The New York herald., 1862-01-10
The Rights OF Congress snd the Duty OF
the Executive.

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Notwithstanding the lesson of Bull run, still
persists in directing the movements of our army
This faction, in every possible way, svails itsel
OF every opportunity to declare its lack of faitl
in the war policy of the administration and IL
the competency and loyalty of our generals
who are known to be opposed to the foolish and
diabolical abolition scheme of making this wal
Southern slavery.
For example. Mr. Roscoe L. Conkling, of New
York, availed himself the other day of his reso
luton of inquiry concerning the Balls Bluff
disaster to express his doubts of the loyalty Of
General Stone, and his suspicious of bad ma
nagement on the part of General Mcclellan, as
the responsible General-.n- Chief of the army.
To the first resolution of the House upon this
affair at Balls Bluff, General Mcclellan, through
the Secretary of War and the President, had
sent in an unsatisfactory and evasive answer,
as charged by Mr.. Conkling and, falling back
upon the constitutional rights, prsrogatives and
| dignity of the House, he demanded another and
more appropriate answer to the inquiry in
volved in said resolution. OF course, upon an
appeal to the rights and dignity Of the House,
Mr.. Conkling carried his point; but it does not
follow that the President or amy executive or
military subordinate, is thereby bound to i'm
part information which, in being divulged at
cial to the public service. Upon military as
upon diplomatic affairs, or as in regard to any
other proceedings of the executive branch Of
the government, either house Of Congress has
the undoubted right to call upon the President
for information; but the uniform rule in resolu-
tions of this sort is, that he shall only give the
information desired to the extent to which he
may deem it " not incompatible with the public
interests"
Now, the answer communicated to the first
resolution of the House on this Balls Bluff
affair was substantially to the effect that it
would be incompatible with the public inter-
est at this time to give the information desired.
And Mr.. Conkling's affectation of vigilancein the
matter of the rights and dignity of the House
turns upon a paltry quibble. The simple truth
is, that, as General Mcclellan does not endorse
the abolition war programme of the Jacobin
faction of Congress, they have commenced the
game of supplanting him. No doubt there is q
justiiable curiosity on the part of every men,
Der of Congress to know precisely the objects
of that movement upon Balls Bluff and the
causes of that extraordinary disaster; and
similar desire exists to know exactly how it
was that General Fremont failed to come up to
the relief of General Lyon at Springfield, and to
the rescue of Colonel Mulligan at Lexington;
and what were the exact causes which prevented
General Patterson from cutting off the junction
of the rebel Johnstons column with that of
Beauregard at Manassas; and why it is that the
rebel blockade of the Potomac has been permit
ted to continue undisturbed so long. But, as a
full and complete answer to Congress upon any
one of these subjects at this time would proba-
bly, disclose some important facts which it is
best for the present to withhold from the enemy,
the reader will appreciate the good sense Of
General Mcclellan in declining to enter upon
any specific disclosures in regard to this affair
at Balls Bluff beyond the facts already known.
1t is easy also to understand why any military
leader in front of the enemy should be jealous
ly vigilant against communicating any facts or
plans or information of any sort from his army
calculated to be useful to his enemy.
General Mcclellan has the confidence of the
President and the country. He will be sus-
tanned by the President and the country against
any unreasonable demands for information on
the part of the Jacobin faction of Congress.
He has our army, from the Potomac to the
Mississippi, admirably equipped and arranged
in, coupactiou with our land and naval forcaa
along the Southern seaboard, for grand and
overwhelming system of combined operations.
We shall not be kept much longer in suspense.
We shall soon have the most satisfactory justi-
fcation Of the present apparent inactivity of
our army in q succession Of crowning vic
tories. While we are gaining strength mean
time, by delay, the rebels are daily becoming
weaker and weaker, and nearer the turning point
of general collapse. A single decisive re-
pulse of any magnitude will be the signal for
this general collapse of the cause of jeff. Davis
and his exhausted Southern confederacy.
The conservative loyal people Of the Union
have no fears that Mcclellan and our army and
navy will dsappoint the just expectations Of the
country and the public confidence in " Honest
ABE Lincoln Is unaDateu Dut tnere are serl-
Gus approximations afoat in regard to the Con-
gress which is now in session at Washington.
The treasury is in danger of bankruptcy in the
absence of some wholesome legislative mea-
sures for its relief our currency is threatened
with another food of irresponsible shinplasters,
in the absence of solid cash basis for the pa
per issues of the government; our business men
of all pursuits, prostrated by the unforeseen ca
lamities of this rebellion call for the relieving
Intervention of q general bankrupt law and
yet the House of Representatives continues to
agitate the slavery question and abolition in
every shape and form, and continues to pry into
the secrets of the army and into the political
status of our army officers in regard to slavery,
as il there were nothing else to be DONE
We earnestly call upon the House of Repre-