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J 4 VIE CONSTITUTION AND T II K LAW S THE GUARDIANS OF OUR LIBERTY. Vol. XLIV. HILLSBOROUGH, K. C, AUGUST 12, 1863. No. "2207. if ENGLISH OPINION. In the English House of Lord, on the 4th .'uly, Lord Campbell tpoke to his mo tion for the recognition of the Southern Confederacy We give some extracts from it i " From the Northern mind it would tike aay the hope ofv Southern subjugation, from the Government of Washington it would take awly the power of describing eleven communities contending for their liberty at rebels. The people of America ate influenced by phra.es and will not come to terms with what they have been hounded on to look at as a rebellion.' Hut they can see a fact when Europe blazons it More them, and the; will be awakened by her judgment to the nature of the foreign war on which their treasure and their hap pinefrftare watted. Whet Europe itaaac knowledyed it, the independence of the Smth may be debited in the Senate and the House, where no one now can venture to advert to it. A probable result of such a maure, if pursued bv France, Great liritain, and other neutral States together, i, that it would weaken in the Executive at Washington it borrowing ability, be cue their loans are founded on the chan ces of reeonqurit ; and reconqueit would then appear what it is, a vision and a ituifkery. And it would do so with good reiton. Victoriousalreadv, animated ihen, tU Southern armies would be doubly irre i'li'jle. Another practical effect of recognition would be that lite belligerents wight then ei.deavor to negotiate, which it is clear t' rv tsnnot do at present. A separate re suit would be to put an end to all the idle trtaros of reconstruction ard of union which aie floating in America, and which to rroltc the war, because tfiey dia ircline the Noith ! the oulv bais -un ... . ... which the close ol it is possible. "And is the istue doubtful? The capi- raht of London, r ran Wort, ran. Am- vrnlam, at not of that opinion. Within the lt few days the Southern loan has mched the highest place in our market. Il.l'OO.OiH) were required. 19.000,000 were subscribed for. The loan is baed upun the security of cotton, and it has Wen well known for a twelvemonth that at ire invaders match that aecority mut prnth. Hut what is the opinion of milita i v mm upon the inue? The Emperor of tnr I rench-, having been brought up as a ir -ha v ii'jj given a Ions life to milita ry science; and having recently command d ilte greatest armies of the dav at Sot Icttno and Mifetita in the dispatch of .November last did not conceal from the (ovt-rninent of Washington that subjuga tiou was impossible. The Princes of tle lloute of Orleans, who served with Gen McCiellan, ate thought to have inpirel .e eument account ol-.ihe campaign winch apprared on October l&th, in ti.e llevi.e i!rs Deux Mor.des, and which lta teiidrd to disperse the mion of rrcon t ut -i. To the same scale of judgment rn. Scott appears, by recent revelation contribute. Anil thi, tow, is rmisika 'v. Not one military mm in the North iv known to vie rcconqueit at attainable. Neither tien. Mct'lellan. lluinmtle, Koe- tit . MrlWell, Haitrck, or UuclL, have t ii r piibiiclt deilareil, o lr n .t Un aiiifil u, hat ll.e object ol liic.d'utt lit' 'in t they ene i.nrer is IraMble. 14 The rhap, inDoiiuoiou tnk of pnt ; : i' irg triumph has been wivcly left lu !ir vnluminou dpnrh writrri Srward, ''io. hatrtrr behi vii turKor arcomplinh- tiih. i no inote ijuahfitd to ju!ge the itr f cch)paignn than he i to guide the :"eif.tnu of battles ll in. tUrclotc, '"'"" to inquire what proof, then, of abiht) h this aggrcive Cabinet de vrloprdf Int jn appointing, superceding, "' !crat.'n,K the couimt rii.ers iv muot lean f it in their firm adherence to prin 4 p's; At one time they were opposed the invasion thty hv, plunged ioto. Is t their conduct about slavery ? At one t'tif they boasted t,f their dUposif.ion to ' M l it. Soon after they desired the ' fu . Mt t9 ba dlird from it. Af- th4t mincip&tioa was declared; but only in the States which were resisting them, . . ? "Are these the movements of a Govern merit by which the broken fragments of the Union can be welded, a, mighty continent subdued, eight million freemen braced into a unit, robbed of home, of honor, and of Irredonif uut who are they arrayed a gaint? The House ought not, indeed, to uin in the encomiums on the Southern President, which heat and sympathy have prompted. As no one waa deemed happy by the ancients until his life had closed, no one will be stamped as great by us tin in ma enterprise nas triumphed, liol so much may be hazarded of this extraordina ry man, that, gifted amply by nature, he has made the union of politics and milita ry excellence Ins object, and that as far as f.urope has observed, in the midst of dan ger and care, such as few men have the power to imagine, fewer to sustain, he has exhibited the patience and the enterprise, me aruor anu the coolness, the heroism-and urbamty, for which it generally happens that nationi,draw their birth and civil wara accept their destination. And this it most important to rernemberif w look back to such conjunctures we do not find an in stance in which mind, character, capacity have yielded to the want of all. no matter how well sustained the latter as regards fortes, number and revenue. "If noble lords agree, therefore, with the financial world, with tnilitary'men, and wiui the Government of AY ashington itself. that the isue is not doubtful, and if, there fore, Great Hrirain has the right to ac knowledge Southern independence, why ought she to neroise it? , The first an swer i bciue honor calls on her to do so. sad it ret on a detail which"! shall ra pidly explain to your lordships. British consul have remained during the war at Moirilf, tharleton and Savannah. They are there for the protection of our subjects, who reid bv thousands on the seaboard. In time like tjiee their presence is essen tial. Were it not Tur consuls to identify them, the severe enlistment laws of tlfe Confederacy might at any timetlescend on our people; or in the sudden turns of war their goods might be deMriAed without a clue tu ownership or means ol compensa tion. They are aUo there to witness the blockade, and to report upon its efliccyi And these Consuls draw their txtquaturi from the Government of Washington. They are a standihg degradation to the power which receives which shelters and endures them. We are net inclined to withdraw them. We ought, therefore, to accredit ih'Hi to the insurgent who permits the in to rtide, and if we do he is acknowledged. Honor forbids nation, as it does men, to run up a score of gratitude themselves, and to create a score of jut rentment in its object, tu nftf t in.ultat the moment they are prufttinz bv fat or. In one ensc alone d the Cotiffdrracy gain by the arrange ment; we give them all the grandeur ol lot itearance; they allow our Consuls tf re of his seaboard. No doubt Canada is anfc while the civil war continues j but we are neither able nor entitled tn nrolnmr it f..r her safety. The Civil war man rlnea .Ft.. the acknowledgment of Southern indepen dence by the Emperor, " although Great urnainnas not shared that manifesto. The friendly disposition of the South is therefore necessary to us; it is attaina. ble, and if we wantonly forego it, if we al low the war to close before we' have ac knowledged, both the separated powers being irrevocably hostile to us, we may be forced, now to guard, Canada from one. the West Indies from the Either. Our diplo matists, moreover, would have no influence or voice in the Confederacy, whether they attempted to aofien the resentment which the war had left behind it, to gain legiti mate advantages in trade, to deprecate ag gressive views, or to improve the situation of the negro. ' ' It is lor a despotism that the people bf me .voriu are pouring out their blood, and tarn'mhing their glory. Alreadyjt exists, jt had its birth in war, and it would take its immortality from conquest. Then, would the Union be restored for the ad vantages ot the world? What country would be safe? What country would be free? Would Poland gain when the only friend and patron of the Czar recovered his original dimensions? At first, indeed, the necessity of Southern garrisons might keep them in repose. But in a few years and they do not labor to conceal it from us a power more rapacious, more unprin cipled, more arrogant, more selfish and en croaching, would arise, thad has ever yet increased the outlay, multiplied the fears, and compromised the general tranquility of Europe. And ou this overgrown, on this portentous form of tyranny and egotism, many countries would depend for the Ma terial of that important industry which languishes at present." VICKSbTRd WHILE I'SDER SIEGE. CurreiMnJence of the Augusta Contttitutionalisb . Vjfksbui June 26. Mr. Editor : About five weeks of this long battle have gone by, and at the hour 1 write Vickiburg has not fallen. Hut will it fall? Yes. True, you can neither gel this nor my former letter'until either my prediction is falsified by the vie torioiu advance of Gen. Johnston, or veri fied by the flag of iruce by which I hope to lorward in letters alter I am a prisoner. You have been informed that this boast ed Gibraltar of the South is impregnable to all save starvation; and so it is, for the en em y pronounce our works stronger than the famed defences of Sebastopol. Commo dore Porter' says so, and he was there at the siege. The soldiers now do not get in a day as much as a man usually eats ait one meal. The citizens uiTer like the suIJiers ; corn meal has Sold at $40 per busliel, and now ranfiotbe had. Mr mes bought a turret of flour for $130 in the first davs ol the side, and we withholJ the recpgni'.iorJ s?f j,.er WM on;, kpj;l ,jrtwn t0 ;5 whiih public law vr.tiilfthtm toavko! u.,rrnts tier pound, br the f.tct that the beef lint i nol our apct with regyd M t'. j cuttle .wrrr ll driven inside of the lines, Ne !eny meir ngiit mer j all4i otirnmall cm-break' ami a few shucks a pour one ; !hrir trrrilory, and yet t tier h&tiJs re envc the acty of our citizens A noble earl h p iined hi laure? in were the only means of feeding them, ll-ef is n-iw Sf i per po ind, nnd the family I board witii iu not been able to buy any the K.t, well poii.teo out t us lat e at tint pric .r three day. Corn meal i"tt that, wlicrunci the war clooed Canada broug'tt f'3l pr bushel to-day. Mo!ases wuld be rndatigrred. If victorious, the! i f 3 per gallon. Sugar 75 cent. (lie- tneiober that the frugal' crops ol the vvctt were stored here!) S'nne of the Kuuiana regiments cat any .Noitlierr. Mutes inuht attack it m the drunkenness of pnde; if defeated, in the bitterness if friue. Some rncJi, out J