, 1864-07-15
THE WASHINGTON STATESMAN
FRIDAY EVENING. JULY Is, 1854.
Topics of the Day.


whose Financial management" is without
parallel in history. The questions naturally
arise a. to whether the cause assigned for
his resignation is merely.a pretext to avoid
the weight of responsibility that would nat.
urally attach to him at the anticipated inan-
eial "efash," or whether he has lost con-
Edence in his own ability to manage the e.
nancial affairs of the government and goes
out in the hope that some one more compe-
tent can be put in the position. Public
confidence, which upheld his currency sys-
Tennis "greenback tub, without bot
tom"-has considerably faltered of late. The
ablest journals in the east, have from the
beginning predicted that Mr.. Chase's sys-
tenn would prove a calamity in the end
How far those predictions are to be verified
the unerring finger of time will soon de-
relop. Mr.. Fessenden, U. S. Senator from
Maine, is Mr.. Chase's successor, and is un-
questionably much the ablest man of
the two, He takes the Secretaryship under
very disadvantageous and trying oifcum-
stances, and it will be matter-of public sur
prise if he shall succeed in Strengthening up
the financial department of the government
and restore general confidence among the
people.
The repeal of the commutation clause in
the CONSUMPTION Act has been effected in
Congress, and now there will be no such
thing as dodging the draft-at least there
will be no such thing with the poor class of
people, for every drafted man must "shoul-
der arms" or furnish the government with
an acceptable substitute, OF course, when
100000 more" are called for everybody
will be looking about for substitutes, and
those who have their pockets well filled
with "der monish" will be the only ones
able to procure them. When the enormous
bounties now offered fail to encourage men
to enlist for the war, We can very readily see
that Substitutes" will be very dear arti-
cle-entirely beyond the limits of poor
mans pocket. The big contractors and
money-changers, into whose Golfers the mon
ey of the nation has gone, can count pit
tance from their tills and furnish substitutes,
but the "small fry" whether they like the
"horrors Of war" or not will have to take
up their line of march at their country's
call. II the hearts Of our people are as
s.-~Hs.J Ia'OI prosecuting Ine war as
are those Of the people in the revolted
States, they will respond to an unconditional
draft without a mufmnr; but it is pretty
evident Chat fully ohe-half the people out
side of the army ranks in the North, have
"no stomache for the fight" This class of
would-be noD-combatants are by no means
confined to any single political party, but
are pretty generally distributed without re-
gard to political views. We do not believe
thas this class will offer any serious obstacle
to the prosecution of the war even in times
of unconditional conscrfption, bat when
drafted they will naturally enough be an in
effective element in the army
The war in the East goes on, but with
what advantage on either side we can hardly
form an idea from the dispatches. Grant
appears to be making some hcadway at Pc
tersburg, while some of Lees forces are
raiding through Maryland-though unless
the rebel force is much larger than reported
they can certainly accomplish but little harm
until checked. In the meantime, all inter-
est rs burned upon the coutending armies at
Petersburg. {f Grant succeeds in getting
possession of that place and the Railroad
lines thereabouts, he will be in position to
cut of Lees supplies and compel him to
evacuate Richmond in a short time. 1t is
much easier to 'chalk out" plan for Grant,
perhaps, than it is for~llim to accomplish it;
but he has large army of brave men to op-
crate with against an inferior force, and we
can rest assured that he will meet with sue
cess if energy and dogged perseverance
on his part can accomplish such an end
The Pirate ship alabama, which has for
30 long time been terror to our seasgoing
vessels and which has captured so many of
them, was recently sunk by the American
ship Kearsags in fight off Cherbourg.-
1t appears that a eOnsort of the pirate ship
picked up Captain Semmes and portion of
the crew and made eff with them-the COM
mander of the Keapsage supposing that
the Yacht was an English vessel and that it
would give the prisoners up. We cannot
believe that the Yacht was actually an
English vessel, as such an act would GER
ainly be clear case of intervention on the
part of the English government 1t must
have been pre-arranged trick cf Semmes'
Gen. Wright in his address to the loyal
people of this coast, says: "Let every at.
tempt to raise the standard of rebellion
within your borders be crushed. Listen
al g