Later from the North.
A flag of truce boat reached City Point last Tuesday night about 11 o'clock, with 700 prisoners of war, 40 political prisoners, and ten female prisoners. The Federals sent a message from City Point that there would be transportation sufficient at the Point yesterday for the conveyance of 7,000 prisoners. By this boat we have files of Northern papers of the 11th. We make some extracts from their contents:The trial of Hon. C. L. Vallandigham before a Court Martial — the way Lincoln's Opponents are Managed — soldiers as Spies on the movements of citizens, Etc.
The most interesting trial under Burnside's "death order" that has taken place is that of Hon. Clement L. Vallandigham, by court-martial, for making a speech in Knox county, Ohio, in which, according to the specification against him, he Did utter sentiments, in words or in effect, as follows: Declaring the present war a wicked, cruel, and unnecessary war; a war not being waged for the preservation of the Union; a war for the purpose of crushing out liberty and erecting a despotism; a war for the freedom of the blacks and the enslavement of the whites; stating that if the Administration had so wished, the war could have been honorably terminated months ago; that peace might have been honorably obtained by listening to the proposed intermediation of France; that propositions by which the Southern States could be won back and the South be guaranteed their rights under the Constitution had been rejected the day before the late battle at Fredericksburg by Lincoln and his minions, meaning thereby the President of the United States and those under him in authority; charging that the Government of the United States were about to appoint military marshale in every district to restrain the people of their liberties, to deprive them of their rights and privileges; characterizing General Order No. 38, Headquarters Department of the Ohio, as a base usurpation of arbitrary authority, inviting his hearers to resist the same by saying, "the sooner the people inform the minions of usurped power that they will not submit to such restrictions upon their liberties the better;" declaring that he was at all times and upon all occasions resolved to do what he could to defeat the attempts now being made to build up a monarchy upon the ruins of our free Government; asserting that he firmly believed, as he said six months ago, that the men in power are attempting to establish a despotism in this country more cruel and more oppressive than ever existed before. All of which opinions and sentiments he well knew did aid, comfort, and encourage those in arms against the Government, and could but induce in his hearers a distrust of their own Government and sympathy for those in arms against it, and a disposition to resist the laws of the land. Mr. Vallandigham conducted the case on his side for himself, and examined the witnesses. We give some extracts from the evidence of the witnesses. Capt. Hill, of the 115th Ohio volunteers, was put on the stand: ‘ Question by Mr. Vallandigham.--In speaking of the character of the war, did I not expressly say, as Mr. Lincoln, in his proclamation of July 1, 1862, said, "this unnecessary and injurious war?" Answer.--I don't recollect that he did. The language he made use of I understood to be his own. Q.--Again, in speaking of the character of the war, didn't I expressly give as proof the President's proclamations of September 22, 1862, and January 1, 1863, as declaring the emancipation of the slaves in the seceded States, and as proof that the war was now being waged for that purpose? The Judge Advocate objected to the question, on the ground that its object was to divert the issue between the accused and the Court from the accused to another party, while the true issue was not what were the words uttered, but the propriety of their utterance. The Court sustained the objection. Q.--Did you continue in the same place during the delivery of the whole speech? A.--I did. Q.--Were your notes taken at the time, or reduced to writing after the speech was delivered? A.--They were taken at the time, just as they fell from the speaker's lips. Q.--Were you not in citizens' clothes; and how came you to be at Mount Vernon that day? The Judge Advocate objected to the question, on the ground of its immateriality; but, as Mr. Vallandigham insisted on it, the objection was withdrawn. A.--I was in citizens' clothes, and went for the purpose of listening to any speeches that might be made that day. I had no orders to take notes. Q.--Did you take notes of any other speech? A.--I commenced taking notes of Mr. Cex's speech, but considered it harmless, and after a short time stopped. Q.--Were you not expressly sent for the purpose of listening to my speech on that occasion? A.--I was not, any more than to others. Q.--By whom were you sent? A.--By Captain Andrew C. Kemper, Assistant-Adjutant-General of the military command of this city. Q.--Did you make a report to him upon your return? A.--I didn't report to Captain Kemper, but to Col. Eastman, and was from there sent to the headquarters of the Department of the Ohio. Captain Means, of the same regiment, was introduced and sworn. He was questioned by the Judge Advocate: Q.