Wmtnarv.
R.
W. JONES,I- Editors.
RS. S. JENN INGS,)
`One Country, One Constitution, One
Destiny."
IiVISVI4Wn% I)tt
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 8, 1864.
FPR rRESAPENT IN ). 8 44,
I*
GEN. GEORGE CLEL ,
(Subject to the Decision ; emorratic Na
tional C ..1 •
OEMOCBAT.p COUNTY TICaT.
essaußlX,
WOODIAS ROSE,
1311701111
sillltirr,
HEATH JOHNS,
OF WASHINGTON.
COMMISSIONER,
TIIOAIAS SCOTT,
OF WHITELY.
DIATRICT ATTORNET,
40SEPPI G. RITCIIIE,
ELIE=
'OOR Roves Di l ty.cwoyt,
ARTHUR RINEHART,
=l3
AUDITOR,
A. J. MARTIN,
oF «ASNV E
G4Whtle the army is fighting, you aseit
isens see that the war is prosecuted for
the preservation of the Union and the
Constitution, and of your nationality and
your rights as citizens."
GEO. B. McCLELLAN.
16111 - W7yte Vonstltatlon and the 111 :
I place thew together. If they stand, Olt y
must stand together; if they fall, they
*tot roll together.” --Daniel
The Popular Vote and Delegate Sys-
terns.
We perceive that our Democratic friends of
Washington County, following the example of
Fayette County, have concluded to abandon
the popular vete, or Primary Election System,
and to adopt, in its stead, a modified, and
we think, an improved Delegate System.—
They call it the "Ohio Delegate System."
Vnder the old Delegate System, each town
ship and borough wart entitled to the same
pumber of Delegates. Tly this modified
Ohio System, the number of Delegates al-
Itwed to each township and borough is in
proportion to the Democratic vote cast at the
!apt previous general election. In Washing
tOtT County they apportion at least one dele
gate to each township or borough and an ad
.ditional Delegate for each forty Democratic
votes, ascertained as above.
This change of the ntole, of making nonti
nationsfor tho Democracy of that county
was resolved upon at a meeting held in
February last, and the county committee of
Vigilance was directed to carry into effect
the details - 4 the plan- At a meeting held
at the Valentina House in. Washington, on
the 30th ult., the county committee of Vigi
lance fixed upon Saturday, the 20th day of
August, as the time for selecting Delegates
to make the nominations for the Democratic
Party of that County, at a Convention to be
held on Monday, the 22d day of that month.
We may take this occasion to suggest that
many of our oldest and most experienced
politicians, have, on various occasions ex
pressed dissatisfaction with the Primary
Election System, as practised in this county,
and a wish to change it. Now that our
Amery Elections for the present Year are
Aver, would seem to be a favorable time for
the consideration of this question, in refer
limos to our future nominations. What say
yoq, Brother Democrats?
Pugilistic.
On Wednesday afternoon last, quite an af
fray took place in the dining room of the
National Hotel, in Washington City, between
!ienator Chan"tiler, of Michigan, and Hon. D.
W. Voorhees # of Indiana, in which the for
mer cane out third best. While they were
seet.ed at the table Mr. Chandler was in
dulging in loud denpnciations of Defnocrats
in such # way as to indicate that they were
intended to apply to Mr. Voorhees, who was
near him. The latter arose, and saying that
his name had been used, and that the re
marks were evidently intended fur him, re
quested Senator Chandler to leave the room
with him. Upon receiving a rude and de
fiant answer, he severely slapped Mr. Chan
dler's face. The latter rose and struck at
Voorhees, whose arms had been caught by a
end of Chandler'e, when Mr. lldnuegan, of
7 - Ine Grove, this county, a friend of Voor
hees, interposed, and was in turn assailed by
, Dhancller. Mr. Hannegau struck Chandler
with a pitcher, and dragged him to the floor
the hair, cuffed him, until the affair was
i;topped by the interference of by-stauders.
—[Patriot & Union.
ger'he New York "Day Book" is openly
I stile to the nomination of Gen. McClellan
.t-r the next Presidency. That paper takes
tae grounds that no candidate who has at
any time had any connection with the war,
will snit its for a candidate for the
Presidency. We peed not say that we have al
ways remled the t.es.chings of that paper as
' to the rett4nterests of the Dem
ocratic P ited ittptiotta rather to em
berrasel than to
The Cleveland Convention.
