0^ ^^x. :. ^^^0^ i >bv^ e M ' ■^^^^^^ s-^^^c .• J>\ ^ .'^■--./*f .' .^'"-^ .o^ «.«••* *c> V ..-•. '^^ .0^ po-*. '^o --X^ ■*--o< : -oV*^ /< ^ ,-»:' .♦: / v-^*/ v^;/ V^> v^.. PUBLISHED BY THE STATE UNION EX. COMMITTEE. CEARACTER AND RESULTS OF THE WAR. How. to Prosecute and how to End it. A THEILLINCi AND ELOQUENT SPEECH BY '^ Major-General B. F. BUTLER. Before the return of Gen. Butler from the Department of the Gulf, some of the leading citizens of New York, anxious to testify their admiration of his adminis- tration of that Department, and their ap- preciation of his distinguished services on 'other fields, united in tendering him a public dinner, addressing him the fol- lowing letter: "New York, Thursday, Jan. 8, 1863. " Jfo/o?' General Benjamin F. Butler^ United States Army: "Dear Sir : At a meeting of citizens of this city, held at the Fifth Avenue Hotel on the evening of the 5th inst., for the purpose of expressing ^e sense of this community in reference' tO' the public services rendered by you to the country, the following resolution was unanimously adopted : "Resolved, That the loyal patriotism, indom- itable energy, ami great administratitvc ability Shown by Major-General Benjamin F, Butler, in the various commands held by him in the service of the country, and especially in his civil and mil- itary administration of the duties pertaining to his command of the Department of the Gulf, em- inently entitle him to an expression of approba- tion on the part of the citizens of New York "In the furtherance of the views thus expressed it was also resolved, that in addition to such action as may be taken by our municipal authorities, in extend- ing to you the hospitalities of this city, a public dinner be tendered to you by the iptizens, and the undersigned were ap- pointed a committee to communicate with you upon the snbject. "We have now the honor to apprise you of the action thus taken, and toaisk that you will meet with our citizens at a public dinner at such time, to be ap- pointed by you, as may be consistent with your official duties and your personal ciDuvenience. "In conve^ang to you this invitation, intended as a tribute of personal respect and esteem, we are well assured that it will not be the less acceptable to you as marked by a still higher significance. "The citizens of New York, watching the events of the war with a degree of vigilance and anxiety proportioned to the vast interests and influences which converge toward and radiate from this great commercial centre, have recognized in the course pursued by you in the serv- ice and support of the Government, the principles which they deem most essen- tial and indispensable to its triumph. — They share with you the conviction that there is no middle or neutral ground be- tween loyalty and treason ; that traitors against the Government forfeit all rights of protection and of property; that those who persist in armed rebellion, or aid it less openly but not less efiectively, must be put down, and kept down by the strong hand of power and by the use of all rightful means, arffl that so far as may be, the sufferings of the poor and misguided, caused by the rebellion, should be visited upon the authors of their calamities. We have seen with approbation that in applying these priiv k 1^ T-y .3 ciples, amidst the peculiar difficulties and embarrassments incident to your ad- ministration in your recent command, you have had the sagacity to devise, the will to execute, and the couroge to en- force the measures which they demanded, and we rejoice at the success which has vindicated the wisdom and the justice of your official course. In thus congratu- lating you upon these results, we believe that we express the feeling of all those who most earnestly desire the restoration of tl Union in its full integrity and power ; and we trust that you will be able to afford us the opportunity of in- terchanging with you in the manner pro- posed, the patriotic sympathies and hopes which belong to this sacred cause. '•We are. General, with high respect, your friends and obedient servants. CbarlrsKing, C. H. Marshall, L. Bradish, George Opdyke. Geo. W. Parsons, P. Perit, Horacft Webster. Peter Cooper, Hamilton Fish, Robert Bayard, Isaac F-^rris, John A. King, Fred. De Peyster, Chas. H. Russell, E.D.Morgan, B. W. Bonney, .Jonathan Sturges. L- B- Woodruff, John Paine, Geo. Griswold, W. F . Havemeyer, I . N Phelps, John J. Cisco," Hiram Barney, John J. Phelps, Penning l)uer, ■ ■ " Morris Ketohum, R.H. McCurdy, Ambrose Snow, A. W. Bradford, W. G. Lambert, R. I) Hitchcock, P. M. Wetmore Geo. W. Blunt, Bd. Minturn, 8. B.Chittenden, KUiotC.Cowdin, Bd. Learned, Morris Franklin, E.Nye, H. K. Boeart, H. A. Hurlhut, Geo. Stevenson, Hobart Ford, Chas. Gould, Frank F.. Howe, Murray Hoifman, Wm. A. Booth, Dayid Hoadley, John K. Williams, E. E. Morgan, Wm. Allen Butler, 6. S. Bobbins, Marsh 0. Roberts. J. D. Beers, B. H. Hutton, George Folsom, Henry H. Elliott, J. F. Gray, M. D., M. H. Grinnell, Russell Sturgess, AmosB. Eno, Jno. A. C. Gray, SethB. -amt, B. G. White, J. A. PuUen, Henry W. T. Mall, Hamlin Blake, Paul Spofford, J^ H. Almy, N. Sands, E. P. Jaxnes, S. Draper, A. Bierstadt, L.B. Wyman, M. B. Field, F. S.Winston, U. F. Andrews, John Slosson, C.H.Ludington, Isaac Dayton, Wm. C. Noj-es, Joseph Rudd, Charles Butler, G. T. Strong, J. Burns, R. A. McCurdy, Isaac Sherman, T. T. Buckley, K. C.Benedict, Shepherd Knapp, sepn Kucirt, E. 1). .' W. Parker, M. D., W. .Tohn Jay, J. Wadsivorth, Wm. V. Brady, N. Hay den, Wm. Orton, T. G. Churchill, W. C. Bryant, D. Drake Smith, Parke Godwin. James, II. L. Barnes, C. A. Brisled. JohnB. Hall, R. W. VVpgton, George Dennison, C.R.Robert, Joseph Hoxie, T. H. Skinner, D. f<. Barney, To this. Gen. Butler at the earliest moment consistent with his official du- ties, made the following reply : REPLY OF GENERAL BUTLER. "Lowell, Thursday, ") March 2G, 1863. j "Gentlemen: The necessities of my position have rendered it exceedingly in- convenient for me earlier to reply to your exquisitely courteous and too kind letter of approval of the administration of my command of the Department of the Gulf, asking me to fix a day when I could meet you as therein proposed. "With every expression of profound- est gratitude for your invitation to par- take of a public dinner with the citizens of New York, allow me to suggest that while I am waiting orders to join my brave comrades in the field, it would not be consonant with my sense of duty to accept your flattering hospitalities. "To you, gentlemen, at home bearing your share of the burdens and expense of this unholy war, forced upon us, by treason, the tendering of such an ex- pression of approbation of the conduct of a public officer was fit and proper, as as it was natural and customary, but my acceptance of it would trench upon a different feeling. I too well know the revulsion of iceling with which the sol- dier in the field, occupying the trenches, pacing the sentinel's weary path in the blazing heat, or watching from his cool bivouac the stars that shut out by the drenching cloud, hears of feasting and merry-making at home by those who ought to bear his hardships with him, and the bitterness with which he speaks of those who thus engaged, are wearing his uniform. "Upon the scorching sand, and under the brain-trying sun of the Gulf coast, ■ I have too much shared that feeling to add one pang, however slight, to the discomfort which my fellow soldiers suf- fer doing the duties of the camp and field, by my own act, while separated momentarily from them by the exigen- cies of the public service. "You will pardon, I am sure, this ap- parent rudeness of refusal of your most, generous proposal, but, under such cir- cumstances, I have spoken too bitterly and often of the participation by absent officers in such occasions to permit my- self to take part in one, even when of- fered in the patriotic spirit which breathes through your letter, desiring to testify approval of my services to the coun- try. "It would, however, give me much pleasure to testify my gratitude for your kindness by meeting you and your fellow- citizens in a less formal manner, 'inter- changing the patriotic sympathies and hopes which belong to this sacred cause.' Perhaps, by so doing, we may do some- thing in aid of that cause. Whatever may strengthen the purpose, deepen the resolution" and fix the determination never to yield this contest until this re- bellion, in its roots and branches, in its causes, in its efFects and designs, is over- thrown and utterly annihilated forever, and the power of the National Grovern- ment — with its Democracying influences and traditional theories of equality of rights, the equality of laws, and equality of privileges for all, as received from the fathers of the Republic — is actively ac- knowledged upon every inch of the Uni- ted States territory, is an aid — nay, a necessity — to the cause of the country. To prepare the public mind by doubts, or fears, or suggestions of compromises, or hopes of peace, to be satisfied with anything less J^than these demands, is treason to country, humanity, and God — more foul, because more cowardly than rebellion. "Let, then, every loyal man join hands with his neighbor, sinking all dif- ferences of political opinion, which must be minor to this paramount interest, and pledge himself to the fullest support of the Grovernment, with men and means to crush out this treason, and then, and not till then, am I willing to hear any- thing of political party. "Again and again i-eturning you my grateful thanks for the courtesy done me by your action, allow me to say that I shall be in New York during the coming week, and shall be happy at any time to meet you gentlemen, and my fellow-citi- zens, in such a manner as they may think