Staunton Vindicator

At an "early period of the rebellion," General Grant had divined the secret of Southern strength and Northern weakness. The Federals were three to one, at least, in numbers, and immeasurably superior in material resources, and yet the Confederates maintained their ground and defended their territories against all attacks. This, says Grant, was because the strength of the North was never exerted on a good system or with sufficient resolution. The Southern Generals held a position like the outline of a fan, extending from east to west, and covering the country behind them. By means of the railroads intersecting the interior they could bring up their forces to any point of the circumference; and so long as it was necessary for them to be strong at one point only, they could always contrive to be stronger at that point than their adversaries. The first and most indispensable step, therefore, was to deprive them of this favorable condition by attacking at a variety of points at once, so as to retain every Southern army in its own position and prevent it from reinforcing another. Hitherto the two main armies of the Federals-one in Tennessee and the other in Virginia-had been acting, as the General expresses it, "like a balky team." When one was pulling the other was backing, and so the able Generals of the Confederacy, could shift or concentrate or relieve their forces in such a way as either to economise their strength or employ it to the greatest advantage. If Lee was hard pressed, he could be reinforced by Beauregard; if Johnston was in difficulty, he could be supported from Richmond or Petersburg. Attack on both sides at once, and these tactics would be impracticable. But, besides all this, General Grant took a harder and more terrible view of affairs. Man for man, the Southerners were the best troops, partly, perhaps, from natural aptitudes, but mainly, no doubt, from the great military ability of their commanders. On a fair field, and in any one battle, the Federals could not pretend to reckon confidently on winning; but there was one thing on which they could reckon, and that was on killing a certain number of Confederates.-Of course they must suffer equal, or even greater losses themselves, but that they could well afford. If every battle cost the South a certain proportion of men, a given number of battles must destroy the Southern power, even if no battle was a decisive victory. So Grant determined not only to fight, but to fight on, without stint or stay, come what might. Hard knocks and incessant blows constituted his strategy and tactics. If he were to fare as McClellan and Hooker had fared, he would not do as McClellan and Hooker had done. He opened the new campaign, resolved to go on fighting whether he won or lost, and, as he himself says, "to [UNCLEAR] continuously against the armed force of the enemy and his resources, until, by mere attrition, if in no other way, there should be nothing left to him but submission." The literal execution of this policy is expressed in every line of the report.

That portion of the country known as "the South" embraces eight hundred and fifty thousand square miles, and is as lare as Great Britain, France, Austria, Prussia and Spain, with a most productive soil and genial climate; with staple productions which none of those great countries can grow; with three thousand miles of coast line, indented wit bays and crowded with islands; and its vast centre watered by the Mississippi, into whose bosom are poured thirty-six thousand miles of tributary streams.

The total agricultural productions of the United States for 1850 amounted to 1,164,000,000; of the sum of the North produced in round numgers, 6,400,000 and the South 5,600,000. Population of the North in 1860 was 13,527,220; population of the South, 9,663,656. The North had a deficiency in 1850 of agricultural productions to the value of $6,105,594; the South a surplus of $124,855,712, or each person at the North censured thirty-eight cents more than he produced; at the South each person produced twelve dollars and ninety cents more than he consumed.

These facts are now referred to for the purpose of showing how idle it is to despond of the future of a region which possesses such enormous elements of natural wealth and whose exports at the period above mentioned were three times as great as those of the whole United States ten years after the Revolutionary war. The recuperative powers of such a region must be perfectly incalculable. With the introduction of capital and immigration from the North and from Europe, all traces of the late war will be obliterated in five years. Every year that succeeds will witness such a march of prosperity and population as even the Western States have never equaled. With the removal of slavery the energies and enterprise of the whole world will seek a field of action within our borders. If we will only give up the barren pursuits of politics, and turn in to hard work, and the end of the present century will see the South the most prosperous and densely populated portion of the American Republic.-Richmond Dispatch

