How to prosecute and how to end the war

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197

THE TRIBUNE WAR TRACTS,

>py 1

Ko. Z.

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HOW TO P30SECDTE AND HOW TO END THE WAR.

SPEECH

MAJ.-GEN. BENJAMIN F. BUTLER,

AT TDB

ACADEMY OF MUSIC,

THURSDAY EVENING, APRIL 2, 18C3.

Th« magtiiGcent assemblage of the choicest of
the city, which gathered on Thuisday evening.
April 2, in the Academy of Music, to greet the hero
of the Gulf, has seldom been paralleled in the his-
tory of this continent. The house was completely
filled in every part long before the hour of com-
mencement. While waiting for that hour —

Major-Gen. Wool, upon advancing to take his
§cat on the platform, was recognized by the au-
dience, and greeted with applause, which he ac-
knowledged in a few firm and patriotic words.

At 7 1-2 o'clock precisely Senator Morgan, ac-
compnnieJ by several gentlemen, conducted Gen.
Butler upon the stage. Immediately there began
a cry of enthusiasm and a scene of excitt-'ment
wiiich very few people in this city have witnessed.
W'iih the thunders of applause, shouts of admira-
tion, waving of hats, bouquets and liandkerchiefs,
the whole interior of the Academy e.\cept the
roof was alive and in motion. For several min-
utes this continued. At last, when it had partially
subsided, Seuator Morgan presented Gen. Butler
to the Mayor. The presentation was but a panto-
mime, for the cheering was yet so great that the
Senator's words could not be heard.

Tl.e Mayor th^n welcomed Gen. Butler, in an
escecJingly pertinent and happy addre.-s, which
was enlliufiastically received, — the General, who
was in citizen's dress, standing the while. When
the Mayor had concluded —
^ Gen. Butler advanced, and, after the tumultuous
•jppliuse vith which he was again giCKted bad
subsided, he said ;

Mr. Mayor, with the profoundest gratitude for
the too natieiing commendation of my adminis
tration of the various trusts committed to me by
the Governmtrnt, which, in behalf of your asso-
ciates, you have been pleased to tender me. I ask
you to receive my most h<iartfelt thanks. To the

citizens of Xew Tort here asyemMed in kind ap-'
preciation of my services supposed to have beea
rendered to the country, I tender the deepest ae-
knowledgments [Applause.] I accept it all,
not for myself, but for my brave comrades of the
Army of the Gulf. [Renewed applause.] I re-
ceive it as an earnest of your devotion to the coi
try, an evidence oi your loyalty to the constitutii
uud'-r which you live and under which you hop
to die. In order that the acts of the Army of the
Gulf may be understood, perhaps it would be well,
at ft little length, with your permission, that; soma
dt-tail should be given lo the tiiesis upon wui-h we
administered our dutiea The first qu-^stion then,
to be ascertained is. Wiiat is tliis cosiest in which
the country is engaged? At the risk ol being a
liltlrt tedious, at the risk even of cailijg your at-
tention to what miglit seem otherwi-e too elemen-
tary, I propose to run down tlirou a tl;e history
of ihe contest to see whni it is tl.at the whole
country is about at this day and this hour. That
we are in the midst of civil commotion, oU know
But what is that commotion t Is it a not ? h it
an in -uriection ? Is it a rebellion? Or is it a
revolution? And pi ay, si-, aithouLrh it may seem
btiU more elemeniary," What is a not? Ariot.it*
I understand it, is simply an outburst of ihe pav
sioii of men for the nion.ent in or. ach of the law
to be put down nml subdued by the civil amhori-
lies; if it goes further, to be dealt with bv (he
military auilioriiies. But you say, sir, "Why
treat us to a definition of a riot xjpoa this occa
sion ? Wliy, ofall things, should you undeitaka
to instruct a Xew York audience in what a riot
is?" [Laughter.] To that I answer, because Ilia
Administration of Jlr. Buchanan dealt with Ihia
great change of aft'.iiis as if it were a riot, be-
cause his Government officer cave the opinion that
in Chaijeston it was but a riot; and ns tliere was
no civil authority tiirre to chU out tlie military,
therefore Sumter must be given over to the riot-
ers ; and that was the beiiinning of '.his slriiggla.
Let us see how it grew up. Ideal not now ia
i causes but in effects — in facts. Lirecily after th*
guns of the Rebt-ls hid turned upon feumter, lh«
various States of the South, in Convention a«.«em-
bled, inaugurated U series of movements which
took out from the Union divers States; and u
each waa attempted to be taken out, the riot wa*

BO longer found \n tVirm.lmt tliey became insur-
rectioimi-y ; and tlie Aiiministiation, upon the 15tli
of April, 18G1, dealt wiMi it a* an inBurrection,
and called out tlie niiiitia of tlie United States to
Bubdiie an insuiTrction. I wns CHlifd at that time
into the service, to administer the laws in putting
down an insurrection. I found « riot at Bilti-
more. They burned l.ridges; but they had hardly
arisen to the digriity of an insut-rection, because
the Siiite had not moved as an organized com-
munit}'. A few men were rioting at Baltimore;
and as I marched there at the head of United
States troops, the question came up before me,
•what have I before me. You will remember that
I offered then to put down all kinds of insuri-ee-
tions so long as the State of Maryland remained
loyal to the United States. Transferred from
thence to a wider sphere at Fortress Monroe, I
found that the Slate of Virginia through its organ-
iz\tion liad taken itself out of the Union, and was
endeavoring lo erect for itself an Independent Gov-
ernment; and I dealt with that State as being in
rebellion, and thought the property of the Rebels,
of whatever name or nature, should be dealt with
as rebellious property and contraband, [Great
applause.]