fitting. "Most respectfully, your obedient ser- vant, "Benjamin F. Butler. "Major-General U. S. V. I. In compliance with Gen. Butler's pref- erences, as expressed in the above, a public reception was arranged, and took place at the Academy of Music, Thurs- day evening, April 2d. The welcome then extended to the gallant soldier, was, in all respects, one of the most enthusi- astic and significant ever extended to any honored servant of any people. — Long before the hour of commencement, the house was filled in every part, our loyal women alone almost filling the bal- cony and upper circles. Mrs. Eutler and Mrs. Banks were present, sitting in the private boxes, and upon the stage were Gencrul Wool, General C. M. Clay, and a large number of our well known citizens. Previous to the opening of the meet- ing, Major-General Wool and several officers of his staif entered upon the stage. His appearance was greeted with tremendous cheers. General Wetmore came forward and said : I am happy to see this immense audi- ence recognizes one of our noblest he- roes, Major-General Wool. [Cheers.] The applause having subsided. Gen. Wool advanced to the footlights, and said : SPEECH OF GEN. WOOL. I thank you, ladies and gentlemen, for the honor of this recognition. I am not prepared to make a speech on this occa- sion. You will have those who can speak to you better than I can do. But permit me to say what you already know — I am for putting down this rebellion. nolens volejis, and will never concede to any compromise until that is accomplish- ed. [Tremendous cheers.] The orchestra having concluded a beautiful introductory overture, the Un- ion Glee club came forward and sang in an excellent manner, "The Sword of. Bunker Hill." A loud and long encore being given by the audience, the club sang "Columbia we love thee. Land of the free." The orchestra soon struck up the en- livening strains of "Hail to the Chief," which gave sure indication that Major- . General Butler was approaching. Soon the General made his appearance, and was received with long and loud contin- ued cheers, the ladies waving their hand- kerchiefs, while the men strained their throats to give the gallant hero the re- ception which was so justly due him. — The coup' d ceil presented on the Gener- al's appearance was superb. Paroquet, dress circle, and galleries united in most uproarous cheers, and men seemed al- most beside themselves with demonstra- tive zeal. Handkerchiefs and hats were waved and the uproar continued for sev- eral minutes. Silence being restored, Senator Morgan introduced Major-Gen- eral Butler to His Honor Mayor Opdyke, as follows : SPEECU OV SENATOR MORGAN. Mr. Mayor — It affords me the great- est pleasure to introduce to you the most efficient officer in the United States service, Major-General Benjamin F. But- ler. [Loud and continued cheers.] Gen. Butler then advanced towards the Mayor, who cordially took his hand aud then addressed him as follows : SPEECH OP THE MAYOR. General Butler — The gentlemen upon whose invitation you are here, have charged me with the agreeable duty of bidding you welcome to our city, and expressing to you the warm hearted greeting, not merely of those present, but of every loyal heart in this loyal metropolis. Our citizens have long de- sired the privilege of testifying to you personally their great respect for your character, and their high appreciation of your public services. In their name I thank you for having now accorded them this privilege. They have watched your public career during the present war with a constantly increasing interest and admiration. They saw you among the first to abandon an honorable and lucra- tive profession, and voluntarily take up arms in defense of a government you loved, although it was administered by tho.se whose election you had earnestly opposed. They felt that no stronger ev idence could be adduced of an exalted patriotism. Your first theatre of military service was in jMaryland, a State then trembling in the balance between loyalty and trea- son, and in whose metropolis soldiers of the Union had been assassinated on their way to the protection of the Capitol. At that critical period you were fortunately placed in command, first at Annapolis and afterward at Baltimore ; and it is perhaps, not too much to say that it was owing to your judicious management, in which you wisely blended moderation with firmness, that Maryland escaped the criminal folly of secession. At all events you promptly subdued the outbreaks of treason in that State, and thus rendered it safe for our troops to pass through the City of Baltimore without molesta- tion. You were next placed in command at Fortress Monroe, where you made the sagacious discovery that slaves were con- traband of war. In view of the tender- ness with which our Government aud its military commanders had up to that time treated the institution of slavery, this discovery must be regarded as one of the most valuable of the war, and therefore one which entitles you to the public gratitude. It quietly but most effectively divested the 'divine institution' of all its sanctity in the presence of war. From Fortress Monroe you were trans- ferred to a wider field of usefulness, by being placed in commad of the Depart- ment of the Gulf. Your friends knew that in a position so environed with diffi- culties as this, no ordinary commander could hope to acquit himself with credit. You soon found yourself, with a hand- ful of men. remote from your base of supplies and from succor, in the metrop- olis of the Confederacy, where the popu- lation, with few exceptions were intense- ly hostile to the National Government ; and the moment they discovered the fi- delity and ability with which you upheld the interests of the Government, all their intensity of hatred was transferred to you personally. They grossly mis- represented your acts; they wilfully mis- interpreted your language ; they heaped on you the vilest epithets, and in evei-y conceivable way labored to cover your name with infamy. The rebel government and the rebel press througliout the Confederacy took up the theme and repeated these slan- ders, with every variation that ingenuity could suggest. The rebel chief, in his annual message, went so far as to brand you as an outlaw, and to decree your ex- ecution in case you should fall into the hands of his military forces. They also conferred on you, I believe, the exclu- sive honor of offering a large reward for your head. Nor were the malignant slanders I have referred to uttered only by the rebels. Their sympathizers at the North aud throughout Europe join- ed in tlie refiain, and re-ccliocd their bit- [sterner sex. You taught them to re- ter denunciations. 1 spect the authority of the United States, Abuse from the bad, like praise from and to fear its power. You treated as the good, affords presumptive evidence of j enemies of your country all who avowed merit. Hence, if our Government or [themselves as such, and in strict accord- its true friends had been ignorant of jance with the usages of war and the laws your policy, they might have safely in- j of the United States, you confiscated ferred, from this clamor of its bitter en- ■ their property and appropriated it to the amies, that that policy was just and vase. [ support of their own poor, and in provi- But, sir, the loyal people of the North [ ding for the wants of your army, were not ignorant of your acts or your | By these and kindred measures you policy. They saw that your capacious | purified the moral, social, and political and fertile mind, your resolute will, your [ atmosphere of a city in which each had dauntless courage, and your earnest pat- [ been rendered most noxious by the un- riotism, rendered you master of the situa-, bridled reign of treason and the vices tion, and fitted you above all other men, ! engendered by slavery. By your wise for the difiicult position in which you j sanitary regulations you also kept the were placed. They saw that you fully material atmosphere pure, and thus ex- comprehended your duty as a military i eluded pestilence. As a former resident commander, as a legislator, as a judge, | of New Orleans, I know that to have as an executive ofiice"r, and as a tamer of accomplished this in a city so unhealthy rebel madmen and mad women — for your sphere of duty embraced all these ; and they saw that your firm will stood ever ready to execute what your judg- ment dictated and your conscience ap- proved. In thus acting you strengthened the cause of justice and right. But you at the same time weakened the cause of its enemies, which is the cause of oppres- sion and wrong. For this they hate and and where all previous efforts in that di- rection had failed must be regarded as one of your noblest achievements. I have little doubt that among its benefi- cial results was the preservation of the lives of at least one-half of your com- mand. Your troops were all unacelima- ted. The yellow fever prevailed at near- ly all the neighboring ports on the Gulf and in the West Indies, and, but for your vigorous quarantine and strict sani- revile you; for that we esteem and praise; tary regulations within the city, would you. ! have become epidemic in New Orleans. But, sir, you shocked the sensibilities ■ In that event, your whole army would of Secessia, and all its partizans in the | have been attacked by it — for none of the unacclimated escape — and it is known that at least "fifty per cent of the cases prove fatal. By means like these you husbanded your small command and slender means in such a masterly manner that during eight months service you did not call ex- and two their manners and modesty ; for which, [ thousand more troops than you had re- sir, I doubt not, they will in due timei ceived from your Government, with