This Cori Tuition met on Tuesday last and
nominated on by acclamation, They
did not regard' the formality of a vote necessa
ry. There seemed to be no difference of
opirion in the Convention on the subject.—
Jolts COCHRAIsT, of Net- York, a renegade
Democrat, was nominated for the Vice Pres
idency. A majority of the Northern States
was represented in the Convention. The
proceedings were quite enthusiastic, showing
no indications of a disposition to back down,
or give was to Mr. Lincoln. He seems to
have had no friends in this Convention.
Below is a copy of the Platform adopted
oil the occasion, Much of it is unexception
able. The 13th proposition, it is said, is the
only one on which there was a division.
THE PLATFORM
1. That the Federal Union skull be
preserved.
2. That the Constitution and laws of
the 'United States must be observed and
obeyed.
3. That the rebellion must be sup
pressed by force of arms, and without
compromise.
4. That the rites of free speech, free
press, and the habeas corpus be held in
violate, save ill districts, where martial
law has been proclaimed.
. 5. That the rebellion has destroyed
slavery, and the Federal Constitution
should be amended to prohibit its re-es
tablishment, and to secure to all men
absolute equality before the law.
6. That integrity and economy are
demanded at 411 times in the adminis
tration of the Government, and, that in
time of war the want of them )s
7. That the right of asylum except
for crime and subject to law, is a recog
nized principlt of American liberty; that
any violation of it cannot be overlOoked,
and must not go overlooked.
8. That the National Policy, known
as the Monroe doctrine, has become a
recognized principle, and that the estab
lishing of an anti-Bepublican Govern-
Ment ou this continent by any foreign
power cannot be tolerated.
9. That the gratitude and support of
the nation is due to the faithful soldiers
and the earnest leaders of the Union ar
my and navy for their heroic achiev
meats and dauntless bravery in the de
fence of our imperelled country and of
civil liberty.
10 That the one terni policy for the
Presidency, adopted by the people, is
strencrthennd by the force of the exist
ing crisis, and should be maintained by
the Constitution.
11. That the Constitution should be
so amended that the President and Vice
President should be elected by a direct
vote of the people.
12. That the question of the recon
struction of the rebellious States belongs
to the people, through
. their representa
tives in Congress, and net to the Exec
utive. .
13. That the confiscation of the lands
of the rebels, and their distribution
among the soldiers And actual settlers,
is a measure of justice.
Several of the above propositions will ree=
ceive the full approbation of the Democratic
Party. Thir enunciation by a Republican or
Abolition Convention, constitutes the best
tribute to the correctness of the earnest and
tnanly protests of the Democracy against the
unwarranted invasions of the plainest princi
ples of constitutional rights of the people, for
the last two years, by the present administra
toin, and is proof demonstrative that the ap
peals of the Democrats have touched the
hearts of the people, and afford a consoling as
surance of success to the glorious principles of
our party at the next Presidential Election.
The Tendency to Centralization and a
Splendid Despotic Government.
The first sign of a tendency in the direc
tion of centralization and a splendid and
despotic government says the Patriot and
Union was exhibited in the demand made
by the united Abolition press and politicians,
that the President should be considered the
(iorernment, and treated as such, under
penalty of suspicion of treason, and the ae,
jection and use by him of a large body guard
of cavalry, to attend him iu his rides or
drives, and guard the portals of the White
House. Next, the declaration that the
"War Power," with which he claims to be
clothed, overrode the Constitution, and in
vested him with absolute power over citizens
and States alike—making his own will or
whith the supreme law, and himself, or his
appointed agents, its executor. And now,
in the third place, we have the most sugges
tive and humiliating sign of all, to wit : The
attendance, from time to time, at the Court
of Washington, of Qovernors of Sovereign
States, humbly bowing the knee to the
usurper, and claiming as boons what of right
belongs to them in their official capacity,
under the reserved rights of the Constitution
and the laws of the States. Our own• Gov,
ernor seems to have fallen entirely into the
new idea, and to recognize, by his frequent
humble attentions at the Shoddy Court, and
his implicit obedience to all the edicts of the
Shoddy Crown, the Obliteration of State lines,
•
and his own !assalage.
