The Burlington weekly hawk-eye. [volume] (Burlington [Iowa]) 1860-1876, 1862-07-05
Buffers Proclamation Abroad,

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ton seems to be as good as the oath of allie
glance, or any other national test, for determin
ing whether sympathies are loyal or reasonable
no doubt about the loyalty of the approving
voice and hand. Wherever it has been persist
emily condemned, it has always been done By
those whose loyalty is doubted. There were
few loyal presses that condemned the order al
first, not entirely understanding it, or not right
ly understanding it; but it is only the sympathi
sers with treason who have persstently abused
1t, and condemned its author for uttering. We
are not disappointed, therefore, to find the Eng
lish press dashed into very fury of rage over
this order. Their position is entirely natural
They only wanted some apology for abusing the
national power, ard expressing their sympathies
with treason. The order gave it to them. 1t
was enough for the entire British nation that
Gen. Butler in single Southern city, to protect
himself and bis officers and soldiers from con-
slant indignities, found it convenient to ordain
that women who acted like women Of the town,
plying their vocation, should be treated as such,
as matter of police. The British people are
not fools, except when they choose to be. They
know as well as any one that the order which
gave severe Interpretation to the action of the
secesh vixens gave no license to the soldiery.-
the general had to maintain the peace of the
city. Moreover, it was right. 1t was a per.
fectly legitimate conclusion that only public wo-
men-women Of bad character-would make q
public disturbance, or address offensive language
to strangers in the streets.
But 1t seems that the British press and the
British people are not the only ones distressed
on account of 1.-THE ladies of New Orleans"-
Without the slightest particle of official infor.
mstion-without giving the American Govern
ment chance to approve Or indorse the ofen-
slve order-without waiting until the American
government had ascertained that the order was
genulne--the matter was indecentlY lugged into
Parliament, and was there made the theme of
comment by members and ministers. Earl Car.
narvon condemned the order in severe terms
Earl Russell thought the usages of war should
not be aggravated by proclamations of this
character. This was in the House of Lords, and
in the Commons there was still more said, and
worse. Sir J. Walsh thought the order rupug-
nant to the feelings of the nineteenth century,
Mr.. Gregory didn't assume to speak for the cen.
fury, but spoke in the interest of deoency, civil.
ization and humanity; aud old Palmerston
thought that no one could read the proclamation
without feelings of the deepest indignation Nav
he did not hesitate to call it "infamous" and
after the noble lord had aired his vocabulary
sufficiently, motion was carried for the produc.
ton of any correspondence that had been had
on the subject.
Now when we understand that all this fuss
comes from people, press and Parliament,
that forced the awful opium traffic upon a pro.
testing people who found only the most terrible
ruin in it, that approved OF the expressions in
India, and the maintenance of dominion there
that has only been enforced by barbarties at
which all humanity has shuddered, and that have
shrunk from no immortality which promised eth.
er pelf or power, we are left in no doubt as to
what it means. In England, there are doubtless
few who were deceived by the first reports of
the order They gave it bad Interpretation,
one which neither the terms nor the facts war. |
Fsnted They did not understand, as some did
not on this side of the water, that the women of
New Orleans who should offend in the way spec-
lied were to be treated like women of the town
by the police, and simply for the preservation of
order But the most Of them, unless blinded bv
prejudice too great for belief, must have known
that an order which gave license to reckless
soldiery to seize upon the "ladies of New Or. |
leans' for the indulgence Of their lusts, was an