One of our Richmond cotemporaries copies our local, in reference to a petition to the General Assembly for the charter of a Valley Railroad being circulated and signed in the Valley Counties, under the caption of "Baltimore at work," while another speaks of the notices in the Valley papers of meetings to be held to further the project of securing the Valley Railroad, as being "in the interest of the city of Baltimore." While it may not be the desire of our cotemporaries to throw cold water on the Valley Railroad scheme, by creating a prejudice against the city of Baltimore, and especially as one of them expressed his conviction that no reasonable objection could be urged to granting a charter for said road if asked for, yet such allusions and headings do tend to create a prejudice, not only against Baltimore, but also against the Valley Railroad, and are decidedly unjust to the Valley section. The petition spoken of was gotten up in the Valley, and is being circulated and signed in the Valley Counties, not in the interest of Baltimore, Richmond, or any other city, but in the interest of the Valley exclusively.

We have, by the operations of war, had our houses and crops destroyed, our lands laid waste, fences burned, cattle and horses killed or driven off, and are left without labor necessary to repair the damages we have sustained, or render the production of the Valley equal to its former, and also without means of procuring the necessary labor. Our lands, the richest and most productive in the State, bring now but a nominal price compared with the sale of lands elsewhere. We therefore cannot afford to sell, and are unable to render them as productive as formerly.-Like our cotemporaries, in all portions of the State, but few of which have suffered as did the Valley section, we naturally look for aid away from home. We know that the price of our lands would be greatly enhanced by rendering access to market easy, and the only way in which this can be done is by a Valley Railroad. While it is being constructed money will flow into this greatly impoverished section, and when completed an impetus will be given to the development of our resources such as we have never before felt. Immigration will flow in and will take hold of our idle lands and the Valley will blossom as the rose. With all this in our minds' eye, we have started, and are circulating and signing this petition, believing that we, the people of the Valley, are the parties directly interested. Whether Richmond or Baltimore will get more of the trade of the Valley will depend, then, as it now does, upon which can offer the greater inducements of that trade. There will be a competition between Baltimore and Richmond, which will add life to both cities, and either, as we have stated in a former article, will get more trade from the Valley, due to this road, than the whole trade of the Valley now amounts to, which, at present, is divided between them. No loss can be sustained by Richmond on account of this road, unless she lags behind in efforts to build up her trade, but she must be the gainer by it, and the Valley will be greatly advantaged thereby. Even if the interests of Richmond did suffer, must the whole valley section remain unproductive for years on that account? We should opine not, and we trust that Richmond will see her interest sufficiently clearly to assist us in this matter rather than throw impediments in our way. But whether she does or not, we must push forward, and we again say to all hunt up the petition and sign it.

WE notice in the last Rockingham Register that our old friend and predecessor, Maj. S. M. Yost, has purchased an interest in that excellent journal. Maj. Yost, long and ably filled the editorial chair of the Vindicator, from which he was called by war's loud trump, when, closing his office, he, with his hands, took the field in defence of his native Valley and State. The war being over duty calls him again to the sanctum, to aid in resuscitating the old Dominion and building up the prosperity of his native Valley. We cordially welcome him once more into the editoral fraternity, and hope that, as heretofore, his labors may be crowned with success.

MR. WM. DOLD, Deputy Collector of U. S. Internal Revenue, is in Staunton, and is proceeding with the collection of the taxes on Licenses, and incomes and on such articles as Carriages, Watches, &c., which were assessed by the Assessor, during the months of August, September and October. Persons assessed during these months are required to pay by the 31st inst., or ten per cent will be added. Those assessed since October, are not required to pay now. The Collector's office is in the Virginia Hotel.

Persons who have not been assessed with these taxes, should come forward at once, as the Assessor informs us that the time is growing short.

VERY little of importance transpired at the sitting of the County Court on Monday last.

Sam'l Paul, W. L. Mowry, A. B. Lightner and Geo. Harian qualified as Deputy Collectors for the County.

John Paris qualified as Deputy Clerk of County Court.

Kelinerly Craig qualified as Notary Public.

Robt. M. White and John Irvin qualified as Road Commissioners