AMERICA

Press, Volume II, Issue 51, 3 May 1862, Page 4

AMERICA

Our intplligpnce from the soat of war contains some points which may yet prove highly important. The anuy of the Potomac is still under canvas. Gnieial M'hcllun, wiio promises in grand proclamations tin* ppcedy and total unniiiiktiwn of the enemy, has not yet moved hand or foot. Burnsido's expedition, however, has 6ailcd. Some of the ships have suffered severely from a storm, and great losses are said to have

been incurred; but tfcOc expedition is nevertheless making way to it& final destinati on. The project is to enclosiTthe South byicasa and lan d: M'Clellan opening his march southward ESad soon a.a Burnside shall have made good his occupation of the coast. Whether this gigantic enterprise kporacti cable remains to be seen ; but remembering wlut kind of country the troops will have to traverse, amltlinn impossibility of holding it in their rear as the} 7 aih'ii Bruce, it requires a large faith to enable a dispassionate spectator to look forward with confidence to the rcsnlr t. As far as Buruside has yet proceeded, he ha_-s tent n entirely successful. He has landed on Roanokels sland, N"orth Carolina, having sunk the fragmen-tofaOOonfederate fleet he found there; and subsequently toletni Elizabeth city, after a severe engagement. The? last rmtws was that he was advancing upon Eden Towm,ill that the Confederates in Norfolk were in the agoiiie=ssof apa-tiic. To these successes must be added tliccs-apture of Fort Henry, on the! Tennessee River, iftUich gives a large balance of advantages in fay - our of*'the North. On the other side, iiat is becoming obvious that the South is losing fcaeiul Shut up from all communication with other c-ounliiiies, its situation is very different from that of the North*, It is now, for the first time, compelled to dep-d»l£j)oQ itself lor absolute, necessities which it has hit Licit] - derived From abroad. It must grow its own com,iiiiiE-nufactureits own garments, and improvise a humdiwl a shapes of industry which up to this time were carrie'sd on for it by others. It has nothing to fall Its money is failing. Its productive Jeveloped by the sheer exigency of circumstances in s-sonie new is terribly reduced upon the wktlTk The soldiers it furnished in the first hour of for the general defence are beginning to be tuisssscd on the plantations, and the desolation of fainilies=s is growing more and more calamitous. Themis no mea.ns of replenishing the army ; no powear of aromitinc* the finances ; and no hope of repelling - invns' sion. save what is suggested by the naked hopuless-nejsdtf the undertaking. The Southern |>m>B does not iroiictiiFJ its apprehensions, and openly denounces their viiiit» of energy. There is a weighty grain of truth su llioe accusation. Had the troops followed up the vict<»-iry of .Hull's ltun, the South might have bee=iiin possession of Washington long ago, and dictatedtiirrmis from the While Hoiibe. ;\.s it is, the reliaTU'C o of the Confederate States rests almost exclusive? lyiipczoii the extreme improbability that the North, unde=imiy circumstances, should succeed in i achieving the ccwii|W!m=sl of the South. While theobj< ct of the war is th us iioxnuttainable, the cost is absolutely marvellous. Aw Ain-acrican volunteer costs within a pound or two as an English Uaptain, aud there are 650,001)ofUdthem. According to the calculations of the ' Tnnicf , the two sections of the Union must be spending lie =Uvten tfciem nearly one million sterling a day. In finance, th clloiiLijse of Representatives at Washington has taken, il'tKer much deliberation, a step of great importance, I Ht has passed the Treasury Note Bill, with the led founder da use, by a majority of 93 to 55. This bill linwnits the number of notes to be is.«>ued to 150,00 (1,1) • dollars, and wakes the notes a legal tender for- tlic of all duos within the United States. "fliciWew York Chamber of Commerce bus also passed sicfoUlutionto the effect that no system of taxation bringing" less than 150,000,000 dollars annually is adeqiifcts to meet the exigencies of the Federal governniont, SIX DAYS OT&C11 NEWS FKOJkI EUROPE [VIA MALT M. Ml)« ALEXANDRIA TELEGRAPH.] Adelaide, Tuesday. The latest iniclligo-snce froiu London is to the 4th of March, 8.15 p.mniu*a Malta and Alexandria, special. The Federal a luwve gained fresh victories. The Southerners areuiiichSialarmed. Prince Napoleon,irin an eloquent speech has demanded the evacua tiono'ef Rome Student manifestations at Paris: seve nil aw rests. Jrontaubun's Peusiou Bill has been rejected. In Italy, lticosolfii has resigned. He could not agree with V~ielor Emanael. Rabtzzi succeeds. Garibaldi is at Gino-ea. (Consols, 9o^, The wool Bailee openc<3, and previous prices are maintained VICTORIA. Thk Werbiiiei: ~ Encavtpmknt.—The Wcrribei? ) lincampmcnt mk • a fair start yesterday. At about I three p.m. th c vol Innteor? began to nrrive on the ground The Srsllo ecomcMvere the Ballarnt, Hendit;o, and Gcolony 3T|;iiiii-j«!iits. win* were speedily joined by j the mounted mrpres of Castleniaiu. (jreclonj;, and ; Bacchus 3lars !i;aii ad tlion sxifice.ilia>x trains brouirlit ; dt'iaclwncnts \.J nea-ark ever^ - oilier cutnpany in the 'service, till ov-ir 1,1 JflOO men were afield Mdre than I tliiit ninnber wted to join this inornim>-, so that jtli.- loliil fore- -iiiii) , b'* r'clc «-ii<'ci to aiuount to 1i,40u ] uivMj. Nothing w> - settling down J into camp lit*c, ivlriiicii, owing to the wet and cold |\ve:it!)iT, w:is tiola _ very oiijoyahle procos. Still, a J soldier's life laaj m>-_jt genorai'ly been regarded as one jiliat is pwssod rnia bed of roses, and our volunteers,