I have been thus careful in stating the various
Btops, because, although through your kindness
replying to eulogy, I am here answeiing every
charge of inconsistency and wrong of intention for
my acts done before the country. Wrong in judg-
ment I may have been, but, I insist, wrong in in-
tention or inconi^istent, never. Upon the same
theory upon which I felt m\-self bound to put down
insurrection in Maryland while it remained loyal,
whether that insurrection consisted of blacks or
whites, by the same loyalty to the Constitution
and laws I felt bound to confiscate slave property
in tlie rebellious State of Virginia. [Applause]
Pardon me, sir, if right here I say that I am a little
seusiiive upon this subject I am an oid-fnshioned
Andrew Jackson Democrat of twenty years' stand-
ing. [Applause. A voice: "The second hero of
Kew Oi leans." Renewed applause, culminating in
thiee ciieers.] And so far as I know, I have never
swerved, so help me God, from one of his teachings.
[Great apphiu^e.] Up to the time that disunion
took place, I went as far as the furthest in sustain-
ing liie constilu'ional rights of the States, however
biiter or however distasteful to ne were the obli-
gations my fathers had made for me in the com-
promises of the Constitution, and among them it
was not for me to pick out the sweet from the bit-
ter; and, fellow-Democrats, I took them all [loud
cheers], liecause they were constitutional obliga
tioDS [applause]; and, taking them all. I stood by
the Soulii, and by Southern ri^'hts under the Con-
stitution, until I advanced and looked into the very
pit of disunion, and not liking the prospect I quiets
iy withdrew. [Immense aj^phiuse and laughter]
And we were fioni that hour apart, and how far
apart you can judge when I tell you that on the
2Sth Dceonibcr, 1860, I shook hands on terms of
pcrsonul frieiulsliip with Jefferson Davis, and on
vhe 2SLh Decemher, 1862, I had the pleasure of
reading his proclamation that I was to be hanged
at eiglit. [Great applau.ee and laugliter.] And
row, my friends, if you will allow me lo pass on
for a nioment in this line of thought, as we come
up to the point of time when their men laid down
their constitutional obligations: What were my
lights, and what wore tlieiis?" At that hour they
repudiated the Consiitution of the United States,
by solemn vote in sokma convention; and not

only that, but they took arms In their hands, and
undertook bj' force to rend from the Government
what seemed to them the fairest portion of the her-
itage which my faliiers had given to me as a rich
legicy to my children. When they did that, they
abiogated, abnegated, and forfeited every consti-
tutional right, and released me from every constitu-
tional obligation. [Loud cheers.] And when I was
thus called upon to siiy what should be my
action with regard to slavery, I was left to the
natural instincts of mj' heart, as prompted bv a
Christian education in IS'ew England, and I dealt
with it accordingly, as I was no longer bound-
[Immense applause.] Then I undertook earnestly
and respectfully to maintain, with the same sense
of duty to my constitutional obligations and to
State rights, so long as they rem-uned under tho
Constitution, that required me to support the svis—
tom of slavery — and the same sense of duty and
right, after they had gone out from under that
Constitution.caused me to follow the dictates of my
own conscience untrammeled. [Cheers.] So, my
friends, you see, however misjudging I may have
been — and I speak to my old Democratic friends —
I claim we went along, step by step, up to that
point, and we should still go along, step by step;
for, except the right to hold slaves was made a
part of the compromises made by our fathers in
the Constitution, and if their J^tate rights were to
be respected because of our allegiance to the Con-
stitution and our respect to Staie rights, yet, when
that sacred obligation was taken away, and we ns
well as the negroes were disenthralled, why should
not we follow the dictate of God's law and hu-
manity? [Tremendi)u« applause, and cries of
"Bravo, Bravo."] By the exigencies of the public
service, removed once more to another sphere of
action, at Kew Orleans, I found this problem to
come up in another form, and that led me to exam-
ine and see how fir had progressed this civil
commotion, now carried on by force of arms. I
found, under our complex system of States and an
independent government, and the United States
covering all, that there can be treason to the State
and not to the United StHtes, and revolution in the
Slate and not as regards the United States, and loy-
alty to the State and disloyalty to the Union, and
loyalty to the Union and disloyalty to the organized
government of the Siate. And, ns an illustration,
take the troubles which almost lately arose in the
State of Rhode Island, where there was an attempt
to rebel against the S aie government, nnil to
change the form of State government. All of you
are familiar with the movements of Mr. Dorr;
there was no intent of disloyalty against t lie Uni-
ted Slates, but a great deal against the State gov-
ernment I, therefoi'e, in Louisania, found a State
government that had entirely chnnged its form,
iiiid had revolutionized itseU so far as phe could;
created courts and imposed taxes; and I found, so
far as this State government was concerned, it. was
no longer in and of itself one of the United States
of America. Ii had, so f-tr as it couM, changed if^
State government, and by solemn act. had lorever
seceded from the United States of America, ait
attempted to join the Confederate States; and 1
found, I respectfully submit, a revolutionized State I
There had heen a revolution licj-ond an insurrec-
tion and infraciion of the law; beyond the ab-
negation and setting aside of the law, and a new
StHte government formed, that was being support-
ed by force of arms.