dour, h'te been s infatuated as to hold t!.4t by tan-fully abstaining from anything which givts unibrage to the.l'nited State we should drUnd it. A if aggrcwive powers had ever been restrained by want ing pretexts for the wars they were inclin ed to. The security of Canada is quickly seen by your lordships to reside in one circumstance atone the danger of attack ing it. That danger will at least be greater when 'the Southern power is kindly to Great liritain than when it is estranged, inasmuch as the aggressive State wilt then have to contemplate the chance of an at tack upon his rear as well as the blockade thing, and some of them called here yes terday with a l.itg; wharf rat, and offered to pair fifty cents each for every rat they roulJgetl" A licighbor of ours gave them font. Examine then the .probabilities, which will be certainties when you get this. For five weeks, the most of the time under a rain which converted the lime dust into a bed ol paste, the soldiers have lain in the trenches, six leet wide and fourfaet deep, without shelter above, and with only dust or mud under their thin blankets. The water is hot, scarce, and. only to be pro cured from the ponds or river, under f.re, and at the risk of life. There are not enough of our men to relieve each other. while the host in front of them sends fresh men forward every twenty-four hours, who fire with artillery and small arms day and night, and consequently our men get little' sleep or rest. The lines of the enemy are in some places withiorten leet or our ditch es, close enough to make scribbling on ship crackers and tossing tnem into our ditches, a favorite amusement. Consequently one third of the men have to be always watch ing for a charge, knowing that the occupa tion of twenty yards of our entrenchments would be fatal to Vicksburg. When they yield at last, as yield they must to some terrible assault or to starva tion, let no exempt who reads of the fall of Vicksburg as he sits at a able piled with enough 'food for a company of soldiers, presume to question their 'patriotism or their courage. Defeated and prisoners as. they will be, the historian of other days will record no prouder names, then those of the Defenders of Vicksburg. Inside of this slaughter pen we have the same solid facts as before. Shells the size of half a bushel, filled with powder, and containing tubes filled with a liquid which burns all in reach of its mol ten flame; huge black monsters', borne in an instant from' that red hell beyond the trees, and sweeping down in the roar of their own whirlwind, looking with that one red demon eye for something to destroy; they come, thicker than did the lost angels from the battlements of Heaven. . f A few are singing their." peculiar song" just now, but not so numerous. The loss of lite .here is not great, considering that shells have fallen 'sometimes at the rate of five thousand an hour, and Minnie balls are buried in these hills by millions. I find few now who d not acknowledge t some special providence. The terms with which men disguise from their fellow men their own deep feelings are still upon their lips, but many a heart has learned again the prayers of childhood, and lofty faith, looks out amid the invisible, perils of the day and the flaming terrors of the night, feeling that the soul can "defy a darken big universe, to quench its immortality or shake its trust in God." July 3. This is bow our 48th day with in this Gibraltar of the South, and our ra tions are out. I told you we would stay until starved out.. Well, rats are a luxury. Small fishes sell at twenty dollars, chick ens at ten dollars each. Corn meal has sold at one hundred and sixty dollars per bushel. Mule meat has sold readily at two dollars perpouod in market, and I ate it a week. The soldiers have had only one meal a day for ten days, and then one man does not get what a child should have. My regiment got their last quarter rations to-day, aod while there are a few; peas left, I presume General Pemberton does not wish to surrender his command in a high state of colic. I have lately spent considerable time at the lines, and'ean speak from experience, both of the horrible heat and terrible fire. All the heavy guns captured from us at Snyder's DlutT, Grand Gulf, Port Gibson and Maker's Creek, are now in position, besides the siege guns of the enemy. I stay in the tent of Col. Barkatoo, at the lines, and the hells which pass through the crest of the earthworks, pasy)ver the top of (he tent just eight inches. As the rush of the huge Parrot shells, which are twenty-two inches long, and seven inches thick, can be distinctly heard at a mile distance, you can imagine the perfect shriek with which the 150 pounds of iron rushes by one's head. I have heard them whistle fully as loud as an ordinary locomotive would at a few feet distant. As to the huge iron erb of 200 pounds weight, which yet come by hundreds front the gunboats, they vfould make a hurricaae ashamed of itself. Several mines have been exploded under our trenches, and while the earth does not produce such terrible results as falling ms sonrv would, still the list ot killed and wounded in this way is frightful. Three regiments were blown in the air at once,
The Durham Recorder (Durham, N.C.)
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Aug. 12, 1863, edition 1
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