THE AMERICAN WAR.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 188, 23 June 1862, Page 6

THE AMERICAN WAR.

(From the Otaoo Witxkss, June 21.) The news received by the late mail from England is singularly interesting and important, whether we consider the events on their own intrinsic merits, or in relation to the effect they must have on the affairs of the great empire of which the islands of New Zealand are an integral part. The great struggle in America continues without hope of an early settlement; the two great nations which once formed the United States are further separated than ever, and those best able to form an opinion have arrived at the conclusion that their reunion has now become an'impossibility; Meanwhile both parties are wasting their strength and exhausting their resources in a war which, although , immensely co3tly to each,' has hitherto been singularly barren of decisive results. Each party has gained successes over the other, but the successes have on every occasion been of so ambiguous a character as to more than bear out thsremu'k of the great General, that "nothing is so disastrous as a victory, except a defeat."

It may be said that there are now three wars being waged betweei the Northern and Southern States : the war in Tennessee where a great battle, has lately been fought; the war in Virginia where the "Northern Alexander" commands, and the war by sea where the great problem of the efficiency of iron ships is being worked out, for the edification of the other nations of the world. We have said that the war has hitherto been singularly barren of decisive results ; and a little consideration will, we think, show that we are right.

After much ineffectual manoeuvring and skirmishing, it will be remembered that the two armies were brought face to face at Bull's Run, where the Federal forces suffered an undoubted and disgraceful defeat. But the Confederates, although able to beat the Federals at BiiL's Ruu, were unable to follow up their advantage, and ever since then the tide of success has set in favor of, the Federals, and it seemed almost an impossibility that they should, again suffer so serious a reverse. With their enormous resources, and the earnestness evoked by the Bull's Run misfortune, it was thought that they could not fail to overcome the comparatively weak resistance that the South could hope to offer. It was known that the North was to aH intents and purposes, a united people, but that the South held within itself the seeds of dissolution and decay in the dread question of slavery. Moreover, it was known that the Northern States, from their command of* the sea, were able to cripple, if not entirely destroy, the commerce upon which the prosperity of the South so mainly depended; and it was supposed that they would be able to maintain an effectual blockade. This impression of superior maritime power, was confirmed by the facility with which, by means of the notorious " stone fleet," they succe deil in their barbarous destruction of Charleston harbor. But. the prestige of the maritime power of the Federals was greatly shaken by the exploits of the gallant little Sumter, and was utterly destroyed by the terrible Merrimae, whose tremendous powers caused, if we may believe reports, almost a panic of apprehension iv the North. Soon, however, we rind that the Confederates have, in the Monitor, a vessel which, if not a match for the Merrimae, is yet well able to hold her in check ; and thus the balance of power is, it would appear, restored. In like manner, on land, the Federals have equipped a tremendous army for the Virginian campaign ; but it appears that this great " army of the Potomac" has already become disorganized, and that without having struck a blow, or even seen an enemy. If the brief account which has reached us be reliable, the rout must have been almost asgreat as that of the French on the retreat from Moscow ; worse, in fact, for there was in this case no harrassing enemy to cut off stragglers, and to compel a certain regard to discipline. ' The enenry before, .which this army of 100,000 men thus succumbed, was the wet weather, which rendered the country almost impassable to the imperfect means of transport with which it.was provided. The troops in one short week became utterly demoralised, and to use the words of the Home News, " the roadeidesj the woods, the whole surface of the country were covered with the prostrate bodies of soldiers either dead, disabled, or drunk." The army fairly melted away beneath twenty-four hours' rain. Such a rout seems to have been never- before heard of. The troops were, it appears, reformed at Alexandria, whither they had found their way in the greatest disorder, and were sent down the Potomac to Fort Munroe to accomplish by a tour de force the capture of Richmond, the chief city of Virginia. But they found the way barred by a formidable force stationed at York, Town; their progress was thus arrested, and by the last accounts the two armies were-both looking at each other. In Tennessee 'it is tru.: t!nt a yveit li.it •:■> has "been fought, but'it is claimed as a victory by both sides, and may therefore bib reasonably regarded as a drawn battle. It will thus be seen: that up to .the date of the latest advices,' neither party had gained so decided an advantage a-i to seriously affect the ultimate issue of the war.

