Worcester daily spy. [volume] (Worcester [Mass.]) 1850-1888, 1863-04-08

Heroes are OF slow and rare growth. Though
Paul may plant and Apollos water, they will
not come up in one garden in a hundred If
they do, a hundred to one they will break be-
fore the first south wind, and prove that both
Paul and Apollos were mistaken in their seed
Very early in the.wa hosts of innocentpeople
began to cultivate heroes, and the crop threat
ened to be feariully fruitful and common
Many of them withe red the moment they
opened their frail leaves to the sun. Many
others fell by their own gravity as soon as they
stretched their slender limbs into the air So
that the stock for heroes was reduced
to reasonable proportions before many
innocents had been deceired by them or
much harm had been done. Unfortunately
for the army, unfortunately for the country,
the hero of the Potomac was not one of these
early failures. From the beginning he was
upheld by peculiar influences, shielding him
from the just and salutary criticism by which
every other officer in the cabinet or in the
field had to be tried How circumstances
conspired in his behalf, lifting him from one
post of honor to another, without any Of the
customary recommendations of success,
thrusting fame and rank upon him-blind as
ever fortune was in her blindest moments
till he commanded one of the best armies in
the world and for nearly Il year held the
tate and destiny of the country in his mailed
hand-all this has passed into history,
with his failures, where it may be "won-
dered at, but too late to be regretted or de-
plored. The report of the committee on th'
conduct of the war-.or that portion Of it OF
the misconduct of the war in Virginia.,
mainly record Of facts already known, sus
tanned here by the testimony of cloud o
witnesses which no one has ventured to I'M
peach. Public opinion has heretofore treate,
the commander in this department as an acut
failure. In this report he appears as a chron
ic failure. That is the only difference. From
the time when he took the army into his
hands till the president-his patience, even,
exhausted-ordered him to Trenton, the testi-
mony upon the operations in his department is
historically complete. Anditproyes that in De
cember, 1861, when he had one hundred and
eighty-fye thousand men in his command he
resisted all entreaties to march upon the rebels
at Manassas: that he suffered the Potomac tt
be blockaded, aud made excuses for refusing
to cooperate with the navy to raise it; that il
February hereluctantly obeyed the presidents
order to advance just as the rebels had sue.
cessfully evacuated Manassas without losing
man or gun; that when he went on his pc
ninsula experiment he took with him not only
his own proper force, but also thirty-six thou
sand men whom the president had ordered to
to be left for the defense of the capital
that with even this great army he sat down a
month before Yorktown, laying siege to the
town when it was held by scarcely beggar's
guard Of rebels; that as he moved up the pc
ninsula he sent undiscplined troops unsup-
ported far to the front, and then pilloried
them in his reports to the government, be-
cause they qualed before the unaccustomed
fire to which they were exposed; that after
the retreat to James river, he disobeyed re-
peated and most pressing commands to re-
move his army from the peninsula, and
hasten to the support of Pope before Wash
lngton; that when he arrived and found Ponies
army in battle with the enemy, and holding
his position with the utmost difficulty. he still
interposed delays unwarranted bv anv neces.
ity of his condition, till Gen. Pope was defeat.
ed and stood in no further need of his helm
that after he went with his army into Mary
land, he pursued the same dilatory pol
icy, alike Indifferent to the appeals of the
people, impatient that so much precious tim,
should be squandered, and to the commands o
the president-but why continue this dsma
record, on which there is scarcely one brigh
spot, this dreary story of delay and defeat
The man who, under the president, was re
sponsible for 1t all, is no longer within tn,
circle Of national influences. In all estimate
OF future success or failure he has fallen GU
Oh account. Well would it be for us if the
results OF his fifteen months campaigning
could be as easily forgotten.
HE VorE MoNDAY.-Tbe vote on tbe
constitutional amendment in fortv-forr +o,,,ns
including all the cities and several of the
larger towns was for the reneol ooeo