On the subject of these frequent guber
natorial visits, the Cincinnati Enquirer very
truly remarks • g
"This stigma the centralizing tendency of
our politics 4.4der the present Abolition dy-I
nasty. Here we see Governors of sovereign
States—the principals tp the Federal com
pact—forgetting the dignity of their position
and repairing to Washington to dance
.at
tendance around the footstool of the Federal
Agent whom they have created. If they
were viceroys of subject provinces, holding
their postions at the will of a superior, they
could not evince greater alacrity iu carrying
out the Federal behests. These Abolition
Governor's practically recognize the truth of
Lincoln's monstrous assertion, that the
States sustained the same relation to the
Federal Government' that a county did to a
State. In other words, that we were a grand
consolidated empire.
How this conduct of tiles? Governors com
pares with the patriot John Hancock, who
Was Governor of Massachusetts when Gener
al Washington, as Hresident of the United
States, made his visit to that State. The
Governor refused to call on the President
until the latter had first honored him with a
visit, as the representative of a sovereign
State. Sack was - the sturdy idea of the *lv
oiutionaeY Patriot(' ofState rights and redpr
al. NOPriThation,
General Butler.
Rumor aeserts that the Administration is
about to recall Gen, Butler from the com
mand of the army of the Peninsula. Why
it ever entrusted so important a command,
to a merely civilian and political General,
would be a puzzle under any other adminis
tration. Now is not the time for merely po
litical favorites to be entrusted with the pre
cious lives of our Soldiers. This truth has
bees fearfully illustrated in the case of Gen.
Banks, another of that kidney of Generals.
By all means, let Butler, like Banks, be shelved
and some competent General be put in his
place. Both Smith and Gilmore, are real
live Generals, educated to their business and
qualified to take command of what is left of
the army which has survived' Butlers blun
ders.
By the Way, A. J. MATER, a brother of
the Generals, who participated with him in
the magnificent spoils of the rich city of New
Orleans a year or two ago, died a few weeks
ago, the imputed owner of two millions of
wealth, acquired under the General's fortu 7
nate rule,terthat city. By his will he be
queaths half this immense wealth to the Gen
eral. These brothers at the bmkins out of
the war, were by no means rich, and they il
lustrate, quite fully, the advantages to be de
tired from the possession of distant military
governments, under this administration.—
The plundering propensities of the Butlers in
Louisiana were so notorious as to demand in
vestigation. Reverdy Johnson was sent to
Orleans fur that purpose, and upon his report
Butler was recalled, by the President. It is
believed that but for an immense outside
pressure, which Mr. Lincoln, has never been
able to withstand, Butler would still have
continped in private life. After his return
from Orleans ,9, flaming anti -slavery speech
which he made iu Cooper Ihstitute in the city
of New York, aided by the judicious pressure
of his managing friends, induced the admin
istration again to give him employment, and
hence his appointment to the Fortress Mon
roe Military District, in which he has so re
cently shown his utter want of capacity for
military command.
Immediately before the commencement of
the war Gen. Butler was one or the most ar
dent admirers of the institutions of the South
and a leading supporter of Breckenridge, the
favorite of the South for the Presidency.—
Upon its breaking out he tendered his servi
ces to the Government and he was author
ized to raise a Regiment. His first taste for
plunder, was acquived while raising that
Regiment, as is abundantly showy, by the I'4--
port of a Congressional Committee. But
this was only in a small way compared with
the immense plunder derived from the con
trol and government of the rich province of
Louisiana.
Frank Pierpont (facetiously called Gov
ernor of Virginia, and who rules a little patch
of the Old Dominion, immediately around
Alexandria, \Nil t h a population less than half
a dozen of our Pennsylvania townships) has
lately Idled an instructive chapter illustra
tive of the acqusitive propensities of Gen.
Butler, which, under any other administra
tion than the present would consign him to
infamy.
The new born zeal of Gen. Butler in the
abolition cause is what makes him such a pro
digious favorite with that party, awl Is the se,
cret of their industrious efforts to keep hint
in office.
The Aims of the Abolitionists in Re
gard to the Negro, stated in the
Fewest Words.
The folloiing extract from nn addresss of
the Englist' fanatic, George Thompson,
states in the briefest possible terms, the real
aims of the Abolitionists,in their crazy efforts
in behalf of the Negroes of this country
"The message I have to you is, earvy
on this good work to completion.--
Give to the negro in the UNITED STATES
the rights now possessed in the West
Indies, where he pan become a freehold
er and A vomit, and AN OFFItEIt
eSTATE. :---whero the Mayor of
Kingston, a black man, is knighted by
the Queen, (Applause,) For what
Mr. Lincoln has done he has won for
himself universal gratitude and there is
no nam6 with which to conjure so pow
erfidly in England, as that of Abraham
Lincoln. (Loud Applause.)—{George
Thompson's Address to the Friends of
Union and "Liberty,"
We commend this picture to our Repub
lican friends as Worthy their moat serious re
flections.