^'ow, upon what thesis shall I deal with thesa
people 7 Organized iato a community under foim%

ft

of law, tlicy hnd seized a portion of the territory of
the United Slates; and I respeeifuUy submit I must
deal with lliem ns alien enemies. [Oreiit applause.]
They liad forever passed the boundary of wayward
Bisters [great laughter and applause], unless indeed
they ened as Cuin did against his brother Abel.
They had passed be3"oiid ihut and outside of that.
Aye, and Louisiana had done this in the strongest
possibe way, for she had seized on territory which
the Government of the Unite! States had bought
and paid for. Therefore 1 dealt with them as alien
enemies. [Applause ] And what rights have alien
enemit^s ciiptured in war? They have the right,
•o long as I hey behave thnmselves and are non-
combatants, to be free from personal violence ; they
have no other rights; anJ, tiierefore, it was my
duty to see to it, and I believe the record will show,
I>iKl see to it. [Great applause and loud cheers.]
I did see to it tlnit order was jirescrved, and that
every man who beliaved well, and di 1 not aid the
Confederate States, should not be molested in his
person. I held everything else that they had was
ftt tile mere}' of the comjueror [cheers]; and to give
you an idea of it, permit me to state the method in
■which their rights were defined by one gentleman
of my staff, lie very coolly paraphrased the Dred
Scott decision, and said they liad no rights which a
negro was bound to respect. [Loud and prolonged
laughter and che-rs.] And dealing with them, I
took care to protect all men in personal safety.
Now 1 heard a friend behind me sny, But how did
that affect loyal men? The difficulty with that
proposition is this: in governmental action the
Government, iu making peace and carrying on
■war, cannot deal with individuals, but with organ-
ized communities, whether organized wrongly or
rightly [cheers], and all I could do, so far as my
judgment taught me, for tlie Inyal citizen, was to
Bee to it that no e.xietion should be put upon him.
No property should be taken away from him that
•was not absolutely necessary for the success of mill
tary operations. I know nothing else that I could
do. 1 could not alter the carrying 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 possi-
ble protection I caused to be afforded. But let me
repeat — for it is quite necessary to keep it in mind,
and I am afraid that the want of this is why some
of my old Democratic friends have got lost, in get-
ting frrtin one portion of the country to the other,
in their thoughts and feeling's — let me repeat that,
in making war or making peace, carrying on gov-
ernmental 0|i^r:ition3 of any sort, governments and
their representaiives, so far as I am instructed, can
deal only with organized communities, and men
must fall or rise with the communities in which
they are sitnaied. You in New York must Ibllow
the Guveriinient, as cxpiessed by the will of the
majoriiy of your State, until yo'i can revolutionize
ugninst that Government; and those loyal at the
South must, until ihis contest comcs into processof
Be'tlement, also follow tliC action of the organized
mnjorilies in which their lot has been cast; and no
■•hiaii, no set of m»-n, can s- e tiie solution of this or
any other governmental problem, as effecting
Slates, except upon this basis. Now, then, to pass
from the pa titular to the general, to leave the
detail in Loniiana, wiiich I have run down the ac-
count of railier as illustrating niy meaning than
otlKrwise, I come to ilie propo:itiun, What is the
contest with all the States that are banded together
in the s^vcalled Confederate States? Into what
form hai it coma ? li stoi-ted in ius unection ; it

grewoipa rebellion; it has become a revolution,
and carrying with it all the r'lshu of a revolution.
And our Government has deilt with it upon that
ground. When they blockaded their poi ts, they
dealt with it as a revolution ; when they sent oit
cartels of exchanijo of prisoners, they dealt with
these people no longer as cimple insnrrectioi.ista
and traitors, but as organized revolutionists, who
had set up a government for themslves upon the
territoi-y of the United States. Let no man sny to
me, sir, let no man say to me, " why then vou ac-
knowledge the rights of revolution in these' ni<-n I"
I beg your pardon, sir; I only acknowledge the
fact of revolution — what had iiappened. I look
these things iu the face, and I do not dodge them
because they are unplensant; I find this a revolu-
tion, and these men are no lonijer, 1 repeat, our
erring brethren, but they are our alien enemies, for-
eigners [cheers] carrying on war against us, at-
tempting to make alliances against us, attemi>ting
to get into the family of nations. 1 agree, not a
successful revolution, and a revolution never to be
successful [loud cheers] ; pardon me, I was speak-
ing of a matter of law, — never to be successful un-
til acknowledged by the parent State. And now,
then, I am willing to tinito with you in your
cheers when you say, a revolution which we
never will acknowledge. [Cheers.] Why,
sir, have I .been so careful in bringing down
with great distinctness these distinctions? 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 forciga
country and not be an enemy ? [Cheers.] Amaa
must be either for his country or against hia
country. [Cheers.] He cannot be throwing im-
pediments all the time in the way of the progress
of his country under pretense that he is help-
ing some other portion of his country. If a maa
thinks that he must do something to bring back
his erring brethren, if he likes that form of plirase,
at the South, let him take his musket and go down
and try it iu that way. [Cheers.] If he ii still of
a different opinion, and tliinks that is not the best
way to bring them back, but he can do it by per-
suasion and talk, let him go down with me to
Louisiana, and I will set him over to Mississippi,
and if the Rebels do not feel for his heartstrings,
but not in love, I will bring him back. [Cheeia,
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 Jlam-
mon. ["That's so."] Again, there are other log-
ical consequences to flow from this view which I
have ventured to take of this subject, and that ia
with regard to past political action. If they are
now alien enemies, I am bound to them by no ties
of jiariy fealty. They have passed out of that, and
I think we ought to go back a moment and exam-
ine and see if all lies of party allegiance and party
fealty as regards tliem are uot broken, and that I
am now to l"ok simply to my country and to its
service, and have them lo look to the country they
are attem[iting to erect and to its service, and tbea
let us try the coneluiion between us. ilark, by
this I gave up no leiritory of the United States.
Every foot that was ev^r circumscribed on the
map by the lines around the United States belongs
to us. [AppUuse.J ^oue the le^s bec»U9» bad

