Indiana State sentinel. (Indianapolis, Ind.) 1861-1865, 1862-03-31
WAsu1xnrox March d

WASHINGTON, March %.
The city is filled to day with painful rumors of
reverses to our arms at Winchester, near Harper's
Ferry. The official bulletin published this morn
ing contains the bare announcement that, in adj
diton to the battles of Saturday and Sunday,
another desperate engagement took place yester-
day (Monday), in which we lost ten men killed
and distinguished officer of the Typographical
Engineers taken prisoner by the Confederates;
while their loss is not stated 1t is added, how
ever that we gained another glorious victory.
All the facts connected with these three engage
ments, however, have been carefully suppressed,
and every avenue of information is strictly
guarded by file of soldiers 1t is impossible
now not only to communicate facts that have be-
come history, but even to ascertain those facts.
If any possible good should result from such su-
perabundant caution the newspapers would have
no cause of complaint. But it has been demon
strated that the enemy do not get their ntelli
gence of passing events, and intended move
ments, and movements in preparation from the
newspapers. but from other sources far in adj
vance of even the most enterprising journals.
The New York Times, day or two ago, in a
leading editorial article, said that it notori-
Gus that the plans OF Gen. Mcclellan, or at least
the movements Indicative of his plans, were
shown to the rebel leaders as soon as they were
made And it is true.
The result of this keeping newspaper CORE
spondents in the dark is that the town is filled
with rumors, and it is impossible to tell how
much of them are true 1t is seen at once that
the stories of the '.official bulletin" do not hang
well together, and that they are. therefore, unre
liable. 1t was stated in regard to Saturdays
battle that it was mere skirmsh, in which the
rebels took to flight in an agony of terror. Yet
on Sunday they had sufficiently recovered to be
able to put the mette OF our soldiers to pretty
severe test. Sundays battle was represented as
a mere holiday task on our side, in which the
Scriptural prophecy was literally fulfilled: A
hundred shall kill THOUSAND and thousand
shall put ten thousand TO fight" Eight thou
sand of our men, it was said, had engaged and
put to flight fifteen thousand of the enemy,
chasing them from Winchester to Strasburg,
whence they fed in precipitation to Mount Jack
son. Yet these fleeing rebels. it seems, doubled
and came back yesterday, having "run away"
only that they might Give to fight another day"
The quidnnncs have it that these flaming official
bulletins, like those issued after the battle of
Balls Bluff, are only intended to cover up some
serious reverse How much wiser would it be to
\ let the simple truth be known.
The project of setting free all the slaves in the
District OF Columbia, under the flimsy pretext OF
compensation to the owners 600 each for negroes
worth 81 900, who bring to their masters from
$500 to $500 annually } received stunning blow
| in the Senate yesterday from Mr.. Salisbury, Of
Delaware. All honor to the men who in this
dark hour of our national history, when the fab
rio of constitutional liberty is being undermined
by traitors in the garb Of Senators, have the
courage to protest at least (tbey have the power
to do no more) against the deed. For it is fact
that one by one the provisions OF the Constitution
are being set aside by the dominant party. First,
by the wedge (as Wendell Phillips well calls it)
of emancipation in the border slave States.
Then, by the passage of the bill making it felony
for any officer in the United States army to exc
cs,e the fugitive slave law, violating one of the
solemn principles of the compromise of 1850.
And now, by abolishing slavery IN the District,
they seek to violate another. All the acts, zoo,
are in direct violation of the pledges on which
the Republican party came into power.
| OF the four thousand slaves in the District,
fully halt are old and in6rm, and young children.
The support of these. when emancipated. will
fall upon Congress. Their condition can be well
imagined.
The tax bill, already partial, and unjust in all
its provisions, is every day becoming more so
under the tinkering il Is receiving. The obvious
principles of Justice and expediency have been en-
| tirely ignored by the committee, whose efforts
have been devoted to the task of making the bill
as unjust and oppressive as possible, while. at the
which will yied the least revenue. The tax upon
newspapers and advertisements is only a speci-
men of the ignorant laundering displayed in the
| connection Of the BILL Articles of luxury are
very lightly taxed, while those who use them
would not feel heavy tax; while articles with
out which the poor mans family cannot live in
comfort are heavily taxed. Think of taxing UNI
brelas, parasols hoop skirts and petticoats Think
of taxing the old mans salt; and yet laying SO
light tax on the rich mans wine that he does
not feel It, Think of reducing the tax on tobac-
co and nm billiard tables (the tar ON the latter