Richmond enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1815-1867, 1863-02-06
DECENTRALIZATION Or THE TnioI AkMY.

| ATS Deliaycd not 10 hH laE IOL1 Tue LIuLn.-
Tt il not likely that the IJil details Of this
battle will DO generally known in ibs North
for ;reeks and weeks; but il, sitter the failure
OF THE last ard fcshlsst OF all thu Fedaral at
tnmp!s t1 reach Richmond, with the Northern
army unnervpd, JsInoraljzod anil starting
sEunder like broken bow, the Irish aid
Germans aro again tempted to embark in 20
hopeless venture, then il the conclusion
irr.siatib!e that, in Adiition to all the ahar-
kIos or despolism which they aro alleged
to have Left buhind them in Europe. they
have left CLIO that most valuable attriDnts o!
humanity, which is c.llei common senae.
PRE S}D&nT pa rIh' RGTALiATORf
PGOUL AMATION.
| From the London Tines January IS
| The President Gfthe Southern Confederscy
| has marked Line clnea Of q yosr Of eItraordii
nary e,n,r>5f : tr ihs i9a;is If m official docu-
uent, tho pcrussl If which must inspire
GvcrV wrll. &isl.rr ii hs cause IF ns.lnHhl
| indrrsntencr for which hs il contendih; with
linceie regret. In thi1 proclamation 'isiie~
raj Bntlrr ia denIancoI "a en GntlY~ shi 4
common snalny nl mankind, snh tle .ticer
VT o may caplurb hin is ,lirtce. Il 20 put hin
to death at once By hanging. This commits
stoned officers nnd-r hi! conHiai,u afe dccla cd
not entitled t0 t,e cGnsldeir I'd as soldlora en-
gagged in hGnnrxhlr TaIisrG, hut es robhsrn
and criniIsiS it,eI..iiiIg death, and esrh vi
ths;n ~ln:, captured i. t. be reserved for
execution. Tbs c2mrHon soldiers are mol IT.
b, imcld'i"n al iii: :an.snca. 81 boing ihYol-
,.ntGry aeent", hut hli reerpsj ,aken 10 srmh
aie To II dali7eIad over their several States,
to lie ttrre dealt With aid Ell nlilce.s f3dnd
serving with them are t. he rTt ln dsa.k
Mr.. Dasis i" Al ~ las5 for rehaGna tn justify
theIa asneilinary msnacea. Ths catalogue is
indaad htayy 1n6, but we tlHhl that i'll
thla Instance tha opinion of Europa will Dot
gi7e iLs anncsinn to the policy al The Oonlsd-
eraic Stalbs.
NJ measure conId possibly b. moro
il,-t!meh. VIE ,eceye MIR. Davis proclsuis-
ton. denouacing desth without mercy upon
General Rnllar snd hi1 ofiicsrF, ny the samc
mail viii. b Informs ul lhai General Butlar
hss been Tslieyei by tho President from the
command which he has disgrsced, and that
another commander. whose language 10, at
sny rate, more conciliatory, has been sent in
his steal Mr.. Davis denounces death upon
all officers serving with armed negroes against
the South and jdsifiss the sentence hy sn
appeal to Mr. Linooin's proclsmation, ht q
t;rne whsn everybody ia uncertain whether
that proclamation is to be put iii force or
not. If it was necessary to act NJ all in this
eenla would it mt hz"s hehn hetter &c post
pnnc 81 st5ru and lerr;bla resolution to the
very isSt u.Gu.nt pus nile: But was that
resolution r.uGrs;a ary| We have seht ou' the
heals OF the ;cosons gwen in Mr.. DAVIS
proclamation for refusing quarter to captured
enemies.