--Did you hear the accused address that meeting? A.--I did. I stood most of the time about ten feet immediately in front of the stand, and heard the whole of the speech. He said that the war was not carried on for the preservation of the Union; that it might have been stopped and peace restored some time ago, and the Union saved, if the plan which had been submitted had been accepted by the Government the day before the battle of Fredericksburg. Mr. Vallandigham objected to anything on this point, on the ground that he had applied for a subpœna for Fernando Wood, of New York, to bring with him the plan proposed, and had been refused. The Judge Advocate replied that this point might be waived, and he would strike from the specifications what related to the proposed plan of restoring the Union. The witness continued: That if the plan had been adopted, peace would have been restored, the Union saved by reconstruction, the South won back and guaranteed in her rights. That our armies didn't meet with success; that Richmond was not taken, Charleston, nor Vicksburg; that the Mississippi was not open, and would not be as long as there was cotton to sell or contractors to reward. He said, in regard to the rebuke of the Administration at the last fall election, that no more volunteers could be had; that the Administration had to resort to the French conscription act; that he would not counsel resistance to the military or civil law, for that was not needed. That a people were unworthy to be freemen who would submit to such encroachments on their liberties. Q.--What encroachment did he refer to? A.--He was speaking of the Conscription act. He said he believed the Administration was attempting to erect a despotism; that in less than one month Lincoln had plunged the country into this cruel, bloody, and unnecessary war. Q.--Can you recall anything he said in relation to General Order No. 38? A.--He said the General Order No. 38 was a usurpation of power; that he despised it, spit upon it, trampled it under his feet; that he, for one, would not regard it. He styled the Administration officers, and officers of the army, as minions of the Administration. He said that he did not ask Gen. Ambrose Burnside whether he might speak there or not; that he was a freeman, and spoke when and where he pleased. Q.--Do you remember anything he said with reference to the course he advised the people to pursue? A.--He said these proclamations and military orders were intended to intimidate the people, and prevent them from mingling together, as they were doing that day; that he claimed the right to diseuse and criticise the actions of the civil and military officers of the Government. Q.--Did he advise the people to take any steps? A.--He advised them, at the close of his speech, to come up together at the ballot-box and hurt the tyrant from his throne. He styled the President at another time as "King Lincoln." Q.--By Mr. Vallandigham: You say that I said I would not counsel resistance to military or civil law. Did I not expressly counsel the people to obey the Constitution and all law, and to pay proper respect to men in authority, and to maintain their political rights through the ballot-box, and redress personal wrongs through the judicial tribunals of the country, and in that way to rebuke and put down the Administration and all usurpations of power? A.--Not in that connection. He said, at the last of his speech, to come up to the ballot-box and hurl the tyrant from his throne. Q.--Did he not counsel them to submit to all law? A.--No, sir; I didn't understand him to counsel the people to submit to the authorities at all times. I can't remember that he used the language of the question, or the substance of it as stated. Q.--Did I not say that my authority to speak to the people in public assemblages, on all public questions, was not derived from General Order No. 38, but General Order No. 1, the Constitution of the United States, General Washington commanding? Q.--I understood him to say that his authority to speak to the people was higher than General Order No. 38 of that mobbing despot, Gen. Burnside. It was order No. I, signed by George Washington. Q.--Were not the three names of Tod, Lincoln, and Burnside used together, and that I didn't ask their consent to speak? A.--At another time he used these words. Q.--Were not the remarks you said I made about despising, spitting upon, and trampling under foot, expressly applied to arbitrary power generally? and didn't I, in that connection, refer to General Order No. 9, in Indiana, signed by Gen. Hascall, denying the right to criticise the war policy of the Administration? A.--The remarks in regard to despising, spitting upon, trampling under foot, were made in direct reference to Order No. 38. He some time afterward, in speaking of the tyranny of the Administration, said that an order had been issued in Indiana denying the people the right to criticise the military policy of the Administration, and if submitted to it would be followed by civil war in Ohio. ’Testimony of S. S. Cox.
