Progress of the war.
the
Washington Cabinet, Thinking the
Confederacy Subjugated, is Considering
peace
Mr. Seward Wishes to offer an amnesty
to the
Subjugated Confederates.
among the richest telegrams from
Washington that we find in the New York
Herald is one dated on the 12th inst. Since the news from New York we rather think that an amnesty to the "rebels" in that city had better first be disposed of. The correspondent says:
‘
I am enabled positively to announce that the question of peace has already been considered in Cabinet circles.
More than that, we are actually in the midst of a Cabinet crisis, growing out of a proposition made by
Mr. Seward for the issuance of a Presidential proclamation offering an amnesty to the people of the
South, withdrawing the emancipation proclamation, suspending the liabilities of the confiscation act, and offering, in short, full and free pardon and protection in their personal and property rights to the people of the
South, only excepting the military and civil leaders in this great rebellion.
Even these
Mr. Seward suggests should be allowed their property, but not to be eligible to hold office under the
Government.
This proposition has been considered in Cabinet council so far informal; but it has developed two parties.
’
Mr. Bates and
Montgomery Blair favor it with certain modifications, while
Messrs. Stanton and
Chase violently oppose it.
Mr. Welles is supposed also to be opposed to it.
Mr. Usher, who always votes with the
President, will decide whichever way that functionary does.
The President has as yet expressed no opinion on this subject, but his speech at the serenade would seem to indicate that he is in favor of trying to make good his promise to free the slaves before consenting to a peace in the present emergency.
there are a number of leading Republicans now in this city, and the matter has been brought to their notice.
They have arranged a programme, which will be submitted to the
President to-day or to-morrow under which they are willing that peace should be declared and the
Union restored.
It embraces the following points, which, it is stated, were suggested by
Mr. Chase:
- First--Savery shall cease in the whole United States after the year 1876, the minors at that time to remain slaves until twenty-one years of age, and slaves over forty years old to have the option of their freedom or to remain with their masters.
Provision is made for the loyal slave States receiving compensation for their manumitted negroes, but no compensation will be allowed to the rebel States.
- Second--A convention shall be called to revise the Constitution of the United States, with a view to striking out the three-fifths provision, recognizing slavery as a basis of representative population, and providing for the emancipation of the slaves in accordance with the above programme.
Such is the scheme of the Republicans, and if
Mr. Lincoln will consent to it, and the
South is willing, we may have peace within two months.
Mr. Seward's proposition is being vehemently denounced in Republican circles.
He is called a traitor.
Stanton insists that the rebels must be driven to the wall, that no proposition shall be made to them; that, as they opened the fight first at
Sumter, so they must consent to make the first tenders of peace; that it would be humiliating, after two and a half years of war, if the
United States should endeavor to open peaceful relations with armed insurgents.
He insists upon war to the bitter end, and is backed by the violent Abolitionists and the enormous contracting interests, which of course do not wish to see the great source of their profits swept away.
This last party will exercise a most powerful influence upon the deliberations on this subject.
They are all powerful here in all the departments, especially in the Navy, and War, and Treasury departments.
Hence it is supposed that
Mr. Welles,
Mr. Stanton, and
Mr. Chase can be relied upon for the strongest opposition to all means looking towards an early peace.
Lincoln's policy in Missouri--his private letter
published and the Publisher arrested.
William McKee, the senior proprietor of the St. Louis
Democrat, has been put under arrest by
General Schofield.
The grounds for the arrest are stated to be the publication of the letter of
President Lincoln to
General Schofield, explaining the reasons for the removal of
General Curtis, and for refusing to state in what manner such letter came into his hands.
The following is the letter:
Having removed
General Curtis and assigned you to the command of the Department of Missouri, I think it may be of some advantage for me to state to you why I did it. I did not relieve
General Curtis because of my full conviction that he had done wrong, by commission or omission.
