The New York herald., 1862-10-02

II
1 hausted Condition and Desperate Ex-
i tremities OF the RebellIom.
/ The great aud momentous battle of Antietam
has broken up the whole rebel programme un-
der which the ''liberaing" army Of Gen. Lee
was pushed forward into Maryland. Lee anti
cipated the destruction, in detail, of the armies
of Pope and Mcclellan and the capture Of
Washington or, failing in this enterprise, he
expected to revolutionize Maryland, occupy
Baltimore. and cut off all our overland com
munications between Washington and the
North. These were great objects, and the
temptations to undertake them were very invit-
ing and plausible. But stronger than all these
inducements were the necessities of the rebels
for an aggressive campaign into the aboundng
supplies Of our loyal border States, on both
sides Of the slavery line, from Maryland and
| Pennsylvania to Illinois and Missouri.
Lees advance into Maryland was thus only a
part of the general scheme of the rebel leaders
tor the establishment Of their armies where
they could be comfortably subsisted through
| the winter; for while Lees numerous hungry
and ragged followers were to be qllartered upon
the rich counties Of Northern Maryland and
Southern Pennsylvania, the forces of Bragg,
Kirby Smith and Humphrey Marshall were to
be fed from the immediate valley Of tho Ohio
river. and clothed from the stores Of Gin
cinnati and Louisville; and, next in order, Hind
mand, Rains and Company were to push for
| ward to the occupation Of st. Louis But the
whole Of this magnificent programme was
knocked in tho head at Antietam. Lee is driven
back into the military desert of Virginia, and
| his confederates in the West are now consider
ing, not how they shall advance, but by what
line Of retreat they can escape destruction
They will not be permitted to tarry long in
Kentucky, and in falling back within the limits
of the rebellion they return to region in
which the mass Of the local population are on
the verge Of famine.
We do not speak at random When General
| Halleck advanced to the occupation Of Corinth
he found the surrounding population 80 desti-
| tute Of the c0mmonest necessaries Of life that
he was compelled to appeal to the charity Of
| st. Louis for their immediate relief The same
melancholy tale is told by every witness from
Mississippi, Georgia, Alabama and Tennessee.
| At New Orleans one-third Of the resident popu-
lation are mainly dependent for subsistence
upon the army stores Of General Butler and his
! charitable collections from the rich secession
| lists OF the town. At Richmond, with its nume-
rous and immense Touring mills, -four is selling
at fifteen and sixteen dollars barrel, even in
the absence of Lees devouring army. We dare
| say, in word that if peace and the Union were
re-established tomorrow, the destitution and
| distress which would be revealed, from Vr-
i - Y ~,
world.
| Herein, according to the confessions of the
| leading rebel organs at Richmond, lies the
secret of this desperate rebel enterprise of car
| rying the war into our loyal States. "Bread
and meat" enticed General Lee into Maryland,
| Bragg into Kentucky and Hindman to Missouri.
| But, bafed at oil points, and menaced by our
increasing forces on every side, what else than
| destruction dissolution can be the fate Of
these rebel armies? The general campaign
which will shortly be opened against them, East
and West, will inevitably scatter them to the
winds. Take, for example, the grand army Of
General Lee With Richmond and Gordons-
vile both in danger, he cannot linger at Win
chester; but in leaving his intrenchments there
Mcclellan may cut him to pieces. KMcClellan's
arm was strong enough in these late battles 10
| dislodge that of Lee from the strongest defen-
sive positions on the SUBMITS of wooded hills
and mo untains, what hope is there for his dimi-
nished and demoralized army against the aug
mented and reinvigorated columns of Nc
Clellan?
We hold, however, that in repulsing the
armies of the rebellion from the north side of
i fho md from fho linz IF fbo fho
most important part of the task of their over
throw is already accomplished Recoilng upon
an exhausted country, with no large dcpots of
| supplies. they must disperse with the approach
of the SHOWS and rains of winter, in the progress
Of their retreat Some idea may be formed of
the results of the rebel deficiencies in food,
clothing and hospital supplies from tho report
Of Surgeon General Moore, of the army hospi-
tails In and around Richmond. According to
this report those hospitals now contain over
seventy-five thousand patcnts--a number SO
far beyond all the casualties Of the late battles
from Richmond to Manassas as to appear in
credible.
With all these terrible drawbacks, and with
Confederate tax Of twenty per cent upon the
productions and incomes Of the people Of our
revolted States, from and after the LIST of Janu-
ary, together with the solemn warning of Pre-
sident Lincoln's emancipation proclamation,
we are convinced that another defeat or two
in the field will break up this rebellion root and
branch. Our new campaign, which is about to
| open East. West and South, in conjunction with
our iron-clad ships and gunboats, will soon
settle the question and put an end to all canards
and conjectures Of European Intervention.
While our strength is just about to be developed,
our rebeilious States are SO near the point of
exhaustion that they cannot, through this win