From Gen. Bank's Department.
--The
Meridian (
Miss)
Clarion has some intelligence from Bank's Department.
It seems that he set his house in order before starting to get his thrashing from
Kirby Smith:
The latest order is that planters are ordered to plant cotton, if not their property is confiscated.
The tax is one half to be given to the
U. S., one fourth to be sold them payable after the war and one fourth cash, or in plain English the
Yankee Government takes all the cotton, and pays for one-fourth.
Magruder and
Price were reported by the
Yankees as being at
Shreveport, and they admit a severe defeat.
The dash of
Col. Powers into
Port Hudson is confirmed.
There are but two white regiments in
Baton Rouge, one of which is an Ohio regiment.
They are tired of the war and wish to quit, and say they will whip us this summer.
The whole country is full of spies.
The negroes are paid to report what ever they can learn.
The
Yankees themselves can be purchased.
An English gentleman from New Orleans told our informant he could buy any Yankee in that city.
Six thousand negroes have been sent from
Rhode Island, and arrived at New Orleans a few weeks since; six hundred were sent to
Plaquemine, the remainder at the former city.
A fine steamer from
St. Louis, with a large number of horses, mules, sheep, &c., and seven hundred bales of cotton, took fire just as she arrived at
Plaquemine, and was a total loss.
Banks had stripped the whole section of country of troops for his
Red river expedition.
The garrison left were mostly negro troops.
Trade is constantly going on between the
Yankees and Confederates, the latter generally bribing the
Yankee pickets for the privilege.
Printed oaths can be bought for a trifle.
One woman is trading for cotton, and has been as far up as
Brookhaven, selling a negro to pay for the cotton, whose husband is a Yankee spy and detective in New Orleans.
The steamers are full of detectives, as many as eleven being on the boat our friend was on.--New Orleans is full of them — in fact, you can trust no one, as many pass themselves as Confederates.
Take it altogether the news is encouraging.
People are true to our cause and hopeful, while the
Federals are sick of the war. The late defeat of
Banks had caused a deep feeling of despondency.