I did it because of a conviction in my mind that the
Union men of
Missouri, constituting, when united, a vast majority of the whole people, have entered into a pestilent factional quarrel among themselves,
Gen. Curtis, perhaps not by choice, being head of one factions, and
Governor Gamble that of the other.
After months of labor to reconcile the difficulty, it seemed to grow worse and worse, until I felt it my duty to break it up somehow, and as I could not remove
Governor Gamble I had to remove
Gen. Curtis.
Now that you are in the position, I wish you to undo nothing merely because
Gen. Curtis or
Governor Gamble did it; but to exercise your own judgment, and do right for the public interest.
Let your military measures be strong enough to repel the invaders and keep the peace, and not so strong as to unnecessarily harass and persecute the people.
It is a difficult role, and so much greater will be the honor if you perform it well.
If both factions, or neither, shall abuse you, you will probably be about right.
Beware of being assailed by one and praised by the other.
Yours, truly,
A Lincoln.
Lieut Read's account of the reason he could not escape with the cutter Cussing.
The Northern papers publish a private letter from
Lieut. C. W. Read, of the
Tacony, now in
Fort Preble, to
Lt. Barrott, C. S. N., now in Fort Lafayette.
We give an extract from the letter, showing that it was not
Lieut. Read's fault that the steamers sent after him were not sunk:
As I have just noticed your arrival at Fort Lafayette, in company with the officers and crew of the late ram
Atlanta, I have concluded to drop you a few lines informing you of my being bagged, and nicely closeted in a well-built fort in "Old Abe's" do minions.
On the morning of the 26th we made
Portland light; at sunset we entered the harbor, at 1:30 we boarded the revenue cutter
Cushing, and took her with but little difficulty.
The wind was very light, and it was 7 o'clock in the morning before, we got out of range of the forts.
At 10 A. M., we were about 15 miles from the city, when the wind died and left us becalmed.
At 11 three steamers were discovered approaching us; we cleared for action, but the ordnance department of the cutter, as usual, was in a deplorable condition, and we were unable to do as much as we otherwise would have done.
The cutter had one 33 pounder amidships and one 24 pounder howitzer forward.
There was but one cartridge for the 32, and but five rusty round-shot and a few stand of grape.--The attacking steamers were filled with armed men, and their machinery protected by bales of rags and cotton.
We fired away all our ammunition, set fire to the cutter, and surrendered in our small boats.
It was my intention when I came into
Portland to cut out a sea-going steamer, but, strange to say, at the decisive moment,
Mr. Brown (whom you will remember in connection with the breaking down of the
Arkansas engine) declared himself incompetent to work the engines of the steamer unless he had another engineer to cooperate with him. All my plans were then crushed, and I was compelled to take the cutter out as a dernier resort.
If there had been a breeze, we would have been far out to sea before daylight, having committed considerable destruction in the harbor of
Portland.
We have been kindly treated by our captors.
I expect we will be sent either to New York or
Boston in a few days.
As they have commenced exchanging again, I hope we may be sent into Dixie before long.
The
Washington correspondent of the New York
Tribune is writing up
Secretary Welles, who is in rather bad odor just now with the New York merchants on account of his inability to catch the
Florida and the
Alabama.
He shows that however imbecile that officer may be on the sea, he is very good ashore, and even succeeds in laying out
Seward now and then.
The letter says:
‘
The country will not know in how many instances its honor has been saved from unnecessary concessions to foreign Powers by the firmness of
Secretary Welles, until the history of the war shall have been written from official records.
In at least two of these instances
Mr. Welles has been more successful in combatting the views of the State Department than he was in the
Peterhoff case.
’
The French Minister, the burden of many of whose dispatches, as the
Yellow Book shows, concerned the tobacco owned by the
French Government and stored at
Richmond, requested permission to ship it on board vessels to sail direct from the rebel capital the blockade to be raised at that point for the purpose.
