THE NEWS BY THE MAIL.

Lake Wakatip Mail, Volume I, Issue 19, 4 July 1863, Page 1 (Supplement)

THE NEWS BY THE MAIL.

AMERICA. Military operations, which had been virtually suspended during the present year—indeed, since the battle of Fredericksburg, which closed the winter campaign—have been resumed with considerable activity. Skirmishes and raids, in which neither side could claim any particular advantage, have been duly reported in the papers ; but no great confidence can be placed in the telegrams published almost dnly, the "rumour" of today being contradicted "by the " fact" of to-morrow. The official assurance, therefore, that " the South must speedily yield for want of food" may not find universal belief. The South is a wide region, and the war has not absorbed its labor. Its millions of cultivators have ceased to grow cotton, but we have not heard they are kept idle. The most evident wants of the South are gold and iron, and these the labor at its command cannot produce from the soil, nor procure by commerce. The disappearance of coin and the wear and tear of the railways that cannot easily be remedied are likely to affect the military operations of the South more than a want of provisions. The promise of a " series of victories within the next two weeks that will effectually crush the rebellion" has been made before, at several intervals, during two years that have passed by, and left the work still to be done.

In New York the workmen are striking for higher wages, and meetings are being held in various places at which the war policy of the government is strongly denounced. A growing feeling in favor of division seems to be received with no small degree of favor in many quarters. General Butler had made a speech at New York, in which he severely denounced the British Government and aristocracy, and urged that intercourse with England should cease.

The new State constitution of Western Virginia has been ratified by the vote of the people. It provides for the speedy emancipation of slaves —all children born of slaves after July next are to be free. Slave children under 10 years of age are to be free when they reach the age of 21;

and slaves over 10 and under 21 are to be free on arriving at the age of 25. No slaves are to be permitted to come into the State for permanent residence.

The reports as to the Federal expedition on the Yazoo River and the operations before Vicksburg are very conflicting, and can be received with but little credit. The first Yazoo expedition was brought to a standstill by a Confederate redoubt at the junction of the Gallabusha and Coldwater rivers. From that point it is stated to have retreated, when having met reinforcements it again assumed the defensive. Fears were entertained of the safety of the Hartford and Albatross, as the Confederates were known to have three rams on the river between Port Hudson and Vicksburg. On the 3rd of April itwas rumored that the two ships had been captured. The canal opposite Vicksburg is abandoned, the Confederate cannon commanding twothirds of its length. Admiral Farragut is stated to hold the river from Port Hudson to Vicksburg. An expedition has been made from New Orleans across Lake Prntchartrain to destroy the Pass Manchac bridge, at the opening of Lake Pontchartrain and Maurepas. The expedition is reported to have taken possession of Pass Manchac and proceeded to Pontchatoula. Several prisoners and 400 bales of cotton were captured. It is reported in New Orleans from the Gulf that yellow fever was already assuming a malignant form in the extreme South, and an impression was prevalent that it would reach New Orleans this summer. The city has been free from yellow fever since 1858. Union Leagues are being established at New Orleans. In Tennessee the Contederates were preparing to attack General Rosecranz; and the Confederate General Forrest is reported to have attacked the Federals at Brentwood, five miles from Nashville, and in rear of General Rosecranz, and captured 800 prisoners, with a large quantity of military stores. They also destroyed the railroad track and bridge. General Van Dorn, with a heavy force, was reported to be advancing with a view of flanking General Rosecranz on the left. The Confederate armies of the Mississippi and Tennessee were said to be making a junction. In Virginia several raids had been made by the Confederates, who were threatening Williamsburg in force. The Confederates are also building immense fortifications at Chattanoga, and already have between 50 and 60 siege guns in position. General Price was said to be reorganising the Confederate forces in Arkansas, with a view to' the invasion of Missouri.

President Davis is suffering from an abscess in the eye, by which it is feared he will lose his sight. Bread riots have taken place at Petersburg and Richmond. The Confederates appear to have got into a difficulty with the Mexican government. Crossing the Bio Grande into Mexico they captured two Federal officers and three privates. The Mexican authorities, however, demanded the surrender of the prisoners, and they were released "with the exception," says the telegram, "of one, who had been hanged by the Confederates." At the date of the last despatches gold in New York was 47| prem.