The New York herald., 1865-03-13
without the aid Of cotton, to turn the balance OF
trade In our favor. Ntt

without the aid Of cotton, to turn the balance Of
trslde in our favor.
The Crisis nj Richmsmd-An Evacuation
or Starvation.
The rshel Governor Of North c. rolina, Inn.
pressments having failed, sppeals 70 his 'fel-
low citizenJ' for-contributi0ns Of food or Lees
army. He sayA-"YOu are aware thst, N con-
sequence of interruptions TO oar railroadA oom'
muncations by recent movements Of the enA n.y.
the subsistence q General Lees army has b >
come greatly -jeo2ardzed- For sa least fes
months that army will have to rely for subsist-'
enoe upon North Carolina aad Virginia aloDe,
and am informed by the Commissary Depart
ment that the usual method Of collecting sup
plies (impressments) will be insufficient for the
purpose" r
Here we find an adversary Of General Lee
against which all his elaborate triple lines of
Notifications will be utterly worthless He
must reopen his communications, or he must
evacuate Richmond, or he may be compelled to
capitulate from the pressure Of famine. He
is compelled now s'to rely for Subsistence
upon North Carolina and Virginia alone" And
what have the people of those States to sparef
Between Sheridan and EARLY the fertile Shenan-
doah valley has been thoroughly cleaned out
the country east Of the Blue Ridge, from Lees
burg to Richmond, has been left exhausted and
desolate by the spoliations Of both armies. The
railway trains, freighted with tobacco, which
was sent up from the James river to Freder-
icksburg the other day, upon the hint that this
Virginia tobacco could there be exchanged for
Maryland bacon, tells the story. The only
part of Virginia which can still furnish General
Lee with something in the way Of supplies is
that section which lies to the west and south
west Of Richmond, extending thence to North
Carolina; and even those counties, VIC presume,
have been already pretty thoroughly drained
by the Danville and Lynohburg railroads.
North Carolina, we apprehend, is also re-
duced to a small surplus. She cannot have
much to spare, or General Lee, month ago,
would not have appealed to Georgia as the
only State capable of supplying his wants. The
seaboard section of North Carolina, in oc-
cupation Of the Yankees, can furnish him
nothing, and the surplus supplies OF
the interior, we guess, will find plenty
Of consumers in the different columns Of Joe
Johnston's forces from Wilmington, from South
Carolina and from Georgia; and what they cam
not eat or destroy will assist in feeding the
Union armies of Sherman and Schofeld. "You
must choose between giving your supplies to
Lees army or having them taken by the
enemy,n says Governor Vance. But the North
Carolina farmer will be very apt to reason
after this fashion:-"Sherman' army Is coming.
It cannot be stopped. It must be fed. It will
not starve while there is subsistence in the
country. If give what I can spare of my
corn and bacon to General Lee, that which /
cannot spare will be taken by Sherman, and
must starve. Shall starve that Lee may hold
Richmond few days longerf No. We have
had enough of this. The game is played out"
The native cattle raisers in the wilds of Algeria
in estimating their yearly product, always allow
$50 much for the lion, which he must have"
So there is lion among the North Carolinians,
whose claims must be respected, whatever may
be the necessities Of General Lee. o.
The prospect, therefore, Of feeding his army
at Richmond for few months, or even few
weeks longer, from the supplies within his
reach in Virginia and North Carolina,
Is very slim. There Is the danger, too,
that Sheridan may interrupt Lees COM
munications with both Lynchburg and Dan
Vile; but, worse than all, there are the advanc-
ing columns Of Sherman and Schofeld, crowd
ing up towards Richmond an additional swarm
Of consumers, and still contracting and exhaust
ing their general field of supply. Thus the
alternative must speedily be chosen by Lee Of
q desperate effort to break through the lines Of
General Grant, or stealthy evacuation, or the
choice Of holding on until famine shall bring
him to surrender. Reduced to these extremi-
ties, we still incline to the opinion that the
rebels will abandon Richmond without fght
and that JEFF. Davis will lead of in the evacua-
tion.