Secretary Seward was willing to grant the favor asked, but was obliged to refer the case to
Secretary Welles, whose answer was to the effect that the
United States had opened the ports in
Virginia and
North Carolina, from which the
French Government could export its tobacco if it desired, and that the
United States would not agree to interfere with its transit to
Alexandria or Bufort for the purpose of shipment to
France.
He added that it was asking too much of our Government to require it to raise a blockade when nothing but the obstinacy of the rebels prevented the shipment of tobacco.
To this reply
M. Mercier had no answer to make.
To the
Spanish Minister Secretary Seward was willing to make a concession, which
Secretary Welles steadily refused.
The ferocity of the New York rioters — Brutality
of the military.
No single incident in the New York riots better illustrates the ferocity of the rioters than the death of
Col. O'Brien, of the 11th N. Y., who was in command of the military at the point where the deadliest conflict between the troops and people took place.
This officer was in command of a body of infantry and two howitzers.
In front of him, on Second avenue, the street was densely packed with men, women and children.
He gave the order to the cannoniers to fire, and a volley of cannister was sent into the crowd, followed by a rapid fire from the
Minnie rifles of the infantry.
A number of the mob fell dead in their tracks, including three or four women, who were looking on. One woman, and the child she held in her arms, were both killed by the artillery.
The
Herald in account says:
‘
After several rounds had been fired the people began to disperse, and the police proceeded to another part of the city.
Col. O'Brien and his command, however, remained.
The
Colonel dismounted from his horse and walked into a drug store.
Had the commander of this military force taken his departure at this time there is little doubt that his life would have been saved.
But fatality had destined him for its victim and he was a doomed man.
Colonel O'Brien stayed in the drug store for some few minutes; it is thought that he went in to get some refreshments.
The crowd were around the door at this time.
There was scarcely a word spoken, but the lowering glances of one thousand men looked down in their vengeful spirit upon him as he stood in the door.
He then drew his sword, and, with a revolver in the other hand, walked out on the sidewalk in the very centre of the crowd.
He was immediately surrounded, and one of the men came behind, and, striking him a heavy blow on the back of the head, staggered him. The crowd then immediately surrounded and beat him in a most shocking manner.
After having been terribly beaten his almost inanimate body was taken up in the strong arms of the crowd and hurried to the first lamppost, where it was strong up by a rope.
After a few minutes the body was taken down, he being still alive, and thrown like so much rubbish in the street.
The body lay in the middle of the street, within a few yards of the corner of 34th st. --Nature shudders at the appalling scenes which here took place.
The body was mutilated in such a manner that it was utterly impossible to recognize it. The head was nearly one mass of gore, while the clothes were also saturated with the crimson fluid of life.
A crowd of same three hundred persons wounded the prostrate figure.
These men looked upon the terrible tight with the greatest coolness, and some even smiled at the gay object.
Our reporter walked leisurely among the crowd which surrounded the body, and in company with the rest gazed upon the extended mass of flesh which was once the corpulent form of
Col. H. F. O'Brien.
Notwithstanding the fearful process which the soldier had gone through he was yet breathing with evident strength.
The eyes were closed, but there was a very apparent twitching of the eyelids, while the lips were now and again convulsed, as if in the most intense agony.
After lying for somewhat of an hour in this position several of the crowd took hold of the body by the legs, and dragged it from side to side of the street.
This operation was gone through with several times, when the crowd again left the body lying in its original position.
Had
Col. O'Brien been a man of weak constitution, he would certainly have ceased to exist long enough before this time.
He was, however, through life, a man of great natural strength, and this fact probably kept him breathing longer than would any other common person.
The crowd remarked this, and watched his every slightest movement with the most intense anxiety.
Now and then the head would be raised from the ground, while an application of a foot from one of the crowd would dash the already mangled mass again to the earth.
This conduct was carried on for some time, and when our reporter left the body was still lying in the street, the last spark of existence having taken flight.