Do YOU intend - t his result? Do
these fond hopes of our present loving al
lies, find sympathy - iu your breasts ? You
may NOW feel dispossd to revolt, but if you
continue your present companionship, you
will certainly be compelled to fall in with
their crazy and repulsive doctrines. The
Abolitionists '.ioast and they boast truly,
that they have hitherto been able to force
those who have acted politically with them,
up to their own views. Fanaticism, by its 1
persistency, has always been able
. to carry
those who have followed, even remotely: in
its wake, ur to its own stand
Honest , Republicans, can onl7 find 'safe-',
ty by squarely cutting aloof from these
mischievious and dangerous principles, and
the eompauy of the men who propagate
them.
kirSome of our so-called Peace Democrats
seem to regard our local Elections, as" having
very much to do with the question of bring
ing about Peace, (so much desired by all;) or
the continuance of the war. Unfortunately
for the Democracy the administration of Mr.
Lincoln, has this question in its hands fur the
present, and for nearly a year to come,
The Democratic Convention which will as
semble at Chicago, on the 4th day of July
next—after, it is hoped, the favorable result•
of Gen. Grant's campaign will have been
known—will erect such a Vlatforni for the
Democracy to stand upon, as the then cir
cumstances of the country may seem to jus
tify. Democrats will either stand upon it,
qr they will leave it for that of the abolition
ists. .Alljuilicious Democrats will calmly await
the action of that Convention, with the hope
that the circumstances of the country and the
temper of the People, will then be such as to
permit a reasonable ground of hope fora
s peedy return to !, and
( The New York World to Abraham
Lincoln---Indignant and Eloquent
Protest.
The late suspension of two of the leading
Democratic newspapers of New York—the
"World" and the "Journal of Commerce"—
by the Administration, ou account of the
publication of the Proclamation, forged and
palmed upon these papers be an ingenious
process, by an intimate political and person
al friend of the President, and a former as
sociate Editor of both the "Times" and
"Tribune" for the purpose of affecting the
price of stocks, mid advancing the specula
tive prospects of the forger and his political
friend, has called forth a most eloquent and
indignant protest from the editor of the
"World." Many of the passages in this
spier did production, will remind the reader
of passages in the great English writer,
Jcsius.
We have only room for a few extract,
which will be found below.
After reciting facts going to show that
every possible effort was made to correct
the erroneous news, and that the adminis
tration, through Gen. Dix, was fully inform
ed of the absence of guilt or complicity in
the publication, and that upon his represen
tation the order for the arrest was rescind
ed, but that the order for the suppression of
the paper remained unrescinded, for two days
and three nights, he says :
"To charaaerize these proceedings as
unprecedented, would be to forget the
past history of your administration ; and
to characterize them as shocking to
every mind, would be to disregard that
principle of human nature from which
it arises that men submitting once and
again to lawless encroachments of pow
er with every intermission of a vigilance
which should be continual, lose some
thing of the old, free, keen sense of
their true nature and real danger.
Charles was undoubtedly advised to,
and applauded for, the crimes by which
he lost his crown and life. Nor eau
you do any such outrageoos, oppressive
and unjust a thing that it will not be
applauded by those whose prosperity
and power you have created and may
destroy. To characterize these pro
ceedings as arbitrary, illegal and un
constitutional, would seem, if such
weighty words have not be emptied of
all significance,• to befit better an. hour
at which you have not arrived, and • a
place where not public opinion but the
authority of law speaks, after impeach
ment, trial, conviction and judgment.
But, sir, the suppression of two daily
journals in this metropolis, one the or
gan of its great commercial public, the
other a recognized exponent of the
Democratic principles which are shared
by half or nearly half your fellow citi
zens—did shock the public mind, did
amaze every honest and patriotic citi
zen, did fill with indignation and alarm
every pure and loyal breast. 'There
were no indignation meetings, there
were no riots, there was no official pro
test. But do not imagine, sir, that the
Governor of this State has forgotten to
do his duty ; Flo not imagine that the
people of this city or State, or country
have ceased to love their liberties, or do
not know how to protect their rights.—
It would be fatal to a tyr:ett to commit
that error here and now. A free peo
ple can at need devise means t , ) teach
their ohief magistrate the same lesson.
