Richmond Whig. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1862-1865, 1865-01-13
NJHY should this Confederate people be dis
w coursQedf Is there anything in the situation

VETHY should this Confederate people be dis
w couragedf Is there anything in the situation
OF the country to justify despair Is there any
thing even.to diminish the reasonable hope and'the
confident expectation which we have all along enter
tanned. that victory would finally crown our efforts
in the establishment of our independence 1t can
not be denFed that certain degree OF dependency
has taken possession of the public mind; and that
disaster real 20 some extent but imaginary TO far
greater extent has cast transient gloom upon the
country. But we should bS very unreasonable
people if we suffered disaster, Of even much
sterner character IL turn Us from our resoute Pur
nose. or If We suffered a fatal dependency to be-
numb our faculties, and weaken our ehorts.s When
we entered upon this contest, counted the cost
and deliberately dared the risk. We knew tha we
had 10 meet an enemy vastly superior to Us in the
mere material and physical resources which consti-
rrts so important an element ofmilitary strength
But we coudded justly in that moral impetus arising
from determined and unyieldmg purpose which has
so often made apparently weaker nations the equals
a, stronger ones and enabled them toconduct seem
,pyis hopeless contests 10 successful issue. toi
nearly four years we have maintained thu most Co
ossa struggle Of history, against Efforts more ggan
tic than have ever before been made for the sngp-
gallon of any people, We have maintained TN
struggle and with il our independent existence ~
IN this time and now after the alterations Of vie
toriand defeat OF iii aser and success which char
teri7e every great war the couHJry, TO all appear
80 - rs far as ever from being conquered
r.~,bar than ever, we may truly say, if VIC
Estimate The chances Of the final issue by compar
M of,be relative strength Of the two countries now
aud m the beginning Of the war. We have enforced
tls vi, Of the subject often that we should hes
,.t. IN return 20 it we're It not important TO our
re,,l. % know ttat they possess at this moment the
physical RESOURCES 10 ,caTy on the war on i'H
greater scale than that which they hitherto
waged II, 5ud that the aggregate of their material
resources is greater tsb &c has ever been. If the
ririt Of the peopl, remain 6ru-it their resolution
b, not veakeued-if thsir confidence be not impair
f-iftheir hope, Le not desuoyel-al will be well
with Us. These are the moral elements which fur
,i,b the requisite impuls,u oud momentum and with
out which the ph,sic, aud material elements would
remain a Mere inert InasS.2
II Lis moral clsmest remain constant quantity
with MS, while &c IS constantly decreasing quantity
with the enemy, the time must come Ehen our avail
able power win be greater than theirs 1t is in not
dnlv estimating the effect Of the moral force that the
Yankees have made their great error IN calculating
the chances Of the war, They have assumed that,
in the long run, overwhelming numbers must win
and that the exhaustion the smaller number must
precede the exhaustion OF the larger And this would
be true II the struggle were contest Of purely ma
rersl forces But a war like that IN which re are
engaged ia not such contest. The calculation o.
81, chances cannot be reduced elements 50 simple,
hut i, complicated by others which can be accurate
IL estimated only by their effects.
Already we plainly see tbe effects of the subsi-
Sepce Of the moral element at the North We do
not mean a decline Of hostility 70 the South or OF
that war spirit which is cheaply expressed 10
votes for Old Abe aud in luninStrons and solutes IN
conseouence Of iuconseQueDtidl victories aud barren
msrches. In fact, these things which would, at one
time have Indicated rise OF the war spirit, are nov
measure OF its fell. II we believe the Black Re
publican papers, the Yankee people reelected Lin
coin because they thought has simple reelection
would end the contest Their extrayagant rsjoic-
ings over the capture Of savannah, and SUCH other
succeBses as their armies have gained, prove not
their augmented Determination to continue the war
but their increased Desire for its close What we do
mean by subsistence st the neral element AT the
North is Illustrated by the growing naolliiy'oi the
Government 70 fI its DRAFT and recruit its armies
Thi, has become so fxFt'nat' Lincoln himself has
confessed that but for the negroes whom he has IN
his service ne could carry even this campaign
and Stin more recently, it Is admitted by all the
Northern newspapers that the call for 300 600 men
will not produce more than $4,000, and these must
be raised by extravagant bounties, amounting il
New York city to a thousand dollars man. Thus,
while in the SEXUAL military situation, there is moth
ing alarming while our resources are yet abundant,
thspower Of the enemy s yisibiy aud rapidly de-
Ching. We repeat then, that We have only TO re-
main firm; 10 cast aside our dependency to address
ourselves with earnesness and sincerity TO our task
and the coming year viii see our cause triumphant
and our Independence assured.