The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1864-01-26

destroying property TO tho amount OF VI lNoVs0w.
Gems. Hancock and Burnside.aEe to recruit theII
old corps to 50 600 men each.
cour-martial has been called for tie trial ol
Surgeon General Hammond.
Gold was quoted in. New York, on te~lsth, al
Extract from the Richmond Torres
pondence Of the London Herald.
[Dated Richmond, January 5th.]
The public papers OF this city announceaa few
days previously, that the President would De glad
to receive visits from his ffteuds between l2 and
3 o'clock on New Years day HayiSapsre 10 the
Executive Mansion with the family Of my old
friend, Hon. Mnffieniy, distinguished Senator
from Tennessee found on my arrival, the steps
and halls of that building crowded with fair wO
men and brave men. A charming girl from LOnisi-
ana, expelled from her fathers roof tree by the
baTbarOus sOldiery OF Gen. Banks, wss my special
companion on the occasion aud her presence
having quickene into subdued startlc the gal
. .lantry for which the ~ellbred gentlemen of the
South 80 remark rkabie, threw over the circle
around us a decidedly cOurtIy grace. The Prest
dent stood In an elegant rOOAi with Mrs. Davis on
his left. His Excelienty-f the occasion-was
one Of xfate-was dressed in q suit Of black; and
while appearing In good health, looked rather more
carew"rn than usual Soldiers and civilians,
males and females, his visitors, having exchanged
with him wishes of happiness for the ensuing
year, passed on their way to the hall-dOor; or II
they happened to know the officers OF the staff or
some VISITORS VINO were SO fortunate, maze clf-
cult for presentation to Mrs. Davis. That lady is
by no Means an ordinary Woman. Her style IL very
much that Of the period Of George the hird-re-
minding indeed Of the pictures of the wives
Of the great State oficers Of the government of
George Washington. She is a stately woman,
with brunette complexion, and eyes full Of bril-
lance, tenderness, and intelligence. Her manners
very agreeable; but touched with a repOse
that, even though carried to almost sadness, savors
very much Of the grand She aud the President
appeared to be in good sBirita, and were regarded
by their troops of visitors with warmth aud
heartiness that were maintained In perfect har-
mOny with an air of profound respect.
The Provost Marshal General of Mr.. incoln g
domintons has furnished an official report Of the
working of the fedral draft. ~ anticipations Of
peace having been predicate on the failure of con
scrption at the North examination OF some points
of that report may be instructive. "Ofthose drawn
In the present draft,' says OIL Fry, the Provost
Marshal General of the Northern auiOcrat, sin
cluding the fifty per cent. additional over
with the orders. of the Boards. OF the twenty
per cent. who have not reported, many are not
williu deserlcrs, being unavOfdabiy absent at sea
and the like. The deserters are being arrested.
Of all exa mined about 80 per cent. have been ex
empted under the prOvisionsof the second section
of the act, found not Liable to military duty Oh
account Of alliance, ulsuisableaess OF age, non. n
those held to service have paid commutation; of
the remainder about on third have gone In person
and two thirds have furnished substitutes, and all
except few in transit and small proportion or
deserteis from among the earlier substitutes are in
the ranks of their regiments IN front of the enemy.
The numbers represented in the per centages of
Col Fry's report Will present the facts he states la
q light more direct for the objects OF This review
800 600 men having been the net result sought Ia
the conscrption, the numb ,r "drawn" was extend
ed, in O der to cover contingencies, TO fifty per
cent. additiOnal-450 900. The per centa2es OF the
report ara predicated on hiatt Ia and sh W there.
fore the following distr buttons under the several
heads:
Deser:ers, SC the 90 per cent. who did no!
s'report,".... .....-....''-... 81, 900
Physically disabled 20 per cent Of rsmain-
.:on .h,e 600 g. iao
ner csnI. los, 900
EYempted by Communication, $4,000
Exempted by substitution...... 49,. $4,000
Held to service. ...'''''....... '.-."... 24.ooo
There Is some reason to suppose that these per
centages of Col Fry's stated loosely in favor OF
the sdraft - They show an aggegate result to
the Federal army Of 72,t0o, whereas Gen Haiieck
it down In his official report al about $50 ,03O.
