Washington telegraph., 1862-04-16

NEWS OF THE WEHK.-Our mails due Sun
day night from Little Rock have failed again.
The mails of Friday night brought us mcagre
accounts of great events, which have been CO.
roborated by our New Orleans and Shreveport
exchanges, and which we give our readers IN
another column. 1t is our misfortune, these
stirring times, to be kept sometimes a week in
suspense, by the imperfect nature of our mail
facilities
Enough is known to make two facts clear:
We have abandoned Island No. 10, and We
have gained a great victory in the vicinity oil
Corinth. For ourselves we are satisfied with
the bargain We always had much distrust of
the defences at the Island We have now no
firm confidence in the nvincibility of any point
against which the enemy can bring all their
gunboats to bear, and to which they may read.
lily transport reinforcements. We are not demi-
gods, but mortals, and subject to the physical
weaknesses of humanity. All our pluck can
not avail us against superior armamenis, and
superior numbers. We must give way before
the accumulated pressure of mum .rical force,
backed by an unlimited supply of munitions OF
war collected at leisure. from an open com.
merce; and prepared in the fresh vgor of vet
solvent national credit If the federals do not
yet so to New Orleans even, las we hope and
believe they will not.) it will be their own lis
grace, for they have all advantages. Lon.
brass, gunpowder, provisions, boats and still
some credit, men cd Hbitun,, are all at their
command. The shores of the Mississippi are
swampy flats. The art of man, aided by all
the facilities of commerce, cannot make anv
point impregnable between Cairo and the hills
at Vicksburg. No place is impregnable.
Gibraltar itself is not That Columbus should
be evacuated under the tremendous pressure
of Federal numbers, that New Madrid should
follow, and then our position at Island No. 10.
so far from being caue of discourn cement is
what we might have expected, but for our own
somewhat vain glorious conceit. Anomalous
as it may seem, they are victories for US. We
reverse Napoleon's maxim. He said, 1T is
only the first stroke that costs" We conquer
by accumulating upon them an additional cost
Mt every move. Each stand we make exhaust.
them. Pabius Of old conquered by retreats
and wore out the enemy by the cost Of the
victories which they gained. 1t is a long road
yet for them to Memphis even. They can get
there doubtless: but il will be at tremendous
cost, and with frutless results. No more val
liable than the occupation eff Nashville. Our
evacuation Of No. 10. was TO be expected, and
is no cause of discoura cement Much has
been achieved by our occupat on of it so long
But the victory at Pea Riice. for whatever
the place may be called in the vicinity ot
Corinth, has been of deeper significance still
1t affords us the gertrude that the enemy can
never penetrate the interior. and illustrates
the wisdom of the adoption of our new line OF
mil tary defences. We take them away from
their basis which they rested so securely.
We deprive them of the advantage CT their
railroads, which extend over the North like
network. and whilst the theatre of war was on
the border, enabled them to accumulate un-
limited reinforcements at any given point
When they penetrate the interior they are at
our mercy. The momentum of an invading
army exhaus's itself, and it sinks with slight
resistance. Every step it makes ''drags n
heightened chain.' We need only to resist
Failure is. to them, swift destruction