Q.--By Mr. Vallandigham.--Were you present at the public meeting in Mount Vernon, on May 1, 1863? A.--I was present, as one of the speakers; I heard the whole of the speech; I stood on the platform, near him, so that I could not fail to hear all that he said; I have not heard him speak since the adjournment of Congress, and, as I came in from the West, I did not know that he was there; I took especial interest in listening to his speech throughout, and having to follow him, I naturally noticed the topics which he discussed. Q.--Did you hear his allusions to General Burnside, and if so, what were they? A — The only allusion he made to the General was, I think, in the beginning of his speech, in which he said he was not there by the favor of Abraham Lincoln; David Tod, or General Ambrose E. Burnside. Q — Was any epithet applied to him during the speech? A.--No, sir. If there had been I should have noticed it, because General Burnside was an old personal friend of mine. I should have remembered any odious epithet applied to him. Q — Did you hear the reference to General Order No. 38, and if so, what were the words? A.--The only reference that was made to that order was something to this effect: That he didn't recognize (I don't know that I can quote the language) Order No. 38 as superior to Order No. 1, the Constitution, from George Washington, commanding. I don't know as this is the language. I thought it a very handsome point at the time. Q — Were any violent epithets — such as "spit upon," "trample under foot," and the like — used at any time in the speech in reference to that Order No. 38? A.--I can't recollect any denunciatory epithets applied to that order. If there was any criticism made upon it, it was mentioned above in the remark about the Constitution. Mr. Vallandigham discussed these matters very briefly. He took up most of his time on another point, in connection with the question of closing the war. He charged that the men in authority had it in their power, if they were willing, to make a peace. He exhausted some time in reading from Montgomery Blair and from Forney; and also stated that there were private proofs, yet to be developed, and which time would disclose, proving his statement. He bitterly denounced any attempt to make peace by a separation of the States. Q.--Do you remember to what, if at all, connection with future usurpation of power he applied his strongest language? A.--I can't say as to the strongest language, for he always speaks pretty strongly. He denounced any usurpation of power to stop public discussion and the suffrage. He appealed to the people to protect their rights, as the remedy for their grievances. He warned against violence and revolution. By the powerful means of the ballot-box all might be remedied that was wrong of a public nature, and the Courts would remedy all grievances of a private, personal nature. Q.--Was anything said by him at all, looking to forcible resistance of either law or military orders? A.--Not as I understood it. Q.--Was anything said by him in denunciation of the Conscription law? A.--My best recollection is that he didn't say a word about it. Q.--Did he refer to the French Conscription bill? A.--He did not. I spoke of it myself. Q.--Do you remember his comments on the change in the policy of the war? A.--He did refer to the change in the policy of the war, and devoted some time to showing that it was now carried on for the abolition of slavery; that it had been perverted from a war for the preservation of the Union to one for the abolition of slavery. He referred to the Crittenden resolution to show that the war was originally for the restoration of the Union. Q.--Was any denunciation of officers in the army indulged in by him, or any offensive epithets applied to them? A.--When, occasionally, he used the words "the President and his minions," I didn't understand him to use them as applicable to the army. I think it was in connection with arbitrary arrests when he used these words. Q.--Do you remember what was said in reference to the possibility of a dissolution of the Union, and of his determination in regard to such a contingency? A.--I remember the metaphor, that he could never be a priest to minister at the alter of disunion. Q — What counsel did he give the people at the end of his speech 7 A.--He invoked them under no circumstances to surrender the Union. The Judge Advocate had no question to ask the witness. Mr. Vallandigham said he had other witnesses he expected by the four o'clock train, and a recess was taken until five o'clock, at which time, the witnesses not arriving, the evidence was closed, and Mr. Vallandigham simply submitted the following:Mr. Vallandigham's protest.