mili- you outer world, by that terrible decreee, called order No. 28. That order as I understand it, was simply intended to ex- tend a salutary police ararngement, which had long existed in New Orleans, so as to bring within its jurisdiction and re- straintthe improper conduct of those ar- istocratic dames who gloried in heaping' upon the Government for a dollar insults on the soldiers of the Union. — I cept for the pay of your soldiers ; It had the desired effect. It improved , you turned over to your successor return you thanks instead of execra- tions, as now. The presence of our wives and daughters here to-night, proves that the ladies of New York re- gard that far famed order, both in its intention and effects as proper and salu- tary. You gave lessons equally useful to the tary lines embracing two-thirds of the population, and nearly that proportion of the territory of the State of Louisiana., The brief sketch I have thus given of your achievements in the Department of the Gulf might be indefinitely extended. But I have said enough to show that you have made a record of which any com- 6 mander, however distinguished, iniglit justly feel proud, and which the present and future generations will not fail to appreciate. We, Sir, glory in the fact that our country and our institutions can, in an emergency, produce from private life ready-made military commanders, states- men and jurists of the highest type, and all combined in a single individual. In your late eomn)and you have been called upon to exercii-e the functions appertain- ing to each of these, and it must be con- ceded that you acquitted yourself admira- bly in all. Asa commander, you did not prosecute war in the spirit of peace, but with the iron-h;inded rigor which its necessities demand and its usages justify, and which is an indispensable element of success. As a jurist and lawyer, you proved yourself a perfect master of every code that could be applied to the novel legal questions presented for your decis- ion. In truth your legal acumen was quite an overmatch for that of leading rebels and their sympathetic consular al- lies. But, sir, it is for the statemanlike qualities evinced by you in this contest that your friends are disposed to award you the highest praise. You seem to them to comprehend most perfectly all the principles involved in the present con- test, as w^ell as the best means of bringing it to a successful issue. Your pioneer mind, like Daniel Boone among the bor- der men of tlie West, seems to keep in advance of all others. You are familiar with the causes that produced the war : you have shared in its progress, and have had leisure since your return from active service to take a dispassionate sur- vey of its present status and its probable future. We shall feel greatly obliged if you will give us your views on such of these topics as may be agreeable to you, feeling well fissured that whatever you may say will be marked by 3'our accus- tomed originality of thought and breadth of knowledge, and must therefore prove both interesting and instructive Without detaining you any longer, General, permit me to renew my assur- ance of welcome, and then present you to an assembly worthy of such a guest. The Mayor, at the conclusion of the address, again took the General cordially by the hand, and presented him to the assembly as one of the best specimens of the volunteer army of the United St:ites. [Prolonged Cheers.] General Butler acknowledged the courteous reception, and spoke as fol- lows : SPEECH OF GEX. BDTLER. Mr. Mayor — Willi the profoimdest grati- tude for the too flattering comraend.ations of my administration of the various trusts com- mitted to me by the Government, which, in behalf of jonr associates, you have been pleased to tender. I ask you to receive my most heartfelt thanks. To the citizens of New York here assembled, graced by the fairest and loveliest, in kind appreciation of my ser- vices supposed to have been rendered to the country, I tender the deepest acknowledge- ments. [Applause.] I accept it all, not for myself, but for my brave comrades of the Ar- my of the Gulf. [Renewed applause.] I re- ceive it as an earnest of your devotion to the country — an evidence of your loyalty to the Constitution under which you live, and under which you hope to die. In order that the acts of the Army of the Gulf may be undci'- stood, perhaps it would be well, at a little length, with your permission, that some de- tail should be given of the thesis upon which we fulfilled our duties. The fii'st question, then, to be ascertained is, what is this con- test in which the country is engaged? At the risk of being a little tedious, at the risk even of calling your attention to what might seem otherwise too elementary, I propose to run down through the history of the contest to see what it is that agitates the whole country at .this day and this hour. That wc are in the midst of civil commotion, all know. But what is that commotion? Is it a riot? Is it an insurrection ? Is it a rebellion? Or is it a revolution? And pray, sir, although it may seem still more elementai-y, what is a riot? A riot, if I understand it, is simply an outburst of the passions of a number of men for tlie moment, in breach of the law, by force of numbers, to be put down and sub- dued by the civil authorities ; if it goes fur- thei", to be dealt with by the military author- ities. But you say, sir, "V/hy treat us to a definition of a riot upon this occasion ? Why, of all things, should you undertake to instruct a New York audience in what a riot is?" — [Laughter.] To that I answer, because the Administration of Mr. Buchanan dealt with this great change of affairs as if it were a riot ; because his Government officer gave the opinion that in Charleston it was but a riot; and that, as there was no civil authority there, to call out the militai-y, therefore Sumter must be given over to the rioters ; and that was the beginning of this struggle. Let us see how it grew up. I deal not now in causes but with effects — facts. Directly after the gunsiof the rebels had turned upon Sumter, the several States of the South, in Convention assembled, inaugurated a series of movements which took out from the Union divers States; and as each was attempted to be taken out, the riots, if such existed, were no longer found in them, but they became insurrection- ary; and the Administration, upon the 15th of April, 1861, dealt with this state of affairs as an insurrection, and called out the mili- tia of the United States to subdue an insur- rection. I was called at that time into the service to administer the laws in putting down an insurrection. I found a riot at Baltimore. They had burned bridges ; but the riot had hardly arisen to the dignity of an insurrection, because the State had not moved as an organized community. A few men were rioting at Baltimore ; and as I marched there at the head of United States troops, the question came up, "What have I before me ? You will remember that I offered then to put down all kinds of in- surrections as long as the State of Maryland remained loyal to the United States. Trans- ferred from thence to a wider sphere at Fortress Monroe, I found that the State of Virginia, through its organization, had taken itself out of the Union, and was endeavoring to erect for itself an independent government; and I dealt with that State as being in rebel- lion, and thought the property of the rebels, of whatever name or nature, should be dealt with as rebellious property, and contraband of war, subject to the laws of war. (Great applause.) I have been thus careful in sta- ting these various steps, because, although through your kindness replying to eulogy, I am here answering every charge of inconsist- ency and wrong of intention for my acts done before the country. Wrong in judgment I may have been ; but, I insist, wrong in in- tention or inconsistent to my former opinions never. Upon the same theory by wliich I felt myself bound to put down insurrection in Maryland, while it remained loyal, whether that insurrection was the work of blacks or whites, by the same loyalty to the Constitu- tion and laws, I felt bound to confiscate slave property in the rebellious State of Virginia. (Applause.) Pardon me, sir, if right here I say that I am a little sensitive upon this topic. I am an old-fashioned Andrew Jackson Dem- ocrat of twenty years' standing. (Applause. A voice: "The second hero of New Or- leans." Renewed applause culminating in three cheers.) And so far as I know, I have never swerved, so help me God, from one of his teachings. (Great applause.) Up to the time that Disunion took place, I went as far as the farthest in sustaining the constitution- al rights of the States. However bitter or distasteful to me were the obligations my fathers had made for me in the compromise of the Constitution, it was not for me to pick out the sweet from the bitter : and, fellow, democrats, I took them all (loud cheers) be- cause they were constitutional obligations; (applause,) and sustaining them all, I stood by the South and by Southern rights under the Constitution until I advanced and looked into the very pit of disiinion, and into which they plunged, and then not liking the pros- pect I quietly withdrew. (Immense applause and laughter.) And from that hour we went apart, how far apart you can judge when I tell you, that on the 28th December, 1860, I shook hands on terms of personal friendship with Jefferson Davis, and on the 28th of De- comber, 1862, I had the pleasure of reading his proclamation that I was to be hanged at sight. (Great applause and laughter.) And now my friends, if you will allow me to pause for a moment in this line of thought, as we come up to the point of time, when these men laid down