, 1864-02-13


one montl. ago yesterday, tho horrid stories
read IN Northern papers Of sutferings from
cold would impress me as nothing more tuau
sensation canards.
The Lie md activi,y seen here on every
hnnd at this time are In strange contrast with
witnessed fn August Inst. It Ia true that the
busincss. Of the Crescent City is still smnll
and comparatively unimportant; but it is no,
utterly stagnAnt, ns 1t was when 1 was here
before. The long rows Of capacIous store.
houses are beginning to show here and there
an cnterprising occupant Tho rattle of drays
may be heard In the streets. The levee ex.
hibits limited quantities Of merchandise and
OF the great staple products which were the
basis Of prosperity in former times, while
the shipping in pert adds It's testimony to tile
fact Of at least partial revival Of commerce,
New Orleans is indeed recovering from the
ter1ible!blow dealt her by secession, and with
the State and country Of which she is the me-
tropolis, is awaking to nobler and stronger
LIE, under the auspices Of freedom and Amer.
icnn nationality.
I suppose the country Is beginning to mn
dcrstand the fact that 1ouis1a1. wifi be thc
first reconstructed State. Arkausas and Ten
nessee may follow closely in her wake, but
they cannot probably come up with her. This
is as it should be, for am persuaded the
most thoroughly honest, jealous and loyal
people south Of Mnson and Dixon's line are
to be found among the Union men of this
6tatc. Their convictions are deeper, their
purposes pnrer, and their understanding Of
facts nnd principles more intelligent, tt1au
l had any conception Of when came here.
Elsewhere have seen 80 much sham
Unionis1n paradiDg itself, that 7 have natu-
rally looked for the same thing In Louisiana.
But have not found it. The line of demarc-
alton between Unionists and Disunionists,-
between lovers OF freedom and slnVery propa-
gatorF-is broadly and distinctly drawn.
Loyalty which Is based solely upon conside-
tations Of e4pedicucy and Of personal inte-
rest, is not the most Trustworthy kind of1oy-
atty. Give me that kind which Is based upou
4 love OF the old flag, as the emblem Of dear
and ncver-to- o-be-61rrcndercd nationality Give
me loyalty which is l. matter Of sentiment, as
well as matter Of department.
hnyc been here but q short time, but nv
opportunities for observation have been good,
and have Seen and heard surprising things
Walking along Magazine street, on the day Of
my arrival, the most conspicuous thing which
struck my sight was large American nag,
bearing the inscription, ''Headquarters Free
from one Of the largest and finest buildings
IN the city. a few evenings afterwards, at
tended q crowded meeting in that building.
l looked around for shonlder-strups. There
were none there. I looked for some evidence
OF the presence and influence Of army con-
tractors, specu1ators and camp followers. I
found nothing. On the contrary, I ascer-
composed exclusively Of old and bona .,ide
citizens. Further Investigation satisfied me
that these citizens all had clean records, and
were beyond suspicion Of having recently
adopted their Unionism for the puf-
pose OF saving property from confls.
truly represented the views and sentiments Of
nine.ncnths at least Of all the loyal people OF
the statc. An eloquent and clear headed
man was speaking when I entered, explain
Ing the manner In which he had discharged
labor imposed upon him by the Committee,
A statement Of his personal views was appro-
PIRATE and indeed necessary to sensible dis
cussion Of the matter in hand, and in making
this statement hc avowed himself IN nboli-
tionlst, mot alone on economical grounds, nor
because slavery stood In the vny Of the per-
petuity'of the free institutions inherited BY
the American people from revolutionary
sires, but because slavely was morally wrong
perity Of Its procuring would justify or ex-
cuse- From my. experience in such places
and Mt Buch times, was led to expect that
bis bold and clear ayowal Of radical views on
this point would produce n little squirmfng.
But 1t was not 60. The weak-enecd were not
there Prolonged and enthusiastic applause
-6ignidcd that the speaker lad but forcibly
stated the sentiment of every man in the u.s.
sembly: Other speakers followed, and no.
ticed thnt nothing was so sure to bring down
the whole house Rs an earnest or impassioncl
dcc1a1nti0n Of intention to labor assiduously
ately a free State, both In tact and by legal
Since the publication Of Gen. Banks' pro-
c1amation ordering an election for State Off
GERS, 1nany, public meetings hayc been held
throughout the city, and tho general interest
n the matter has been strongly manifested.
Ihe anxiety to get only the soundest and most
radical ren In office, Is very great The wlly
Vaccinations by which the hopes and wishes
of the radical men Of Missouri have been
bafled and delayed are frequently spoken Of
es wnrniug. No effort will be sparcd to de-
feat ant similar Vaccinations here
While the Free State or radieal people, I
have alluded to, are carefully casting about
among themselves for the very best men to
put in office, secession sympathizers are sui
lcnly silent. Despair seems to have taken
ssessfon. Of them, and they do not even
protest against the constItutionality of the
process BY which their State is soon to bo
Wns plunged by such worthics rs Slidcll
They are subjugated, If that word can hare
snch meaning as they attempted to give it
three years ago. They have reached that
depth of degradation which they once de-
seri6ed ~ the word s1bnissionist, though
their part have more relation to questions Of
personal safety thnn to theories touching the
rights Of States aud the Federal Constitution.
Tie army in this department is not lust
now engaged with any new movements OF
magnitade. An expedition has recently been
five miles east Of New Orleans, on the north
eastern const Of Lake Pontchartrain, and
many suppose that this Is the commence
mcnt Of q combined land and naval attack on
Mobile; have, however, the best OF reasons
for entertaining contrary eupposition. OPP
erations In Texas are confined to the work Of
tortitying and strengthening the positions on
the coast already acquired. Accounts as to
the numbers and :formidableness of the ene-
my In that quarter are conflicting; bnt It
would be very grave error to suppose that
our army In Texas has nothing but natural
obstacles to overcome. We ought to have
more men there, and doubt whether the re-
the commanding General OF, this Department
is entrusted with rcinforcements to the num-
Der Of fifteen or twenty Thousand. : It Is i'm
possible to mako bricks, Of the old Egyptian
pattern, without straw, tits equally dif1cult
to whip and scatter even a disalected enemy
klna OF reasonable proportion to the WORK to
be done
Accounts OF the enincnt1y Mexican COM
mouon1nnd battle which occurred In Mata-
moras ;on the 18th and 14th instant, will
doubtless reach you before this letter comes
to hand. Our forces at Brownsville were
by the affair. A General, whose re-
cord proves TINT he is something better than
a boaster, remarked while looking on the
noisy strife that he could take the town and
whip both parties united with two hundred
and fifty Of bis men. Another officer desig-
mates the battle as "a good melo-drama, II
which there wus little TOO much stage tlun-
der and. powder bnrning.n A Texas refugee
who arrived in the place On the evening Of
the 18th, and who didn't understand the |
thing at all, got mad at what hc conceived to
be the insuf}erablc nonsense OF the combat
ants, and unslinging his long rifle, fired away
I'll night. at anybody that come iu sight Of |
bis position on prominent street corner.
Ruiz and Cortinas men were MI the same to |
him, and 1t is said that the comparatively |
small liet of casualties on both elaes would |
have been much smaller but for the work OF |
Ibis one man. ! am going out there to see !!
he next free Eight, which Is expected to come |
on soon4 STYLES.
FROM BOSTON,. |
Special Correspondence OF the Chicago Ttibane,]