The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1865-02-14

The southsrn Situation-Ths Mental
Condition OF the Southern People -
Seen BY General Lee.
General Lee, In some words on the military
situation Of the South, draws attention to The
fact that there Is worse want In the eonfeds.
racy than tho want Of men, and . weaknss
more dangerous than any weakness that arises
nom the laxity Of discipline in It's armies Or
the failure Of It's finances. The want Of men b
bad enough-and there must be bitter want
Of men when the South proposes TO put negroes
In white mems places, after insisting for -
many years upon the unreasonable inferiorfty
Of the negro. The want Of men Is bad, indeed,
since It reduces the South to stand, with LesS
one army, against tho united armies Of Grant
Sherman and Thomaa The want Of money y
bad enough also, and the want Of every article
Of war matfriA But II these wants were The
worst General Lee considers that the confsds-
racy might still hope. They, however,, are nss
tho worst
The worst want Of all Is want Of heart.
want ofthat grand spirit that will resolve to eos-
quer, and will consider no alternative. SnsA
Is tho present want Of tho Southern people. Tie
worst weakness d that which induces the whole
populacs by common consent by an epidemic
influence a. If they breathed poison in ~
air, to fall into foolish despair" Tho words
"foolish despair" are those said to have been
used by General Leo, and they are his dessrip-
ton Of the present mental condition OF he
Southern people. Despair Il perhaps always
foolish, and that Is the reason why argunssA
win not reach il But that widespread despend
ency which amounts TO national despair b
often very real and Is an absolute power in his
tory. It Is the condition Of nation when tAs
spirit is utterly beaten out Of it 1t Is the hope
lessness that renders all effort useless.
Davis may write and rail, and Hunter aaA
Benjamin, and the rest of the kennel, may take
up the cry, but there is no power in their weak
voices to stimulate people that have fallen
into the apathy Of afoolsh despair" Thai.
voices have been heard too often. They are
the arch deceivers who have drawn the South
ern people into their present position; who Are
the very causes of this condition that they can
not cure. This despair is perhaps more rea-
sonable than any that ever before took heat
uDOH q people. Inc MORAN CoIIAUo VI ux0 w.
and will not give way, and the Southern
leaders, with their yokes on the necks Of 10
people, force them forward once more and hey
see no exit but humiliation. They have not
the courage to face 1t, and hence tho sfoolisA
despair" that General Lee sees whesevec b
goes. II would seem a. II there was no neoee.
sary triumph for mere material power. Four.
teen thousand Corinthians and Syracusaas h
Sicily destroyed eighty thousand CartAageniaaa
Thirty thousand Greeks on tho Issus w.
pushed, in open combat, two hundred thousand
Persians; and as panic fears are nct Obsolete
II may DO considered a. probable that Lse1
seventy thousand might yet gain worry h.
portant battle. But Of what use would Il BIZ
| Would IL overcome . great, confident ~
courageous people like this at the Northi o.
would It keep up = people who have rslln'
quished all hope and stand waiting for the -
In foolish despair II Lee could beat Grant 4
would not save the rebellion. Tho iste Of thai
gigantic outrage Is written in the "fooliaA
| despair that has settled on the Southern 20
ple. Victory now would come too late.