Arrested without due process of law, without warrant from any judicial officer, and now in military custody, I have been served with a charge and specifications as from a court-martial or military commission. I am not either in the land or the naval service of the United States, and, therefore, am not triable for any cause by any such court, but am subject, by the express terms of the Constitution, to arrest only by due process of law, or warrant issued by some officer of a court of competent jurisdiction for trial of citizens. I am subject to indictment and trial on presentment of a grand jury, and am entitled to a speedy trial, to be confronted with witnesses, and to compulsory process for witnesses in my behalf, and am entitled to counsel. All these I demand, as my right, as a citizen of the United States, under the Constitution of the United States. But the alleged offence itself is not known to the Constitution, nor to any law thereof. It is words spoken to the people of Ohio in an open public political meeting, lawfully and peacefully assembled, under the Constitution, and upon full notice. It is the words of a citizen of the public policy of the public servants of the people, by which policy it was alleged that the welfare of the country was not promoted. It was an appeal to the people to change that policy, not by force, but by the elections at the ballot-box It is not pretended that I counselled disobedience to the Constitution, or resistance to law or lawful authority. I have never done this. I have nothing further to submit. May 7, 1863. C. L. Vallandigham. The Judge Advocate simply remarked that the accused had the privilege of counsel and of witnesses. It did not become him to enter into any discussion as to the jurisdiction of the court. That the case had been referred to it was sufficient.Grand Recrossing of the Federal army — another advance.
To show what barefaced lies the Yankee press resort to to keep up the spirits of the Yankee people, we give the following, from the Philadelphia Press, of the 11th. It is from a dispatch dated at Washington on the 10th: ‘ During Wednesday and Thursday General Hooker detailed several regiments to gather up the wounded and bury the dead left on the south bank of the river. These men were relieved continually, and the work proceeded without intermission. The number of rebels found unburied was very large, and it is believed that no effort was by the enemy to bury his brave men slaughtered by our artillery during the five days battles at Chancellorsville. Fortunately, the weather was cool, preventing physical decay, and the rain served as a balm to ease the wounded from some of their suffering. The fact that the enemy had left thus suddenly confirmed Gen. Hooker in the belief that the rebels had been very much cut up, and that they contemplated a retreat if that course was found practicable. Accordingly, on Thursday afternoon, before the rain had ceased falling, General Hooker ordered forward across the river the 1st and 5th Corps d' Armee, under General Sedgwick. Owing to the horrible condition of the roads but little progress was made, and General Hooker, on Friday, directed his attention to the crossing of the whole army at Banks and United States fords. During the day positions for each corps were designated, and General Hooker was busy in giving instructions to his various Generals concerning his proposed pursuit and capture of Gen. Lee's army. Yesterday Gen'l Pleasanton's cavalry crossed the river and proceeded immediately to the front for the purpose of reconnoitering the enemy's position. Two hours ride brought them to our old position about Chancellorsville. In this neighborhood no rebels were discovered except killed and wounded. These were disposed of properly as rapidly as possible. A considerable number of stragglers and skulkers from the rebel army, and some of our own men, came into our lines yesterday and gave themselves up. The former protest that they have no feeling in the war, and are willing to take the oath and become good citizens of the United States. Some of these men saw columns of rebels retreating panic-stricken and in confusion on Wednesday night through the terrible rain-storm. These are strange rebels; they fight like veterans but behave like sheep when captured. Where Have the Rebels Gone?--This question is going around unanswered in the hotels to-day. It is the opinion of the military men that they have fallen back in two columns--one towards Richmond and another toward Gordonsville — in the hope of concentrating with Longstreet's forces in front of Richmond, once more to give us battle. The next engagement will take place most probably on or near the Upper Pamunkey river, whither General Hooker is moving as rapidly as possible. Many maintain that the James river will be the next line that the rebels will defend. This may or may not be secure, as Generals Peck, Keyes, and Naglee, may decide. Even the Baltimore American, one of the most abject of liars, has to confess that the above account won't go down. ’The Herald on Hooker's retreat — what must be done.
