AMERICA.

Lyttelton Times, Volume XXIII, Issue 1356, 7 February 1865, Page 2

AMERICA.

THE NORTHERN PRESS. Blu. Lincoln's Klkctiow. —No on© who has given himself the trouble to i coinrmni the conditions under which tin present election of a President tor the United States is carried on with tho position ot affairs when tho sarao momentou* event look | nlace four years ag» will find the least dim- < culty in accounting for the event we yester. < day announced as almost certain tho return i of' Mr. Lincoln, a second time, as president of'the United States, by a very hirge majority. In 1800 the great fabric ot the American Union was ftill iu vigoron* existence; nobody could surmlso that it was w> deeply undermined, or that the wain which neemed so strong and so massive rested only on wooden props, and were already tot tering to their fall. Mr. Lincoln was elected I renidentin IBGO, by tho persons chosen for that purpose, by the voteso! the whole L nion. From the Lakes to the Gulf of Mexico, from the Atlantic to tho spurs of the Rocky mountains, a mngle people met together, and the Republican party, which proved to he the stronger prevailed. , . . • Wo can regard tlio re-appointment ot Mr. Lineoln os little less than nu abdication by the American people of the right of government, ns an avowed stey towards the foundation of a military despotism, towards tho subversion of a popular Government, which may still exist in form, but which m substanco is gone. We would not be supposed to insinuate that it is the de*tiuy of Mr. Lincoln to be the real founder of the dynasty to which ho has taken ho long a step ; whatever be his merits, his warmest admirers themselves can scarcely contend that he is made of Imperial stuff. His hand has shaken the tree, but wo yet await the man who w to gather the fruit. Future historians will probably date from the second presidency of Mr. Lincoln the period when the American Constitution was thoroughly abrogated, aud had entered nn that transition stage, so well known to the students of history, through which Republics pass on their way from democracy to tyranny.—Twm t Nov. 22. Our column of returns this morning is eloquent with the voice of the American people passing their judgment upon their own destiny, deciding to live rather than to peiish, and to employ the rational means of life. Never was a national verdict given more understaudii.gly, aud never was there ono which required le*s explanation. The administration of Abraham Lincoln is simply

endorsed, if not absolutely in all its particulars, yet in its essential line of policy, ,and most decisively as compared with any policy or principle put in issue by its opponents. The patriotic masses tell Abraham Lincoln that ho is right in enforcing a vigorous prosecution of the war for suppression of the rebellion, and that he is expected to continue right on to the end that he is right in striking nt slavery as an

