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Waning Proportions. Secretary Sswabd's " waning proportions of the insurrection," have at length, even to the most ordinary minds, become distinctly visible. The crisis of the great struggle lias been reached, by the nation, raid safely passed. In the loyal North, the people, schooled in war, and no longer childish and fickle, are nerved by that sure hope which is hrvrn of success, while in the rebellious {south. nil praise to our no^c armies, defeat is creating division and despair. When the war began there were in the country, according to a fair estimate, five and a half or six millions of men capable of bearing arms; of whom not abeve a million and a quarter could be claimed by the rebels. There remains, therefore, to the nation, from four to five millions of fighting men. Of thcie capable, but not yet called into the service, there are left Ln the loyal States not less than three millions, but among the rebels probably not more than one hundred thousand. There seems no probability of foreign interference, and w e may suppose for the purposes of this discussion that the nnmhers called into the field, those who have passed from the strife either by discharge or death, and the number of veterans in anus, are equal on efthor side. Thon counting on numbers alone, and 6aying nothing of credit and material resources?long since pror>r?nn<?fd the sinews of war?the Question has become narrowed down to simply this : How long will it take the throe millions of loyal men to whip the one hundred thousand traitors ? It is true that the rebels now iu aims, may create miso'aief and protract the war, but when their reserve is exhausted they can no longer delay the final victory. And thare is another item of no small importance in the considcraton of numbers, which shonld be reckrnod in on the side of the Union? that of immigration. Ihere arrived at the port of New York during the first cfrvea months of the year 18C3, very nearly one hundred and fifty thonsand immigrants from Europe, about one third as many as during the whole of the four preceding years. These immigrants are not. for the most part, tho old and feeble, but the young and vigorous, invited across the ocean by a virgin ?< ?;! n-hAr.! homesteads are to be had for the ask ing, by high wages and plenty to do. No iajmigrants have come to the South fsoia any quarter of the globe, and on the other hand perhaps a million of fugitives, since the war began, white and black, have. left rebel territory and gone within the Union lines, among whom a large proportion of the fighting men arc now in the Union armies, as brave as any. Y?"no then for a moment can doubt as to the final result of the war? Our bravo boys have only to stand firm for a brief period at furthest, and then we can all return to our homes, to the ?^ l.Aovto fiif iypa wrtitinT for ns_ to oirr wivov UtUiWJ V?U4? w .. -5 , and our children, and receive from a mighty nation, redeemed and regenerated such a welcome as only the. victors in a righteous cause can receive. ?The Richmond correspondent of the Mobile A'Utrtiser says that Jeff. Davis wept when he heard of Ilragg'? 44 misfortune" at Lookout Mountain and Missionary liilgo. If Jeff. Davis weeps over every "misfortune " he is called upon to endure, lie is likely to become a perfect Xiobe. C # ? ?The Philadelphia evening Telegraph has a snatch announcing that the Ilouae has voted to continue the present bounties to veterans until March 5th. Admiral Farraolt sailed January 4th from New York for the West Gulf Squadron at Mobile. A fleet of vessels was to leave shortly after, and offensive operations will undoubtedly soon take place, eclipsing all navid engagements thus far. The Admiral takes with him the warmest wishes of his countrymen for success an 1 a brilliant victory. ^ jji^ j i ' j' |i i...ji<? atww An article inadvertently crept into our column : in our last issue reflecting upon tho Chaplain of regiment on outpost duty. Wc regret the publ cation of any article that can bo construed int an attack upon 'these worflhy representatives c Hie Church. As far as our observation extend they cheerefhly labor for the advancement of th spiritual interests of the soldier, and we