their constitutional obligations, let me ask, what then were my rights, and what were theirs? At that hour they repudiated the Constitution of the United States, by vote in solemn Convention ; and not only that, but they took arms in their hands, and under- took by force to rend from the Government what seemed to them the fairest portion of the heritage which my fathers had given to you and me ag a rich legacy for our children. When they did that, they abrogated, abnega- ted, and forfeited every constitutional right, and released me from every constitutional ob. ligation, so far as they were concerned. (Loud cheers.) Therefore when I was thus called upon to say what should be my action thereafter with regard to slavery, I was left to the natural instincts of my heart, as prompted by a Christian education in New England, and I dealt with it accordingly. (Immense applause. ) The same sense of duty to ray constitutional obligations, and to the rights of the several States that required me, so long as those States remained under the Constitution, to protect the system of slavery — that same sense of duty after they had gone out from under the Constitution, caused me to follow the dictates of my own untram- melled conscience. So you see — and I speak now to my old Democratic friends — that, how- ever misjudging I may have been, we went along together, step by step, up to that point ; and I claim that we ought still to go on in the same manner. We acknowledged the right of those men to hold slaves, because it was guar- anteed to them by the compromise of our fathers in the Constitution ; but if their State rights were to be respected, because of our allegiance to the Constitution and respect to State rights, when the sacred obligation was taken away by their own traitorous acts, a^^^ we, as well as the negroes, were disenthralled, why should not we follow the dictates of God' s law and humanity ? (Tremendous applause, and cries of "Bravo, Bravo.") By the exi- gencies of the public service removed once more to another sphere of action, at New Or- leans, I found this problem coming up m an- other form, and that led me to examine and s«e how far had progressed this civil commo- tion, now carried on by force of arms. I found under our complex system of States, each having an independent government, with the United States covering all, that there can be treason to a State and not to .the United States, revolution in a State and not as re- gards the United States, loyalty to a State and disloyalty to the Union, and loyalty to the Union and disloyalty to the organized Government of a State. As an illustration, take the troubles which almost lately arose in the State of Rhode Island, where there was an attempt to rebel against the State Govern- ment and to change the form of that Govern- ment, but no rebellion against the United States. All of you are familiar with the movements of Mr. Dorr; in that matter there was no intent of disloyalty against the United States, but a great deal against the State Government. I therefore in Louisiana found a State Government that had entirely chang- ed its form, and had revolutionized itself so far as it could ; had created courts and im- posed taxes; and put in motion all kinds of government machinery ; and I found so far as this State Government was concerned Lou- isiana was no longer in and of itself one of the United States of Amei-ica. It had, so far as it could, changed its State Government, and by solemn act had forever seceded from the United States of America and attempted to join the Confederate States. I found, I respectfully submit, a revolutionized State I There had been a revolution, by force; be- yond a riot, which is an infraction of the law; beyond an insurrection, which is an abnega- tion of the law; beyond a rebellion, which is an attempt to override the law by force of numbers ; and, further, I found a new State Government formed, that was being support- ed by foi:ce of arms. Now, I asked myself, upon what thesis shall I deal with those peo- ple? Organized into a community under forms of laAV, they had seized a portion of the territory of the United States; and I re- spectfully submit I had to deal with them as alien enemies. (Great applause.; They had forever passed the boundary of "wayward sisters," or "erring brothers," unless indeed they erred toward us as Cain did against his brother Abel. They had passed beyond that and outside of it. Aye, and Louisiana had done this in the strongest possible way, for she had seized on territory which the Govern- ment of the United States had bought and paid for. Therefore I dealt with them as ali- en enemies. (Applause.) And what rights have alien enemies, captured in war? They have the right, so long as they behave them- selves and arc non-combatants, to be free from personal violence ; they have no other rights ; and therefore it was my duty to see to it, (and I believe the record will show, I did see to it, ) [great applause and loud cheers] that order was preserved, and that every man who behaved well, and did not aid the Con- federaiw States, should not be molested in his person. I held, by the laws of war, that everything else they had was at the mercy of the conqueror. (Cheers.) Permit me to state the method in which their rights were defined by one gentleman of my staff. He very cooly paraphrased the Dred Scott decision, and said they had no rights which a negro was bound to respect. (Loud and prolonged laughter and cheers.) But, dealing with them in thia way, I took care to protect all men in personal safety. Now I hear a friend behind me say : " But how does your theoi-y affect loyal men ?" The diificulty in answer- ing that proposition, is this, in governmental action the Government, in making peace and carrying on war, cannot deal with indi- viduals, but with organized communities, whether organized wrongly or rightly; (cheers;) and all I could do, so far as my judgment taught me, for the loyal citizen, was to see to it that no exaction should be made of him, and no property taken away from him, that was absolutely necessary for the success of military operations. I know nothing else that I could do. I could not al- ter the carying on of the war, because loyal citizens were, unfortunately, like Dog Tray, found in bad company, (laughter,) and to their persons, and to their property, even, all posssible protection I caused to be afforded. But let me repeat — for it is quite necessary to keep this in mind, and I am afraid that for want of so doing, some of my old Democratic friends have got lost, in going from one portion of the country to the other, in their thoughts and feelings — let me repeat that, in making war or making peace, carrying on governmental operations of any sort, governments and their representatives, so far as I am instructed, can deal only with organized communities, and men must fall or rise with the communi- ties in which they are situated. You in New York must follow the Government as express- ed by the will of the majority of your State, until you can revolutionize that Government and charge it; and those loyal at the South must, until this contest comes into process of settlement, also follow the action of the or- ganized majorities in which their lot has been cast, and no man, no set of men, can see the possible solution of this or any other gov- ernmental problem, as affecting States, except upon this basis. Now, then, to pass from the particular to the general, to leave the detail in Louisiana, of which I have run down the account, rather as illustrating my meaning than otherwise, I come back to the question: What is the contest with all the States that are banded together in the so-called Confed- erate States? Into what form has it come? It started in insurrection; it grew up a re- bellion : it has become a revolution, and carries with it all the rights of a revolution. Our Government has dealt Mith it upon that ground. When the Government blockaded Southern jio-ts, they dealt with it as a revolu- tion ; when they sent out cartels of exchange of prisoners, they dealt with tliese people no longer as simple insurrectionists and traitors, but as organized revolutionists, who had set up a government for themselves upon the teri-itory of the United States. Sir, let no man say to me, "Why, then you acknowl" edge the rights of revolution in these men !" I beg your pardon, sir, I only acknowledge the fact ot revolution — that which has actual- ly happened. I look these things in the face, and I do not dodge them because they are un- pleasant ; I find this a revolution, and these men are no longer, I repeat, our erring brethren, but tbcy are our alien enemies, foreigners [cheers] carrying on war against us, attempting to make alliances against us, attempting surreptitiously to get into the family of nations. I agree that it is not a successful revolution, and a revolution never to be successful [loud cheers], — pardon me, I was speaking theoretically, as a matter of law, — never to be successful until acknowl- edged by the parent State. Now, then, I am willing to unite with you in your cheers, when you say, a revolution, the rightfulness or success of which we never will acknowl- edge. [Cheers.] Why, sir, have I been so careful in bringing down with great particu- larity these disticticns ? Because, in my judgment, there are certain logical conse- quences following from them as necessarily as various corollaries from a problem in Euclid. If we are at war, as I think, with a foreign country, to all intents and purposes, how can a man here stand up and say he is on the side of that foreign country and not be an enemy to his country ? [Cheers.] A man must be either for his country or against his country. [Cheers.] He cannot upon this theory, be throwing impediments in the way of the progress of his Government, under pretense that he is helping some other por- tion of his country. If any loyal man thinks that he must do something to bring back his eri'inc brethren, if he likes that form of phrase, at the South, let him take his musket and go down and try it in that way. [Cheers.] If he is still of a different opinion, and thinks that is not the best way to bring them back, but he can do it by persuasion and talk, let him o-o 'down with me to Louisiana, and I 10 will set him over to Mississippi, and if the rebels do not feel for his heart-strings, but not in love, I will bring him back. [Cheers, loud and prolonged. " Send Wood down first!"] Let us say to him : Choose ye this day whom ye will serve. If the Lord thy God be God, serve him: if Baal be God, serve ye him. [Cheers.] But no man can serve two masters, God and Mammon.