Burlington free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1827-1865, 1863-01-16
THE WEEKLY FREE PRESS



port we take the following account Hon.
John 4. Goodwin, on the part Of the Com
mittee Of arrangements and the citizens lade
him welcome, and expressed the gratitude
felt by them for his having 50 nobly
upheld the honor Of his country.
zen. