the Constitution, and the Union. In the Revo- | that city was commenced before we had conlution, our troops were terribly cut up on Brook- solidated a sufficient force to render its downlyn Heights; yet that calamity proved the fall certain. -Philadelphia Press, July 23. salvation of the country, since it developed the masterly Fabian system of tactics subsequently pursued by Washington.

-N. Y. Commercial Advertiser.

To the brave man defeat is only an argument for new effort. Our banner, which has been trailing in the dust, must be lifted up towards the stars. Overwhelming numbers have repulsed our army, after it had conquered an equal force entrenched behind earthworks and masked batteries. Our retreating columns have fallen back to Alexandria and Washington, leaving hundreds of our brave fellows on the soil where they fell so heroically. But why recount the disasters of yesterday?

What is to be done? Every thing. The capital must again be defended. The ground which has been lost, must be regained. Victory must follow on the heels of defeat. Not an inch more must be yielded. The ranks must be filled up. The fifty thousand must be made a hundred thousand. For every regiment that has been broken up, two must appear straightway. Let no man lisp the word discouragement. Let us begin to-day. Let not an hour be lost. Let the Government say when and whence it wants men, and they shall be forthcoming. Such at least is the spirit of Rhode Island.

-Providence Journal.

-New Bedford Mercury.

Doc. 9.

SOUTHERN PRESS ON THE BATTLE.

OUR telegraphic despatches this morning tell a glorious tale for the South. It is not the bulletins of our friends alone which announce a grand victory for the armies of the South. It is confessed in all its greatness and completeness by the wailings which come to us from the city of Washington, the head-quarters of our enemies. It is told in the groans of the panic-stricken Unionists of tyranny, who are quaking behind their entrenchments with apprehension for the approach of the avenging soldiery of the South, driving before it the routed remnants of that magnificent army which they had prepared and sent forth with the boastful promise of an easy victory. From Richmond, on the contrary, come the glad signs of exceeding joy over a triumph of our arms, so great and overwhelming as though the God of Battles had fought visibly on our side, and smitten and scattered our enemies with a thunderbolt.

Such a rout of such an army-so large, so equipped, and so commanded--was never known before in the wars on this continent. Whole "What if the day be lost? all is not lost." corps disorganized, regiments cut to pieces, arIt cannot be lost while we have confidence in body of disciplined men converted into a panictillery captured in whole batteries, and a mighty the justice of our cause, and faith in Heaven. stricken mob-such things have not been read We seek not for the mere prestige of victory; we are warring not to decide the skill of rival ciplined troops who bore Scott into Mexico enof, except on that smaller scale where the disgenerals, and the comparative prowess of Northern and Southern soldiery; we are seek-parted before him like sheep before a charge countered the races of semi-barbarians, who ing (with sword, it is true) to win back the of cavalry. It is the same iron race which blessings of peace in a Constitutional Union. took Scott upon their shoulders, and carried him into the capital of Mexico, which now bars his way to Richmond with a wall of steel and fire. The leaders may clamor for new and greater efforts for the straining of the resources of the people and the gathering of large armaments, to be precipitated upon the South in the desperate hope of retrieving the fortunes of a day so deplorably lost. We will not venture to say to what extent rage, disappointment, baffled cupidity, and thirst for revenge, may carry a deluded people; but the confidence of the South will rise high, that no continued and often-repeated struggles can be entered upon in the face of such obstacles which have been found in the courage and constancy of the Confederate army, and the genius of its illustrious chief.

The disaster at Manassas Junction, while it will inspire the most profound regret and disappointment, will not cause the abatement of one jot of heart or hope as to the final result. If it shall put a stop to the idle gasconade and depreciation of the rebel power, in which we have all been too prone to indulge, we shall have bought the lesson dearly it is true, but it is worth learning at almost any price.

-Salem Gazette.

It is idle to seek to disguise that we have met with a great disaster, but one for which, under all the circumstances, we should not have been totally unprepared, and which only proves that even our soldiers cannot achieve impossibilities. We have paid an awful penalty for the error of underrating the strength of our enemy, and attempting, with too small a number of men, to drive him from his stronghold. We have suffered our zeal to outrun our discretion; and in deference to the strong popular sentiment which demanded an early capture of Richmond, the forward movement against

In every corner of this land, and at every capital in Europe, it will be received as the emphatic and exulting endorsement, by a young and unconquerable nation, of the lofty assurance President Davis spread before the world on the very eve of the battle, that the noble race of freemen who inherit these States will, what

ever may be the proportions the war may as- | the inspiration of a grand and holy cause, and sume, renew their sacrifices and their ser- they have been utterly routed by half their vices from year to year, until they have made number. good to the uttermost their right to self-government."

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for objects really dear to them. If England or France were invading the Northern States, no one can believe that a whole American army would evaporate because three calendar months were up; nor, to bring matters nearer home, can we imagine that the Southerners will take the rail homeward while New York rowdies and Boston abolitionists are desolating the villages of Virginia.

tunes, in their faculty of what they call coming | resolve which animates men who are fighting "right side up'ard," that as a community they are no more depressed by a total rout than they would be in their individual capacities by a pecuniary loss. A singular trait in human character is exhibited in their open acknowledgment to all the world of defeat, coupled with the "enthusiastic reception" which they are giving to whole regiments of volunteers, who, on pretence of their time being up, are marching homeward on the morrow of a great defeat and on the eve of an expected advance of the Southern army. The more aristocratic New York volunteers had returned home long before the battle at Bull Run, and now regiments from almost every State are hastening back to their respective districts, to be received with the loudest plaudits of their friends. The 14th Ohio, on returning to Toledo, "experienced a cordial reception." It was mentioned that, after a few weeks' furlough, they would be ready to reënlist-those few weeks, for all that they know, being destined to decide the fate of the Union forever. But the most extraordinary case is that of General Patterson's army. The general, according to his own account, was in front of General Johnston, who had 40,000 men. 'My force is less than 20,000 men. Nineteen regiments, whose term of service was up, or would be within a week, all refused to stay an hour over their time, with the exception of four. Five regiments have gone home, two more go to-day, and three more to-morrow. To avoid being cut off with the remainder, I fell back and occupied this place." This is, we think, one of the most astounding incidents in the history of war. It entirely agrees with the statement given by our Special Correspondent, that while the cannon of Beauregard were thundering in their ears, a regiment of volunteers passed him on their way home, their three months' terms of service being complete. If such a thing had happened to one corps, it might have been set down to the bad counsels of one or more discontented spirits, or to the injudicious conduct of some commanding officers. But here it is evident that the whole volunteer army of the Northern States is worthless as a military organization. It is useless to comment on the behavior of men who, pretending to rush to arms for the salvation of their country, make off in thousands when the enemy comes in sight, and leave their general to take care of himself. This is certainly carrying to its furthest limit that right of secession which they flew to arms to punish. In any other country such conduct would be looked upon as the extreme of base-York Regiment is described as having inflicted ness. But the Americans do not visit it as such, and they, perhaps, have an instinctive sense of the justice of the case. They feel how hollow has been so much of the indignation expressed by their party-how much the campaign against the South is a sham, entered into in obedience to a "sensation" policy, and differing widely from the earnest and steady

In all ages success in war has inclined to the party which is fighting for its existence, and is consequently steeled to a sterner resolve. There is a want of this earnestness to be noticed in the conduct of the Northerners. They take things easy to a degree which astonishes an Englishman who recollects the frenzy which followed the first misfortunes of our army at the end of 1854. The whole story of the battle of Bull Run is given by the Northern papers, of course with many variations, but, we are bound to say, with entire candor. The completeness of the defeat, the courage of the enemy and the panic of their own army, are not extenuated or denied in any way. There is, of course, the usual tendency to lay the blame on the commanders, and to save the self-love of the army at the expense of its chiefs. But, making allowances for this, it is probable not only that the leaders were incompetent, but the mass of the troops felt that they were. From the first there seems to have been little purpose in any thing that was done. The advance began before dawn, and one writer says that even at that hour there seemed a lack of unity and direct purpose among the officers, which sometimes was made too evident to the troops not to affect their spirit and demeanor. At the very opening of the day it was plain to all, that real and sound discipline was abandoned. On the other hand, the Confederates were evidently commanded by men who knew something of war. The ground on the Federal side was wooded almost down to the ravine, through which the stream flows, but on the other side "the enemy had cleared away all obstructive foliage, and bared the earth in every direction over which they could bring their artillery upon us." The battle began about sunrise, and was at its height a little after noon. The accounts given by the Northern correspondents describe the enemy as almost destroyed by the repeated charges of the Federalists. Allowing for exaggeration, it may be taken as pretty certain that they were hardpressed, and that some, at least, of the Federal troops behaved with gallantry. The 71st New

severe loss on the enemy. Indeed, the bulletins published by the Confederate authorities appear to admit that the Southern army suffered severely at one point of the action.

But this was but the beginning of the day's work. Whether the Confederates had any plan of fighting settled beforehand by their commanders, we do not as yet know; but the ac

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count of the Northerners is that "the enemy troops half fasting and worn out by a twelve appeared upon the left flank between us and hours' march. An official despatch to Richour way of retreat." A panic then seized the mond from the Confederate camp, says that the Federal troops. We have looked through the Northern troops on the left fought so valiantly different narratives in vain for any probable and pressed the Southern forces under Gen. cause of this terror, but the word cavalry "Johnston so severely, that the issue seemed appears so frequently that we must suppose doubtful. "It was here," the same despatch that a body of Southern horsemen did appear states, "that Col. Bartow's Georgian regiment somewhere, though the country is obviously was posted, which was so terribly cut up that not well suited to the action of that force. a large body of our troops from the centre was From the same description of the battle we sent at a critical moment to the left's assistquote as follows: "The rebel cavalry, having ance, and turned the tide of the battle." completely circumvented our left, charged in When at length obliged to retire, it is evident upon a number of wounded and stragglers." that the Northern troops soon fell into disorder. Then followed the scene which has been suffi- But this, so far from being inexplicable, is only ciently described in these columns. On the what might naturally be expected under the whole, the newspapers which have come from special circumstances of the case. The army the North within the last few days are most was composed of volunteers, and however well interesting. The tone in which the calamity is such troops may fight, it is the most difficult discussed is, we think, very creditable to the achievement in the world to bring them from people of the Northern States; and, strange to the field in good order. And most probably, say, it has not increased, but, as far as one can which ever army had been compelled to retire, judge, has lessened the bitterness toward the would soon have fallen into confusion, and conSoutherners. -London Times, August 10. verted the retreat into a rout. The confusion of the retreat is, no doubt, a lesson to volunteers which ought not to be forgotten either in this country or America. But the fact that the Southern army failed to follow up its advantage, proves that the retreat of the Federal army was not, as it has been unjustly represented, the flight of cowards. The nine hours' fighting had evidently inspired the Southern troops with a respect for Northern valor.

We have as yet no detailed official account of the battle at Bull Run; but the additional information received during the last few days all tends to show that the earliest accounts of the engagement published were not only inaccurate, but, so far as the defeat of the North was concerned, absurdly exaggerated. This was perfectly natural, as the narratives were those of sutlers and civilians, who saw and knew nothing of the action except the retreat, and who appear to have formed their estimate of the Northern army and its behavior in the field from the hurried flight and terrified exclamations of a mere panic-stricken mob of camp-followers. Even these accounts, however, were sufficient to convict the wholesale sentence-"that 75,000 American patriots fled for twenty miles in agony of fear"-of being a wanton and malignant fiction. That any English journal of position and influence should be capable of making such a statement in a tone of mockery and exultation, is a humiliation and disgrace to the press of this country. Such writing proves that, notwithstanding our boasted superiority over the journals on the other side of the Atlantic, an English organ of opinion may occasionally equal in rancorous scorn, selfish passion, and vulgar prejudice, the worst rowdy hacks of the lowest New York prints. Instead of 75,000 Northern troops having been engaged in the action at Bull Run, it appears that not half that number were present, and their gallant behavior in the field is attested, not only by the facts, but by the explicit testimony of their enemies. Success in such an enterprise would probably have been, even to trained troops, almost impossible; and Gen. Scott is reported to have reproached himself for allowing the attack to have been made so soon-prematurely, in fact. But, once begun, the struggle was obstinately maintained by VOL. II.-Doc. 8

But however imperfect our knowledge of this first great collision may be, we may predict some of its results with tolerable certainty. It will put an end to hollow and deceptive schemes of compromise. The grand controversy between the North and the South has at length reached the point it has been for years past gradually ap proaching-the ultima ratio of force; and the sword having now been drawn in earnest, it must be fought out. The defeat of the Federal forces in this first great encounter, will, however, in evitably tend to protract the war, and the delay will work to the advantage of the North. The Federal States are in character, position, and means, far better able to sustain a protracted contest, than the secessionists. The reverse they have experienced will but rouse their latent energy, and develop their ample resources, moral and material. It will help to give to the national struggle of the North the depth and seriousness it ought to possess. It will do this by bringing clearly out, and keeping prominently in view, the profounder motives and nobler issues-in a word, the whole moral significance of the conflict. We cannot for a moment regret this. Whatever may have been the immediate occasion of the actual appeal to arms, the real causes and objects of this war are of supreme gravity and importance. The Federal States are, in fact, fighting for the very elements and essence of social order, civic prosperity, and national life. The revolted States pretend, indeed, according to Mr. Stephens'

owed no obligations to the Union, but were perfect strangers, the Northern leaders, intrusted by Providence with the necessary material force, would be morally bound to prevent the formation of such a State-such a portentous anomaly in the history of human progress.

