, 1863-12-15
Chicago Gribnnc.
g.. TUESDAY, DECEMBER Is, 1868.


- TUESDAY, DECEMBER 10, 1868.
CMARLEsToN.
If my place in JEFF: Davis dominions
has had full chance to enjoy the ankle
tics, discomforts, and uncertainties Of the
war, in full measure, and toits hearts con-
tent, 1t is Charleston. The fellow who
wished his. throat had been constructed
like an auger, 70 that when he drank his
whisky It might circle about, in its descent,
as long as possible, so Us to impart the
: greatest amount Of gustatory delight Of
which 1t tEas capable, -longcd for condi-
tion Of things much like what that delecta-
bic. nest of treason has enjoyed. True,
they do not get very badly hurt; but then
they are kept in goodly expectation that
they may be. We read now that Gilmore
is giving the city about twenty shells per
day, besides what he bestows upon old
Fort Sumter and the other rebel batteries.
Even twenty shells per day, falling into a
city, may serve to keep up IN amount Of
solicitude sufficient to derange business
and to mike residence anything but com
Portable. And ss this state Of things has
gone On in this or some similar shape now
for some months, We may conclude, thnt
the fre-eaters thercaways have got pretty
well used to it; and perhaps have become
90 accustomed to it as to enjoy it; and to
= realize thus the experience Of that cele-
brated parsonage in history who was
never happy except when he was mis-
erable-
But what does it amount to on our rside,
after all? We have had very eanguine ex-
pectations in regard to Charleston several
times. We have been promised its cap
So ture ii "a few days." or 'a week OF two"
or ~tbcfore Christmas" any number OF
times; and the people have fully believed
in these promises Why have they SO far
failcd2 and will they come to anything
in the futurer
So far, we have gained this i: We have
shut up the harbor us tight as junk bottle
!, with the cork driven in bya mallet; which
is an immense practical gain; for Charles
ton was the worst port to guard on the
coast. We have the satisfaction, too, of
having knocked Fort Sumter, where the
war began, into pile Of bricks; sothatfor
offence 1t no longer amounts to anything.
We have also Kept employed goodly
rebel army to guard the place, and thus
been saved their operations elsewhere The
rebels have also been forced to expend q
prodigious amount Of resources in guns
and defcnocs, and to burn goodly pile Of
powder; and thus to TINT extent been
weakened for offensive undertakings.
But we have not taken the city, and are
in no danger Of taking it; nor have we
been: for the past year. Nor is this from
any want o! zeal on the part Of our mill
tary commanders there. Hunter would
have been glad enough to have moved
upon the place, but deemed his forces too
few; as they doubtless were. Gilmore,
With small reinfo1cemcnts, but with skill
and indomitab!e pluck, has taken Morris
Island. But anybody who consults map,
secs, as the first thing, that Morris Island
does not reach to Charleston, by about
four miles, Morris Island shuts the 1ar-
bor. Morris Island batters down Sumter.
It is good 1oothold as against Mou1tric
and the batteries over there, and against
those upon James Island But to ret to
Charleston, you must now 60 BY water:
But Gilmore is not duck, and cannot
swim with al his guns On his back, and he
j. comes to dead stop and throws shells As
well as he can But we cannot interpret
his shell throwing to mean much. AZ to
Sumter, it keeps the rebels from erecting
. any works there. As to the city, he may
burn it, and nobody this way would shed
any tearB- And Greek Fire was for q time
believed in, but it seems to have become
ancient once more. As to "twcnty shells
day." they need to be large ones; they
ought to hold a barrel apiece OF the fire,
and that Of q very fiery kind, to burn up
the place very quickly, when merely drop
ped into it from the air. So that Gilmore
has got to the end Of his rope in that d.
recaion.
4aBut why. docs not the Navy go in?"
We do not know. Perhaps it cannot. As
to the distinctions" Of which we read so
much, it is probable TINT they would be
pretty quickly disposed Of were they all.
But the truth is, TINT each shore and the
front Of the city ITSELF is lined with bat
tgies, as formidable as the rebels in three
yeals have been able to make them; and,
though the monitors might 90 in, it is a
question what they could do when they
got there. So far, they have not tried it,
and, till they do, we are forced to suppose
there is some reason better known to the
parties concerned than to the country ut
large.
It is supposed that Charleston and
Savannah might be taken from the rear,
and that force large enough would get
into the rear. Perhaps we shall sec some
thing yet, if We wait long enough.
"But why don't our forces take Sum-
teri" Doubtless the place could be taken
with no very great difficulty. But the
man who rafiled for the elephant, did not
find the difficulty to consist in getting the
beast, butin taking care Of him afterwards.
Il might not be a pretty job to take care of
Sumter, with Sullivan and James Islands
and Fort Riley concentrating their fire
upon it. It may be less expensive to keep
it clear by raining iron upon its ruins from
Morris Island and the vessels.
From nll the considerations of the case,
it Is evident that the public will hare to be
patient in regard to Charleston. To finish
it out may be the very last job Of the war.
&~ We were confident, ut the first appearances
OF the Presidents message, that the Presidential
Plan Of ..rcstoring the Union, was contsiyance
that would catch the radicals, But VIC lave waited.
with come curiosity rs 10 the eject Of i,a allare-
> mcnte npon the protested conservatives. We haye
not had 10 wait long The professed conservatives
have swallowed the 5sit; hook and a. with no less
Greeley, ThurloW Weed. Wendell Phillips, Mont
Eome1 Blair, William L1cyd Garrison, Henry ].
all dwelling In delightful unity together around