— • ["Tliat's so,"] Again, there are no other logical consequences to flow from the view which I have ventured to take of this subject, and that is with regard to our relations from past political action. If they are now alien enemies, I am bound to them by no ties of party fealty. They have passed out of that, and I think we ought to go back only to ex- amine and see if all ties of party allegiance and party fealty as regards them are not broken, and satisfy ourselves that it is your duty and mine to look simply to our country and to its service, and leave them to look to the country they arc attempting to erect, and to its service ; and then let us try the con- clusion with them. Mark, by this I give up no territory of the United States. Every foot that was ever circumscribed on the map by the lines around the United States belong to us. [Applause.] None the less because bad men have attempted to organize worse gov- ernment upon various portions of it. It is to be drawn in under our laws and our govern- ment as soon as the power of the United States can be exerted for that purpose, and, therefore, my friends, you see the next set of logical consequences that prove our theory ; that we have no occasion to carry on the fight for the Constitution as it was. I beg your pardon, the Constitution as it is. Who is in- terfering with the Constitution , as it is ? Who makes any attacks upon the Constitu- tion ? We are fighting with those who have gone out and repudiated the Constitution, and set another Constitution for themselves. [Cheers.] And, now, my frie.'.ds, I do not know but I shall use some heresy, but as a Democrat, as an Andrew Jackson Democrat, I am not for the Union as it was. [Great cheering. "Good!" "Good !"] I say, as a Democrat, and an Andrew Jackson Democrat, I am not for the Union to be again as it was. Understand me; I M-as for Union, because I saw, or thought I saw, the troubles in the future which have burst upon us ; but having undergone those t!-oubles, having spent all this blood and this treasure, I do not mean to go back again and be check by jowl with South Carolina as I was before, if I can help it. [Cheers. "You're right."] Mark me, now, let no man misunderstand me, and I repeat, lest I may be misunder- stood—there are none so slow to understand as those who do not want to— mark me, I say I do not mean to give up a single iuch'of the soil of South Carolina. If I had been alive at that time, and had had the position, the will, and the ability, I would have dealt with South Carolina as Jackson did, and kept her in the Union at all hazards, but now she has gone out, and I will take care that when sh« comes in again, she comes in better behaved [cheers], that she shall no longer be the fire- brand of the Union— aye, and that she shall enjoy what her people never yet have enjoy- ed—the blessings of a Republican form of Government. [Applause.] Therefore, in that view, I am not for the reconstruction of the Union as it was. I have spent treasure and blood enough upon it, in conjunction with my fellow-citizens, to make it a little better. [Cheers.] I think we can have a better Union the next time. It was good enough if it had been left alone. The old house was good enough for me, but as they have pulled down all the L part, I propose, when we build it up, to build it up with all the modern improvements. [Prolonged laughter and applause.] Another of the logical se- quences, it seems to me, that follow with in- exorable and not-to-be-shunned sequence upon this proposition, that ve are dealing with alien enemies, is with regard to our du- ties as to the confiscation of their property, and that question would seem to me to be easy of settlement under the Constitution, and without any discussion, if my first prop- osition is right. Has it not been held from the beginning of the world down to this day, from the time the Israelites took possession of the Land of Canaan, which they got from alien enemies— has it not been held that the whole property of those alien enemies be- longed to the conqueror, and t at has been at his mercy and his clemency what should be done with it? For one, I would take it and give the loyal man who was loyal in the heart of th*- South, enough to make him as well as he was before, and I would take th^ balance of it and distribute it among the vol- unteer soldiers who have gone [the 11 remainder of the sentence was drowned in a tremendous burst of applause.] And so far as I know them, if we should settle South Car- olina with them, in the course of a few year? I would be quite willing to receive her back into the Union. [Renewed applause.] That leads us to deal with another proposition : — What shall be done with the slaves? Here again the laws of war have longed sett'ed, with clearness and exactness, that it is for the conqueror, for the government which has maintained or extended its jurisdiction over the conquered tenitory, to deal with slaves as it pleases, to free them or not as it chooses. It is not for the conquered 'o make terms, or to send their friends into the conquered country to make terms for them'. [Applause.] Another corollary follows from the proposi- tion that we are fighting with alien enemies, which relieves us from another difficulty which seems to trouble some of my old Dem- ocratic friends, and that is in relation to the question of arming the negro slaves. If the seceded States are alien enemies, is there any objection that you know of, and if so, state it, to our arming one portion of the foreign country against the other while they are fighting us. [Applause, and cries of "No I" " No! "] Suppose that we were at war with England. Who would get up here in New York and say that we must not arm the Irish, lest they should-hurt some of the Eng- lish? [Applause.] And yet at one time, not very far gone, all those Englishmen were] our grandfather's brothers. Either they or we erred; but we are now separate nations. There can be no objection, for another reason because there is no law of war or of nations, no rule of governmental action that I know of, v^hich prevents a country from arming any portion of its citizens : and if the slaves do not take part in the rebellion, they become simply our citizens residing in our territory which is at present usurped by our enemies. [Applause.] At this waning hour, I do not propose to discuss, but merely to hint at these various subjects. [Cries of "Go on."] There is one question I am frequently asked, and most frequently by my old Democratic friends: -'Why, Gen. Butler, what is your experi- ence? Will the negroes fight?" To that I answer, I have no personal experience, be- cause I left the Department of the Gulf before they were fairly brought into action. But they did fight, under Jackson, at Chalmette. More than that. Let Napoleon III. answer, who has hired them to do what the veterans of the Crimea cannot do— to whip the Mexi- cans. Let the veterans of Napoleon I., under Le Clerc, who were whipped by them out of San Domingo, say whether they will not fight or not. What has been the demoralizing eifect upon them as a race by their contact with white men, I know not; but I cannot forget that their fathers would not have been slaves, but that they were captives in war, in their OAvn country, in hand to hand fights among the several chiefs. They would fight at some time ; and if you want to know any more than that, I can only advise you to try them-. [Great applause.] Passing to anoth- er logical deduction from the principle that we are carrying on war against alien ene- mies, (for I pray you to remember that I am only carrying out the same idea upon which the Government acted when it instituted the blockade,) I meet the question whether we thereby give foreign nations any greater rights than if we considered them as a rebel- lious portion of our country. W^e have heretofore seemed to consider, that if we ac- knowledged that tliere was a revolution, and there were alien enemies in this fight, that therefore we should give to foreign nations greater right to interfere in our affairs than they would have if they were rebels, consid- ered and held by us as rebels, only in the rebellious part of our own country. The first [answer to that is this: that, so far as the rebels are concerned, they are estopped to deny that they are exactly what they claim themselves to be, alien enemies ; and so far as foreign nations are concerned, while they are alien to us, yet they are upon our territo- ry, and until we acknowledge them, there is no better settled rule of the law of nations, than that the recognition of them is an act^ of war. They have no more right to recognize them, because we say, " We will deal with you as belligerent alien enemies, " than they would have to deal with tliem if we dealt with them simply as rebels ; and no country is more sternly and strongly bound by that view than is