effectual and in ispensalde means to that cud, and that the country will sustain him therein with all the power which Provideuce has placed at our command. And may we not hope that we shall now enter upon iv stage of popular unanimity in support of the Government more substantial than it ha* hitherto enjoyed ? Of traitors and rebel sympathisers in our midst nothing in expected but uurelenting opposition. There is also a certain proportion of constitutionally factious elements which must always be taken into account. But far more numerous than these, we trust, are the honest men of the Democratic party. Whatever opposing policy these men may have favoured in the past, they have seen it deliberately set aside by the judgment of the nation for the tried and matured policy of the administration, after three and a half years of as searching experience as ever fell to the lot of any people of ancient or modern times. This judgment, therefore, must uland. There ia no appeal from it —nothing lo be done but to carry it out with more or less efficiency. Seeing that this is so, will not all honest Democrats now bestow their patriotic efforts in the only direction that eantell—that is, by givingtothe Government their unhesitating hearty support ? Let that be done, and this election would prove the knoll of treason, the harbinger of a speedilyrestored Union. Men and money would ho furnished without stint. Home traitors would bo crushed out by the mere force of an overpowering public sentiment. The nationa of the earth, won over by the invincible majesty of a united people, would no longer throw obstacles in our way. ■ And.the long-suffering masses of the South, white and black, would be emboldened to new etlorts at throw ing off the aristocratic leaders of the rebellion, who would quickly succumb to their fate. Thus the emergence to peace and order would be as rapid as the original coming on of the storm of the rebellion, and all the now seemingly difficult questions of reconstruction would, in due time, find their easy and beneficent solution. But whether these pleasant anticipation!! are realized or not, it becomes those who have thus far stood by the President, and who have won tin's signal victory at the polls, to continue their support of the Government with renewed courage and hope. We have passed the darkest hour of the crisis, and bright omens are gathering before us, With the blessing of Providence let us onward !— Ihmfon Journal, Nov. 0. Wt< speak for the Democratic party when we sav that neither defeat nor the yet uufur.een calamities of another four years of Hepublicait misrule will shake the settled purpose of its loyal, devoted, and patriotic members to keep its measures directed to t he attainment of the utmo*t pnssibU) good for the country at every varying singe of public affairs, It is our most serum* conviction that the greatest danger which now threatens ilso country is, that bet ore Mr, Lincoln s next term shall expire he will have nettle a peace recognising the independence of the South-—a disunion peace. Nsc.v, as ever, ihe Democratic par»v will, in the language of it.* noble standard-hearer, who bus well deserved the highest honours of the nation, stand steadfast, firm, immovable, and faithtul to "the Union tit all haisartls." It will be it* (In) , to resist a dHiini.m peace by all the moral power of a great party, which, though not in possession oft he Government, can yet exert a weighty influence upon the public nidniott of the country.—A>w York Uorhl Nov. IK M . Ot'NKiut* Bvm;u in Ni:w \oRK.~-nie lateness of the hour at which the order of General Butler reached us, on Sunday night, precluded the consideration nud comment called for by a document so extraordinary. Quit© irrespective, however, of the matter and reasoning of the order, the appointment of this man, nt this time, to this service, is i the most exasperating menace and the most

insolent indignity that could bo put upon this community. Tho man— need not eWftctflriao the man; his antecedents speo* for thewwelves. The timo w the eve or an election, when that act of a freeman wnieli «houl(l, of all his act#, be the freest, i* wtctt. tatiously confronted with an army of mnitarjr force in the most threatening and offensive form in which it could be thrust into the nr **ne« of loyal ritijteiw. The service i* to diffuse awe anf! terror sud» m are felt in a canquoml fitjr, to bow to}<** of ii mwlef. The obedienis) of free™mm"nities is a voluntary submission to law* which themselves have enacted A military master forced upon them from abroad i# a humiliation which transforms their citizens from freemen to subjects. But when this master is made to stand in menacing surveillance over the act of suffrage, freedom is defiled in her sanctuary. It is the essence of free government that it« officers are the spontaneous choice of the people; but if the rulers whom an election may displace assume armed superintendence of the ballot-boics, it is the name as if a party on trial in a _ court of justice wt-ro permitted to superintend the deliberations and control the verdict of the jury. These truths are so obvious and so cogent that General Butler is constrained, in the order he has issued, to take an attitude of disavowal and But bis order is, in this respect, inconsistent with his position—with the time of his appearance among uh —with itself. We are glad, however, to find in it—despite these inconsistencies— a recognition of the supremacy of our State laws and civil authorities in the mode of conducting the election. He say*, in substance, that the troops under his command will act in subordination to the regular civil officers, and will be used to suppress violestee only when summoned by them. If this pledge is fulfilled in good faith there will be no trouble. The political feeling among us is unusually deep, but never before was so innch earnestness combined with such perfect self-possession. Our people are determined that they will, in no case, allow themselves to be put in the wrong—that if they ,are trampled down beneath the hoofs of military power, law and right shall be , trampled down with them. Our ease is very strong if we are scrupulous to keep the law I ou our »ide. We are resolved not to lo*e ( our hold on the sympathies of law-abiding * men; and if rashness or resentment cause us to commit no error in this respect, no firmness nor boldness in the exercise oi our rights can work to our disadvantage. There is a kind of homage which even vice is compelled to pay to virtue—a like homage is paid to law in the apolouetic and disclaiming part of General Butler's order. In strict conformity to law we have a vantage ground that is impregnable; the military menace that is suspended over us will prove powerless if it finds no oecanion in «ome unguarded outbreak of pa*»ioii, such as the presence of u man like Builcr is calculated to provoke. If, without *ut*h occasion, he lifts a finder against u.*, hi» very order will rise up in judgment against him. convicting him of a breach of faith as perfidious as his violation of law will be self-condemned and atrocious. —Ibid. Nov. S.