men have attempted to organize -w^orse Govern-
ment upon various portions of it And it is to
be drawn in under our laws and onr Govei-nment
as soon as the power of tli« United States can be
exerted forthat purpose; and therefore, my friend?,
you see the next set of logical consequences that
must follow: that we iiave no occasion to carry on
the fight for the Con-titulion as it wa«. [Cheers.]
I beg your pardon, the Constitution as it is. Who
is interfering with the Constituiion as it is? Who
is interlering with the Constitution? AVho makes
any attacks upon the Constitution if We are fi^ht-
ins; witli those whi have gone out and repudiated
the Con-til ution. [Cheers.] And now, my friends,
I do not know but I sliall use some heresy, but
as a Democrat, as an Andrew Jackson Democrat, 1
am not for the Union as it was. [Great cheering.
" Good ! " " Good !"] 1 say, as a Democrat, and an
Andrew Jackson Democfat, I am not for t'le Union
to be ngaiu as it was. Understand me: I was for
tlie Union as it was, because I saw, or thought I
caw, the troubles in the future which have hurst
■upon us; but havinc; underi^one tho^e troubles,
liaving spent all this blood, and this treasure, I do
not mean to go back again and be cheek by jowl
Trith South Carolina a< I was before, if I can help
it. [Cheers. "You're right."] Mark me niiw, let
no man misunderstand me, and I repeat lest I may
be misundersLoO'l — there are none so slow tounder-
efand a* liiose who do not wan', to — mark mp, I say
I do not mean to give up a single inch of the soil
of South Carolina. If 1 had been alive at that time,
and hail had the position, the will, and the ability,
I would have dealt with Sontli Carolina a" Jackson
did, and kept her in the Union at all hazards, but
Bow she has gone out, and I will take care that
vhen she comes in again she comes in better be-
haved [clu-ei-o] ; that she shall no longer be the
firehrau'i of the Union; aye, and that she
shall enjoy, what her peoj^le never yet have en-
joyed, the lilessings of a Republican form of gov-
ernment. [Api>lau«e.] And, therefore, in that
view, I am not for the recon-tructioa of the Union
OS it was. Yet I have spent treasure and blood
enough upon it, in conjunction with my fellow-
eitizens, to make it a Lttle better. [Cheers.] 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 wiiii all the modern
improvements. [Prolonged laughter and ap-
plause]

Another of the loiieal consequences, it seems to
me, that follow with inexorable and not-to-be-
ehunned couise upon this proposition that we are
dealing wiih alien enemies, is in our duties with re-
gard to the confiscation of their property; and that
•would seem to me to be easy of settlement under
the Constitution, and without any discussion, if my
first proposition is right. Has it not been held,
from the beginning of the world down to this diiy,
from the time the Israelites took possession of the
Land of Cannan, which they got from alien ene-
mies, has it not been held that the whole proper-
ty of those siYion enemies belonged to the con-
qiieror, and that it has been at" his mercy »nd
his cleuienny what should be done with if For
one, I would take it. anil give the loyal moa who
-was loyal in the heart of the South euonsrh to make
him as wei; as he was l.elore, and I would take the
balancf' of it and distribute it among the volunteer
eoldi^r- who have g., no— [the remainder of the
sentence was drowned iu a tremeudoua burst of
applrtusv.] And no lar as 1 know them, U ive

should settle Sontli Carolina irith them, in the
course of a few years I should be quite willing to
receive her back into the Union. [Renewed ap-
plause.] That leads us to deal with another prop-
osition : What shall be done with the slaves f
Here, again, the laws of war have long settled,
with clearness and exactness, that it is for the con-
queror, for the aovernment which has maintained
or extended its direction over the territory, to deal
with slaves as it pleases, to free them or not as it
chooses. It is not for the conquered to make
terms, or to send their friends into the conquering
country to make terms upon that subject.. [Ap-
plause.] Another corollary follows from the
proposition that we are fighting with alien ene-
cnies, which relieves us from another difficulty
which see'ns to trouble some of my old Democratic
friends; and that is in relation to the question of
arming the negro slaves. If the States are nlien'
enemies, is there any objection that j'ou know of,
and if so state it, to our arming one portion of tlie
foreign country agtinst the other while they are
fic,htingus? [Applause?, and cries of " No," " 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 liurt some
of the Eutrlish ? [Applause.] At one time, not
very far gone, all tiiose Englishmen were our
grandfathers' brothers. But we are now sepanite
nations. 'I'here can be no objection, for another
reason, because there is no intei'nationnl law, or
any other law of government action that I know
of, which prevents the country from arming any
portion of its citizens; and if the slaves do not
lake part in the rebellion they become, simply, our
citizens residing in our territory, which is at pres-
ent usurped by our enemies. [Applause.] At this
waning hour 1 do not propose to discuss but mere-
ly to hint at these various subjects. [Cries of " Go
on."] There is one question 1 am frequently asked
— " Why, General Butler, what isyour experience!
Will the negroes fight?" To that I answer, I have
no personal experience, because I left the Depart-
meut of the Gulf before they were fairly brought
into action. But they did fi^ht, under Jackson, at
Chalmette. More than that: let Napoleon IIL
answer, who has hired them to do what the vete-
rans of the Crimea cannot do — to whip the MexL-
cnns. Let the veterans of Napoleon I., unJer Le
Cleve, who were whipped out from San Domingo,
say whether they will fight or not. What has been
the demoralizing effect 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.
And, if you want to know any more than that, I
can only advise you to trj' ihem. [Great applause.]
Passing to another logical deduction from the
principle that we are carrying on war against
alien enemies, I meet the question, ■wliether we
thereby give foreign nations any greater rights
than if we considered them as a Rebellious por-
tion of our country. So far as the Rebels are
concerned, they are estopped from denying that
they are alien enemies; and so far as foreig^j^ji
nations are concerned, although they are alien tt»-
Its. they are upon our territory, and until we
acknowledge their independence there is no better
settled rule in the law of nations than that foreisa
recognition of them is an act of war. And no
country is more sternly bound to that view thaa
is England, which held the recognition by France
of our own independence to be an act of war, aud
declared war accordingly. Wiiat then is the duty