England, because she held the recognition by Fi-ance of our independence to- be an act of war and declared war according- ly. [Applause.] Therefore, I do not see who would lose any rights. We do not allow that th:s is a rightful rebellion— we do not a recognize it as such — we do not act toward it except in the best way we can to put it down and to re-revolutionize tlie countrj^ But what is the duty, theii, of neutrals, if these are alien enemies? We find tliem a people with whom no neutral nation has any treaty of amity or alliance ; they are strangers to every neutral nation, and, for example, let us take the English. The English nation have no treaty with the rebels — have no relations with the rebels — open relations I mean, — [Laughter,] none that are recognized by the laws of nations. They liave a treaty of amity and friendship with us, and now what is their duty in the contest between us and our enemies, to whom tliey are strangers? They claim it to be neutrality, such neutrality as tliey would maintain between two friendly nations with whom they have had treaties of amity. Let me illus- trate : I have two friends that have got into a ciuarrel — into a fight, if you please ; I am on equally good terms with both, and I do not choose to take a part with either. I treat them as belligerents, and hold myself neutral. That is the position of a nation, where two equall}^ friendly nations are fi^gliting. But I have a friend again who is fighting with a stranger, with whom I have nothing to do, of whom I know nothing that is good, of whom I have seen nothing except that he would fight — what io my duty, my friends, in that case? To stand perfectly neutral? It is not the part of a friend, as between men, audit is not the part of a friendly «ation as between nations. And yet, from some strange mis- conception, our Englisli friends profess to do no ' more than to stand perfectly neutral, while they have treaties of amity with us and no treaty which they acknowledge with the South. [Applause.] And, therefore, I say it is a much higher duty on the part of foreign nations toward us when we are in contest with a nation with which they have no treaty cf amity. To illustrate how this fact bears upon this question : the Eng- lish say "0! we are going to be neutral ; we will not sell you any arms, because we should have to sell the same to the Confedert stes." To that I answer: You have got treaties of amity and commerce with us by which you agree to trade with us. You have got no treaty of amity or commerce with them by which you agree to trade with them. Why not, then, trade with us? why not give us that right of preference, ex- cept ^or reasons that I will state hereafter? I liave been thus particular upon this, be- cause in stating tliese views to gentlemen in whose juilgment I have great confidence, they have said to me, "I agree to your views, •Mr. Butler, but I am afraid you will involve us with other nations, in the view that you take of that matter. " But I insist, and I can only state th-i proposition — your own minds will carry it out familiarly — I insist that there is a higher and closer duty to us — treat ing the rebels as a strange nation — not j'et admitted into tlie family of nations, that there is a higher duty from our old friendship, from our old relations toward Great Britain, than there is to this pushing, attempting-to-get-ia- to-place member of the family of nations. There is still another logical sequence which, in my judgment, follows from this view of the case. The great question put to me, my friends, and the great question which is now agitating this country, is, How are Ave to get these men back ? how are we to get this territory back? how are we to reconstruct the nation ? I think it is much better answered upon this hypothesis than any other: There are but two ways in whicli this contest can be ended; one is by re-revolutionizing a portion of this territory, and have theji come to ask to bo admitted into the Union; another is, to bring it all back, so that if they do not come back in the first way, they sliall come back bound to our triumphal car of victory, [Ap- plause.] Now, when any portion of the South Ijecomes loyal to the North and to the L'^nion, or, to express it with more care, when any portion of the inhabitants of tlie South wish to become again a part of the nation, and will throw off the government of Jefferson Davis, erect themselves into a State, and come and ask us to take them back with such a State Constitution as thej' ought to be admitted back again under, there is no difficttlty in its being done. There is no witchery about this. — This precise thing has been done in the case of Western Virginia She went out — stayed out for a while. By the aid of our armies, and by the efforts of her citizens, she re-revo- httionized, she threw off the government of the rest <-f the State of Virginia; she threw oflt the Confederate yoke ; she erected herself into a State, with a Constitution such as I be- lieve is quite satisfactory to all of us, especial- ly the amendment. [Applause ] She has asked to come back, and has been received back, and is the first entering wedge of that series of States which will come back that way. But suppose they will not come back? AVe are bound to sui.ijugatc them. What, then, do they become ? Territories of the United States — [great applause] — acquired by force of arms — [renewed applause] — precisely as we acquired California, precisely as we ac- quired Nevada, precisely a.s we acquired — not exactly, though— as wc acquired Texas — [laughter ] ; and then is there any difficulty in dealing with these men? Was there any difficulty in dealing with the State of Califor- nia, when our men went there and settled in sufficient numbers so as to give that State the benefits of the blessings of a rej)ublican form of government? Was there any diflBculty in obtaining her, beyond our transactions with Mexico? None wliatever. AVill there be any difficulty in taking to us the new State of Ne- vada when she is ready to come and ripe to come? Was there any difficul y in taking any portion of the Louisiana purchase, wh'.u 13 Januarj' 1 ISf'jo, with the state of the country on January 1 18')2, and tell me whether there has not been progress. At that time the Un- ion a mies held no considerable portion of Missouri, of Kentucky, or of Tennessee; none of Virginia except Fortress Monroe and Ar- lington Heights ; none of North Carolina save Hatteras, and none of South Carolina save Port V'oyal. All the rest wasgi'ound of strug- gle at least, and all the rest furnishing supplies to the rebels Now they hold none of Missou'^i, none of Kentucky, none of Ten- nessee, for apy valuable purpose of supplies, because the western portion is in our hands, and the eastern portion has been so run over by our contending armies that the supplies are gone. 'J hey lio'd no portion of Virginia val- uable for supplies, for that is eaten out by their armies We hold one-third of Virginia, and half of North Carolina We hold our own in South Carolina ; and I hope that, be- ..^ ..^. __ ^ fore the llth of this month, we shuU hold a having"Sne"by far'too"discursTvely over many I little more. [Applause.] We hold two-thirds of these points which I desired to bring to | of Louisiana, m wealth and population. We we bought her first? Will there be any diffi- culty, when her people get leady to come back to the United States, of our taking her back again, more than, perhaps, to carry out the parallel a little further, to pay a large sum of money besides, as we did in the case of Cali- fornia after we conquer, d it from Mexico? — These States having gone out without caiise, without right, without grievance, and having formed themselves i^.to new ^tates, and taktn upon themselves new alliances, I am not for having them come back without readmission. I feel, perhaps, if the ladies wi'l pardon the illustration, like a husband whose wife has run away with anoth-r man, and has divorc- ed herself from him ; he cannot take her to his arms until they have come before the priest and been re-married. [Laughter.] 1 have, 1 say, the same foeling in the case of these peo- ple that have gone out ; when they repent, and ask to come back, I am ready to re<;eive them; and I am not ready until then. And now. 1 will answer. While I am very much grati- fied at the kind expression of your regard, whether that expression is justified can be told in a single wokJ. When I left the De- partment of the Gulf, 1 sat down and deliberately put in the form of an addrfss, to the people of that Department, the exact acts I plause.] And I believe the colored troops held Florida, at the last accounts. Now, then, let us see to what the rebellion is reduced. It is reduced to the remainder of Virginia, part of North Caroliua, all of Georgia, Alabama and Mississippi, and a small portion of Louisiana and Tennessee; Texas and Arkansas, as 1 said had done while in their Department; and I before, being cut otf. Why I draw strong hopes from this is, that their supplies all come either from Kentucky, Tennessee, Missouri, Arkansas, or Texas, and these are completely now beyond their reach To that I look large- ly for the suppfessiou of this rebellion, and the overthrow of this revolution. They have got to the end of their conscription; we have not begun ours They have got to the end of their national credit; we have not put ours said to them, "I have done these things, " and I have now waited more than three months, and 1 have yet to hear a denial from that De- partment that these things were done. [Ap- plause.] And to that, sir, I can point alone as a justification of your too flattering eulogy, and to that I point forever as an answer to every slander and every calumny. The ladies of New Orleans knew v.