Sherman's Victory os tub Tckkehsee —Hood's Complete Failure.--The telegraph gives us the meagre announcement from Nashville of the defeat of Hood, with considerable loss, in the attempt to cross the Tennessee River on the 3rd inst. In this instance the telegraph has, for once, understated a fact, aud given less than its natural and proper importance to a great event. For even if the fight thus announced was not in reality the great battle—if it was merely a collision of Sherman's advance with Hood's advance —the fact that there was a battle at all under the circumstances stated, proves incontcstibly that Sherman is the master of the game, and gives the assurance that Hood's attempt must end in a great disaster to the rebel army. The fact that a battle was fought in which Sherman contested tho passage of the Tennessee with Hood, proves that Sherman is, as usual, where he ought to be—that Hood's whole plan of campaign has failed absolutely—and proves the truth of the military judgment that considered the possession of the line to Atlanta as equivalent to the possession of the whole country south and west of that line. Hood and Davis projected this last campaign to carry the war once more into Tennessee, and to force Sherman from Georgia, the whole northern part of which he had so magnificently won. They began their campaign by denying the existence of their enemy. Davis and flood declared so positively and so frequently that Sherman had only 35.000 men, that they seem finally to have persuaded even themselves that the statement was true. They accordingly made their calculations to combat an army of that sue, and thus the very basis of their plan was a fatal error. Hood, with commendable energy, moved iu a very short timo after the loss of Atlanta, llood knew the value of Atlanta to Sherman rather better than certain copperhead editors do. He knew that with Sherman iu possession of Atlanta, and of the lines of railroad that lead to it, any movement of an army on a parallel line into Tenneseo was perilous, if not impossible. This consideration divided his campaign into two first part ot which wan such a destruction of Sherman's railroads as would cripple Sherman's army in movement aud supplies To cripple the movement of Sherman'sarmy was thus a necessary preliminary to the second part of Hood's plan —the advance into Tennessee. We need hardly tell our readers how signally the first part of Hood's plan tailed. Notwithstanding the destruction of so many miles of railroad, aud so many bridges, the road was repaired and in ruuniui* order before Sherman telfc its loss. llood thus went on to accomplish the second part of his plan without having accomplished the first part, though he had himself thought the accomplishment of that (ifvt part an absolute essential to success. Hood's preliminary operation—the crippling of Sherman—occupied all the time from his first passage of the Coosa until about the 20th of October. At that time, he had the various parts of his army that had been at All.itooita, Kessiuva, and elsewhere on the railroad, massed near to the Tennessee River, and ready to cross it. He probably did not know how iueOeetually the work ot crippling Sherman had been done, He supnosed that he had Sherman at his heels, and that ho would cross the Tennessee, »nd leave Sherman with the Union army in a wilderness, without supplies, and that the Uuion army would then be compelled to retraeo its stops to I)a)ton,to get rations; but that at Dahou it would still be without supplies, and also without a railroad to facilitate its movements - and that then it must retreat into Tennessee, and hurry to throw itself between ' him ami Nashville How uifFerent from all this were the real facts. Four or five days

before Hood was ready to er.»K* tho ,i.,. r Sherman relinquUhed the'direct ()Ul>n , moved bmk to the line of the railroa-i, a ' lir i then, by fi»e«ii*of the railroad, „, OV) . ( j army around on the other side of the r j w " mid stood oO the north bank, ready to the passage when the antonnhed ||, Wl ,| w _ ready to make it. Hooil'a detv-at, these driiimntaiMt*. in ever ho Mnall orhi, 01 . less a battle* will well-nigh destroy |,m a ni , ' Uin feiiuesMeaiii*. KentuekiaiM, Aiulia-,,.., i and (Jet»rid ,iu «» h«ve been k«-pt tb. -.