of neutrals? Let ns take for example the English
nation. They have no treaty with the Rebels, no
open relatious with them. They have treaties of
amity and commerce with us. A contest arises
between us and our enemies to whom they are
strangers, and they claim to exercise the same
neutrality as if tlin contest were between two
nations with whicli tliey had treaties of amitv.
Let me illustrate: I have two friends who jjave
got into a fi.i];ht. I am on equally good terms with
both, and do not choose to take part in their
quarrel. I hold myself neutral. But suppose one
of my friend* is flighting with a stranger, of whom
I know nothing that is good; 1 have seen nothing
except that he would fight; is it my duty then to
stand perfectly neutral ? It is not the p;\rt of a
friend as between men nor between nations. The
JEnglisli say, We will not sell you any arms, because
"^ve should have to sell the same to toe Co;ifederate
Stales. To that I answer, you have treaties of
commerce with us by whicli you agree to trade
•with us. You have no treaty of commerce with
the Rebels. I insist that there is a greater duty
to us, considering this as a separate nation — an
interloper trying to get admitted into the family
of nations. There is still another logical conse-
quence which, in my judgment, follows from this
Tiew of the case. A great question put to me has
been : " Uuw are we to get tlio^e men back ? — how
are we to get this territory back ? — how are we to
reconstruct the Union ?" I think that is much
better answered upon this hypothesis than upon
any other: There are but two ways in which this
contest can be ended. One is by rerevolutioniz-
ing a given portion of this country, and having
them ask to be admitted into the Union ; the other
is to bring it back by the triumphal car of victory.
Whenever any portion of the inhabitants of the
South shall become again a part of the Union, and
•hall erect themselves into a State nnd ask us to
take them back wi;h such a Constitution as they
onsjht to be admitted with, there is no difficulty
in i'8 being done. There is no witchery about it.
This precise thing has been done in Western
Virg'i.-»ia. She went out, and stayed out for a
•while. jBy the aid of our armies, and by the
efforts of her citizens, she rerevolntionized and
threw off the Government of the rest of Virginia,
and the Confederate yoke, erected herself into a
Slate, with a Constitution which I believe is quite
satisfactory to you, especially with the amend-
ment, came back, and has been received acrain into
the Union. This is the first, the entering wedge,
of the series of States wliich will come back in
that way. But if they will not come back, we
are bound to subjugate them. What then do they
become! Territories of the United States. [Ap-
plause.] We ncquiie them precisely as we acquired
Califoruiaand Nevada; not. exactlv as we acquii-ed
Texas. Was there any difficulty in dealing with
the State of California? Will there be any diffi-
culty in our admitting, as a new State, Nevada,
when ready to come iu and ripe to come in ? Was
there any difficulty in taking in a portion of the
mi Louisiana purchase I Will there be any ditucultv,
wlien her people are ready, in our taking theni
back again? Will there lue any difficulty in re-
constructing the Union, when those that have
gone out without cause, without right, wiilinui
grievance, that have fi.>rmed thenisclves into new
Slates and taken upon iheiuselves new alliances,
are ready to return^ I am not for taking tliem
back withont readmlfsii.n. 1 feel au a husl>and
might leel, whose wile had run away with another

man and divorced herself from him; I should ba
unwilling to take her again to my arms until we
had gone before the priest, and been remarried. I
have the same feeling with regard to those people
who have gone out. When they repent and come
back, I am ready to receive them ; but I am not
ready till then. [Applause.]

