where that State borders both
Alabama and Tennessee. There is one def
cheney which is everywhere apparent at the
extreme South-the want of small arms. The
army in Virginia appears to have monopolized
oil the good small arms; but even that army is
deficient in the bayonst. The Southern jour-
nails, though men drafted and pressed into the
rebel service, complain that they have five or
six men ready to fight for every weapon on
| hand. In order to meet the emergency, the
| rude old weapon, the pike, is resorted to,
and we are told that it is being manufactured
in Memphis for the raw recruits. Nothing can
demonstrate the deficiency Of proper weapons
more than resorting to the antiquated pike.
| Alone it is almost useless. 1t is only when &C
| companied with troops having fowling pieces,
or muskets, or rifles, or cannon, that pikemen
brave men who understand its use it is o for.
midable weapon, particularly in repelling cav
airy; but the moral effect of pike with an
ounce Of lead behind it, such as the musket and
bayonet, or rife and sword attached, is to
paralyze the naked pike unsupported by fire.
arms. And as for artillery, pixies alone are Of
| little avail against it. But, even if effective
regiments Of pikemen could be organized, the
weapons could not be manufactured for them
in time. Pixies cannot be made by machinery
and all the blaeksmiths in tie South would be
long time in supplying even moderate army
with the weapon. The rebels Of the cotton States
will therefore have to fight without bayonet
or pike; for the armies Of the Union are upon
| them.
The army Of ice Johnston, in Virginia, will
have soon to fight, be captured or run away;
and even flight may not save it. The chances
are that the whole Of that army and its
generals, together with the rebel Presidents
rebel Cabinet and rebel Congress, will be
bagged before the ides Of April by the brilliant
strategy of Mcclellan; and this would virtu.
ally end the war. Great events areIat hand.
|
The TAI BILL AND THE New ENGLAND MANU-
FAcruRERs.--We have received and read let
| ter addressed to Hon. Thaddeus Stevens,
| Chairman Of the House Committee Of Ways and
Means, from E. 3. Bigelow, Esq, on behalf OF
| the New England manufacturers. The letter
complains that the tax upon manufacturers is
too large, and proposes stamp duty upon
| bills Of sale instead Of tax upon manufactures
| This is one of thousand complaints and new
plans. Every interest cries'out "Oh, the Tax
| bill Is admirable except In our case, and there
it is decidedly wrong" If Mr.. Stevens and his
! committee listen to all these grumblers, we
shall not have tax bill until doomsday.
As for New England, it manufactures North
ern aboitionists, who manufacture Southern
rebels. No tax could be too large upon these
articles Of manufacture, and any tax not pro-
hibitory would be too small. For the rest The