I»y the Ho|h» that one more etiort w„, destroy Hhernian. Seeing now tin- «fu|,- Ar „,. of that hope, they will <[U|H-r><\ The t. «ea»iit, who went forward with |~i ru '* to pre** the soil o( fenne.nee," w j|| is , t . rftr*;at with Hood; they will Un-«■ x of desertion* th»»t will leave him witti-mr ;i , thu* Hherman'i* pre*» nt "iH rntu,!,. on the Tennessee will definitely »•!»,..>. , i;i oecount of the rebellion in th.»t »jiiartV r A si'W Yvrk Iltrrald, Nov. K.

THE SOUTHERN J'HKSs

Thk Military Accw;ni <'i.rr^n r v twkks TiiK NORTH Asr> Wot TH F.»u Hl4 The military bnbmee whevt t»»r - AiU greatly in favour of the Contedrr u»- St, x > r , If results had only shown an eijiuj,, between the two belligerent*, th#» ni.ai.t .. WOtiSd have been, nevertheless, fnr^f■, 7 <, U», because, with the enemy, mere l.su<>:>• . dieter and defeat, while to u* t<> i.. 1; ground m & victory. They have *♦•{ r.. accomplish a great positive resitl?. it m to he attaiued by defensive iin»M a!i ,; , s tioU* policies and uegative f . ore all on the »ide o! their . When they make bo advance, iln-v ;1) -. r trogadiug. Delay dor* Jiot mnviy -i . a point and dispirit them ; it iijeirrmw — strength. E;u*b day they bee. me wr„ *0 severely hjne they atr»med ti • r souttres, and so va*t and rii|jifliv jo r ails the debt they have ineurred. 15 : have done more than maintain We have inftieted positive a* wt-ii m i.-_' r - blows. In Virginia we have ?: )t while we have destroyed a ho-t of nur mies. Grant might have probably _m „. hi» present position as a j)',v • his campaign. He ha* been driwn ■?■■ necessity; but hi* army baa mek.-d a.\ .. the W»bierne«», and at the eh we u ti paign, with nothing accomplished, \u ; ging for mew t»» till the place* v*<r i tude he has lost. In the trasi«-M --- States we have grained ai»toni-h u^lv, ,ii„, invader* have been almost entirely -u -ir or driven oft* in Georgia the t .iruji .;.i - afoot, and the result undecided , im'. >- hope of eloping tb<? y«*ar without thai compared with it* commencement. \S such are the military re*ui aos ih•• vvr clofin'i, i«h to it;-* leading oj*eratc-t:v enemies have, indeed, eon.-tantiy . victories. Secretary Stanton'.* war b>il if the fourth of what they de»

true, have announced suece.-ses • 1 -tl; magnitude and number to h;j\e l is- r.i:..v dozen warn; but the striking ci tn «:r upon them alt is. that his armies h.i-e no advanee, or ha*e been drive:;. ;i s i • i further f oin conquest now, when ttn- -*;• • nun in leaden and wintry, than wS.-'t spring of 1861 firs*t gave us it? sti; ! S< I deception.* which he has practiced particular instances are now made and palpable by the aggregate re-uu A< no array of victories i*ould add up a so the unfavourable posim II lit whi h Pi>> • dent Lincoln finds his fortuue* at the <•:■ - of the campaign, exposes the Irauds by u ' his people have been eonsu.ntiy : of their prosperous progress. All not been deceived. There are some w u convinced of the folly of bi» nnderiaivi:, and the impossibility ot subjugating j. people so numerous, in a territory »o t have scrutinized the stories ot \ trior, and triumph and compared them v\it. the developments that followed. llv have seen great droits tollow on tii< heels of great victories. Ihey haw seen the demoralized and despairing rebels after having l>een scattered to the wind': haU-dozen tunes swiftly falJini; upon then foes and inflicting defeat. They have promised the immediate capture ot Ricamond times innumerable; but they hu, never seen it captured. "More men " five huudred thousand more men e word they get from Grant after a &er:t'> >■- battles,in every one ot which he had htl ' enormous losses and a crushing dvt. ;u

