, 1863-01-13
Q!)ifogo @ribn'lnIIe., II
TUESDAY, JANUARY 10, 1858.
GEN. BUTLER IN NEWY0RK.;
His Response to the New
York Merchants,
A GREAT CONVERSION.

"a
a public dinner. Gen. Butler declined she !
prodered compliments, but addressed the
committee brief speech. which we quota |
from the New York Tina. Alter thanking
the committee for the intended honor. he |
said: ..
If they would allow him to be coloquial he |
speak Of few things respecting his course in |
New Orleans, which had been carped at and !
severely criticised By those who had been ac-
customcd to act with him politically In times |
past-not for the purpose oftnjuring hin, but |
the cause Of the country. With reference to |
the slavery question, his views had undergone |
q radical change during Ills residence at Men |
Orleans, and while entertaining no prejudices
against bis old political associates, who found
fault with him on that score, he would only say:
to them, that If they had gone there with the |
same sentiments that he felt, they would have
come away with the same sentiments that
he felt. [Laughtcr] He thought be might
sny that the principal members Of his staff,
without any exception, went out to New Or;
leans Hnnker Democrats OF the Hunkercst
sort, for it was. but natural that he should
draw around him those whose views were
similar to his own, and every individual Of the
number had come to precisely the came BE-
lief On the question Of slavery as he had put
forth in his farewell address to the people Of
New Orleans. This change came about from
seeing what all Of them saw, daY By day. In
this war the entire property Of the South Tas
against us; because almost the entire prop
eTty Of the South vas bound up III that ansti-
ably, but he did not become fully aware Of it
until he had spent some rime at New Orleans.
The South had $I63, ,000, 900 Of taxable prop
erty in s1ares, aud $163, ,000, 900 in all other
And this was tic cause why the merchants
Of New Orleans had not remained loyal.
They found themselves ruined all their pro.
pcrty being loaned upon planters notes and
mortgages upon Plantations and slaves, all Of
which which property as now reasonably
worthless. Again, he had learned what be
did not know before, that this Was not re-
be1lion against us, but simply rebellion to
pcrpetunfe power in the hands of a few slave-
holders. At first he had not believed that
slavery was the cause of the rebellion, but at
hibuted it to Davis, slide}l and others, who
had brought, it about to make political trf-
umphs By which to regain their former
The rebellion was against the humble and
poorer classes, and there were In the South
large numbers Of secret societies, dealing In
cabalistic signs, organized for the purpose Of
perpetuatfng the power Of the rich over the
poor. 1t was feared that these common peo-
pie would come into power, and that 800, 900
Or 4o0, 900 men could not hold against {, ,oO-
The first movement of these men Vas to
make land the basis OF political power; and
that was not enough, for. land could not be
owned BY many persons. Then they annexed
land to slaves and divided the property into
movable and immorable.
He WAS not generally accused Of being q
hnmanitarian- least not By his Southern
friends. uaughter:l When be saw the utter
slavery, It struck him that It wa an iRstitu-
ton which should be thrust ont Of the Union.
He had, on reading Mrs. Stoves book-Unclc
TOMS Cabin-belieyed it to be an oyerdrawn,
highly wrought picture Of Southern life, but
he had seen with his own eyes, and heard
yond her book as much as her book does be-
yond an ordinary schoolgirls novel, He re-
lated IN instance Of the shocking demoraliza-
tlon Of society at New Orleans. There came
into his office woman twenty-eeven years Of
age, perfectly white, who asked him in proper
father's houses. HcE history was this: Her
father had educated her In the city OF
New York until she WAS between seven
teen and eighteen years Of age, and
| taken her to one Of the metropolitan hotels,
| where he kept her as his mistress. Not relish
| from him, she went to New Orleans hc fol
| lowed her, but she refused to live With him,
! at which bic whipped her in the public street
| and made her marry a slave. She afterwards
resumed the unnatural relation, going to
Cincinnati, but was brought back by he1
somebody. Uer father fed from tho city al
the time Of its occupation By the United
States forces, leaving her in 3 state Of dcsti'
| tuition. She wanted to live in one Of bel
ible, and he determined to investigate it. Tc
his surprise, 1t was found to be well known
and testimony Of its truth was obtained from
4, B and G, without difficulty. Notwith
standing this fact, widely known rs it was
this man could be elected in Louisiana, in th'
city Of New Orleans, q Judge of.onc Of th'
courts.