Col. Fry himself says that the expenses Of the con-
scriptOn which he states to have been 81 300 900,
Is abbul one tenth that OF the payments made tor
"commutation.'' At 50 % in each instance, even
taking that proportion fully, his own statement
would thus reduce the 70 600 resulting fr m his
per ceni2ge In the case to about $1,000. The fig
ures In the above table may therefore be held con-
in excess OF the actual results OF the
"Graft !" The conscripton had not. l. appears,
beea carried out In all the States; but only
q few members of ''the Union" having been
omitted in q measure pressed so searchingly, the
this account may in all likelihood
he held covered BY the excess of the foregoing
figures.
Three hundred thousand men having been sought
for, Col. Fry admits lhat he obtained but "a, ,00O.
This general fact shows that the last draft was
failure. The average which | struck In number
% of these dispa, ches will have shown, on the
faith of the in eight districts Of Ma sachu
sets, thai the breadth of the conscrpion covered
one third OF the whole material available at the
North for recruitment Of her armies. 800, 900 of
the flower of her manhood having been already
brought into the field, this exh ustion OF her re-
sources 10 men available Tor military service Is not
10 be wondered at even though considerations Of
industrial production had not already coma In 10
establish the fackmore tnrcibly. Assuming, how
ever that the draft now spoken Of by MIR. Lincon's
agents be carried out to the fullest extent, the cx
perience of st years. cOnscript:On shows that II
will not yield over IA 600 men.
I d,strial considerations appear tn forbid the ex-
tension Of the conscrption now proposed to all the
manhood fit for military duty within "the Union"
The deficit In last years crop OF wheat at the North
amounted, II appears 70 ano enormous qoanuty OF
ton may, no withdrawing the Infamous measures
tnat have been employed for stimulating the emil
grafton of able bodied Germans aud Ifishmen, be
fairly supposed to bave been already largely ab-
sorbed.
This fact will increase descrtion, and tend fur
ther reduce the actual results OF the dfaft" by
many cases that take place under tha
head of ssu5stitutOns" in the pr. sent returns OF
Col. Fly, under the head Of "commutations.''-
The fact tha. 80 600 men succeeded In cheating the
|ast cOnscrptiOn Of victims by refusing 10 'rs-
port, shows "a state Of public opinion which, In
lhiniy settled country, with mountains, forests,
as commuiation or substitution for slipping
through the meshes of Mr.. Lincoln's net. Reason
able expectation, therefore, may look In the COM
inc ssdraftn for large addition to the per centage
of the last under the head Of those who declined TO
Assuming the extension OF tue con
sc criution all that remain available At the
North for service in the eid, thre s tor these rea
sons fair grounds for the conclusion that the re
suits of the pending measures for that purpose will
fall very far below ia 00O Bu may 1t not be con-
fidently assumed, with the evidence before us Of
the fact of upwards of hall million OF acres OF
land under one crop having already dropped cut Of
culture, that the proposed "dTait" canuot Oe car
ried out to any very great extent without ovefrun
ming the limit OF cOmmissariaf necesslties-as mas
already beer done in reference to nnanciai eAlgeh
cies-tO the very serious crippiing oI tne resources
of labor required for Northern production
But Col. fry's figures do not show the working
of the sdraft % beyond the tine when ne aehveted
its victims to Meade's or Rosecrans omcefs oound
hand aud foot. My dispatch of the 10th OF Decem-
Der went into that part the history OF last years
conservation at the point where Col ffy's returns
stop. In order TO follow out the III cohnec
ton with that officers figures wiz repeat eere
thar those couscripts added nothing whatever 10
the Federal strength. They dragged through ue
+ rus OF drili In spirit Of morose mutiny. Ihey
SAT over their camp fires in suilen srouFs away
from the older soldiery. They regarded the vosun-
teers around them with the hate attaching to the
inatsuments Of an obnoxious compuislon. Tney
were never allowed TO 60 outside ths rear camp
mic xeis; and were in fact constantly under safvet-
lance or guard To prevent their desertlon IN the
hour of battle they were placed In is very 'front.'
OF all this there can be no doubt; end tue cooc,u
rion ls therefore irresistible that the conscsipon
of 1859 added nothing In fact TO Mr.. Lincoln's
sire eogth In the field. "
The dogssd spirit Of last years. eonsenp's waa'
however, not merely passive. 700. .S.m. nsaS
rally, In deserton Having oeea In ~ Ia ~ - rs. =