To you, sir, who have by heart the
Constitution which you swore to ''pres
erve, protect, and defend," it may be
an impertinence to cite those natural
mid chartered rights therein enumerated,
among which are these: That the peo
ple shall be secure in their persons,
houses, papers and effects, against un
reasonable seizures, and that no warrant
even shall issue, eNcept upon probable
cause supported by oath, and particular
ly describing-the place to be searched
mid the persons or things to be seized ;
that no person shall be deprived of life,
liberty or property without due process
of law ; yet these are the most priceless
possessions of freemen, and these you
took away flow me.
Even a captured and guilty criminal
who knew that his crime would be
proved, and that the law would assured
ly visit upon him condign punishment,
might will propriety plead these rights
and demand of the chief magistrate to
throw over him shields. Assaulted
by the bayonets of a military command
er, he might protest and assert his ina
lienable right to the orderly processes,
the proofs, and the punishment of the
law. ' But has the Saxon tongue any
terms left for him to use who, being the
victim of crime, has been made also the
victim of lawless power 7 .
It is the theory of the law that after
the commission of any crime, all pr.,-
ceedingS taken before trial shall he
merely preventive; but the proceed
ings taken against the World were of
the nature of a summary execution of
judgment. Would trial by law have
been denied, would the law itself have
been set aside for the bayonet, would a
process as summary as a drum-head
court martial have been resorted to by
you in a peaceful city, far from the
boundaries of military occupation, had
the presses which consistently applaud
your course been a.% we were, the vietims
of this forger ? Had the Tribune and
Timps published the forgery (and the
Times candidly admits that it might have
published it and was prevented only by
mere chance) would you, sir, have sup
pressed the Tribune and Times as you
suppressed the World and Journal of
Commerce! You know you would
not. If not, why not
Is there a different law for your op
ponents and for your supporters!
Can you, whose eyes discern equality
under every complexion, be blinded by
the hue of partisanship ?"
Another Abolition Outrage.
The outrages on Democrats in the West are
committed upon Democratic ladies. A
young lady living near Belleville, 111., was
on horseback riding, not long since when
hdh horse was stopped by a soldier who told
her to "hurrah for Abe Lincoln, or else he
would cut off her hair." This she spunkily
refused to do, when the wretch seised her,
and with his pocket knife actually performed
the operation of cuter , bah: Five
couptry, this;
Negro Delegates in the Baltimore
Lincoln Convention from South Ca
rolina!
The New Orleans correspondent of the
New York Herald says:
'•I forward herewith the resolutions
adopted at the Mass State Convention,
held at Beaufort, S. C., on Tuesday last.
The call for the Convention invited the
people of this State, 'without distinction
of race or color,' to participate in the
election of delegates to the National
Union Convention, to be held at Balti
more on the 7th of next month. The
consequence was that about 150 negroes
and two-thirds as many whites assem
bled at the Saxton House, and after much
noisy and acrimonious debate selected
twelve whites and four Africans as del
egates. The choice should have fallen
the other way. By far the largest pop
ulation in the 'reclaimed' region of the
State are contrabands ; and if they are to
represent the State in the Baltimore
Convention they should have justice
done them in the start. I consider that
they have not been fairly treated in this
matter.
The above is a fair specimen of the manner
in which the Convention at Baltimore is to
be packed by the friends of Lincoln, and by
which his nomination is to be insured. South
Carolina, Arkansas, Louisiana, Florida, Ten
nessee, and we do not know how many other
of the Rebel States are to be brought into
this Convention, on the "one-tenth" princi
ple, we suppose, and thus control and defeat
the nomination o 1 any man who may be back
ed by the mass of the Republican Party.—
We do not wonder that the friends of FRE
MONT indignantly protest against this worse
than farce.
ar•The Abolitionists say that slavery was
the cause of the war, and therefore, that it
is necessary to abolish slavery in order that
the war may cease. A shorter method, it
strikes us, would have been to abolish the
Abolition Party. That Party would not let
the Union alone, and perpetually denounced
the laws and practices of the Union, on the
subject of slavery. It said a house divided
against itself must fall. THEY made that di
vision, (aided by the Southern Hotspurs) and
the'l• abolition would have saved the necessity
of war. They say slavery ruled the country.
They only mean that men who did not
agree with them got the offices, and thus left
them out in the cold. That is all the harm
slavery did to them. If slavery was the cause
of the war, they made it so. They being the
disturbing element, if they had ceased that
disturbance the war would not have come.