the rebels, and which hud driven them t' last ditch, and to a robbery of the crad e tho grave. They wait to tiear him atuHun vV the fall of Hichmond; but instead ot t * there comes the demand for vast reinN-r>v ment» and renewed supplies. Haims . • enterprise agaiu't Home was very stn-r opposetl by Hanuo, a prominent ?en.tt>.'f f Carthage. Tne wo ntertul sucecs-e.H at first attended the Carthageniau aria-> ; a! ' duced no change in his sentiments. Atthe great \i» t-»ry at Cante. Hauntb.ti sent Carthage a bushel ot uoid taken tr» the tinner* of the Homau utd.jhtv that : ' - in the battle. He act ompanictl Ins : - accounts ot hi* triumphs by a *• for reinforcements, t'arthaye tn.■ into an ecstasy o« joy 1 glad news, and Hauuo was a> ) A Senator of the opposite p.trty, wh>> a-'ket 1 . if he titill opposed Hannibal an-i t 1 v 1 ' Hauuo answered, " that the \tcloi;« - « } vaunted ot, supposing them re d, ivui't •• him joy only iu projH»rtiou as they - ; be made subservient to an advani.i^

peace ; hut he was necessarily ot opinion I: - the mighty exploits of whieh they b<>a>i<y so much were etniuerical aud iniaym-"'}-have cut to pieces the Hainan anmt ■>. tno some more troops." Wuat Hannibal say had tie been compared * havo twice seized the ene ny's camp, t" 1 provisions of «lt kind."* : >eml u»e pr.>u.-i ,i 1 and money.' Could behave talk< i wise had he lot his camp r He tell' 1 1 Hotnans have m;»de no propo>al> ot |' 1 ;' 1 from which I pereeive that we aren» lll,!IU | advancetl than uheu Hannibal !i<>t Uli ill Italy." Thu-* «|»t»ke I latino, and l>i> 11 , elusion was that Hannilud fh« 11 '' 1 reinforced, and that the war should bt •<

doned. «, f Tub Siiknakuoau Vai.lky.-i he | l is still quiet. The enemy are w» glu'ted U the fruits of ttirii* lust victory that the* !■« 1 [ - to bo completely enervated. A private from a lady in * 1 ok «*otinty gives a 1 count of the »ut?Vnt»us ot the people ft 1,1,1 1 K vandals, aud the heroism ot our Sent " ' 1 ladies. The l.tU* r say* that they lelt "h* 1 ; tion in their traek. Many persons aiv » ,l!l out thu necessaries of life—and el i> UJI they swept away all luxurieK, destroy l "-' ;i ,j gram, aud killed qr carried off stock <> kinds. At the house of the wriu r they killed all the sheep except took the only horse on the P ' ' killed twenty hog* aud fifty tur •" '