The New York Herald has an editorial which is interesting. The following is an extract from it: ‘ The news of Gen. Hooker's retrograde move across the Rappahannock without a general battle, and with the enemy en masse in his rear, created throughout this city yesterday a profound sensation of disappointment and despondency. Confident hopes of great victories were changed again to painful anxieties for the safety of the army; for the news of the morning left our forces crossing the swollen river on two narrow pontoon bridges in broad daylight and in full view of the enemy. We experience no small sense of relief in being able to announce to our readers that the army is safe in its old camp at Falmouth. That it was permitted to recross the river without a determined effort of the enemy to cut it to pieces satisfies us that Gen. Lee was not disposed to risk the experiment; for he has shown from the beginning a remarkable knowledge of every movement of our forces. It is said that Gen. Hooker was in a measure compelled to recross the river, because, with its flooded condition and the almost impassable roads between it and his depots, he was in danger of being cut off from his supplies of provisions and ammunition. After the events of the last ten days it is easy to see that General Hooker might have done better. For instance, had he avoided any signs of an advance until General Stoneman had cut the rebel railway communications with Richmond and returned to the army, the reinforcements and supplies to Lee from below might have been cut off until too late to be of any service to him. Or had General Hooker retained the powerful body of Stoneman's cavalry to guard his flanks, that disastrous rebel flank movement of Friday and Saturday could have easily been prevented. We apprehend, however, that Gen'l Hooker's greatest mistake was an under-estimate of the strength of the rebels, or he surely would have advanced beyond the river to draw them out without the support of Stoneman's cavalry. From the moment he touched the south side of the river that formidable body of horsemen would have been invaluable in scouring the country, and in keeping General Hooker apprised of every movement of the enemy in season to meet it. As the matter stands, General McClellan needs no other defence against the testimony of General Hooker before the War Committee of Congress than his Rappahannock campaign, as compared with that of the Richmond peninsula and that of Maryland. The responsibility, however, for this unfortunate movement on Richmond, as for every other, belongs to the War Office at Washington. Secretary Stanton and Gen. Halleck are the parties to be arraigned as the contrivers of this deplorable failure of Gen. Hooker, with the "finest army on the planet." Had they permitted Gen. McClellan last fall to go on with his own plans, and had they supported him in his movements, the war in Virginia would have been over months ago. Or had they moved down in season Heintzelman's reserves from Washington, or brought up to aid in the great struggle upon which the life of the rebellion depended the available forces of Gen. Peck, from Suffolk, and of General Keyes, from Yorktown, Gen. Hooker might have enveloped the rebel army with his superior numbers. But what might or should have been done is now a matter of small importance, compared with the question, What is to be or should now be done? We think the Army of the Potomac should be immediately reinforced, and that it should be again advanced upon the rebel army before it can recover from its losses, or reconstruct its shattered columns. We think that the campaign in this way may yet be made a decisive success, and especially should General Stoneman be informed of the late events on the Rappahannock in season to escape the snares of the enemy with his splendid corps of cavalry. From the facts in our possession, the losses to our army, except in the veteran soldiers who have fallen, may be readily repaired. We look to the President to meet the exigencies of the day. Time is precious. The work required to repair damages and to restore the confidence of the country must be commenced at once; but that this work demands the removal of the present incompetent heads of the War Office must now be manifest to President Lincoln. The whole system upon which the war is conducted needs reform, and this reform can only be effected by a complete reorganization of the War Office. ’New York items.