who have never yet had to suffer much hard • perhaps, be the better for the trial. To-d '''.*'"• occupied by rifle-shootiog.— Argus, A))rii°ly" V *'" '**' REPORT OF THE BURKE -VXU \ V n EXPLORATION COMMISSION OF i\or . [From the Melbourne Wec/Jy A,j v . M arcl] § The following is the the report of the Koval C mission appointed to inquire into ;md report the circumstances connected with the suiieri death of Robert O'Hara Burke and Wills, the Victorian explorers : Mv To Hi.-; Excellency Sir Henry Barkly, Knight <• of the mort Honourable Order of the General andGovernor-in-Chief of the C.lonv fv" I**'1**' and Vice-Admiral of the same, &c., &„. " "^ May it please your Excellency,- In' conforwity M -- th terms of her Majesty's commission, wo have made ' into the circumstances connected with the am}',. • death of Robert O'Hara Burke and William Jolm' T Victorian explorers. ** c We have endeavoured to ascertain the true causes of tV lamentable result of the expedition, anil have investigated h circumstances under which the depot at Cooper's Or k abandoned hy Mr. William Brain-. We have JiLhtT determine upon whom rests the grave responsibility of the ' not having beeu a sufficient supply of provisions and clothiV .secured for the recruiting of the explorers on their return a! for their support until they could reach the settlements'; and we have generally inquired into the organization and conduct of the expedition. Our investigations have been confined to the above matter* the Government having already taken into consideration t!p claims on the colony of the surviving members of th expedition, &:e. We have examined all persona willing to give evidence, who professed, or whom we supposed to possess, knowledge'up,,,, various sub jects of our inquires: and we not!', atW mature consideration, submit to your Excellency tinfollowing report: — The expedition, having been provided and equipped in the most ample and liberal manner, and having reached Meiiimlie, j on the darling, without experiencing any difficulties, was hum injudiciously divided at that point by Mr. Burke. it was an error ol' judgment on the part of Mr.Burke to appoint Mr. Wright to an important command in the ixpedition, without a previous personal knowledge of him; although, doubtless, a pressing urgency had arisen for the appointment from tho sudden resignations of Mr. Lanilells find Dr. Beekler. I Mr. Burke evinced a Oir greater amount of zeal than i prudence in. dually dparting from Cooper's Creek before ti.e depot party bad arrived from Menmdie, and without having secured communication witli the settled districts as he hail been instructed to do ; and, in undertaking so extended a journey with an insufficient supply of provisions, Mr. Burke was forced into the necessity of overtaxing the powers of his party, whose continuous and unremitting exertions resulted in the destruction of his animals, and the prostration of himself and his companions from fatigue and severe privation. The conduct of Mr. Wright appears to have been reprehensible in the highest degree. It is clear that Mr. Burke, on parting with hiih at Torowotto, relied on receiving lii» immediate and zealous support; and it seems extremely improbable that Mr. Wright could have misconstrued tke intentions of his leader so far aa to suppose that he ever calculated for a moment on his remaining for any length of