To your flattering allusions, sir, to my acts in the
Department of tlid Gulf, I will answer a pingle
word. When I left th«t Department, 1 sat down
deliberately, and put in the f rm of an address to
the people of that Department an exr.ct account of
the acts I had done while there, and 1 said to them :
You know I have done these things; no man can
deny it I have waited more than three months,
and I have not yet hrard any denial from that De-
partment that those thing-» were done. T<> that
fact I point as the justification of your too flatter-
ing eulogy, as an answer forever to every sl.iniier
and every calumny. The lailies of New Orleans
knew whether they were safe. Has any one of
them ever said she was not? The men of New Or-
leans knew whether their life and property were
safe. Has any man ever said it was nolf The
poor of New Orleans know whether the money that
was taken from the rich rebels was fed out to them.
Has any one of them denied it? [Applause.] To
that record I point as tiie only answer I shall ever
make to the calumnies that have been poured upon
me, and upon the officers everywhere in that De-
partment that aided so successfully in carrying out
every effort for the good of the country. [Ap-
plause.] I desire now to say a single word ii-pon
the question. What are the prospects of this war?
My opinion would be no better than that of an-
other man ; but let me show you the reason for il.te
faith that is in me, that this war is progress-
ing steadily to a successful termination. Compare
the state of the country on January 1, 1SG3, with
the Slate of the country on Januaiy 1, 1802, and
tell me whether there has not been progress. At
that time the Union armies held no consideralde
portion of Missouri, of Kentucky, or of Teiincs-ee;
none of Virginia except Fortress Monroe and Ar-
lington nights; none of North Carolina save Plat-
teras, and none of South Carolina save Port Royal.
All the rest was ground of struggle at least, and
all the rest furnishing supplies to the re^iela.
Now they hold none of Missouri, none of Kentucky,
none of Tennessee for any valuable puipo;e of sup-
plies, because the western portion is in our hands,
and the eastern portion has been so run over by
the contending armies that the supplies are gone.
They hold no portion of Virginia valuable for sup-
plies, for that is eaten out by their armies. A\ e
hold one third of Virginia, and half of North Caro-
lina. We hold our own in South Carolina, and I
hope that before the ilth of this month we shall hold
a little more. [Applause.] We hold two tliirds
of Louisiana in wealth and population. We hold
all Arkansas and all Texas, so far as 8iip|dics are
concerned, so long as Furragiit is between Port
tiud-on and Vicksburg. [Applause.] And I be-
lieve the colored troops liold Florida at the last
accounts. [Applause.] The rebellion is reduced
to the remainder of Virginia, part of North Caro-
lina, the larger part of South Carolina, all of Geor-
gia, Alabama aii<l Missi-ssiopi, and a small poi tioa
of Louisiana and Tennessee — Texas and Ai kan>a?,
as 1 said before, being cut off. Why I draw strong
hopes from this is t hat their supplies all came either
from Kentucky, Tenne^s-'e, Missouri, Arkans.is, or
Texas, and these are complt-tely now beyond their
reaclu To that 1 iook lai gely for the eunpressioa

6

of tbis rebellion, and the overthrow of this revolu-
tion. Tbey have got to the end of tlieir eonscrip-
liun; we have not begun ours. Tbey have got to
the end of tbtir national credit; we bave not put
ours in any inni'ket in the world. [Applause.]
"Why should we be impatient? The llevolutionai-y
"War lasted seven years. Nations at war ever move
slowly. It has seemed strange to me tliat our
Navy could not catch tlie steamer Alabama; but a
frit-nd reminded me that I'aid Jones, with a sailing
ship even, upon the coast of Englanil, bid defiance
to llie whole British navy for many months; and
that Lord Cochrane, with a single ship, held the
•whole French coast in terror. iSo that, if we will
only have a little padeuce, and possess our souls
with a little patriotism, we shall have no reason to
comphiin.

But there is one thing, I say frankly, that I do
not like the appearance of. I refer to tiie war made
■upon our commerce. It is not the fault of the
Navy, or uf any department of ibe Government;
but it is the fault of our allies. Pardon me a mo-
ment, ior I am speaking now to the merchants of
New York, as this is a matter on which I have giv-
en some i-efleciion. Pardon me while we examin«'
to see what England has done. She agieed to be
neutral. I trieJ to demonstrate to 30U that she
ought to have been a Hi tie more. But has she
been? [Cries of "No, no."] Let us see the evi-
dence of that " No." Li the first place, there has
been nothing in the Union cause but what her ora-
tors and statesmen have maligned. There has been
nothing we bave done that has not been perveried
by her press. There lias been nothing of sympathy
or encourag-'ment which she has not afforded our
eremiiM. There has b>-en nothing which she could
do under a cover of neutrality which she has not
done to help Rebels. ["That is true."] Nassau
has been a naval arsenal for pi ivate Rebel boats
to refit in; Kingston has been a coal depot; and
Barbadoes has lieen a dancing-hall to fete pirate
chiefiains in. [Great applause.] What cause, my
friends, what cause, my countrymen, had she so to
deal with us V What is the reason she has so
dealt with us? Is it because we have never shown
sympathy toward her or love to her people? and
mark me lieie: I diaw a distinct line between the
English people, the ina>8es. and the English Gov-
ernment. I tiiiiik the heart of her people beats
responsive to oui-s. [Great applause.] But I
know her Government and her nrisloeracy haie us
with a hate that passeth all uaderstanding. [Loud
cheers.] I saj', let us see if we have given an\'
cause for tliis: You remember when tiie famine
overlook the Irishmen in lS47,and the Macedonian
frigate can lod bread to feed the poor wh^n Eng-
land wassiarviiig. And when hcrfavored heir ap-
peared her<-, in this very hous», we assenibldl and
gave him »ucli a welcome as Northern gentlemen
give to their friends, and his present admirers at
Pkichmond gave him such a welcome as Sontht-rn
gentlemen give to iheir fiends. [Lou'i laughter
and applause.] An-l Iho George Griswold has gone
from the city^of Now Yi>rk to f^sed the starving
poor of Lancashire; and it was only by Gild's
Viiessing that she was not overhaul, d and burned
by the pirate Alabama, tittc 1 out iu an English
])ort, [Applause.] Vet. to-day we hear that a
steamer is being built at, Gliii>gov/ for the Emperor
of China [lar.giiter and appiaiis-], and at Liver-

rool r.noiher one for the Emperor of Chin.i. But
don't believe the Emperor of China will buy
many ships of Great Brbain until they bring Ictck
tbu eiiiis tney kLuIc fiuui liu palace at PckLu !

