Indiana State sentinel. (Indianapolis, Ind.) 1861-1865, 1862-02-24


+ teeted by the same FuncfiOnary-Re-s niistnen
Of The Confederate Troops-Efeet at he South
of the Recent Union VietOries-Plans Of the
- CONSERVATIVES Members of Congress for The Es--
tGblishment Of Provisional Governments in the
Southern States Whereis Fan LANES Staff"
- - WASHINGTON, Feb Is.
Not a day passes without bringing to light some
new evidence of the wisdom and eminent admin
istratiye abilities Of the new Secretary of War.
Among his FIRST official acts was the exercise of a
course of policy which has resulted IN arrange
ments for Q systematic exchange Of prisoners. He
has gone a step further in his course of fear
less magnanimity, by giving orders for the imme-
date release of all State prisoners. This will set
at liberty scores of persons who have been incar-
cerated for weeks, and many even for months, for
no offense whatever, but merely on suspicion and
on the strength charges secretly and malicious
ly made BY personal enemies. The loyalty of the
persons TO whom / allude is unquestoned. No
one dare openly charge them with disloyal acts.
They have been the victims of secret malignity
and of official tyranny, and have been cruelty de-
MED the poor boon even of proving their limo
cence "a difficult task since no charges have ever
been brought against them.) They owe their re-
lease now, and their restoration to liberty, to the
conviction in the mind of the Secretary of War
that they were being unjustly detained, and that
no good purpose could be subserved by the con-
tinuance of their Imprisonment. $500.
The "order" for their release is a remarkable
one. In half column the Secretary of War
gives the most lucid and graphic description Of
the peculiar circumstances attending the seces-
sion of the Southern States that has ever ap-
peared in print. The last sentence implies that
the President does not deem il necessary any
longer to suspend the operation of the writ of
kabeds corpus, and that. in all future ordinary
arrests the privileges of that writ will be allowed
The extraordinary arrests" mentioned, which
are to "be made hereafter under the direction of
the military authorities alone" will put q stop to
the tyrannical proceedings of Mr. Seward in that
direction. The subjects of such arrests will not,
il is supposed, have the benefits of the ha6eas cor
paS. But it will be because the public coed re
qures such course, and not to crafty private
malignity. There are some among the prison
ers who will refuse to accept the Presidents
proffered amnesty, on the ground that they are
not guilty of treason, have committed no crime
and therefore can not be pardoned. But they
viii take the parole and viii be released with
the rest ii -.l
The Secretary of War is highly gratifed at the
suspicious termination of the mission OF the Com
miSSoners sent by him to Richmond to alleviate
the condition of the Union soldiers who are now
prisoners in the South, The Confederate leaders
thought that the most effective alienation their
cODuitOn WOuiQ De 10 Seilu them nome 10 their
relatives And this they proposed TO DO if we
would release an equal number of Confederate
soldiers as soon as the fortune of war should
place them in our hands The Commissioners
wisely acceded to this generous proposal. The
prisoners at Richmond were accordingly released
and are expected to arrive ut Baltimore to dav
or to- morrow. The recent Union victories gain
ed since this arrangement was made, have placed
in our hands great many more prisoners than
I Il L. 4 -
prisoners have had no experience of prison fe it
is not unlikely that the overplus will be detained
to taste the sweets of captivity in Northern dun
ge0ns, until the Southerners have some prisoners
to exchange for them.
The Richmond and Petersburg newspapers of
yesterday confirm the accounts had previously
received Of the progress of the re enlistment of
the Confederate troops. The names of nearly
fifty regiments are given which have re enlisted
for the war, and that all that are now in the ser
vice will do so. Burroughs have been granted to
all who desire il, and they have gone home to
visit their families The papers say that "the
terrible alternativeis presented, of enlistment
or subiugation." From other sources of infor-
nation, il is clear that the recent reverses have
not broken the spirit OF the Southern people, or
altered their determination They are fold of
recurring TO old revolutionary times, when the
country was overrun by the British armies, and
when New York Philadelphia, Boston, Charles
ton and other cities occupied by the British.
Yet they say after being beaten in many battles.
our farmers triumphed at last, and drove the in
vaders out of the country. Such are the prece
dents wherewith they encourage themselves now.
The plans of the conservative members of Con
greSs for the government of reclaimed insurgent
States have been put in shape by Mr.. Harris, one
of the Senators from New York. His bill pro-
vides for the establishment of provisional govern
ments i'm all such States, and has the merit of
being practical and comparatively lust The
bill expressly stipulates that the President shall
have power to suspend the operations of the pro-
visional government created by it, which shall
not, in any event, continue in force longer than
three months after Congress first meets after
the war is over. The real strength of the con-
sentative element of the Senate will be deter
mined by the reception which this bill meets in
that body.
The official report of Gen Burnside and Cen
Halleck, of the victories in North Carolina and
Kentucky, made to the General in Chief of the
army, are bitter pills to the New York Tri-
uune people, who have asserted for weeks past
that all reports would be made to the Secretary
Of War.
If it was a matter of any consequence, people
here would really like TO know whether Jim Lane
is Senator ora Brigadier Genera2 If the form
er Gas the telegraph now SAYS he has not accepted
his Brigadership. and that Cen Hunter and staff
paid visits of ceremony to Senator Lane at Leaven-
worth the 18th, } where is his numerous staff,
whose names were paraded so conspcuously;
and what is to become of them2 One thing is
certain: if Jim does not eat humble pie and swal-
low his prize with his pastry, his appointment as
Brgadier. will be cancelled. That fiat has gone
forth from the White House. and bears the sigma
ture of the President.