January 18th.—Cloudy and cool. Cannon heard down the river.
No war news. But blockade-running at Wilmington has ceased; and common calico, now at $25 per yard, will soon be $50.
The stupor in official circles continues, and seems likely to continue.
A secret detective told the Assistant Secretary, yesterday, that a certain member of Congress was uttering treasonable language; and, for his pains, was told that matters of that sort (pertaining to members of Congress) did not fall within his (detective’s) jurisdiction. It is the policy now not to agitate the matter of disloyalty, but rather to wink at it, and let it die out—if it will; if it won’t, I suppose the government must take its chances, whatever they may be.
Breckinridge, it is now said, will not be Secretary of War: the position which Mr. Seddon is willing to abandon, cannot be desirable. And Northrop, Commissary-General, is still held by the President, contrary to the wishes of the whole Confederacy.
Flour is $1250 per barrel, to-day.
A detective reports that one of the committee (Mr. Mc ——?) selected by Mr. Secretary Seddon to hunt up flour for Gen. Lee’s army, has a large number of barrels secreted in his own dwelling! But they must not be touched.
Gen. Lee writes that he thinks the crisis (starvation in the army) past. Good.
In South Carolina we hear of public meetings of submission, etc.