Mr.. Davis conHanlna General Batter to die,
! bnt Threatened men live long; and it would
be a strange chance indeed which enabled the
President Of tna Southern States TO put hia
sentonce into execution. Very dltferont,
however, ia tho Hsntence Of death prnncunced
ae .ipst the whole Ct General Eutlsr.s oGitcrh,
That sentence the South will have ali opP0r.
tunitY TT snrns tine OF putting into elect
against soInr on- W "lher, rerhspa person
wholly irinurnI III auy of tbs wrongs com'
planned 1f, perhaps 4 psison who hsd only
dnnr = Int he lid under the compulhion OF
military nbedianca. Hin innocence will avail
him nothing; no il Ii dih 10 e1piste the fault
nf onz nysc whose s:tions he had n0 1Gn;rnl
mi Eh1:s rrdsr, lie could No! ,iisJrutr
Eut il,s rs only tho b'E 'E;nnre fnT every
liie tnai is inisn rn,er this proclamation; the
.:m.hrrn PrasiisnL Heli knuWs that another
jife will be required. ita knows that byput-
ting 70 death p;isnatss tal.en in war in crdai
tn ..en.e the isnlts 81 th"ir Generals, he /:
inaugu.atns state Of things undor which
quarter will neither be given nor asked, and
which will degrade that war, the images OF
which ho is 40 anGiG1s to maintain. itilO eu
! ;.l: ,, I'D r,o,cil.c, hpt,.hur-
Mr.. Davis ought slso to remember Lhs
though England ard France have concedcd <
the Snuihcrn S;ates The position CT hslliger
ents IL bsL0oYo5 them to exerclss tneli
belligorent rishtl With tho utmost foTbear
arcs AID mode, sti1i. Wo have not scruplei
to expTHG DIR s5inpsthy with the South il
thGif gsllsnt struggle lor National indapsnd
ence, aud So strong haa b.en that sympathy
that il has oveTli3 we e1 the epulsi6n !spiref
by tia inatitutinm ni slavery. But the Soutf
ahould 1emsmhcr th.t they were the first tt
draw the swnrd in this quarrel, ihst theJ
ross against All eatrbliahed Government in th
exsrcisa Of its irgal fun6:iond, that they do
tained by tho sganGy If traitors In tha
Government considerable snpply ofsrnr ant
money, and thst thst Union which they sci
to di5sova is, as sseal:' h"vs proThd, th'
deareat Wieh Of fe1ery American heart.
These things are pfoanesriOns Ut no oFdi
nary magnitude. and il some degree oxten-
uate, though they can in no dseree justify
the outrages which have followed the solitsIJ
northern success. tho capturs OF New Orleans
Batt6r to bear little lunscr even such Ill
iQuities as those of which they complain thai
tt aggravatf the horror at 8 contest already
sufficiently dreaded by iicenhing 4 sy stan o
murder from which neither party can reap
any possible advantage, aid which can oni,
tend to envelope tbs A mcric.n name III ever
lasting ignorniny. No jopbL II may he sug
gestcd as ri excuse for tho South thst the,
have the fate fsl. Domingo before thei
eyes, and have the most dreadful arprenen
sions Of the lot which may o7ertske thel
homes their wives and thair children, i'll rRs
of negro ipsurrcctinG. Hut this Is one
the chances OF war which ttey nuEt bsT
we'll weighed und considered hefors the.
rsisei tho lag Of Instruction. Thair Owl
vslor and succass hays croatai ths danger b,
driving the North TO despair, and they onsh
to meat it with the calriueas Of n.sn r@snl1e
and prepared, not With tho fury of burPtis
and panic.
If the South. which We will not yes believe
should carry out its dresdful threat, the evj
{ will not he avertsd by killing the ofiic,r
who may be detached Gn service which
not in Itself contrary to rha usagss Of Wal
!, They will not rs dsterrsd from undertaking il
and snoud tney bs sls.h thsit death will b
: blooiily avenged, Lastly, MIR. Davis ough
to consider whether it is worth his while, il
order to crafty the justly incsnsed feeling
of the South, to cut off from himsslf tbs
: European sympathy which he now possesse
4 and to appear bs,nrs tie civilized world. 2
:, the irst 10 convert an honorable contest il
Q tos war of determination. We earnesu
FL hope to find that this plan of retaliation hi