The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1865-01-29

Vne OemOToAzotAOnO VI tnC oOutns
From whatever point of view we regard the
rebellion, it presents an aspect Of complete
decentralization. Our victories throughout the
last year have shown with most convincing dis
tinctness that longer resistance in the rebelious
States is merely hopeless, purposeless slaugh-
ter; but the South has not the moral dignity or
greatness to look the fact fairly in tho face and
lay down its arms All magnanimity, dignity,
elevation, all morale, is utterly gone out Of the
sails of the Southern leaders and people. Dis
cord and dissension, factious, moan, miserable
quarrels are now the only signs Of political life
the rebellion gives; and the Southern armies
are broken into cowardly congregations Of
ruthless wretches, lost to all hope Of success,
TO all discipline and to all else save whole
some fear Of "the Yankees" One fact in the
history Of the rebellion has mainly caused this
II is oil direct result Of tho absolute collapse
Of the rebel finances. The present condition Of
the South is but one more illustration Of tho
severe truth that the power TO carry on war is
merely the power to pay, and that war and
money are, for belligerents, synonymous terms.
Through the collapse Of the Davis finances the
whole life of the people subject to the sway OF
Davis has lost its aim. The fact or tho idea Of
money is necessary part Of modern society.
Money is the universal motive. II is the
reason why the farmer plants and the scholar
studies; why the negro owner upholds slavery,
and why tho Congressman busters baldcrdash.
II is more than all, perhaps, tho reason why
a. a. d. nf NThQ
solder,n said French general, "will fight
without bread; but the horses have no patriot
sm-they want oats" Now after four yeaTs OF
ear like ours, soldiers like those who mako
- he Southern armies become brutes, the
usrest animals they must have oats-food,
clothes and money. Now the fact Of money has
no present existence in the Southern States.
Netting whatever "will pay" and society ID de-
moralized ~ we'll Is the army. The difaculty
of the want Of money Is perhaps greater with
the soldiers than with others, and IL b not i'm
probable that this difficulty influences tho
movement In favor Of negro soldiers The ab.
sence Of pay will not ansot soldiers who have
always boon slaves.
All the present evils Of the South are duo to
the collapse Of its finances; but TO what ID that
collapse duet The rebel finances were entirely
based upon cotton. Tho very value Of this
cotton 10 tho rebellion was contingent upon
the ability to land Il In . foreign port There
fore our blockade interfered materially with
that value. In no point has our superiority to
the Southern States in energy and spirit been
80 clear a. In that Of our supremacy on the
seas. AT the commencement We had some ships
and the nucleus for anavy, but We had nothing
that We would now call , navy. All Of tho
immense power that ws now have adoat has
been built since tho war began And what has
tho South done In the Same direction within
that period II plated the Merrimac, built tho
Arkansas, Mo Mississippi, tho Tennessee. tho
Albemarle, and dozen other Of the same e.
perimcnts, ali OF which wore failures In them.
selves or wero rendered worthless by the fail.
ure to use them at the proper time. II has also
put aaoat Eve or six privatecrs, which pursued
q consistently plunderins career for timc, but
had no ofYeot upon tho war. And that Ii all.
Though tho two sections OF tho country had
almost an even start in this respect We alone
have built up . navy. Had tho South also
built navy We csuld never, despite the grand
achievements of our armies, have put the rebel.
lion down. We could never have kept Mp the
BLOCKADE we have, and the South would today
have been In . very different condition from
alst In svhinh "a nnd IL II would hav0 kan,