wonl ; not have them unjustly accused of any derelictio: j of duty. From the evidence that has bee: ! placed before us, we are enabled to make a sweep i in? refutation of what was therein contained, am ; hope that the author will come from his conceal | rncnt and make the ainerv.lt honorab!c, as we d ! here. A CAiTrns at St. Augustine.?On the mom ing of December 30th, a squad of men was orderc< to go after wood a short distance from the City They were accompanied by a detail of twent; armed men from the 10th Conn. Vols., common deel by Lieut. Walker of the 24th Massachusetts A rebel cavalry company, commanded by a Capt Dickerson was observed in ambush, and our mc: fired two volleys, after which they were r.indowi by the cavalry. Lieut. Walker, it is thought was accidentally killed by our troops. One sol dier was instantly killed, and twenty-four tike; prisoners. / It is stated that-Capt. Dickerson was very as sinuous i:i his attention to Lieut Walker, afte he was wounded, and exhibited unusual kindness lie took his saddle-bags and made him a pillow ' 1 1 vvl 4a oara?* bim /^/\ir%rr ovam* I 13IS liurst* UIAUHI b , *4*'ii<p ?#w*j i tiling in. his power to ameliorate Lis condition ; Such acts of kindness from.an enemy are worth; of nil praise. MARRIED.?In tho at St. Augustine, on th morning rf December i'Glh, Mr. Cues. Fexwick, Purser c the CosmnpoHinu, to Miss Asgeiuta J. Yeiat, of Cardcna< Cubx V?*e were not present at the nuptial ceremon; of our worthy friend, but we undSystar.d that tk building was crowded by the elite of that ancien city, and that everything passed off in a Impp; m:tnnoT, emblematical, v. e hope, of a long life e pleasure and happiness. ? Many persons v.ere inclined at the time t< regard the story of the plot for the release of th rebel prisoners on Johnson's Island as sensational but the late Report of the rebel Navy shows liov 1 ih. n'rto Xfn \f tTT/MJV Cfll'C iCiU Hit; >11>A , " Ihiring the months of July and August I sen twenty-seven commissioned officers and 4ort; trustworthy petty officers to ths Eritish Provinces with orders to organize an expedition ant co-operate with array officers in an attempt t< release the Confederate prisoners confined oi Johnson's Island in Lake Erie. From time t< time I learned that the arrangements made wer such as to insure the most complete success. J largo amount of money had been expended, an< just as our gallant naval officers were about b set sail on this expedition, the English authoritie gave information to the enemy, and thus proven ted the execution of one of the best planned en tcrj rizes of the present war." News rnovi xnc Southwt.st.?A dispatch date* Cairo, III., Jan. 4th, says :?The steamers Dak of Aivyle, from Now Orleans and the Hilhnan from Memphis hava arrived here. The thi rmometor was ten decrees below z?r< at Memphis on the morning of the 1st inst,, an< at Cairo the same morning it was tixtecn tie grees below. A number of persons were found frozen t< I death delow Cairo on New Year's eve. Ten negro soldiers had also perished at Islam j No. 10 from the cold. ' Thres members of the Fifty-sscond Indian: I regiment were also found frozen to death nea [ Sand Ihir rivoj*, six miles above Fort Pillow. On 1 of them was Lieutenant Ldwarn Aiexanoer. The trains, wliich have not been running on th j Illinois Central lhiilroad since the strike amonj ; the miners, started again to-day. 'Hie weather is begining to moderate somewhat i but it is still snowing. The snow here is r.bou I four inches deep. j lloate still go up the Ohio river; but it is fille< : with largo quantities of ice. lire Mississippi river is closed. j No serious damage was .lone to the Memphi L1'.MTC ujgjjui-an is and Charleston Railroad by the rebel General a Forrest when his forces crossed it last week. . General Grierson, at last accounts, was pursuing l" General Forrest south of Coluwutcr. o General Lee had reinforced General Forrest ?f from Okolono. s | The guerilla General Richardson had crossed our lines on the 26th of December on hi* way e South. All has been quiet in the interior of Tennd essee since his departure. u A largo amount of cotton, sugar and molasses _ arrived here during the past week for Ciucinatti. The Duke.of Argyle brings two hundred and K' eighty-sir bales of cotton, four hundred and J i thirty-eight hogsheads of sugar and three huni_ dred barrel* of molasses from New Orleans. The Iiillmau brings two hundred and thirly0 i five bales of cotton, j Generals Ord, Veitch, Hunter, fiowler and Sherman have been here during the last week. % . I The latter is still here. A salute was fired last ^ } night in honor of his arrival, ' | A RicnitoxD View of the Rzbee Site attox.