The Louisville Democrat sums 17 p the whole
question iu this pithy paragraph:
"The fight was between abolition and sla
very, One could not disturb the country
without the other. When the abolitionists
say Slavery must be abolished, in order to
have peace, they mean that THEY cannot
keep the peace till slavery is abolished. For
THEIR comfort and to insure THEIR quiet obe
dience to the Government, Slavery must be
put out of the way."
General McClelland in 1862
On the 9th of May, 18E2, the House of
13epresentatives at 'Washington, composed of
a large majority of radicals, on hearing of the
battle of Williamsburg, passed the following
resolutions unanimously:
Resolved, That it is with feelings of
devout gratitude to Almighty God that
the 'House of Representatives from time
to time hear of the triumphs of the Union
army in the great struggle for the su
premacy of the Constitution and the in
tegrity of the Union.
Rmired, That we receive with pro
found satisfaction intelligence of the re
cent victories achieved by the armies of
the Potomac, associated from their lo
calities m, it h those of the Revolution, and
that the sincere thanks of this House
are hereby tendered to Major General
George B. McClellan fbr the display of
those high military qualities which 'se
cure important resulig with but little
sacrifice of hmnan life.
Do the knaves and fools—the latter being
the dupes of the former—who now delight iu
slandering Gen. McClellan for partizan pur
poses, ever think that they are eating their
own words? .
Vie Gov. St..y.mot a of New York with that
promptness and vigor which becomes the
representative of the :najesty of the Empire
State of this Union, in defending the plainest
rights of its citizens against the invasions of
power, has, in a written order dated May 23d
1.864; directed, A. OAKLY Wait, Esq., Dis
trict Attorney of the county of New York, to
investigate, and if proper, bring to condign
punishment the .instruments of the National
administration, who wantonly suppressed the
publication, for days, of the •"Journal of
Commerce," and "World" newspaners of that
city.
We have only room for the closing para
graph of the Governor's letter to the District
Attorney :
I call upon you to look into the facts
connected with the sei4ure of the Jour
nal of Commerce and of the New York
World. If these acts wore illegal, the.
offenders must be punished. In making
your enquiries and in prosecuting the
parties implicated, you will call upon the
Sheriff of the county and the heads of
the Police Department for any needed
force or assistance. The failure to give
this, by any official under my control,
will be deemed a sufficient cause for his
removal.
Very respectfully yours, Asc.,
HORATIO SEYMOUR.
Ikz-The following are the States which
were represented In the recent Cleveland
Convention : Ohio, Illinois, Massachusetts.
New York, Missouri, lowa, Michigan, rena
sylvania, 'Maryland, Tennessee, Wisconsin,
Maine, New Hampshire, Indiana, New Jer
sey and the District of Columbia. There
seems to have been neither lack of numbers
nor enthusiasm, and from all appearances,
Fremont is intended to be a real live caadi
date.
SW'The prospect of laying the At
19atie sable .itgrtire neat year is con
sidered ray isvorabis.
Ntly,L
GEN. GRANT'S ARMY,
Gen Grant Reinforced by Addy Smith.
A Junction Probably Made.—Our E.-
tire Force in Rapid Motion.—Lee said
to be Outgencraled--Gen. Sherman
Ahead Scouring the Countcy.—Hancock
in the Adrance.-3'o Qllb..iut News tg• -
Baides Ibnght.
[OFFICIAL]
WAR DEP 1 Jrl'M ENT WA SIIINTON,
May 30-10 P. M. )
ihilor-Geri. Dix:—\O intelligence
later than has lie:•etofore been transmit
ted to you has been received by this de
partment from General Grant or Gen.
Sherman.
A portion of General Butler's force
at Bermuda Hundred, not required tor
defensive operations there, has been
transferred, under command of General
Smith, to the Army of the Potomac,
and is supposed by this time to have
formed a junction.
• No change in the command of the
Department of Virginia has been made.
General Butler remains in full command
of the Department of Virginia and
North Carolina, and continues at the
head 61 his force in the field.
Dispatches from General Canby have
been received to-day. He is actively
engaged in re-supplying the trooi.s
brought back by General Steel and Gen.
Banks, and organizing the forces of the
West Mississippi divisions, which now
comprehends the Department of Mis
souri, Arkansas, and Louisiana. Gen
erals Rosecrans, Steel, and Banks re
main in command of their respective
departments, under the orders of Gen.
