The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1865-03-01
THE NEWS.

mo- ut Petersburg on Monday, but, AS
usual. it affected nothing.
Grant still has his forces masscd on
IIatchcr's run, waiting for dry weather
and firm reads. There is report that,
weather favoring, he will, when he next
strikes his tents, attempt an extensive
flank movement around our right.
THE VALLEY.
The enemy, on yesterday, were ap-
proaching Staunton i'll heavy force from
the Nallcy-chieily cavalry.
FROM TIE SOUTH.
We arc without official intelligence
Of movements now taking place in the
, ,9roInas, and, for reasons hitherto
stated. do not care to repeat all the re
uorts that reach Us. We heard yestcr-
lay that Sherman was stuck in the mud
N one Of the Southern States. If it has
aimed half as much there as i'll this Vi
.initv. there can be no doubt of the
ruth OF the statement. There have
lecn many widely different estimates OF
he strength of Shcrlnans army. BY
,gmc. his forces have been estimated
IS high as sixty thousand. We
earned, on yesterday, through trust
worthy source, that General Hampton
-cported his force to consist Of four corps
Of infantry, Of seven thousand men each,
aad body Of cavalry, of from four to
five thousand men. His artillery will,
,crhaps, swell the numbers Of his main
.olumn to thiItylive thousand. If we
i've Gilmore, at Charleston, ten thou
sand men, and Schofeld, at Wilmington,
fifteen thousand, We shall estimate the
whole Yankee force now operating in the
Carolinas at sixty thousand men. This,
We think, is not far from the mark. The
Yankee papers make the figures much
argcr, and give Sherman an immense
avalry force.
HE QUESTION OF y STATE CONVENTION.
The House Of Delegates, on yesterday,
.lsscd a resolution to submit to the
PEOPLE, at the general election ON the
rIourth Thursday of this month, whether
r not a convention Of the State shall
BE- called
MEssES. SINGLETON AND HUGHES.
1t has been announced by the Yankee
ucss, and the announcement has been
published by us, that General Singleton
and Judge Hughes had obtained pass
ports from Mr.. Lincoln to visit Rich
monl The Yankee papers said the
object OF their mission was TO convince
tie rebels Of the hopelessness of further
resistance They arrived at Varina On
Monday, but the frcshct in the river, by
preventing the running Of our boats, has
DELAYED their arrival in Richmond. These
visits Of Northern gentry arc always
covered with such q cloud of mystery
by our officials that it is impossible to
learn anything positively about them :;
and We are left generally to conjecture
as 10 their objects. We heard on yes
terday report about this Singleton
Hughes visit that, coming as it did from
4 trustworthy source, surprised us not
little 1t is said that the object of
these gcntlcmcn's visit is purely cons
.mcrcal their business being nothing
more nor less than to make arrange
ncnta for buying cotton and tobacco
Or their Government and selling to our
, Government beef and bacon 1t is a
queer story; We give it as we hear it.
TIE TAX BILL.
The Senate Finance Committee, or
yesterday, reported back the House tax
bill, amended to that degree that its au-
thor would not know it. The amend
ment8 cut down the additional tax or
property proposed by the House from
one hundred to five per cent, and ir
about the same proportion reduce al
the proposed taxes. The bill, as amend
cd, will probably pass tho Senate, whcr
the House will ask committee of con-
ference. 1t is thought that, by means
Of committee Of conference, it can bs
disposed Of during this week.
We may here remark that tho ta1
bill is the only really important measure
before Congress, and it is believed al