-hether they were safe; ,, /. , has any one of them ever said the was not?— in any market m the worid. (Applause.) The men of New Orieans knew whether lifp And why should any man be aesfondmj and property were safe; has any man e^er'why should any man say that this great work said they were not? The poor of New Urleans | has gone on too slowly ? why should men feel knew whether the money which was taken | impatient? The war of the K evolution was from the rich rebels, was applied to the alle- seven years. AVhy should men be so anxious viation of their wants ; has any man denied that nations should march faster than they are that it was? To that record I point— and it prepared to ma-ch— faster than the tread of will be the only answer that I shall ever nations has ever been in the I rovidence of make ; and I only do it now because I desire ] God ? Nations in war have ever moved slow- that you shall have ncith r doubt nor feeling jly. AVe a-e too impatient— we never learn upon this subject-it is the only answer I can anything, it would seem to me, from reading ever make to the thousand calumnies that, history— I speak of myself as well as you— I have been poured upon me and mine, and up- have shared in that impatience myself. I on the officers who worked with me for the have shared in the various matters of disap- good of our country. [Applause.] I desire pointment. I was saying but the other day, now to say a single wo.d upon the question, to a friend of mine, " It seems sti-angc to rne what are the prosp noectsthis war? My sim- that our navy cannot catch that steamer .4te- ple opinion would be no better than i\mi oiba ma ; there must be sometlung wrong in the another man; but let mc show you the reason Navy Department I am atraid, and 1 got for the faith that is in me that this war is quite impatient. I had hardly got over the progressing steadily to a successful termin- wound inflicted by the capture of the Jacob ation. Compare the state of the Qountvy Qa\Bell, when came the Gokien Fa^le, and the 14 Jjadii Jmic, nnd as one was from Boston, it, touched me keenly. [Applause ] He leplied : ''Don't be impatient, remember that Paul Jones, with a sailing ship on the coast of Eng- land, ptit the whole British navy at detiance for many months, and wandered up and down thai coast,, and worked his will upon it, (ap- plause,) ana England had no naval power to contend with, and had not 2,500 miles to blockade. I remember that in the French war. Lord Cochrane, with one vessel, and that was by no means a steamship, held the whole French coast against the French navy. And to do him welcome in such numbers that the very floor would not uphold them (laughter,) and to testify our appiec ation o- the high qualities of his mother and sovereign, and our love for the English people — we gave him such a reception as Northern gentlemen give to their friends; and his present admirers at Bichmond gave him such a leception as South- ern gentlemen give to their friends (Laughter and applause ) What turth* r has been done done by us? No, 1 have no right to claim any portion of it. What has been done by the merchants of New York? 'ihe George Gris- so it has been done by other nations Let us j wold goes out to feed the starving poor of have a little patience, and possess our sou's Avith a little patriotism, and less politics, and we shall have no ditBculty. (Ap.lause, and "Good,") But the e is one circumstance of this war, I am bound to say in all trankness to you, that 1 do not like the appearance of, and that is, because we cannot exactly reach it. I re er to the war made upon our commerce, which is not the fault of the navy, nor of any department of the Government, but is the fault of our allies. (Applause.) Pardon me a mo- Lancashire, to which yourselves all contribu- te(^, and it was only God s blessing on that charity that prevented that vessel being over- hauled and burned by the pirate Alabama, fitted out from an Engl'sh port. (Applause.) And to-day, at Birkenhead, the Sumter is be- ing fitted out — at Babadoesthe captain of the Florida is being feted and somewhere the "290," the cabalistic number of the British merchants who contributed to her construc- tiou, is preying upon our commerce, while we ment, for I am speaking now in the commer- I hear that at Glasgow a steamer is being built cial city of ^ew York, where I think it is of for the Emperor of China — (laughter) — and at interest to you, and of a matter to which I Liverpool another is about to be launched for have given some reflection— fardon me a mo- j the Emperor of China. Pardon me, I don't ment, until we examine and see what England believe the Emperor of China will buy many has done She agreed to be neutral — 1 tried ' ships of Great Bi'it.ain, until they bring back to demonstrate to you tliat she ought to have \ the silk gowns they stole out of his palace at been a little more -but has she been even that? j Pekin. (Laughter and great applause.) And ("No, no, no,'') Let us see the evidences of, even now, I say that our Commerce is being that "no " In the first place, there has been ! preyed upon, by sh ps in the hands of the nothing of the Un'on cause that her orato s ! rebels, bu It by English builders. (Cries of and her statesmen have not maligned — there " 1 hat's so. ") And I ask the merchants of the has been nothing of sympathy or encom-age city of New Y^'ork whether it has not already ment which slie has not aiforded our enemies, 1 reached the point where our commerce, to be there has been nothing which she could do un- 1 sa'e, has to be carried in British bottoms. — der the cover of neutrality which she has not done to aid them. ("That is true.") Nas- (Great laughter.) Now, I learn from the late correspondence of Earl Russe 1, that the sau has been a naval arsenal for pirate rebel , British have put two articles of the treaty of boats to refit in. Kingston has been the coal Paris incompact with the rebels — first, that depot, and Barbadoes has been the dancing hall I ' fete I'n-iite chie'"tains in. (Applause.) AVhat cause, my friends— what cause, my covuitrymen, has England so to deal with us ? What IS the reason she does so deal with us? Is it because we have never shown sympathy toward her or love to her people ? And mark me here, that 1 make a distinction between the tnglish jieople as a mass and the English Government. (Applause.) 1 think the heart of her people beats responsive to ours — (ap- plause) — but I know her Government and aristocracy hate us with a Imte wh ch passeth all understanding. (Applause.) I say, let us see if we have given any cause for this I I know, 1 think, what the cause is ; but let us see what we have done. You remember that when the famine overtook the Irish in 1847, the 3Iacedonian frigate carried out the bread from this country to feed the poor that England was starving. (Applause.) When afterward the heir to her throne arrived Here, aye, in this very house, our people assemblea enemies goods shall be covered by neutral flags, and there shall be free t'ade at the ports, and open trade with neutrals. Why didn't Great Britain put the other part of the treaty in compact; namely, that there should be no more privateering ! if she was honest and earnest ? Again, when we took from her deck our two senalo s and rebel embassadors, Slidell and Mason, and took them, in my judgment, according to the laws of nations, what did she do but threaten us with war ? — I agree that it was wisely done, perhaps, not to provoke war at that time — we were not quite in a condition for it— but I thank God, and that always, that we are fast getting in a condition to remember that always and every day ! (Tremendous applause, and waving of handkerchiefs, and cries of "Good!") Why is it that all this has been done? Because we alone can be the commer- cial rivals of Great Britain ! and because the South has no commercial marine. There has been, in my judgment, a deliberate attempt 15 oa the part of Great Britain, under the pica of j twice running. [Laughter] I got frighten- ncutrality, to allow our commerce to be ruin- ed a little better than a year ago, but I got cd, if human actions indicate human thoughts, over it. [Great laughter.] But further, this (Cries of "That is so.") It is idle to tell nie is a necessity; for we must keep our ships at Great Britain does not know these vesse's are home in some form to save them from these fitted out in her ports. It is idle and insult- 'piracies, when a dozen of these privateers get ing to tell me that she put the Alabama under 1 loose upon the seas. It becomes a war meas- ^20,000 bonds, not to go into the service of the ure which any nation, under any law, under Cenfederate States. The Jacob Bell a'one Avould pay the amount of the bond over and over again. We did not so deal with her ■vrheii she was at war with Russia. On the suggestion o'' the British Minister, our Gov- ernment stopped, with the rapidity of lightning, the sailing of a steamer, until the minister himself was willing to let her go. — "VVe must take some means to put a stop to these piracies, and to the fitting out of piiate vessels in English ports. They are always telling us about the inefficiency of a republi- can government, but as they are acting now, we could stop two pirates to her one. (Ap- any construction, would warrant our right to enforce. And tiiis course should be adopted toward the English nation, for 1 liave never heard of any blockade runners under the French flag, nor under the Russian liag — nor under the xVustrian flag — nor under the Greek flag. No! not even the Turks viill do it. — [Applause.] And, thtrefo e, I have ventured to suggest the adoption of the course, for your consideration as a possible, aye, not only pos- sible, but, unliss the thing has a lemedy, a probable event: for we must see to it that we protect ourselves anc^^ take a manly place among the nations of the earth. [Applause.] plause.) AVe must, in some way, put a stop But I hear some frit-nd of mine say, "I am to the construction and fitting out of these pi rate vesse's in English ports to prey upon our commerce, or else consent to keep our ships at home. We must stop them — we must act through the people of England, if we cannot secure a stoppage in any other way. [Ap- plause.] I have seen it stated that the loss to our commerce al cady amounts to §9,000,000 — enough to have paid the expense of keeping a large number o vessels at home, and out of the waj'O' these cruisers. What shall we do in tlie matter? Why, when our Government takes a step toward jjutting a stop to it — and 1 believe it is taking that step now, but it is not in my province to speak of it — we must aid it in so doing. [Great spplause.] We are the Government in this matter, and when our Government gets ready to take a step, we must get ready to sustain it. [Applause.] 