The temper of the North.
--The following extract from a letter from a gentleman in New York to his friend in New Orleans is published in the
Delta.
There is no doubt the writer truly appreciates the temper of the people of New York and of the
North generally, regarding the war; nevertheless, a few more battles like those in the neighborhood of
Manassas may serve to open the eyes of the blood-thirsty Yankees.
Ere this I presume you have read the
President's Message.
I regret to say it is well received here, and the requirements of 400,000 men and $400,000,000 will undoubtedly be granted, for the day after the issue of the
Message Federal stocks of all descriptions advanced and are now very firm.
Still I look upon it as the most unprincipled State paper I have ever read.
It deliberately misstates the circumstances under which hostilities began, and throws all the responsibility on the
Southern States, quite at variance with the facts of the case, and will not be justified by future historians of the country.
The most flimsy apologies are offered for creating an army of 225,000 men and other direct violations of the
Constitution, yet, notwithstanding all this, it will be indorsed by the whole
North, and this unholy war prosecuted with the utmost vigor.
I had some hope that a party favoring compromise and peace would have been created at the
North; in fact, a nucleus had been formed, but the universal approval of
Lincoln's policy by the masses here banishes all prospect of checking hostilities, and now the
South has nothing to look to but the patriotism and bravery of her sons.
I am now satisfied that the
North is determined to prosecute this war until every State of the Southern Confederacy is conquered, or until they are themselves defeated.
I have no idea that the
South can ever be conquered, and therefore unless they can repel the
Northern invaders, it stands to reason this war will last a long time.
The future is more gloomy than ever, and it is impossible to discover a single ray of light to hang a hope upon.
