The Nashville Daily Union

Why Beauregard Takes Charge.

The Washington correspondent of the New York World has conversed with an English officer, who has had a long talk with General Beauregard; and what the latter said is thus detailed:

With the North every additional year of war tells fearfully upon the finances of the nation, endangers the existence of the government, brings up new factions to life, increases anarchy, foments discontent, and incites a notable portion of the people to revolt. No wonder, then, if Mr. Lincoln is in greater fear of a defeat than Mr. Jeff Davis, because, with Mr. Lincoln, a reverse undermines the very foundation of his power, while with us it rather strengthens it. The difference between us and the North is that Mr. Jeff. Davis can stand adversity without peril for the government, for the finances, or for the final success of our cause, while Mr. Lincoln cannot.

These opinions may appear, to say the least of them, singular: but if you look closely to the state of affairs North and South, and especially to the discontent of a certain portion of the Western States, you will soon see that I do not exaggerate and that, as I have said, we may stand war longer and more efficiently than the North. Also, when I take into consideration the motives I have just mentioned, I do not hesitate in preferring a temporizing to an aggressive policy, and in advising our government to remain strictly on the defensive, trusting to time more than to bayonets for the overthrow of the war party in the North. These sentiments, said the English officer, were delivered by General Beauregard with such a warmth of accent as to strike me at the time as being the expression of his inmost conviction, although many points of his arguments, it seemed to me, might have been victoriously refuted. Since then, I have been in position to ascertain that these opinions were entertained by a large portion of the upper class of society in the South, and by the heads of the rebel government, who look upon anarchy and financial ruin in the North as likely to bring this war to a conclusion before the year is over.