The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1866-11-23

HOW THE GoVERNMENT GOT INFORMATION
FROM RIcHMoND-A Richmond correspondent
OF the New York Times gives the following:
The country will remember that during tho
winter our Government obtained assurance
OF the hopelessness of the rebel cause bv conn
ing into the possession of the testimony of
General Lee before q COMMITTEES of the rab i
Congress, which was never reported to the
House except in secret session. if at all
tuii history Of the manner in which the Gov
ernment obtained that information would he
more interesting than any romance but IL il
too soon yet to do more than ottline II 'Tba
evidence OF General Lee was taken late in the
winter by this committee, and LONG before ths
committee had determined what course thew
@ snouiu p.rsue-aimost before the ink was dry
upon tnelr notes.-the entire statement of the
rebel General, word for word, was i'm tho nos
SESSION OF President Lincoln at Wasbin0tonn =
IN the room where the committee MET yyos n
eloset and from that closet, Immediately after
auJournnent came the priceless information
Outside the house it at once cbanoed bands
anu tne second party walked leisurely throu0h
the streets of Richmond with il. Until nn0n
the envlrons he encountered one of the com
mon country carts of this section, proceeding
With half OF newly-kiled beef to the rebel
lines in Buffers front
NO communication that the most lvnx-eved
could perceive passed between the man and
tne cart, but the former gradually changed his
9, 19irection, anu was soon walking back in the
reached and passed through the rebel camps
wtnout 1nolestation, and reached the pickets,
Wnere lt halted, as 2 matter of course The
oeef was destined for the house Of a planter
Just beyond the rebel lines, and in plain SIGHT
OF their ontposts and about equi-distant be-
tween themand our own outposts. Those ex-
pianati0ns made, and careless search of the
cart made by the rebel sentry. that Is. aloolS
into IT, the cart proceeded on its way. inst as
1t neared the house small party of our cav
airy made dash at it, and to the utter srr
prise OF the rebel pickets, who saw the who e
alfalr, our men only lowered a moment around
the cart, then galloped back with one more
man than they came with, leaving cart and
beef and driver and mule behind them. They
dld not know 1t then, but under the beef was n
man, ana the man had a package, and the
package contained the statements of Gen. Lee
before the committee of Congress few bours
before. r
In outline, this is how the thing was DONE
it may seem strange, but Lincoln and Grant
knew long before many of the highest officials
OF tne lnsurgent Government the sworn state
mehtS OF their commanders as TO the hopeless
ness OF further resistance. Knowing that the
Government and Grant had this information
explains many things in connection with the
arrival within our lines of Hunter. Stepbens
and Campbell at the time of the HAMPTON
Roads conference, which at that time were in
exphcaDle The feat of obtaining this infor-
nation IS unrivalled in the annals of war. and
gradually as the facts come to light, it viii be
ionnd that Grant had every day such particu-
lar Information from the rebel capital that he
knew what jeff Davis was talking about each
day in the most private of his Conversations
with MS cabinet and members of his Congress