'England told us what to do when we took Mason and Slidell, and she thought there Avas a likeliliood to be a war. She stopped expor- tation of those articles which she thought we wanted, and which she liad allowed to be ex- ported before., Let us do the same thing. [Applause.] Let us proclaim non-intercourse, so that no ounce of food shall ever by txny accident get into an Englishman's mouth, itn- til these piracies cease. . [Laughter and applause.] [A voice: " Say that again I''] ' Gen. Bujlee: I never say anything, my friends, that I am afraid to say again. [Ap- plause ] I repeat, let us proclaim non-inter couse, so that no ounce shall by any accident get into an Englishman s mouth, until these piracies are stopped. [Applause.] That we have a right to do; and when wo ever do it, my word ior it, they will find out where these vessels are going to, and they will write to the Emperor of China upon the subject. [Ap- plause ] Btit I hear some objector say, " if you proclaim no^i-intei'course, England may go to- Vam' Now, I am not to be frightened afraid your scheme would brit.g down our pro- visions ; acd if we didn't export them to England we sli' uld find our western market still more depressed, " Allow me, with great deference to your judgment, gentlemen, to suggest a remedy for that at thw same time. — I wottld suggest that the exportation of go d be prohibited, and then there wou d Re noth- ing to forward to meet tlie bills of exchange and pay for the goods we ha^e bought, except our provisions. And, taking a hint from olc of your best and most successful merchants, we could pay for our si ks and satins in but- ter, and lard, and coi-n, and beef, and pork, ai.d bring up the prices in the West, so that they could afford to pay the increased tarilf now rendered necessary, I suppose, upon your railroads. [Applause.] And it' our fair sisters and daughters will dress in silks, and satins, and laces, they will not feel any more troubled that a portion of the price goes to the Western farmer tp enhance his grains, instead of going into the. coffers of a Jew banker in Wall street. [Applause.] You will observe, my friends that 'n the list of grievances with which 1 charge Er gland, 1 ha^e not charged her with tamperiog with our leading politicians. [Laughter.] So far as any evidence 1 have, 1 don t unow that she is guilty, but what .shall we say of our leading politicians that have tampered with her?— - [Laughter.] 1 have read of it with much sur- prise — with more surprise than has been excited in me by any other fact of this war. [ had, somehow, got an inkling of the various things that came up in previous instances. I was not very much surprised at them, but when I read a statement, deliberately put forward, that here, in New York — leading politicians had consulted with the British minister as to how this United States could be separated, every drop of blood in my veins boiled; and I would have liked to have seen that leading politician. [Tremendous ap- C?6 plnuse.] I do not know that Lord Lyons is to! amongst us such men as these, lineal de blame. I suppose, sir, if a man comes to one of your clerks and offers to go into partner- slii^p with him to rob your neighbors bank, and he reports him to you, you do not blame the clerk; but what do you do with the man wbo makes the'offer? [Laughter.] [A voice: "PLing him ! '] I think we had better take a lesson from the action of Washiugton's administration — when the French minister, M. Genet, under t ok even to address the people of the United States by letter, complaint was made to his government, and he was recalled, and a law was passed preventing, for all future time, any interference by foreign diplomatists with the people of the United States — I want to be understood — I have no evidence of any inter- ference on the par-, of Lord Lyons ; but he said I hat, both be 'ore and after a certaiu event, leading roliticians came to him and desired that he would do what — I am giving the substance and not words — desired that he would request his Government not to iater- fere. Why? Because it would aid the country not to interfere? No! Because if they did interfere, the country would spurn the interference, and be stronger than ever to crush the rebellion. Mark again the insidu ous way in which the point was put. They ^^^^_^^^^„ _ knew how we felt because ♦t)f the actmn of | r^jg™^;;^;^^';"^^^^^^ England— they knew that the heart of this l^^j^.^ ^^ j^^^^ ^1^^^^ it ig ^i.^ ^ people beat true to the Constitution, and that it could not brook any interference on the part of England. What, then, did these poli- ticians do? They asked the British Minister to use the influence of British diplomacy to induce other nations to interfere, but to take care that Great Britain should keep out of sight, lest we should see the cat under the meal. (Laughter.) This is precisely the proposition that they made. You observe, that in speaking 'of t4i?se men, I have, up to this moment, used the word politicians: — What kind of nolitiaians ? [A voice : "Cop- perheads." Hisses and -groans.] They •cannot be Demooratic politicians. ["Of course, they •cannot."] Howl should like to hear Andrew Jackson say a few words upon .«uch politicians who call them^lves Demo- crats! ["He would hang them."]. No, I don^t thijik he would have an opportunity to.dosQ^ ho ijevev woiiUl be able* to catch them. — ■[Laughter.] I have felt it my duty here in * the city of New York, because of the intere^ I have in public alfairs, to call atfention to this most extraordinary fact-^thaf there are men in the^ommunity so lost to patriotism, so . bound up in the traditions of party, so selfish, as to be wfUing to tamper with' Great Britain in order to tesing about the separation of this country. It is the most alarming fact that I havaj«L§een. I had rather see a hundred thotjBJBEmen set in the fi»ld on the *fe^el s;(l"3t^yC!, riiad rath*f-"see Great Britain anaed against us openly, aS^rJie is covcrtly-r than to be foits.ed to believe that there ar* scendants of Judas Iscariot, intermarried with the race of Benedict Arnold. ["Wood," "Brooks."] It has shov.-u me a great danger with which we are threatened, and I call upon all true men to sustain-*^e Government — to be loyal to the GoVeroment. [Loud cheers.] As you, Sir, were pleased to say, the present Government was not the Goverh- ment of my choice — I did not vote for it, or for any part of it; but it is the Government of my country, it is the only organ by which I can exert the force of the country to pro- tect its integrity; and as long as I believe that Government to be honestly administered, I will throw a mantle over any mistakes that I may think it has made, and support it heart- ily, with hand and purajs, so help me God ! [Prolonged cheering.] I have no loyalty to any man or men ; my loyalty is to the Gov- ernment ; and it makes no difference to me who the people have chosen to' administer the Government, so long as the choice has beea constitutionally made, and the persons so chosen hold their places and pov.'crs. I am a traitor and a false man if I falter in my sup- port. [Applause.] This is what I understand to be loyalty to a Government ; and I was sorry to learn, as I did the other day, that there was a man in New York who professed not to know the meaning of the word loyalty. Wood."] I ay nere mat ii is uie duty of every man to be loyal to the Government, to sustain it, to pardon its errors, and help it, to rectify them, and to do all he can to aid it in carry- ing the country on in the course of glory and grandeur , in which it was started by our fathers. And let me say to you, my friends— to you, young men, that no man who opposed his countrv in time o£ "waf ever prospered. — [ ' ' That' s so. " ] The Tory of the Revolutibn, the Hartford Convenliohist of 1812, th» im- mortal seven who voted against' the supplies for the Mexican War— all history is against these men.- L*et n& politician of our day put himself in the way of the march of this dbun- try. to glory and greatness, for whoever does so will surely be crushed. The course of our nation is onward, and let him who opposes it • beware. ^ • "The mower mowes on— though the adder may writhe, • ^ Or the copperhead curl round the bjade of his ,, _ scythe. ''• [Loud appla\ise.] It ojily remains, sir,, for me to repeat /he expression of my gratitude to you ana the citizens of New York here as- •^giiibled, for the kinckiess with whiok yoq, and they have received me. and listened" .to me, for wOjLich, please, again accept my Olianks. fProlonged cheering.] • [Ohio State Journal Prff-J »i 4*' %. °wc^- >^' ^ -^ 0-., ^O. -.• .*'"-* «»"•*. '^- 'Co<=.- •Svi^l V ..^"^ <^^ "" ,0^ '. 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