onen the meat house and took a tbe meat; destroyed all the fruit trees j to the carriage to pieces, and away a tb« hay, oats, and corn. The lady told thei to take all, for it would not subdue he * snirit and that not one tear would she she over the loss of anything save friends. The went to the house of one old lady, nearl ; eighty years old, and robbed her of ever) thing. " For three days she had nothing t eat but green corn and salt. Three ladie I forty of the brutes from entering thei house by stationing themselves in the dooi with kuives in their hands, and telling then that they would stab the first man win 5 entered the house. They, before resorting to these measures, appealed to their huma nity, asking if there were none present wh< had brothers and sisters. They only laughed and replied they never heard of such things The bravery of the ladies saved them, ant the Yankees did not enter.—Richmond Dis patch, Nov. 3. > Wilmington.—There is an old saying,thai "threatened people live long." Perhaps this saying may apply as well to places as to indi< viduals; and if sg, may account for the facl that Wilmington, whose fate has been sc long and so frequently threatened or predicated, "still lives;" or, In the classic phrase of a young gentleman who caught the idea but not the words, " it ain't dead yet." Now, once more, and with redoubled force and frequency, we are pointed out as sheep for the slaughter. The knife that is to sever our joint and several jugulars has already been whetted so sharp that, like unto Job's warhorse, even the inanimate cutlery smelleth the battle afar oft—thirsteth for our blood, and says, " Ha! ha! " Confound the people, we wish they would stop their nonsense. This thing of having people grinding axes, and whetting knives, and fixing up gunboats, and londiug bombshells all the time for our special use aud behoof may be fun to outsiders, but we don't see the joke, and more than that, we don't gain in our power of understanding or appreciating it, and don't expect to. Our advice to Admiral Farragut, or to any other admiral whose name so ends, would be to keep away from here. If he comes here he may get hurt in the end of his name. Seriously, however, this thing of an attack may be sprung upon us instantly, as it was at Mobile and Charleston. It has appeared just as probable here before as it does now, and still it has not yet come. It appeared no more so at Charleston, and yet the city is now under fire — Wilmington Journal Richmond Refugees in New Yoek City.—A gentleman who was in New York as recently as ten days ago, tells us that the North swarms with refugees from Richmond. They are to be found in Baltimore, in Philadelphia, in New York, and even in the Yankee capital itself. But the principal point of rendezvous for them is New York. Here many familiar faces ot Richmond may be seen. Prominent among the recent arrivals there from Richmond were Butler and Knox—"George and Tom,"—who absconded from here some weeks ago, it will be recollected, with about a million of dollars between them of stolen funds from the Treasury. Our informant saw both of them, and they appeared to be living like princes off their suddenly acquired fortunes. Butler was stopping at the ht. Nicholas, one of the most gorgeous hotels in the city, and cutting a great figure, He was arrayed in the most splendid dress, decked off" ~ with tfazzli ngr~diamonds, amh was throwing away his money with a prodigality that astonished even the natives of Gotham. One evening Butler entered the hotel where our friend was Bitting down in conversation with a gentleman. The gentleman turned to him, and, pointing to Butler, said, " Do you know that man ?" Our friend, who is very discreet and cautious, evasively replied, " Who is he ?" " Why," rejoined the gentleman, " he is a defaulting clerk, who robbed the Government at Richmond of a million of dollars. And he has got 'the money too. He is the biggest swell in the city." The gamMers, pickpockets, and stool pigeons of New York had gotscent of Butler, and were hovering about him like vultures, in anticipation of a rich feast. Butler's purse has probably been considerably lightened by them before this. The refugees who are fleeing to the North will not find Yankee land the bed of roses they imagine it to be. They are regarded with a great deal of suspicion, and are already under military surveillance. General Dix, in command at New York, has issued an order directing that all persons from tbe South now within that Department, or who come within it, shall report themselves for registry. Those who fail to comply with this requirement will be regarded as spies or emissaries of the authorities at Richmond, and will be treated accordingly. The registry will contain a complete description of the persons reporting, and also their places of residence, which must not be changed without notice at the place of registry. This order is significant. Refugees from Richmond had better beware, or they may wake up some fine morning and find themselves committed to the Tombs in New York as spies from Richmond, or gathered up, bag and baggage, and sent to the front to General Grant.— Richmond Examiner, Nov. 3.