[Great laughter.] Now, I learn from the late cor-
respondence of Earl Russell that the British have
put two articles of the treaty of Paris in compact
with the Rebels — first, that enemies gouds shall
be covered by neutral flags, and there shall be free
trade 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 Sena-
tors and Rebel Embassadors, Slidell and Mason, and
took them, in my judgment, aecorJi^fr to the law*
of nations, what did slie 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 1 thank Goil. and
that always, that we are fast gei'ing Ir? acondiiion
to remember that always and evt.y day 1 [Tn ■ ^
mendous applause, and avivi-'s: >-/ "hami kerchiefs,'"*'"
and cries of " Good I ] W i.^ is '.* aii this has been
done? Because, we al-'Dv cau be the comuiercial
rival of Great Britain!

There has been, in my iuiigment, a deliberate
attempt on t..e part of Great Britain, nnder the
plea of neutrality, to allow our commerce to be
ruined. [Cries of "That is so."] It is idle to tell
me Great Britain does not know these vessels are
fitted out iu her ports. It is idle and insulting to
tell you that she put the Alabama under ?!20,000
bonds, not to go into the service of the Confederate
States. We did not so deal with her when she
was at war with Russia. Oa the suggestion of the
British Minister, our Government stopped, with
the rapidity of lightning, the sailing of a steamer,
until tlie Minister himself was willing to let her
go. We must take some means to put a stop to
these proceedings. I was told the other day that
tue amount of property ahead}' destroyed would
amount to $9,OUO,000! What, then, is'our reme-
dy ? The peaceful and proper remedy, for we
must look forward to these matters. The Govern-
ment is no doubt doing it; but we ourselves must
look at it, for we are the peo[)le — we are the Gov-
ernment [applause]; and when our Government
get^ ready to take the step we mu-t be ready to
sup|)ort it. Enirland tfUs us what to do; \s hea
tiiere was a likelihood of war she stopped the ex-
portation of those articles she thought we wanted.
Let us do the same thing. [Great; applause and
loud cheers.] Let us proclaim noninieicourse, bo
that no ounce of food from the United States shall
by any accident ever find lis way into nn English-
man's mouth until the piracy is stopped. [Ap-
plause and cries of " Good," and Voice: "Let u»
hear that again."] I never say anj-thing that I am
afraid 10 say again, [Renewed applause.] I say
again, let us pioc-laim noii-iot-rcouise, so that no
ounce of fooii from America shall ever by any ac-
cident find its way to an Englishman's mouth un-
til these piracies are slopped [greet cheering, and
cries of "Tlia 'ft so," and " Good!"] ; and that we
have a right to do. But I hear some objector say.
If we proi-laim non-iiitercou:->e England may go to
war ["Let hergol"]; but I am not to be friLriit^
enod twice nimiiag. [Laughter and a|iplau-e.] ^
I got frightened a little more than a year ago, but
I iiave got over it. [f.aughter] It is a nece?sity,
for we must keep imr ships at home to save th< m
from these jiiratcs, if a dozen of them get loose
upon the ocean. Ji. becojnes a war measure, which
a;iy nation under any law would have a I'ight to
enii'rce: and iisnouid be made to apply directly
to the English nation, lor I never heard of a block-
ade runner under ih«i French flag, or Russiau, or

AnstHan, or Greek flag — no, not even the Tnrts
T^-ill do it. [Loud cheers nnd app'nuse.] There-
fore I have ventured fo Fiiggest this to yon oe a
possible, aje, as n probable, rtmedj, unless tliis
thing is seen to and stopped. We must see to it.
We should protect our.<elvea, nnd take a manly
place amonij ihe nations of the earth. [Loud np-
plause.l But I hear some say that this will bring
down tlie price of our provisions, and make our
Western ninrkets more depressed. Allow me to
Buggep.t that I he exportation of gold be also i>ro-
hibited, nnd then tliere would be nothinsf to mert
our bills of exchange to pay for our goods but our
provisions, and we could pay for our silks and
ealins in butler, lard, corn, beef, and pork, and if
our fair sisters and dnir«hters will wear silks, nnd
•atins, and laces, they will feel no troutile beciuise
,a portion of the extra price goes to the Western
farmer instend of going into the coffers of a Jew
banker in Wall street. [Great applause aud cries
of " Good."]

You will observe, my friends, that in the list of
grievances with which I charge England, I do not
charge her with tampering with our "leading
politicians." [Loud laughter.] So far as any
evidence I have, I don't know that she is guilty.
But what shall we say of our leading politicians
xvho have tampered with her? [Great applause.]
I have read that — which surprised me more than
any other fact of this war — that here in New York
leading politicians consulted with the British Min-
ister as to how this Union should be sepaiated ;
and when I read that, every drop of blood in my
veins boiled, and I would have liked to have seen
that " leading politician." [Most enthusiastic ap-
lause, the cheers being renewed again and again.]
don't know that Lord Lyons is to blame. 1 sup-
pose, sir, if a m:in goes to one of your clerk?, and
offers to go into partnership with him to rob one
of your neichbors, and he refuses an^. reports the
matter to you, you. don't blame your clerk; but
■what do yovi do with the man who makes the offer?
[Great applause, and cries of "Hang him!"] I
think we had'better take a le?son from the Gov-
ernment of Washington's Administration, though
the case is reversed. When the French Minister,
Citizen Genet, undertook to make an address to
the people of the United States, complaint was
made to his Government and he was rec lUed ; and
a law was passed preventing for all time to come
anv interference of foiei»;D ministers in the politics
of the United States. I want to be understood : I
have no evidence that Lord Lyons interfered at all,
but the correspondence says that certain leading pol-
iticians of New York came to him and desired that
he should do — whatf That he would advise with
his Government not to interfere? Why not? Be-
cause it would aid the country — they would spurn
it, nnd would be stronger than ever to crush tlie
Rebellion, and " we and our party shall be crushed
out!" [Great laughter and cheer.->.] ilark the
insidious point. They knew how the people felt
against England. They knew the heart of this
^ people to be true to the Constitution. They knew
the people would not brook any interference from
England, and they ask the British Minister to use
the power of British diplomacy to get other nations
to interfere, and Great Britain to keep out of eight
lest we should see the cat under the meal. [Loud
laughter.] 1 have used the phra^se up to this mo-
ment, as yon see, of "politician ;" but what kind of
politicians are they? [Cries of "Copperheads,"
"Traitors," from all over the house, Hmid great
oheen.] Conservative politiciaoB 1 [Loud laugh-