Canby as divisijn commanders, hi,
military relations being the same as that
formerly exercised by General Grant,
and now exercised by General Sherman
over the department of Ohio, the Cum
berland and the Tennessee
EDWIN 31. STANTON
Secretary of War
[Otrici3li
WASHINGTON, May 30 . —Maji)r- Gen.
Dix :—A dispatch from Gen Grant has
just been received. It is dated yester
day, 29th, at nanovertown, and states
that :
"The army has been successfully
crossed over the Pamunkey, and now
occupies a front about three miles south
of the river. Yesterday, two divisions
of our cavalry had a severe engagement
with the enemy, south of liane's store,
driving him about a mile upon what
appears to be his new line. We will
find out all about it to-day.
Our loss iu the cavalry engagement
was three hundred and fifty killed and
wounded, of whom but forty are ascer
tained to have been killed. We hav
ing driven the enemy, most of their
killed and many wounded fell into our
hands.
Another official dispatch dated yes
terday afternoon at f o'clock, details
the movement of several corps then in
progress, but up to that time there was
no engagement.
Earlier dispatches from head( uarters
had been sent but they tailed to reach
Washington.
EDWIN M. S rAnros,
Stxretai y of War
[Special Diapateh from the World.]
WasinNG•os, May 30.—The reason
which impelled General Grant to make
the last great flank movement, now
that it has been accomplished, may
be briefly stated. He fouN.tLee's army
strongly intreuched iu po - Non be
tween the North and South Aims,
with one wing restirg upon the railroad
near Sexton's junction, and the other
protected by Bull marsh, an almost im
passable morass. These wings were
t'irown forward, while the center of the
rebel army rested upon the Little liver
—thus forming aV. The intrench
merits were perhaps hastily erected
structures, but the natural conformation
of the ground was such that but little
labor was required to present formida
ble barriers to a further advance. Part
of the Army of the Potomac had al
ready been thrown across the Noah
Anna, where the recconnoissance was
made which developed their position,
mid General Grant probably foresaw
the difficulties he would have to encoun
ter if he had attempted to dislodge his
enemy by a direct assault upon his po
sition. To rest inactive on that field,
for any length of time, would endaugei
the s;fety of the force already across,
and, as Lee was rapidly bringing up re.
intbroments, he could not hope to suc
ceed in successfully holdin7; his position
long with a river dividing his army.—
If these reasons were insufficient, one
more cogent was found in the that that
a heavy rain storm on Wednesday
swelled the waters of the North Anna
BO that, unless speedily crossed, the
the stream would become so much of
torrent as to be unfordable. The rain
must necessarily have had a correspond
ing effect upon the waters of the South
Anna and even if Lee retreated across
thlt stream, its swollen character would
prevent General Grant's pursuit without
the aid ofbridges.
Under these circumstances General
Grant determined to recross that-por
tion of his army which had gained die
south bank of the North Anna. In or
der to cover the movement an attack
was made by the right upon the enemy's
position at Sexton's junction, which,
without bringing on a general engage
ment, compelled Lee to withdraw his
left wing. The junction was then de-
stroyed and the railroad rendered use
less for immediate service. During
Thursday night the Sixth corps took
the advance and moved across the Dam
unkey, twenty miles below, occupying
Hanovertown on the morning of Fri
day, at the same time the army was
withdrawn to the north bank of the
North Anna, and by noon of Friday the
whole column was rapidly marching to
the new field of operations. His base
of supplies—which seemed to have giv
en General Grant little concern term
the commencement of the campaign--
was changed from Port Royal, on the
Rappahannock, to White House, on
the-Paminkey, and but twelve =les
► from Hanovertown, where his advance
i had rested on Friday.
tpon arriving` at the latter point
TleTai Grant di.v. - 2a . ;;.i.1 11..1 13reck
inridge formed Lt'e's 'rightAing at
Hanover Court House, havinMinforc
ed him from the Shernanipah
As soon as Lee discoveived General
Grant's movement he is understood to
have swung around into a position
confronting the federal army, probably
with his right near Richmond, and his
left at Hanover Court House. Al
though we have no intelligence affirm
ing it, still it is supposed that General-
Grant extended bis left so as to be
within communicating distance with
his base at White House, for the pur
poses of supply, and for another object,
which will soon be revealed. Further
particulars it would be unwise to give
at present. •The movements now in
progress will soon develop themselves
with startling effect upon the country,
and undoubtedly prove highly damag
ing to the rebel army.
