Richmond enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1815-1867, 1863-05-22

tory now in possession of the rsbels embraces
little less than six hundred thousand equnre
miles; nnd of this jus. about one half lies
West of the Mississippi, Texas alone having
an area OF 237 ,000 square miles. Il diViaiou
ct hat spot is not a mare Acknowledgement; it
is cleavage straight down through the mid
die. What gives particular consequence to it
"a. that 1t is beyond ali contingency pssna-
uent division. Were our armies to penetrate
through the Oonfsderacy in any other dirsc
ton-say, for instance, from Nashville to
Charleston, or from Florence to Mebi:s it
would be accounted great achieveIn ,nt, and
yet, probably, tha division thna- produced
would be very transient. The infs,nIl tex-
ture Of the Confsdsraoy would close in
bshind, ss did Satan's, when smitlen through
by the sword of Michael the Afchsngel -
But in this else there ia no chance for
sny such re-junoton. Ths rebels have
no iesou rces wheFewith to make good
q loss of their vital cord. The Mis-
sissippi once Lost to thom can never be
regsiped, except by naval power and pow
or sufficient to overcome our own they can
not possibly create. After the riveris cleared,
1t can bo commanded by our present gun
boats with hardly an effort, and these gum
.bssts, were it; necessary, might. be indsfoite-
ly multiplied. Cur possession CT tia river,
therefore, nuat divide the Confuderaoy PSF
nanently ~ veil 81 completely; snd it would
raL .ler the dsath OF tie whole concern sim
ply question Of time.
The Western portion would very socn fall
away, when onss separated from the military
support sad control Of ths Richmond Gov
otr nf
its OVID, and our ar1ns could obtain command
OF tbs satire country nth sc.rcs!y mora
difficulty than General Banks has experienced
in getting the mastery Of Western L9uisispa.
This region in our power, would afford the
beet CT sll fslds for the uss of contThosnd
labor; SEd cotton could, with proper man
agament, vary saon be cultivated 10 al sx
tent that would % Isl IL relieve tie nreasIt
deaIth CT the article.
TIE Tsxas "Almsnac" represents that that
State alone osn. with sdsquas labor, preaucs
siv million bales OF cotton. Thsze would Nd
longer be the slishtos. onAncs for tia rest OF
tho Confsderaty to torture Europe into re-
cosnition of ita independence. 80 fer as cot-
Ion Ia King, 1t would rule quite es nu0h in
our Ia7o, ss 1t would foE the rebels We
should be quistly loft to our oTn tiuis Of
reducing tho remaining six GATES. We
do not believe that Esuy sc.iya blows
wauiJ have to BE struck 20 accomplish
shis. The very object for which the Ccnfed-
orncy wss establlshad-ths extension and
strengthening Of slsysry-would have been
made impossible. The ruling classes Of tie
s'x States would understand that even If tasy
could succeed in securing Oonfederacy on
| lhst fadu-:d sclIo, It would not be worth tee
effort to keep 1t up-thst its debts would
crush It, that its slave systen could net coln-
pete With the free labor system in tho cult.
vstioa CT the same staplss beyond the Missis.
sipp', and that in the nature Of things it could
not ct bs,t long 1.-Two, encompsssed by an5ther
nation of Auch prodigiously superior power.
the losa Of the western half the Constdsraoy,
which would result from our full possession
Of the river, would thus make even In the
visws Of the rebels themselves, the triumph
of ,ho other halt not only impossible, Lut
! ffuitleas and worthless even if it wsrs gained.
1t would be morally impossible for thsm to
kssp up the contest with any spirit Thst-
eyst,
We believe, then, that we are justified in
saying that the spesdy capture Of Vicksburg
ought to be the prime object Of public COZ
corn and there is better rosson for being ella
tad over the Frightening prospects Of General
Grant, than to bs depresssd because of the
overcast fortunes Of Con. Hooker. The fact
that tho scsnes in tho latt.r case arc compsr-
ntiyoly near at hand, and that our own New
York soldiers have been largely engaged in
them, Of course tends peculiarly to excite our
sensibilities. Bat II is o calm estimate Of the
relative bearings of tho two movements upon
tho t1nal Issue Of the war that alone should
shape on, hopes and fsars. By that criterion
We have 4 right to be more hopeful now than
ever.
The "Tnes" says:
We learn from the Army Of the Potomso
that the estimates Of our loss in the late bss-
ties are grestly reduced. 1t is thought the
aggregate will not reach II 900.
Information has bosu received by General
Hsintzelman, that Mosby has 800 men Ct
Goose Greek, aud 500 at Upperville, Ia the
Shenandoah Valley. Hs meditatss a raid,
probably, UPON the Baltimore aud Ohio rail-
road. Meanwhile be will gather whatever
supplies and forage he can scrsps together
in that not quite-yet.sIhsu5tsd region.
The T.bsi raiders il Western Virginia,
perhsps a ShausAnd or two strong, are still
h.ngi5g about GilmeF, Writ snd .dj Dining
counties, plundsring q little and moving out
Of iha country what they have slrsady stolen.
Tasy sppear be doing pretty much ss
thsy please, and nobody s4ems to know any
thiGg ss to their future tsSigns.
The Twenty fifth New York, Ool. John.