The Burlington weekly hawk-eye. [volume] (Burlington [Iowa]) 1860-1876, 1862-08-09
PROM MEMPHIS,
Correspondence Of the New York Tribune.

The necessity Of placing some commander
over the whole Western Department, with head.
quarters at Memphis, Corinth, Cairo or St.
Louis, is daily becoming more obvious.
If this 10 not to be done ct once, two of Gen.
Sherman's measures require the immediate and
effective action Of the Government itself, for
they are working great injury and injustice:
We reached the city, the Treasury Department
established Board of Trade consisting Of
Messrs Hougb, Majors and Ware, three loyal
citizens of large acquaintance and ripe business
experience. Noigoods whatever--not sack of
-four or barrel Of salt-could pass out Of our
lines into the country without written permit
from them.
Gen. Shermans order of the 24fh ult., sbolisb..
ed the permit system, and virtually abolished
the Board of Trade itself. It established upon
Eve principal roads guard Of three men, with
one commissioned and one non commissioned
officer, instructing them generally to stop wagons
containing ian undue proportion of any one
commodity" II islei entirely to their discretion,
and any one who has had experience with such
guards can Judge how far their discretion is to
be trusted in matters which sometimes puzzled
the members of the Board, with their business
experience and their thorough acquaintance in
Memphis and vicinity. ~. 'saa
Some Of the roada are not guarded at al: II
| is easy for any ssgacious man to send out merss
ehandise upon any Of them, daily-in short, to
| carry through almost any amount and descrip-
ion Of supplieA -
During the week, since the arrangement was
introduced, trade hes received wonderful i'm
petus. Stocks of goods, which were doled out
slowly before, now disappear With marvellous
rapidly. The philosophy Of II il very simple.
Memphis Is supplying ne Soulhern Confederacy.
|
other articles most in demand among the rebels,
are continually passing out nm assured, on
suthorits which / cannot doubt, that ammuni.,
ton, even, is thus being carried through the
lines. ai 8s ES9B F MITE
II. Taking possession Of sdcant property.-The
order itself seemed to Contemplate seixing only
the property of rebels No loyalist could com.
| plain of this; but it 10 being carried out in
radically different manner. The officers execu.
ting it take all vacant buildings, making no dis
erm;nation shdtuer betpeen Tie property Of 10y.
alists and that of Rebels. -, -g,y-r,
i Many Union families are gone North on sum.
mer visits to their friends, from whom they had
long been cut of by the blockade. Designing
to return in few weeks, they have merely closed
their dwellings Without packing their goods or
must be done by new, and strange tensnta The
officers are taking possession Of these dwellings
and renting them out, utterly refusing to hear
any testimony in the matter, and replyingto the
remonstrances of friends, "When they return
they can claim redress from the Government if
it has done them. any injury" As if there could
be any adequate redress for the damage which
family pictures, keepsakes, mementoes and fur.
niture must suffer in such cases! eA< GA
It 10 peculiarly hard that tho innocent who
have suffered persecution and indignities for
their loyalty, should thus be pun shed with the
guilty, by their own Government, after the res
toration of its authority. Houses are being
seized, whose owners were 80 conspicuously loyal
that their property was conascated BY the rebel
government Even the citizen who raised the
| fret national flag after our arrival, and whose
devotion to the Union is unquestioned, finds the
control of his tenement houses suddenly taken
from him, and is compelled to give up the
keys
| Meanwhile, bitter rebels, those who raised
men. money and arms for the instruction, wi o
remain here and have taken the oath, or evaded
II. 90 ON and collect their rents without the
sliebtest interference. Loyalists complain, and
With Justice, that they are finding this rule even
more oppressive than the rebel regime.
! These statements are not made osely-chap.
ter and veree names and dates, can be gwen
They are not made vindictively. Gen. Sherman
| ia q gallant soldier; at Shiloh he handled his
troops splendidly, and BY his eminent services
fairlv earned the Major. Genership which he won.
But fighting and legislating are two different
things, and to characterize it very mildly the
ecceptricities of his administration are working
| grievous injustice.
There are !, 800 con6scated negroes in the en-
ploy of the Government building the fortihca.
tions, loading and unloading quartermasters
boats, etc. By Gen. Sherman's order, a ration
of whisky and one of tobacco is issued to each
of them daily. As a class they are industrious
and docile and they contribute largely to the