On one occasion one Of his aids brought BE-
| fore him n young woman, almost white, VIII
had been brutally whipped and turned out {
the house Of her father: For this Outrage th
man had been made to pay fine Of q 900 IN
plause. These were the kind OF charge
which had been brought against him. [Cheer.
and cries Of "Good!"] Yes, no right-minde
man could be sent to New Orleans withou
returning an unconditional anti-s1avery maj
even though the roofs Of the houses were nj
ion exposed.
:, Orleans were loyal. During the first fourtee
days after the Union forces entered the cit,
14,ooo took the oath of Allegiance; and whc
he went on board the steamer, on his retu1
to the North, ut least i 600 1aboring men can
down upon the 1eyee, and uttered no worz
except those Of good will to him as the repr
sentative Of tho government >,
: Gen. Butler continued By saying that Il
the destruction Of slayery, which WAS mat
the cornerstone Of the Confcderacy. Th
WAS the second time in the history Of Il
world that a rebellion Of property. .holde
against the lower classes and against the 60
efnment was erer carried on. The Huugarit
n.rF%t hot -fr,1 hat Ia
as must every rebellion Of men Of proper
against government and against the rights
|, the many. One of the greatest aFgumen
), which he could fine against slavery was t!
dcmora1izing influences 1t cxertcd upon Il
lower white classes, who were brought In
secession by the hundred, because they
norantly supposed that grca: wrong psas to
| done them By the Lincoln government, rs th
= they termed It, If the North succeeded, Thel
fore, if you meet an Old bunker Democrs
and send him for; for sizty days to New ~ orlsa. lear
II incorrigible. [Laughter.1
!" There was one thing about the President
Il edict Of emancipation to which he would e
attention. In Louisiana he had excepted fro
0. freedom about 81, 600 slaves. These compri
d. ali the negroes held In the Lafourche distri
who hare been emancipated already for Sol
70 time, under the law which frees s1ayes tax
in rebel1ious territory by our armies. Otht
of these negroes had been freed By the PR
lamation Of September, which declared
: slaves to be free whose oWners should be
m arms on the. 1st Of January. The slaves
Ftcnchmen were free because the code cisl {
u pressly prohibits F1cnchman holding slav
r | and, by the 7th md Sth Vfctorfa, every FL
* | lishman holding s1avcs submitted himself
6n 6e D penalty Of $500 for each. Now, take
y. ~ negroes of fsecessionists, Frenchmen and El
ks number is. reduced to an ininitess1t
portion of those excepted. This
II having required every inhabitant Of the city
register his nationality. After all the nan
had been fairly registered, he exploited til
=. laws to the English md French Consuls, I
IA. had thus replied to demands which had b.
~ made by English aud French residents Of L
on isfana upon the government for slaves alle|
No. to have been seized.
Gen. Butler then adyerted to the fight
: i V1cksburE, and explained how utterly tmI
'an sible It was for Banks and Farragut to pass
!,nd !nd | strongly fortified rebel position 500 miles
ers | low, at Port Hudson, ii time, at the pres
low stage of water in the river to cooper
49, with Gen. Sherman. 4 pleasant conyersat
= Of various topics followed, and the commi
left, evidently pleased at the manner In vi
-: | the evening had passed. :.
w. The guests at the hotel afterwards Pre-!
- into tile room to shake Gen. Butler BY
ia hand, and the ladies' especially appeared Il
81. delighted with the opportunity of otfe
.2iE III, their compliments.
k1a: The Governors Message.
~, In the debate In the House on the GoS
20 e. or,s message, on Wednesday, Mr.. Eastms
Il r11,:.a~,. %1,,s rES+