The Burlington weekly hawk-eye., 1863-02-14
The Last Hope OF the Rebellion.
Qrom the Cindanati Gasette.)

F- (From the Cincanah Gasette)
Abundant intelligence is furnished by the in
tellgence of, Southern affairs which has recently
been laid before the public, that the most intel
ligent people of the South regard resistance to
our armies a. hopeless, and look upon their
case % desperate without foreign Intervention
or the aid of . peace party in the North. The
fact that they are now resorting to third con-
scription, to extend from the age of forty five
to ffty-fve, shows the strait to which they are
reduced for fighting men. Youth and middle
age are expended, and now they are forced TO
drag old men into the field to endure hardships
which will cut them off like . pestience. For
this conscription they have population which
before the war was s, ,458, ,46S, out of which the
men between the ages of eighteen and forty
five have been already drawn. And besides
this, large districts Of populous territory are
held by our army as in Tennessee, Louisiana
and North Csrolins, in which of coure the con-
scription cannot be enforced goE
The hardsbips Of the military service are
vastly more severe on the rebel side than on
ours, and the men are less hardy and able to
endure them. All accounts represent the NOR
talty among them a. terrible Our army has
suffered severely from disease, but it 10 only
fraction Of that Of the half fed, half.naked and
sheltsrless rebel troops. They have no more
time of life when men Can easily stand the hard.
ships of war. Yet on every side they are press.
ed and threatened by our armies, and they ses
that, with the opening of spring. will como .
conflict for which they have not sufficient
force. In view Of this stuation the Richmond
Examiner ssys: SIT will be seen that the Yam
KEGS have much to encourage them, and we not
little to excite serious apprehensions as to she
future and ''f within the next two months We
do not add seventy-fve or . hundred thousand
men to our forces in the Southwest, We shall
come to grief" aa3 - aa q
But will conscription of those over forty
five years old add seventy, y,five or a hundred
thousand men to their armies? The Southern
people DO not seem to expect it. Another sig
ni6cant feature is the recent repeal Of that pro.
vision Of the conscription act which exempted
the owner or overseer of twenty slaves 1t not
only shows the desperate need Of men, but that
the mutterings OF the troops about fighting .
ers were exempt, have been heard BY the rebel
leaders st Richmond. 3
Their finances are equally desperate Their
customs yielded but 366s, 500 up to December
8lst; their taxes but S16, 6,664,6lS. Their "mis.
celaneous receipts" which are probably the
avails of their robberies Of Northern property
and credits, are stated at 81, ,2sl ,sl2. Ali the
rest of their expenditure is debt-a debt With
out revenue. Ejs'. TG
According to their Secretary's report they
have out $l45, ,476 $40 in bonds and stocks ofvs
rious kinds and $41O, ,629, ,692.in Treasury notes
Besides this, he reports as due on appropria-
tions, $8l, ,879,9 ,9l3. This makes $685., ,984. 97E
of debt already accumulated, besides the scriK
which hasbeen sown broadcast for supplies taker
by force as is the usual practice with their ar
| mics. 1t would be reasonable to estimate thai
| this scrip, and the claims not audited woulc
carry the debt already accrued, to thousand
millions, on which their entire revenue viii
not pay two per cent. Compare that with tn,
revenue of from three to four hundred million
year, now being received by our Govern
ment .,i = "
This statement is up to December 31st. TIL,
rebel Secretary estimates the expenditure W
to the 1st Of next July, $500, ,000, 600. And be
sides all this, there are the immense arrearage.
to the army and to contractors. We may safely
estimate that the rebels, il they were dismissed
now, could not settle the cost of the rebellion
short ofa public debt oftwo thousand millions, L
support which they have country devastated
and eatennp by Wal, the prod ctlonofits grea
staples nearly suspended, and much of the ole
crop burned, in the suicidal hope of ipjurine