A letter from New York, dated May 9th, gives the following items: ‘ James P. Hambleton, late editor of the Atlanta (Ga) Confederacy, caught in New York, has been imprisoned by Maj.-Gen.Wool. He had $26,000 in Confederate money on his person. He has applied for a discharge on a writ of habeas corpus. It won't do for Secesh to express their sympathies too openly. Two of them, Alexander Hutchings and Henry J. Kerner by name, were foolish enough to "hurrah for Jeff. Davis" in the street, and were arrested therefore. They were discharged by one of the police justices at the Tombs, but within an hour afterwards they were re-arrested by order of Gen. Wool. Twenty-four soldiers of the rebel army, recently captured, arrived here this morning, consigned to the care of Col Frank E. Howe, of the New England Soldiers' Relief Association. They have, without exception, taken the oath of allegiance to the United States, and were glad to do it. Their physical appearance does not show that they have suffered for want of food, though they say their rations were only about one fourth of what they should have had, and they speak with something like envy of the ample food served to our men. Their clothing, however, shows most deplorable signs of decay, and they were fast lapsing into raggedness when they effected their escape. Some of these soldiers were engaged in the recent battles, though they were taken as recently as Monday last. They were captured at or near Suffolk, and palpably straggled away purposely when Longstreet's corps retired from its position the day previous. They seem delighted to find themselves once more in the North, and are enjoying the panoramic display of Broadway with real zest. ’Miscellaneous.
The subscriptions to the U. S., National loan continue to exceed $1,000,000 per day. The French expect to be in the City of Mexico by the 15th inst. The Washington Star says that those who imagine that the events of the past week upon the Rappahannock have materially damaged the efficiency of Gen. Hooker's army, will ere long find themselves much mistaken. It will not be very long before the Rebels will find that what they now claim as a victory has damaged them vastly more than it damaged the Union army of the Potomac for what will follow in this spring's campaign in that quarter. Havana correspondence states that considerable excitement existed there at the date of the letter, the 3d inst., in consequence of reports regarding the proceedings of United States cruisers in the Cuban waters. It was alleged that vessels had been chased within the marine jurisdiction of the Spanish authorities. There does not appear to be any good foundation for the allegation, however. The blockade runners continue quite active — the British steamer Neptune having arrived at Havana from Mobile on the 1st, loaded with cotton, and the Calypso and Antonio at Nassau on the 25th ult., from Charleston, also with cargoes of cotton.[from our own Reporter]
Fredericksburg, May 13.
--I have received the Washington Chronicle, of the 11th inst., and send you a brief summary of what it contains: ‘
Gen. Peck has issued an order to his troops congratulating them on the siege of Suffolk being raised.
L. H. Chandler has been nominated by a Union Convention at Norfolk, Va., for the Federal Congress.
The bridge over Big Black Bayon, the Yankees say, has been destroyed, thus cutting off the rebel retreat from Vicksburg.
On Sunday, May 3d, a tug-boat was destroyed in front of Vicksburg, in which six correspondents were lost, and twenty other persons.
Dispatches from Rosecrans's army represent that the rebels intend that the Union army shall make the advance.
The French have taken Puebla, in Mexico.
The Journal of Commerce says: "We call on conservative men in all parts of the land to raise their voices now against every proposal for peace and disunion.
Every energy must now be strengthened and exerted.
It is your country's war, and the peace to be won must be a Union peace."
The Mozart-Hall Democrats have put forth an address calling the masses of New York into council, in order to repudiate the war platform put forth by the members of the Legislature at Albany.
There are twenty-five thousand able-bodied negro contraband in the Department of the Cumberland.
They are to be set to work rearing obstructions and building roads.
Gen. Whipple, wounded at the Chancellorsville fight, has since died.
Gov. Andrew has written a letter saying that negro soldiers are to be placed on a like footing, in every respect, and are to be protected if taken prisoners.
Gen. McClellan visited Newburgh recently, where he was received with great favor by the leading Copperheads, and was the guest of A. D. Beally, who was put in Fort Lafayette last summer.
Judge Branlette is the Union candidate for Governor of Kentucky.
The Chronicle is filled with the provisions for enforcing the enrollment under the Conscript act. ’ 