"But, although the struggle, regarded from a purely military.point of view, seems as far as ever from, being brought to. a conclusion, it appears by; no means improbable that a failure ot the "sinews of war" may force the belligerents -to a. compromise. Already the debt of the ■, Federals has been swollen to the enormous amount of £340,000,000, and resort is •■' being had to that most dangerous of all fiscal experiments, the issue of an inconvertible paper currency. Another desperate move is theabolition of slavery. Tbeslavery question has hitherto been sedulously avoided by both sides, indeed it will be remembered that a large number of slaves, deserters from the Southern lines, were not allowed their freedom, but were held as contraband of war. The South also is being reduced to play a desperate game, in the arbitrary stoppage of the growth of what have hitherto been its gt;eat staples, cotton and tobacco. It;is understood that the object of this extraordinary proceeding is to force the culture of articles of food; -and that it is hoped by this means to render the South self-sustaining, and able to maintain the war entirely by its own resources This .as a desperate stroke, in whatever light it be regarded. It is in the first place an acknowledgement of the effectiveness of the blockade, and in that respect if in no other, is of the greatest importance. But it is in another respect even more plainly indicative of the desperate pass to which the Confederates, feel themselves reduced. It is by the exportation of cotton and tobacco that the South "has acquired the wealth and power to wagethc present war, and by the stoppage of the production; of those staples it will be reduced .to.such as to render it almost.ihopeless' to. continue the struggle. Even if-'by-this; stroke - the South should be' ''able' 3i't6 ;': raise vthe - - bread .stuffs necessary for the support of its peaceful population and of itsarmiesintthe field y it would soon find that to keep ;up armies and wage war requires much besides a plentiful supply of food! -:M6rieyto;pay'the soldiery^ and to pro'Videclbthingi'arms, and ammunition must be forthcoming;-and the most patriotic army in the world cannot keep the field for any length of time without it. It will thus be eeen tnat the course of events in North and South seems such as can only lead to a com-

promise, and it is almost equally certain that that compromise must be suuh as will virtually be a victory for the South. They are' fighting for independence, and no compromise seems to be possible, except on the basis of the recognition of that independence. They may be ruined, indeed it is almost certain that they will be, but if they are not absolutely conquered, they will have carried their point, and the result will be to them a victory, although of the most disastrous kind. ; : . The effect of this war upon the rest of the world is beginning to be severely felt. We have news of very great distress;in, the manufacturing districts of England, caused by the dearth of cotton, and it is to be feared that a rise in the price of food must soon take place, which will cause a still more widespread distress. The Northern States of America have long been very large exporters of .breadstuff*, and°the present troubles, by withdrawing so large a number of able bodied men from productive industry, cannot fail to lessen the production, while the consumption has been enormously increased. This must tend to lessen the q-antity available for exportation, and the diminution of the supplies from America must have an influence in. increasing prices in the markets of the world. A very slight advance in the price of food, will in most countries suffice to. produce a famine a-nong the poorer classes, and thus the circle of evil will keep wi&kning,until:in the remotest corners of the earth the effects of ■ the American struggle are felt in a greater or less degree. The. American war has afforded the first opportunity of testing, in actual warfare, the iron plated ships, as opposed to heavy ordnance, and the result has been watched by the European powers with the utmost interest. The utter inefficiency of wooden vessels when opnosed to these tremendous engines of war has been so far demonstrated, that England has stayed the building of wooden ships in all her. dock yards, and if we miy take the word of Punch, usually a good authority on matters of fact, the " wooden walls of okl England "will soon become a matter of antiquarian history, and the British tar will have to substitute for the time honored phrase '■shiver my timbers," the more appropriate expletive of "draw my rivets." The other European nations are following suit, and ere long it is to be expected that all will possess these formidable monsters, unless indeed it should be thought that Sir Win. Armstrong's new 300-pounder gun, which will send shot through a target thicker than the sides of the Warrior, has rendered the idea of an impregnable ship hopeless. As has been well said by an authority on the subject, it is now a question between means of destruction and means of resistance—which shall be carried to the highest pitch—and the problem may take long to solve.