Vermont watchman and State journal. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1836-1883, 1863-01-23
GEN. BUTLER ON SOUTHERN LIFE
AND SOCIETY.

coNvERsATioN WITH THE NEW YORK COMMITTEE.
In conversation with the committee which
waited upon him to tender him the honor Of
public dinner, General Butler gave most
interesting account of his administration in
New Orleans and of the condition Of affairs
and society he found there.
/ General Butler said:
III they would allow him be colloquial he would
speak Of few thing respecting his in New Or
leans which had been CAPPED and severely criticised
BY those who had been accustomed TO act with him po
SCI ssS ise H esass a%s lie sdr Sf e' reference e S
slavery question: his views had undergone rzdi al
change during his residence at New Orleans and while
cates who found fault with him that would
only say them, that il they lad gone ;here with the
same sentiments, that he felt, they would have
away with the same sentiments that he felt Laughter.
He thought he might say that the principal members Of
his staff and the prominent officers Of his regiments
without any exception went out to New Orleans bunker
democrats Of the hunkerest sort for it but natural
that he should draw around him those whose views
similar 10 his own and every individual of the number
had precisely the sANe belief the question
Of slavery he had put forth in his farewell address
the people Of New Orleans This change came about
from seeing what all Of them saw, day by day.
"In this the entire property Il the South was
against u.s. because almost the entire property Of the
South bound up in the institution OF slavery This
well known fact, probably but he did not become
fully aware Of it until he had spent some time New
Orleans. The South had S63O00 900 Of taxable pro-
pery in slaves and l6 600 900 in all other kinds OF pro-
perty. And this the why the merchants Of
New Orleans he'd not remained loyal They found them
selves ruined-all their properly being loaned upon
planters notes and mortgages upon plantations and slaves
all Of which property is reasonably worthless Again.
he had learned what he did know before that this
rebellion against US, but simply rebellion to
peTpetuate power in the hands Of few slave holders
At first he had believed that slavery the cause Of
the rebellion but attributed it to Davis, Sdel and 9TH
who had brought It about 10 make political triumphs
by which TO regain thar former Ascendenoy.
The rebellion against the humble aud poorer cas
ses, aud there in the South large numbers Of
cret societies. dealing in cabisc signs organized for
the purpose Of perpetntng the power OF the rich
the poor.
resulting from slavery, It struck him that it ns
tuition which should be thrust Of the Union. He
had, reading MIS- Stoves book-Unele Tom Cabin
believed to be an overdrawn highly picture Of
southern life, but he had seen with his eyes and
heard with his own ears many things which go beyond
her book much her book does beyond ordinary
school girls novel He related instance Of the shock
ing Generalization OF society at New Orleans There
came into his office woman twenty years of ave
perfectly white who asked him in proper language il he
would put her in Of her fathers houses. Her hsto
~ this Her father had educated her in the city Of
New York until she between and eighteen
years Of age and taken her to one of the metropolitan
hotels, where he KEEP; her as his mistress.
Not relshng the connection, and desiring &c, away
from him, she went TO New Orleans-he followed her
but she refused TO live with him, at which he whipped
her Ia the public street, and made her marry slave.
She Aerward resumed the unnatural relation going TO
Cncinnatt, but was brought back by her husband or
father with child belonging to somebody. Her father
fled from the city at the time Of its occupation by the
She wanted TO live in one of fathers houses, but her
story not credible, and he determined to investigate
it, To his surprise, il found TO be well known and
testimony Of its truth was obtained from A, b. and &,
without difficulty, Notwithstanding this fact, widely
known this could be elected in Louisiana
the city Of New Orleans, Judge Of Of the courts.
Son occasion of his aids brought before him q
young woman, almost white who had been brually whip
ped and turned Of the OF father For this
outrage the had been made to pay hne Of 81 900
and give the woman deed Of emancipation. lAppause
These the kind Of charges which had been brought
Rgaiust him. Cheers, and cries Of "Good ~ Yes
right minded could be sent to New Orleans without
returning unconditional antslAyeTy man, even
though tue roofs Of the house, were not taken on and
the full extent of the corruption exposed
"Al the lower class Of the people Of New Orleans
loyal During the first fourteen days after the I'm
ion forces entered the city fourteen thousand took the
oath Of allegiance; and when he went on board the
steamer. his 10 the North, at least thou
sand aboring came down upon the ieyee, and ut
tered words except those Of good will to him the
representative Of the government
"Genefal Butler continued by saying that the war
could only be successfully prosecuted by the destruction
Of slavery, which made the corner stone OF the Con-
iedefaey
zone Of the greatest arguments which he could find
againt slavery the demotalzing influences Il exeted
upon the lower white classes, who brought into
oesson by the hundreds because they ignoranty sup
posed great wrong to be done them by the Lin
coin government, they termed IT, IL the North
eeeded Therefore, II you meet old bunker democrat
and send him for sixty days to New Orleans, and he
[Laugkter.l
. There was one thing about the Presidents edict "
emancipation To which he would call attention. In
Louisiana he had excepted from freedom about eighty
thousand slaves These comprise all the negroes
held in the Lafoarche district who have been emAncpRt
ed already for time under the law which frees slaves
taken ia Tebeous territory by armies. Others Of
these have been freed by the proclamation Of
September, which declared all slaves % be free whose
owners should be In on the first OF January. The
slaves Of FTenchmen Tree because the Code Ctpe
expressly prohibits frenehman holding slaves aud by
the 7th and 9th Victoria, every kngishmsn holding
slaves submitted himself 10 penalty Of $500 for each.
Now take the negroes OF these seeessionists French
luen and kngshmen out Of the 600, and the number
Is reduced TO ndutessmAl portion Of those excepted
This fact had his knowledge from having requr
ed every inhAbtlnt Of the city register his Naona
iy After all the had been fairly registered he
explained these laws 10 the English and French Consuls
and has thus replied to demands which had been made
by English and French residents Of Louisiana upon the
government for slaves alleged to have been see ZAP
rlaute