f

ter.] Tliey can't be Democratic po'iticianj. ['• Of
course they can't"] I should like- to hear old
Andrew Jackson say a few woid-i aHr.ut such
politicians, who call themselves Deniocrafj".
["He'd hang them."] No, my friend, I don't
think he would hnng them. 1 don't think he
would ever catih tliem. [Laughter.] I have felt
it my duty h<'re and now, in the city of New
York, from the interest I have in public affairs,
to call attention to this most extraordinary
matter. It is a matter which arrests the attention
more than any other, to wit: that there are men so
lost to patriotism, and so bound up in the traditions
of party, and so selfish, as to be uilliii;; to tamper
with Great Britain for the sepaiaiioa of tliis
country! It is the most alarming fact that I have
seen. 1 had rather see lOO.dOO men set in the field
on the Rebel side, — aye, I had rather see Great
Britain herself armed against us openly, if you
please, as she has been covertly, — rather than to feel
that there are men, lineal descendants of Judas
Iscariot, and intermarried with Benedict Arnold,
who would thus betray their country. [Loud cries
of" Fernando Wood," with hi.'ises and cheers. " He
knows them all."] That has shown me the great
danger — the only danger — we are in. I call upon
true men to sustain the Government [Great ap-
plause.] It is not a Government of my choice. I
didn't vote for it, or 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
and protect her integrity; and so lon^' as I believe
that action is honestly exerted, I will throw tiio
mantle of charity over any mistakes I think I may
see, and support it heartily with hand and purst so
long as I live. [Applause.] -

I have no loyalty to any man. My loyalty is to
the Government [cheers, "That's it"]; antl it makes
no difference to me who the people have put into
that Government, bo long as it h;is been properly
and constitutionally d'.ne. So long as they hold
their seats and hold their j.ower I am a trnitor
and a false man if I falter in that support This is
what I understand to be loyaltj- to the Govern-
ment. [Cheers.] And I was sorry to hear the
other day that there was a man in New York who
professed not to know the meanin? of the word.
["Who was it?" "Fernando Wood !"] I desire
to say that it is the duty of every man to be loyal
to the Government to sustain tlie Government, to
pardon its errors, to help rectify its mistakes, to
press it on to everything that it nmy do for the
country, and let i- carry the country on in its
course of glory and grandeur on which it was
placed 'b'V evr fathers; for let me say to you, my
friends, ye^i young men. that no man yet has ever

frospered who opposed his country in'tinie of war.
(Cheers.] The Tory ot the Revolution, the Ilart-
lord Coijventionist of 1812, the immoitai Seven
that voted against the supplies in the Mexican War,
all history is against them. And let no politician
put himself in the way of the march of this conn-
try to glory and greatness; for he will he crushed.
Its course is onward and certain, aud let him who
opposes it beware;

" The mower mows on thongli the adder may writhe.
And the Copperhead curl round the blade of tlio scythe."
[Tremendous applause.]

It only remains for me, sir, to thank you, nnd
the citizens of New York here assentbled, for the
kind attention with which they have lietened to
me, and with wliich they have received ine, for
which please, again and again, accept iny thani«.

PLotifl nn<3 prolonged applause, and tlire« cheers^or
Gen. Builer.]

Gen. Butler was immediately surrounded by the
gentlemen oa the stage, ■which was crowded with
the leading men of the city, all of whom Eonght to
present to him their thanks and coni^ratulations.
Tor many minutes the audience before the stage
sat in a condition of expectancy. The band played
"The Star-Spangled Banner," and " Yankee Doo-
dle," and the Union Glee Club sang a song in
praise of Gen. Butler.

ToMi! friend* whri love free'loin, Rnd lotn In rnr song,
Tur Cuuiitry auJ Uuion we're luarobiog oluii^,';

TI16 " C^de" of «nr Bn(l(>T ba< rljTitod a vtobj^
And under hib baauer we're marctitog along.

CnoBca—

>farchlpg a'ong, we're marrhlns alonst:
Pur iMir Klacr and our Co')n:ry we're inirchlns alongt
Let IIS chrer i«r <>nr BnlK-r nnd y-ln in tlie tons,
Fur treasim was bligUUid whuio ho marclicd aloo^

Our Army and Navy Rr« moving alon?,
Anil our Vi'limtet-r !-oldlers iini " in our Bons;
Thev fiilit for our fiaa. it can tuff'-r no wrong.
AVhile liutler and Hooker are uiarching along.

In tlie 'West and the South we're mnrcliing alon^
For the tliumler of Karmgut echoes our son§;
And tlio veterans <>f U.iso ron-* eaL'erly lliron?
To join tue glad cborua, Wo'ie uiarcliing aloo^

The Mayor then announced that the meeting; was

adjourned.

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