THE WAR IN AMERICA.

Otago Witness, Issue 658, 9 July 1864, Page 21

THE WAR IN AMERICA.

[From the " Times."]

It must not be forgotten in the midst of more immediate excitement that the great American problem is still unsolved, and that all the momentous questions involved in the Civil War are still undecided. So often have the Federals announced the " beginning of the end," and so repeatedly have they anticipated success from some new course of operations, that the reports of such plans have now ceased to produce much impression; but there is really something in the present a«pect of affairs which merits notice, and may possibly indicate the approach of more important events than have lately characterised thi3 profitless contest. The command of the Army of the Polomac, after a succession of transfers, has now devolved on General Grant, and the proceedings of that officer express ability as well as vigour We i suspect, indeed, that he is turning j his materials to the best account, and taking the steps best calculated to improve the ch-ances of the North in the campaigns of the year. It will be remembered perhaps, that the winter of 1863 closed in with the defeat of the Confederates in the South-West and the loss of Tennessee to the South. At the moment it was thought not impossible that the victory of the Federals might be improved, and that a footing might be gained for the Northern armies on the soil of Georgia, but that idea was soon dispelled by the rally of the Confederate forces and the return of the Federals to their original position at Chat- j tanooga. During the suspension of operations which succeeded these events both sides occupied themselves with preparations for the work of the Spring. President Davis did not attempt to conceal the reverses of the Confederacy, but his words expressed undiminished confid. nee as well as unflinching resolution, and the reorganisation as well as the reinforcement of the Southern armies was energetically undertaken. The Federals, on their side, were equally active, an/1 it was understood that a trial of strength would again be made in the South-West at the commencement of the new campaign. That trial was made accordingly, and with singular results. The operations of the contending armies were of such slight importance in themselves that they attracted very little attention, but the actual result was nothing less than a transfer of the principal seat of war from the South-West to the North-East. The hope of occupying Georgia, or of penetrating into the South from Chattauooga, was apparently abandoned; the services of General Grant were thought to be more in demand elsewhere, and this rising commauder was transferred from the army of Tennessee to the army of Virginia, with the mission of once more undertaking that advance upon Richmond in which so xaa.ny failures had been experienced. General Grant, therefore, ia tow at the head of the army of the Potomac, and he will apply to the invasion of Virginia those military talents which gave him a victory at Vicksburg, and secured him from reverses in more doubtful fields. His first proceedings reflect credit on his judgment. He appears to have dealt with the army committed to his charge much in the manner adopted by General M'Clellan after the first battle of Bull Run. Its organization had probably been impaired by inaction, and its new commander, therefore addressed himself to the task ot improving the instrument on which he was to rely. His next step, we are told, was to urge the reappointment of M'Clellan to command— a measure which speaks much for his discernment. It is 9aid, too, that he anxiously desires to see General Butler made Secretary of War, and this view, too of the eAigencies of his position is probably sound. What General Butler is we very well know, but that the faults of his character are compatible with vigorous administration has been sufficiently proved. With this man for a supporter in the Waroffice, and M'Clellan for a colleague in the field, it is certainly not impossible that General Grant might .mpreas a new character on the war in Virginia ; but, on the other hand, it is anticipated that his plans will be disconcerted by the strategy of the Southern Generals. His design, it was reported, was to combine two expedit'ons against Richmond, one by way of the Peninsula where M'Clellan failed two years ajjo, and the other by that direct road which has been so frequently attempted in vain. Both roads, in fact, have already been . found impassable to Northern armies, but

the scheme might perhaps have offered ! greater promise if the two expeditions were undertaken together. When we remember that Richmond has now been fortified with all the skill that Southern engineers could exert, and that President Davis once : declared that even if Richmond should be ! taken the war might still be prolonged for 20 years in Virginia, alone, we shall probably be slow to anticipate decisive results even from an enterprise of this character ; but it seems not improbable that General Lee has formed plans as well as General Grant, and that his operations may determine those of General Grant. It is rumoured that Lee will advance into Pennsylvania, Kentucky, or Ohio, and thus reduce Grant to the alternative of following him or of abandoning those States to the invaders. The safety of Richmond in the meanwhile would, it is said, be sufficiently insured by its defences and its garrison. • ' b

The chief point, however, to be observed is the transfer of operations to Virginia. Of late it has been held that the most important of the campaigns in which the belligerents were engaged was that in the South- West. There the Federals had their o best army, and, according to their present belief, their best General. That General has now been re-called to the North, where he is actively occupied in rendering the army to which he has succeeded as efficient as the army which he has left. When he moves we must expect fresh encounters on the fields which are now familliar to us, unless, indeed, the stritecy attributed to General Lre should carry the war to other scenes. This is the policy to which the Federal Government, after so many diversions, has now returned. Their chief army and their chief hopes are once more where they were at first. "On to Richmond" is again the cry, and it is devoutly desired that Grant may succeed vvhere every other adventurer has failed. In the meantime the various " expeditions " of the Northern forces will probably be either abandoned or languidly prosecuted. The invasion of Texas will .«oo:j prove hopless. In Mississippi the Confederates have reocenpied some of their old positions; in Tennessee they have obtained a slight success over the Federals ; and Jf they have experienced a defeat in Louisiana, it is at least admitted that their army in the field outnumbers that of the North. It is superfluous to remark that the removal of General Grant from the great army of the Soutb-West mny give a fresh chance of success to the Confederates in those parts. General Johnston is reported to be a more able, or, at any rate, a more popular, commander than his predecessor ; and if the Southerners thus gain in generalship while the Northerners lose, the present balance of strength may be changed to their advantage. It is considered, indeed, quite possible that Tennessee may be recovered by the Confederates while the Federals are playing for the capture of Richmond.

It may seem hard to believe, after what we have seen, th&t even the disappointments of one more campaign will actually open the eyes of the North to the realities of the war. We are assured, however, that the expectations formed of General Grant's abilities do constitute a kind of final hope, and that if he, too, like all his predecessors, should fail in deciding the contest, there will at length be a st. ong manifestation of feeling against its continuance. Some such feeling appears, indeed, to have been already shown in the House of Representatives. Mr Long, of Ohio, has moved in express terms the recognition of the Southern Republic, and though his motion was immediately followed by a counter-motion for his expulsion from the House, this measure, which would have been voted by acclimation a year since, was not carried by the necessary twothirds of the members voting, and therefore failed of effect. Each disappointment must add something to a weight which may become unbearable at last; and if General Grant should now fail in satisfying the expectations of his countrymen, they may possibly be led to conclude that the success which none of their Generals can attain is virtually unattainable.

An anctioneer, surrounded by about fifty people was recently selling poods in a loft, and while he was with uplifted hammer crying out, " Goin-r going-, gone [" the loft nt the iast word gave way with a crush, and the whole party were precipitated to the floor below, a distance of about twelve feet.

What odd names some mortals are blessed with ! A family in Michigan actually named their last child 1-mis, supposing that it was their last, but they afterwards happened to have a daughter and two sons, whom they called Addenda, Appendix, mid {supplement. A man in Pensylvanm called his son James Also, and the third William Likewise.

An Irishman was requested by a lady notorious for her pnvsiraoniousnes* and niggardly habits to do some handiwork for her. The job "was performed to her complete sntisfaction. " Pat "' sni I the old miser, '"I must treat you."—" God bless your honour, ma'am," replied Pat. " Which would you prefer, a glass-of porter or a tumbler or punch?"— "l don't wish to be troublesome, ma'am," said the Hibernian, turning round ami winking at the thin-ribbed butter, "Tmt I'll take the one while you're making the other."