Daily Ohio statesman. [volume] (Columbus, Ohio) 1855-1870, 1864-12-23
The Rebel COngress-f cote Re.
tires 10 Private Life-His Fare.
xvaII GnaacI,

NEW YORK, Dec. 22.-In the rebel House
of Representatives on Saturday last, Mr..
McMulen of Virginia, offered resolutions
in favor of sending within the Union lines
Commissioners to treat with the represen-
tatives of the Government at Washington
for restoration of peace. In reply to a
question, Mr.. McMullen stated that Bishop
Lay, who recently arrived in Richmond,
had been assured by General Grant that any
such commissioners would be allowed to
pass through his lines.
Mr.. Foote has retired TO private life in
disgust. In the rebel Senate, while the cur
rency bill was up, he withdrew from that
body. After making frank statement of
the situation of the rebellion, he said:
Sir, | beseech honorable gentlemen on
this the last occasion, perhaps, that | shall
have the honor of addressing the House, to
look with me upon the present condition of
the country before they resolveto withhold
their support from this measure. What is
our situation? Let us look danger in the
face and provide for it while it Is possible
to do so. Sir, we are upon the verge of rnin.
Congress is rapidly abandoning all its impor-
tant powers and building up an irresponsi-
BILE military despotism, the like of which has
never been seen before upon this earth. The
policy of the present House seems to be to
crush out dissatisfaction by armed violence
alone, in imitation of that thorough
policy introduced and enforced in England
by the celebrated Earl of Stafford, the en-
forcement ofwhich speedilybrought Charles
the First to the block, but not before Stat
ford had lost his own head. Ten days hence
freedom OH deliheration will have been eff
tectually. eXtinguished in this body, by
means which may not specify. The un-
just unwise and deeply criminal displace-
ment of the gallant and efficient Johnston
from the command of the Army of Ten
nessee, and the transfer of that army to the
neighborhood of Nashville, have opened all
Southern Georgia, South Carolina and Ala
hama to the army of Sherman. Fort Nc
Allister has fallen, Savannah is about to fall,
and the fate of Charleston seems only to be
deferred few days later. Hoods army
has already met with great disaster at
Frankli1, and In my judgment is fatally
compromised. Presidential interference Is
the cause of all these dire mischiefs, as it
was of the result of the unfortunate battle
of Murfreesboro and the still more disas-
trous one at Missionary Ridge. Should
Hoods army be destroyed, an event which
l fear Is but too probable, and Sherman
could come round to this vicinity in ships,
which do not doubt he now intends, what
will be the fate of Richmond?
The Tribune's army correspondent, Civ
ing extracts from recent rebel papers, says:
The rebel Senate last Saturday went into
secret session and stormy time was had.
The question of at once arming negroes was
brought up and is believed to have passed
by an almost unanimous vote. For several
days past every able bodied negro has been
quickly seized and hurried off to camps of
instruction. This may account for their
stampeding, noted in another paragraph.