Edgefield advertiser. [volume] (Edgefield, S.C.) 1836-current, 1874-04-09

Gen. joseph &. Johnston, in his
forthcoming work, gives the follow
es=====is.<Sie es;=7====se==il,4.Ts.< Siev Of The rrue cauees
of the downfall OF the Southern Con-
federacy:
Much has been written and much
more said of the cause OF the over
throw OF the Confederate States in
their great contest for independence.
One class, and much the largest-for
it includes the people who were vic
torious in the war, and those Euro
peans who watched the struggle with
interest, as well as many of the
Southern people-ascribe it to the
superior population anu greater re-
sources of the Northern States. An
other, a class of Southern people, at
tribute our defeat to Il want OF per.
severance, unanimity, and The conse-
quent abandonment of the Govern
ment of the Confederacy in its efforts
by the people themselves. In my
view both are far wrong.
THE CAUSE OF THE suBJUGATIoN
of. the Southern States was neither
want of wealth and population, nor
of devotion to their own cause on the
part of the people of those States.
That people was not guilty of the
high crime OF undertaking a war
without the means of waging it sue
cessfully. They had ample means,
which, unfortunately, were not ap-
piled to the object OF equippiug great
armies and bringing them into the
field. A full treasury was necessary
to ;defray the expenses Of great
war, The, South had the means oi
making one, in it's cotton alone. But
ita Government rejected those means,
and limitcl its financial efforts to
printing bank notes, with which the
country wax soon flooded. The ne
cessity of actual money in the treas
ury, and the mode Of raising it, were
generally understood in the country.
TT was that the Government should
take the cotton from the owners and
send it to Europe as fast as. possible,
to be sold there. This was easily
! practicable, for the owners were ready
to accept any terms the Government
might fix, and sending to Europe was
easy in all The first year oil the Con-
federacy 'sexistence. Its Government
went into operation early in Februa-
ry. The blockade OF the Southern
ports was proclaimed in May, but not
at all effective until the end Of the
following Winter, so that there was a
period Of about twelve months for
the operation of converting 100000
or 100000 bales Of cotton into
money. Tie SUN raised in that way
would haze enabled the War Depart
ment to procure at once arms en"ugh
for five hundred thousand mn, and
,rafter that expenditure rer--,x,z..-...---
z TIE CONFEDERATE TREASURY
would have been much richer than
that of the United States. By ap-
plying the first money obtained in
this way to the purchase Of arms and
military accoutrements, or using for
the purpose the credit which such an
amount Of property would have
given, the War Department would
have been able to equip troops as fast
as they could be assembled and or
ganized. And as the Southern peo-
Pile were full of enthusiasm, five hun
dred thousand men could have been
ready and in the field had such a
course been pursued at the time when
the first battle was actually fought
the 2lstof July, 1861. Such a force
placed on the Northern borders Of
the Confederaey before the United
States had brought a fourth of the
number into the field, would proba.
bly, have prevented the very idea oi
!" Z" eoercion.!''a Such a disposition oi
such an army, and the possession ,oi
financial means of carrying on wal