Daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, Va. [W. Va.]) 1859-1865, 1862-12-30

Blair, last night, about the new State.
Things are working we'll. The President
waits to bea, all sides There is no reason
to suppose that he will aot sign the bill.
Late Richmond Papers-Interesting
We have received two numbers of the
Richmond DispGteh dated, respectively. the
18Th aud 18th insts. They are half sheets
of about the size OF this paper. The news
in them is mostly old, being mainly ac-
counts, both rebel and Union, of the late
Fredericksburg battle and of operations by
Gen. Foster in North Carolina. tits claim
ed that Gen. Foster did nothing much in
his march upon Goldsboro, Kingston and
other places along the line of the Weldon
and Wilmington and the GoldsborO and
Eewbsru railroads. In fact the Di,pateh in
its kilograms claims that he was driven off
without doing anything more than burning
few bridges and tearing up a considerable
quantity of track. We quote the follow
iug from dispatch dated GoldsborO, Dec.
18th:
The railroad for miles has been torn up
and the bridges destroyed. a fine mill
near the battle field was burned, and num-
berless acts of murder and iuceudiarism
are reported.
Our entire loss in Killed, wounded and
missing, does not exceed $50. II. the Yam
KEGS had given our forces battle to-day
their chRstisement would have been equal
to their crimes. 1t appears they come only
to murder, burn, and destroy, and they
have succeeded only too well thus far.
The news of the Dispateh from the North
isa .curious medley of fact and fiction. 1t
does US the honor to quote our article as
to how the news concerning the passage
OF the new State bill was received here,
prefacing the acticle thus:
"The abolitiouists in Wheeliug had q
Jolly time over the news of the admission
Of Western Virginia into the Union"
A good many of the Union prisoners ta-
ken at Fredericksburg had arrived in Rich
,mond aud the Dispateh editor had convers-
ed with several eff them, and gives his
gleanings from them as folIows:.
All With whom we have had opportuni
ties Of conversiug concur in the statement
that they have very little hope of ever ac-
complishing the object for which they en-
listed-viz: the restoration of the Union.
This they regarded as possible at one
i time; aud now they are sStisfied.that it can
never be effected through subjugation.-
They all seem to be convinced that we have
the material for protracting the war indeti-
pitely, and frankly admit that they have no
Generals equal to those commanding the
armies of the Confederacy. wounded
prisoner yesterday stated TO us that if left
to the private soldiers, not one in hun
dred would oppose the immediate recogni-
ton of the South, or that would not be
willing to accept peace npon any terms
he says the war is continued through the
agency and influence Of spectators, who
are willing TO sacrifice the country for their
individual benefit. If these prisoners tell
the truth, We have good reasons to cou-
clude that the Yankee soldiers, if not the
Yankee people, are heartily sick of the task
in which they are engaged.
One of the prisoners who was brought
here was told that he was in Richmond
now, at any rate. "Yes," said he, s'they
have started me Eve times, aud I'll be did
If haven't got here at last" Another
thought If Little Macn had been 10 COM
mand things wouldn't have turned out so
badly.
One Ofthe leading articles of the Dispateh
of the 18th is devoted to comment upon
General M'Clellan's testimony before the
Mcdowell Court Martial. The comments
are very bitter, as indeed are all its articles
about our troops and our Generals We
quote its comments as follows:
Mcclellan, in his testimony before the
Court Martial which is now trying M'Dow-
ell, stated that If NDowell's column had
come on he should certainly have entered
Richmond that very day, and assigns his
failure to come on as the reason of his otrn
failure to take the city. 1t is natural enough
for General, beaten and disgraced, as
Mcclellan was, to cast about for reasons TO
excuse himself, and to shin the blame from
his own shoulders upon those of some other
person. This Is not the only excuse
Mcclellan has made. BE has complained
of neglect to furnish quartermaster's stores,
though we doubt whether any army that
ever marched was ever furnished as his vas.
He has complained of the Engineer Depart
ment, although no General of modern times
was ever so amply supplied With everything
belonging to that department. He has
complained that he had not men enough,
although it has been proved that at York,
before the arrival of Johnston, and
while he had Magruder only TO contend
VIM ms FORCES MISREPRESENTATION OF thRt
General in the proportion Of fifteen to one,
and although committee of Congress has
reported that there never was time while
he was around Richmond that he did not
outnumber US two 70 one. He aseribes his
failure, indeed, TO every imaginable cause
but the right one his own utter fncapacity,
namely, and the inferiority OF his men to
ours in courage, hardihood, and the other
qualities essential to the soldier. This last
excuse is gotten, up since the occasion. He
believed to the very last that be couldtake
Richmond without the assistance of
Mcdowell, and if he could not do it With the
overwhelming force which he had tl6s, 900
men in the commeneement,) tits hard to
believe that he could do 1t with any force
whatever. Certainly he could not have