-London Daily News, Aug. 9.

ingenious speech, that all they want is to be allowed to manage their own affairs in their own way. But this is, as every one knows, the merest delusion in the world. So long as their peculiar institution remains, the slave States must adopt a violent aggressive policy, or perish. That is the policy they have adopted and successfully carried out for years past 'Tis in the New World as in the Old-treain the Federal Government; they gained power, son never prospers; for if it prospers, “none kept it, and used it for their own ends. But dare call it treason." All the waiters on events, the constitutional despotism they have enjoyed all the idolaters of success, all the secret symso long having been at length constitutionally pathizers with despotism, are on the alert to broken up, they appeal to the sword. For catch the first gleam of good fortune that lights what purpose? To gain by force the criminal on the dark banners of a wicked cause. The and degrading ends thay have hitherto secured rebellion that aims to enlarge and perpetuate by policy. The one object for which they have slavery, is the only rebellion to which the Times broken up the Union and taken the field against and its tributary streamlets of un-English opintheir fellow-countrymen, is to extend and per- ion ever wafted encouragement. As oft as an petuate slavery. It is neither more nor less oppressed people snatched at the sword in the than a wild and despotic crusade on behalf of desperate hope of cutting its way to freedom, the greatest curse that ever afflicted or ever can they poured derision and censure on the gallant afflict any people. That this is the true character effort. If Frenchmen essayed to establish a of the war in the South, is demonstrated by the French Government-if Germans passed in a formal acts and declarations of the secession moment of energetic inspiration from dreaming leaders and representatives. Mr. Stephens, the to working-if Hungarians renounced an alleVice-President of the Confederate States, pub-giance that had become a national death-if licly declares to all the world, "The foundations Poles or Italians writhed from prostrate subof our new Government are laid, its corner-stone jection into erect and sublime resistance—the rests upon the great truth, that slavery-subor- Times and its emulative followers hissed forth dination to the superior race-is the natural their scorn of such romantic courage, their and moral condition of the negro." Hitherto, hatred of such irreverent boldness. They mawhile its evils were admitted, Slavery was ligned the motives, defamed the characters, defended in the South on the ground of its perverted the principles and objects of the necessity. Now it is declared to be absolutely leaders in such adventures for freedom. Men right, a new moral truth, the centre or corner- of mild and noble natures were portrayed as stone of a new State, the symbol and watch- blood-thirsty ruffians. Men of the most pracword of a new and sanguinary crusade. The tical sagacity were painted as reckless enthudeepest wrong and most cruel injury that man siasts. Men whose first acts were the abolition can possibly inflict on his fellow, is formally of capital punishment and the institution of consecrated as right, while Heaven is profanely legal relief for destitution, were branded as invoked in its defence. The one social curse enemies of life and property. Nations whose which destroyed free and noble nations of old, humble hopes were bounded by the expectation and which modern civilization has repudiated of just and equal laws, were confounded with as essentially destructive of national life and a few half-crazed philosophers, in whom improgress, is now, for the first time in history, prisonment or exile had bred an excess of phiproclaimed as the one grand principle of the lanthropy. Yet even Red Republicans were new Confederation. Such a State, were it extolled if they chanced to gain a victory at the possible to set it up, must be the permanent barricades; and the conspirator who, by supeenemy, the natural foe, of all free peoples. To rior craft, obtained a crown, was lauded as an talk of coming to an understanding with such example of laudable ambition. When the tide a State, of living on terms of amity and peace turned again-when deposed kings and prowith it, would be out of the question. Such scribed revolutionists were thrown on the a State brands the notion of freedom as a false-strand, fragments of successive wrecks, victims hood, and stigmatizes industry as a disgrace. of a storm that uplifted only to abase-when The moral influence of a free and industrious people would be more fatal to it than the sword -than any display of mere material force. Its policy must be violent and aggressive in mere self-defence. It would be essentially, by nature, constitution, and necessity, filibustering and piratical. This is the real meaning of the struggle in the South, and this would be its result were it successful. In view of such results, mere constitutional arguments, true as as they may be, sink to the level of idle pedantry. If the Southern leaders and their adherents

the reign of force was reestablished, and order was vindicated by the crowd of captives and fugitives that looked and longed in vain through the bars of adverse fate, or across the waters that mocked their change of fortunes-the Times was ready again with its parable for the day; ready, as before, to flatter the successful, to fawn on the powerful, to insult the fallen, to libel human nature, and to outrage the generous sympathies of Englishmen, with freedom in arms or with freedom trodden under foot.

As with the European peoples, so with the