Rutland weekly herald. [volume] (Rutland, Vt.) 1859-1877, 1863-05-07
From the Daily of May g.


admissions showing first, the progress that
has been surely and steadily made by the
North - notwithstanding the apparent
fruitlessness of some of our past army OPP
orations-in contracting the area of rebel
dom; and secondly, that this contraction
has given rise to some novel questions in the
rebel Congress. AS 1t is expected this
narrowing process wifi go on more rapidly
hereafter through the efforts OF Gems.
Banks, Grant, Rosecranz, Hooker, ETC.,
with the cooperation of the navy, the
Confederate Congress, to keep up a re-
spectacle number, will be driven probably,
first to the adoption Off not already done)
of the plan, for which bill has been In
troduced into that body, of allowing men,
bers to be chosen by general ticket, and
finally to choosing members in some con-
yenient place in the central part of rebel
dom for all the states claimed to belong TO
the Confederacy. The Richmond Wing of
a late da;e says;
SIN nearly all the States some of the
Districts are in the possession Of the enc
mg. In this State, for example, of the
sixteen districts, ten are either entirely or
measurably occupied by them. In Ten
nessee, Mississippi and Louisiana, it is as
bad or worse. Shall the representation
of these numerous districts be left to the
contingencies and influences that may
control the votes of few scattering retu-
gees We hope not. We desire not to
see any gentleman presenting himself for
seat in the next House of Representatives
with credentials so beggarly as only a
score or two of votes. We hope the broad
seal Of no State may be used to cover a
transaction having so much the appearance
of farce. There are members of the
present House whose poll books Sh0lo less
than q hundred UOteS, and most of these,
it is said, would not bear scrutiny. There
can be no necessity for allowing this to be
repeated, and, without necessity, it IS In
siderable. We go, therefore, for a gener-
al ticket What plan is thought of to
meet the cases of Missouri and Kentucky,
we have not heard. No election can be
held in either State unless affairs change.
Would it be competent to authorize polls
to be opened in other States for Nilsson
rians and Kentuckians %
The interesting and troublesome sub
iect of the right of secession has been I'M
der discussion in the rebel Senate, in con-
nection with bill for the organization of
a Supreme Court. The bill as passed by
the Senate recognized the Judiciary of the
respective States as the ultimate resort for
all actions within their limits, except those
which relate to the General Agency in its
connection with foreign Governments
This is one application of the doctrine of
secession. But it seems there was a great
want of unanimity in adopting it, and the
action of the House is still uncertain. A
Richmond correspondent of Chattanooga
paper says of the discussion in the Sen
ate -
"Some twenty-five or thirty speeches
were made during the debate but they
have not been enthusiastically glanced
at by the Richmond press. Very strange
political doctrines were elected during the
discussion, very remarkable conceptions
of the nature of the Governmental struc-
ture of these States were delivered.-
Among them this one By a distinguished
Senator: No State had q right to $ecede,
and # one SeceCSed hereafter, he wos in ia
Uor Of forcing her back aoitb the bayoaet
Or words to that effect"
In the matter Of taxation, the Rich
mond Wing laments that its whole burden
will fall on the narrow strip of country
between the mountains and the head Of
tide water, stretching from the Rapp.nan-
mock to the Mississippi. 'Iouis.,lana and
Arkansas" it adds, "can PAY but little
and Texas not much more. Kentucky,
Tennessee and Missouri cannot be expect
ed to controIte anything" This leaves
only seve..h States to bear the brunt, and
tney are subject to the deduction of large
districts that can pay nothing, as they
have been "overrun and desolated by the
enemy" The rebel Congress has passed
a tax bill some of whose provisions are as
follows:
Each farmer, after reserving for his own
use fifty bushels sweet, and fifty bushels
Irish potatoes, one hundred bushels corn
or fifty bushels wheat produced this year,
shall pay and deliver to the confederate
government one-tenth of the grain, pota-
toes, forage, sugar, molasses, cotton, wool
and tobacco produced. After reserving
twenty bushels peas or beans he shall de-
liver tenth thereof Every farmer,
planter or graner, oae-tenth of the hogs
slaughtered by him, in cured bacon, at the
rate of sixty pounds of bacon to one hun
dred pounds of pork, one per cent upon
the value of all neat cattle, horses, mules,
not used in cultivation, and asses, to be