« ` R DEPARTMENT, WA:+IIINGTON May
31 —4 p. in.- 3 / a j-Gen. Dir : We have•
dispatches from Gen. Grant down to ,
4 o'clock yestarday afternoon. There.
seemed, the dispatch says, to he some
prospects of Lee making a stand north
of the Chickahominy. His forces were
on the Mechanicsville road, south of
Tolopototnay creek s between that stream
and Hawes' shop, his left resting on
Shady Grove. Dispositions for an at
tack were being made by Gen. Grant.
Wilson's cavalry had been ordered to
the railroad bridges over the
Little river and South Anna, and broke
up both roads from those rivers to two
miles south of Hawes shop, where the
Ileadbuarters of the army were estab
lished. There is yet no telegraphic
•lines of communication with ashing
tc n.
A dispatch from Gen. Sherman, da
ted yesterday, BA. 31., reports no
change in the position of the armies.—
Some slight skirmishing had taken
place subsequent to the affair of Satur
day.
No intelligence from any other has
been received by this Department.
(!signed) L. 31. STANTON.
EROM GENERAL SHERMAN
Fight st Dallas, Georgia, on the 29th.
--Defeat of the Rebels.
WASHINGTON, May :A-9:20 A. 3!.-
To Major-GCI2. J)ix :—No official dis
patches fron the Army of the Potomac
have been received since my telegram
of Saturday evening.
A telegram from General Sherman,
dated near Dallas, yesterday, 29th, 7:30
A. M., reports. that on Saturday an en
gagement took place betwoen the ene
my and McPherson's corps, in which
the rebels were driven back with a loss
to them of twenty-five hundred killed
and wounded lett in our hands, and
about three hundred prisoners—Gener--
al McPherson's loss being not over three
hundred in all.
EDWIN M. STADION.
Secretary of War
FROM THE SOUTHWEST
Arrival of Gen. A. J. Smith' - and his
Command at Vicksburg--Forrest
at Tupelko moving Forage to Co
rinth--Fears of an Attack on Padu
cah.
WAsinvao N , May 30.—The Star
says all the truops in the field in the
department of the gulf and west of the
Missisoippi river not, including Mis
souri are to be commanded by Major-
General Canby. Banks has been ap
pointed military Governor of Louisiana,
with headquarters at New Orleans.
CAino, May 30.—The steamer Gra
ham from Memphis, which dates of the
27, arrived last night.
On the morning of the 25th the gun
boat Curlew was attacked at Gaines
Lauding, fifty miles below Napoleon,
by a rebel battery of ten guns, eigh
teen and twenty-four pounders. The
tire was returned, and a brisk engage
ment ensued, lasting half an hour, when
the rebels were driven off.
The Steamer Belle, St. Louis, from
Memphis, has arrived with three hun
prod and forty-three bales of cotton for
St. Louis, and one days later dates from
Memphis.
The U. S. Hospital boat Thomas, in
charge of 1)r. E. H. Harris, had arrived
from the lied river with about two hun
dred of those who were wounded in
the engagement at Yellow Bayou.
Nineteen boats had arrived at Vicks
burgh with General A. Smith's com
mand.
The steamer Long worth was fired
into on Wednesday last by a rebel bat
tery of siN: guns from the Arkansas
shore, near Columbia, but being out
of range she passed on without injury.
The steamer Sally List was also fired
into the following morning by the same
battery, and her pilot was badly woun
ded.
Forrest with fifteen thousand men
was reported to have been at Tnpello,
Mississippi, on the 20th instant, engag
ed in moving forage to Corinth, intend
ing to repair the railroad to Jackson.— .
Portions of his command within a few
days had made their appearance in the
vicinity of Union City, Kentucky.
Much excitement 'existed at Paducah
yeste A dy, in consequence of various ru
iners of the approach of Buford with a
force estimated at from five hundred
to one thousand. This force is said to
have been at Mayfield yesterday. The
military authorities are prepared to re
pel any attack attempted, and it is hot
likely they will allow the enemy to re
main in the vicinity in any force.—
Scattering hands are roving about the
country uommitting depredations.—
They hung four Union men ;It. Union
City on the 27th.
MY - Idleness is the mother of mischief
—the moment a horse is done eating
his oats, he turns to and gnaws down
his manger. SubstitUte labor for oats,
and virtue for manger, and what is true
of horses is equallf true of men.
lerfkartt attest another's work,
nor aduittuautiter's facts. It is a main
lessen of wisdom to know yoUr own wia
door from other peoples '.