time on the Darling. Mr. Wright has failed to give any satisfertory explanation of the causes of his delay ; and to that delay are mainly attributable the whole of the disasters of the expedition, with the exception of the death of Gray. The grave responsibility of not having left a large supply, of provisions, together with some clothing, in the cache at Cooper's ('reek, rests with Mr. Wright. Even had he been unable to convey the stores to Cooper's Creek, he might have left them ekewhere, leaving notice at the depot of his having done so. The Exploration Committee, in overlooking the iuuwrtanee of the contents of Mr. Burkes despatch from Torowotto, and in not urging Mr. Wright's departure from the Darling, committed errors of a serious nature. A means of knowing* ot the delay of the party at Meiiimlie wax in the possession of the committee, not indeed by direct communication to that offc-t, but through the receipt of letters from Drs. &<*<* and Bcdder at various dates up to the end of November, without, however, awakening the committee ton .wnst-otwe vital impoiUne,; of Mr. Burkes rwjnest in that despatea taa. be should " be soon followed up/ or to a eousiderat.on <> the disastrous o.nseqiu-m-es which would be likely to rftoi., and did unfortunately result, from the fatal inactivity au. idling of Mr. V.'ritfit and his parly on the Darling. The conduct of Mr. Bra he .11 retiring from his position the depot before he was rejoined by hi* commander. iron, the Darling may be deserving of J hut we are of opinion that a responsibility tar b,-y,m<l lactations th volwd ujm.h bun ; and it must be l-m" that, with the assurance ot U* leader, ami h« «•*» ur he might each day ...x r ut u> be relieved by Mr. v i .till held his post for tourniontlis and live divs a..<l when by tho apju-als of a comrade s " lk " , . IU ; |iv .,, 11 ., death, as was proved, his powers o. gave way. and In- retired iV.m tlie positiwi w^ l, j alL.rd sii-oour to the w.ary siioul.i t».-> that n.ute. hiis d,,-i Sl on was most ™ f «™ iU ** h« believe he a-.-te-l from a conscientious desire to \ duty, and we are comident that the paiiaui twenty-four hours' further persevenu.ee woUid u>^

, rO f the explorers, and gained for himself the praise rt ' lluition of all. must ,c > an agonizing thought, an pi, i.1.,, addition of censure he might feel himself without t» l ""iUloea not appear that Mr. Burke kept any regular journal ' I rJVf written instructions to his officers; had he md these essential portions of the duties of a leader ** °, ~f the calamities of the expedition might have been "'"""rt \ alU l little or no room would have been left fur doubt aVt ! T- ' t ] ie conduct of those subordinates whu pleaded unlD '"f ctorv anJ contradictory verbal orders ami statements. ""wecaunot too deeply dejtlore the lamentable result of an litioii, undertaken at so great a cost to the colony ; but, VI we regret the absence of a systematic plan of operations * the part of the leader, we desire to express our admiration 011 1' irallantrv a"d daring, as well as of the fidelity of his l' - e coadjutor Mr. Wills, and their more fortunate and cni Mr. King; and we wotild record our feelings ''f deep sympathy with the deplorable sufferings and untimely °1 -iths of T - Burk,J alltl his fallen comrades. T. 8. PIiATT, ('hainnan, Matthew Hervky, E. P. S. Stitrt, Francis Mt'rpiiy, J. F. Sullivan.