*^The Richmond bxjminer of Dec. 31st contains an xoeedingly lugubrious editorial, from which tha ; following is extracted ? j "To day closes tfcegloomiest year of onr strng* I gle. No sanguine hope of intervention buoys up 11 the spirits of the Confederate public as at the end , of 18G1. No brilliant victory like that ef Fredcr.! iesburg encourages ns to look forward to a speedy ! and successful termination of the vrar as in the 1 i last weeks cf 18G2. Meade has been foiled, and Longstreet has had a pavtial success in Tennessee; .! but Meade's advance was hardly meant in earnest. r i and Bean's Station is a poor set off to the less of * , the gallant men who fell in the murderous nssan't L j on KnoTcville. Another daring Yankee raid has , j been carried out with comparative impunity to _ | the invaders, and timorous capitalists may well ! pause before they nibble at eligible investments * in real estate sitnated far in the interior. )' That interior has been fearfully narrowed by the federal march through Tennessee; and owing to tho deficencies of our cavalry service Lincoln's e squadrons of horse threaten to be as universal a >f terror, as pervasive a nuisance, as his squadrons i, of gunboats were some months since. The Confederacy has been cut in twain along ~ the line of the Mississippi, and our enemies arc steadily pushing forward their plans for bisecting e the eastern moiety. No vrondef; thren, that tho t annual advent of the reign of mud is liaiic-d by y all classes -with a sense of relief. fr Meanwhile tho financial chaos is becoming 1 I ? - - M 1 IT 3 1 wilder and winter. noaraera Keep a mora lr.te grasp than ever on necessaries of life. Whatever number of men, or whatever amount 5 ?f money shall be really wanting, will be fortl:e coining. Whatever economy the straightening of . our resources may require, we shall learn, to excr' eise. We could only wish that" Congress was not r in such a feverish mood, and that the governmon* would do something towards the establishment I of a Statistical Bureau, or some other agency, r by which wc could approximately ascertain wiirt we have to contribute, and to what extent we I must husband our resources. Wise, cool, decided, 5 prompt action, would put us in good condition * 3 for the spring campaign of 1SG4, and the eic-io of 3 next year would furnish a ir.??rc agreeable retroe sjiect than the onitm mir<JuUu of blunders which ^ we now consign to the dead past. 1 Non-producers, who are at the same time non, ?,rij tnflEftriniT nmr? nr.<l mnw. Whut } 1, U4V v ... .. s was once competence has become poverty, pov. erty Las become penury, and penury in lapsing . into pauperism. Any mechanical occupation is more profitable than the most intellectual profession. The most accomplished scholars in the con. ' fcderncy would be plan to baiter their services for 1 i food and raiment, and in the complete upturning c | of our social relations. The only happy peoplw > f are these who have black lies'.t? and skin-;. Unreasoning confidence lias been succeeded by i depression as unreasoning, and the Yankees are 1 {congratulating themselves 011 the result, which they hawk about as the " beginning of the end." 1 We" all have a heavy score to pay off,"and wo 3 know it. This may depress us, but our enemies i need not be jubilant over our depression, for we 1, are determined to ma.d them. I 1 I r ?Gey. BtTLE2 has been clothed with fall as* e thoriiy by tho President to treat on the subject of exchanging prisoners, and the whole power e has been placed iu his hands. y i * .~ . ~ ;; ?Some Ray and festive writer says mat variot l<ud is a nnld and cheerful type ot the *;uali pox. " 1 Guess lie never tried it on. 1 ?T^e men who are willing ' to die for an idea," would be much 1 otter employed in living for a res alitv. i *