The United States has evidently entered a critical stage with 
regard to the slavery question, the question underlying the whole 
Civil War. General Frémont has been dismissed for declaring the 
slaves of rebels free.2. A directive to General Sherman, the 
commander of the expedition to South Carolina, was a little later 
published by the Washington Government, which goes further 
than Frémont, for it decrees that fugitive slaves even of loyal 
slave-owners should be welcomed and employed as workers and 
paid a wage, and under certain circumstances armed, and consoles 
the “loyal” owners with the prospect of receiving compensation 
later.” Colonel Cochrane has gone even further than Frémont, he 
demands the arming of all slaves as a military measure.“ The 
Secretary of War Cameron publicly approves of Cochrane’s 
“views”.° The Secretary of the Interior,“ on behalf of the 
government, then repudiates the Secretary of War. The Secretary 
of War expresses his ‘“‘views” even more emphatically at a public 
meeting stating that he will vindicate these views in his report to 
Congress.' General Halleck, Frémont’s successor in Missouri, and 
General Dix in east Virginia have driven fugitive Negroes from 
their military camps and forbidden them to appear in future in 
the vicinity of the positions held by their armies. General Wool at 
the same time has received the black “contraband” with open 
New-York Daily Tribune, No. 6366, September 1, 1861.— Ed. 
New-York Daily Tribune, No. 6445, November 29, 1861.— Ed. 
published in The Times, No. 24111, December 9, 1861.— Ed. 
arms at Fort Monroe.'*° The old leaders of the Democratic Party, 
Senator Dickinson and Croswell (a former member of the so-called 
Democratic regency '*'), have published open letters in which they 
express their agreement with Cochrane and Cameron,’ and 
Colonel Jennison in Kansas has surpassed all his military predeces- 
sors by an address to his troops which contains the following 
passage: . 

“No temporising with rebels and those sympathising with them.... I have told 
General Frémont that I would not have drawn my sword had I thought that slavery 
would outlast this struggle. The slaves of rebels will always find protection in this 
camp and we will defend them to the last man and the last bullet. I want no men 
who are not Abolitionists,> I have no use for them and I hope that there are no such 
people among us, for everyone knows that slavery is the basis, the centre and the 
vertex of this infernal war.... Should the government disapprove of my action it can 
take back my patent, but in that case I shall act on my own hook even if in the 
beginning I can only count on six men.” *¢ 

The slavery question is being solved in practice in the border 
slave states even now, especially in Missouri and to a lesser extent 
in Kentucky, etc. A large-scale dispersal of slaves is taking place. 
For instance 50,000 slaves have disappeared from Missouri, some 
of them have run away, others have been transported by the 
slave-owners to the more distant southern states. 

It is rather strange that a most important and significant event is 
not mentioned in any English newspaper. On November 18, 
delegates from 45 North Carolina counties met on Hatteras 
Island, appointed a provisional government, revoked the Ordi- 
nance of Secession and proclaimed that North Carolina was 
returning to the Union. The counties of North Carolina rep- 
resented at this convention have been called together to elect their 
Representatives to Congress at Washington.‘ 

December 14, 1861