The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1864-03-19

The prudence and discretion Of the Con
fedsraxe press In general during the rresen
var has been something remarkable. 1t j.
true, at the beginning OF the contest, whe'
Ill of % were unused TO war, there may hav'
been occasional unguarded statements wh'ci
were calculated to lead 10 unfortunate resuitr
Bot - soon - the conductors OF the puoh'
journAls became accustomed 10 tho no" s''
astion their reticence was remarkseie' ano
ii distinguished contrast to the pofpeiha'
bAbbling of the Yankee Journals, WHICH
down to the present hour. Indulge an iffo-
s,stihls propensity to let the world xho"
What the,r Generals intend to do. But 1t Ia
almost "A important TO the interests OF
country that its journals should he cautious
In their comments upon the past as their
speeulations Of the future. A notable Illus
trstion of this ha. been furnished of late by
the New York Herald. That would-be
Thunderer OF the Yankee press for once
managed to hold Its tongue while kt'pat-
nck's numbering expedition was in prepare
ton; but when the raid had got fairly started
the Herald could no longer contain Itself,
UVI~ COkupLH1Cul1uk AtS iA0A VNihooS SNN'>'''~
ness In forbearing to tell all II knew while
such disclosures would be injurious, an
uounced that It could now, without danger,
reveal tho fact tina. the object Of the expedl
ton Wa the capture and sack Of Richmond.
Little did the canny Scot of the Herald
IMAGINE that In that bold confession he was
putting beyond dispute tho damaging docu-
a.. no Ieod hndv IF n,h1~pay,
and which he had reason to suppose would
never see the light. If the raid had been
successful, the atrocities committed here
would have been apolog!Eed for on the
ground that the officers were unable to re-
strain tho troops; If successful, nothing, II
Vas supposed, would ever be heard Of the
papers of the expedition. But, unlrcAily for
the Yankees, the documents were found.
and now, when their mouthpiece, the E5ra' q,
would pronounce them Confederate forge
n, II has spiked Its own guns by its OWE In
prudent aud boastfEl declaration of tie pur
poses of Kilpatrick's expedition.
= The Confederate press, with all is eau
ton, hos not yet seen the danger OF publish.
ing statements and comments upon events
which have TRANSFERRED, especially In regard
to the numbers engaged On our side la bat
ties and combats. 1t is natural that CORES
pondents and others should desire tn crown
with lanrels those heroes who gain victories
against three times their Numbers bat 1t is
the obvious dictate Of prudence TO let the
enemy remain In the dark IS to our actual
strength, and draw his own conclusions froa
results Otherwise, IN order to obtain a
knowledge Of our numbers, he has only TO
make demonstration, retire, and await the
announcement by our OWL journals Of the
exact number In his front. He can then re
peat the experiment with force large
enough to overwhelm all resistance. IN re-
gard to the defences Of Richmond, 1t hes
been stated that, but for the IRE OF Major
Henley's battalion, they would have entered
the city. 1t IL perhaps fortunate for us that
the enemys spies, of whom there are no
doubt scores in this city, have probably
given him by this time more accurate ia
formation, and that he is sure that If Hen
iey's battalion had been driven back he would
have run upon e succession of snsgs, which
would have sent him In double-quick time
to the bottom. We spprehend, however, no
Injury from this direction now, If it should
1eW0t hin IA fenaets the rsSpsst y BIZ Il
the numbers by which our victories ars ac-
complished- Let him console himself, il he
see 1t, with the idea that he Is defeated by
overwhelming numbers. The great object
IS to defeat him, and the accomplishment o.
thst ought to satisfy ns for the present