The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1864-09-09
FRIDAY MORNING sErTEMBkR y, 1864. |

We held 1T 10 be as csit.,.a any tatare even,
b., that the enemy, tciwoe': tais day anI tha
9TH Of November, vail make more sts>uu"us ~.
tons tlaa he has even yet made To- des.soS sea.
armies and involve n their destruction the 81
tie Conieierscy Military succcss Is absolutely cs
s,atia 10 the Of laneoln at the next eject;
N,si. II, has reelection l. oeitaia without At, IN,
sebab,nties oi has defeat are veiy great A. s',i'
m, ami With hts party, triumph at the pcii g.
al aiir Of m.,.Sa greater IMPORTANCE than The good
81 has toanify, he will think 1t q eapiy purchased
by tnc blood OF nifty OF hundred Thousand sol
sicsS. before thai time shah have arrived hts
drafted men Will have begun to pour in They ~hi
be absorbed as fast they arrive IN the old rTt-
meats and not undergo the previous ceremony % "a
osaii al home. They vail, therefore b" much 'he
readily turned into sefsiceabie men, II they do
no; become exactly what may be called soldiers te
the time above designated Ii Wall be necessary
OH ou part bring out the reserves, as TAR as pos
>4hle u, order to reinforce General Lee IN Virginia
aud General Hood in Georgia. There is ample ma
tsgal for these purposes il the proper steps be- en-
l49y.. out ot the number of men who have already
been returned by the Consumption Bureau, but have
never served,
First There are believed to be upwards Of eight
thousand men, OF conseript age, belonging TO the
state Government OF Virginia alone Fully as
III my are attached to each OF the State Governments
oi North Carolina, Georgia and Alabama Here are
tE.rty two thousand men at once-a powerful army
oi ,heiaselyes. Ii General Lee had them well dis
t.p!.ncd nj this moment he would settle with Grant
before another week had passed over our heads Ii
oeaoral Hood had them, Sherman would leave At
ianta much faster than he came to it. BY some
means OF other these should be come at The
Confederate Government cannot do it, but the State
Government can, by the simplest process in the
world. Let each State Legislature be assembled at
once, ana take to place all State officers,
who of the required age, at the disposal OF
the conscupt officers. We especially recommend
this policy to the Legislature of Virginia; and to
the Governor would venture 10 PROFOUND the
question: whether the matter is not of a sufficiently
serious nature to Justify the call OF an extra session
There can be III the world why these men
should not be subjected 10 the CONSUMPTION well
as other persons; and the legislation which should
make them would be the most popular legisla-
ton it Is possible 10 think of.
Second We have 10 idea OF the number Of men de
tailed special duty Tor special objects Some ot
these details absolutely necessary but We hay,
doubt that If the system revised the bust
would go Oh quite well and the army he
greatly the gamer Ii Is necessary for instance to
detail large numbers for agricultural purposes The
army and the population must be fed; crops must
be planted bread must be made. Yet We are sat
isfei that il, the details for agricultural purposes
great reforms might be made and a large accession
OF numbers gained by the army. In some places
too many men have been taken of by the conscrip-
tim This is especially the case in the noun
tain counties, where there few negroes In
oiLer parts of the country too many have been left
ii the distribution Of the burthens Of war with I'M
partiaity be object with those having authority
as We are it Is. With regard to manufacturers
TIL is somewhat different Skilled workmin
ard not so numerous We could wish them to be
and our army must have Clothes shoes hat, arms
and gunpowier But III all these operation there are
many persons employed who have atle or no skill
and who might be substituted by olier men, AMI IN
many cases, by negroes. Intact 1t is great abuse
III any case to employ white oi oonscript age
where negroes eouli do the work usi,o as well -
There should not be a white driver, for instance III
the service untess III cases ia which uncommon i'll
1eiligehce Is necessary.
Third There is {, large number Of icscrters iii the
counties Lately occupied, but how abandoned by
the enemy, who might, with Il little exer,ion, be
brought back to their colors. They, i'll general,
never see the newspapers, and therefore do not
know that General Lee has offered them free par
don OH condition OF their retoming their ranks by
certain day. At present, the larger part are de-
famed by feeling Of shame and the fear Of being
tried and shot as deserters. Many OF them-we
believe the majority-never meant to desert. They
merely went tn their homes fnrlough, anu while
there, their return to camp cut Off by the enemy
making sudden movement and taking Possession
Vi their counties Most OF these men could be
brought back ii they could the offer of pardon
made to them III General Lees proclamation
Fourth The consumption has been very genera,
wherever the officers could reach But in some O., |
the counties occupied until lately by the enely there
arc Numbers OF men Of conscript age who have not
been enrolled In one county alone we have been
assured that there were than two hundred
and that We take TO be hardly the average number
We doubt, indeed, If it be not the minimum if we
coGfne Investigations to the frontier counties
Means ought surely to be taken to bring in all these
persons.
The duties Of the Bureau Of Consumption have
been and continue to be- discharged with great in
teihgenee, industry and success. But they extend
40 farther than to the asceitainlng OF the where
abonts and status OF the conscript and the turning
u him over TO the military authorities What may
iLen be done with him. it part OF the business
or duty Of that officer to decide II he be detailed
CT desert, be made justice q thepeaee, mail
carrier, it is certainly f,alt OF the Bureau In
some one or other OF these ways, and not because
the proper return was not made, the country has
been robbed of the services Of a large army which,
properly employed, might have secured most i'm
portant advantages 1t is not too late now 10 secure
the services OF much the larger part of these men
and we hope those in whose power it ies-whether
State Legislatures the Confederate authorities
will do it,