’
The Baltimore
American, of the evening of the 15th, has the following account of
Gen. Meade's crossing the
Potomac:
We learn from a gentleman who left the front last night that
General Meade, immediately on ascertaining the escape of
Lee, put the whole army in motion for a new base of operations calculated to check the rebel retreat on its way to
Richmond.
Having the inner line of movement, he will be able to secure all the mountain passes on the
Virginia side of the
Potomac before the enemy can reach it.--His army is in fine condition, and ready to follow rapidly.
Pontoons were across the river last evening, and we have no doubt that his advance is already on
Virginia soil.
It would not be proper to state the point of crossing; but it will be a satisfaction to know that our army is in pursuit.
We also learn that the delay in attacking the rebels was owing to the differences of opinion among the corps commanders, to whose views
Gen. Meade yielded in opposition to his own judgment, sustained by
Gens. Pleasanton and
Warren.
They were all for an immediate attack on coming up, before the enemy had time to entrench.
A Northern view of intervention.
The New York
World seems to think this war a most hopeless sort of business.
If the
Confederates are successful the
North must yield, and if they meet with disaster it fears foreign intervention.
It says:
‘
If the war drags on, as hitherto, the same result will follow, since the prolongation of the war is confirmation of hope to the rebellion.
If victories follow victories, if
Port Hudson follows
Vicksburg, if
East Tennessee is held and the great southwestern artery cut, if
Lee is defeated badly in
Maryland,
Richmond taken,
Sumter reoccupied and possessed, and the standards of the
Union seem advancing to the conquest of the
Southern armies, then intervention is imminent.
Not till then.
It is one of the infinite counter workings of a benign
Providence, in which good is educed from the very heart of evil, that this very imbecility of the Administration which curses all our plans with rottenness and cuts the sinews of our power, is itself the best safeguard which the nation has against foreign interference with our affairs.
This imbecility gives the
South that measure of success which leads foreign powers to believe she will consummate separation and independence.
Were
Washington incompetency just a little greater, the
South would succeed and there would be an end. Were it a little less, the
North would soon approach success and might tempt intervention.
In the accession to power of the Democratic party is the only hope peace can be had by just concessions and timely placation; or, that failing, the only hope of a waging of war vigorous enough to put down domestic treason and repel foreign enmity.
’
Miscellaneous.
A lot of wounded Confederates arrived in
Baltimore on the 14th, an oppressively hot day, under guard of a detachment of the 84th N. Y. The officer of the guard ordered the box care in which they were lying
to be closed. The sufferings of the wounded in these air tight boxes was so dreadful that the policemen represented the matter to higher military authority and had the cars opened.
The City Council of
Baltimore passed a resolution authorizing 140 guns to be fired in honor of the fail of
Vicksburg, and resolved, further, that "the citizens he requested on that day to display the
National flag from their residences and places of business and shipping, and that the flag be suspended from all public places, and the bells rung at noon."
The American Bible Society has made grants of books "for Confederate prisoners in
Fort Delaware, for the
Sunday Schools of
Norfolk, Va., and for the colored people of
Norfolk, Va.,"
The
California Democratic State Convention have nominated the following ticket: For Governor,
John G. Dewney, for Congressmen,
John Bigler,
John B. Weller, and
Joseph McCorkle, for State Printer,
Beriah Brown.
Proceedings under the Confiscation act have been commenced in
Alexandria, Va., with reference to the
real estate belonging to persons now said to be in the rebel service.
"
Rev. Mr. Huntington," of
Fredericksburg;
Va., addressed an audience at Fancuil Hall,
Boston, on the 9th, at the Abolition "thanksgiving for recent victories."
Major General Humphrey has received the appointment of chief of staff to
Gen'l Meade,
Gen. Warren preferring more active duties in the field.
The Roman Catholic congregations of
Pittsburg, Pa., have voted $1,000 to pay the exemptions of their priests from draft.
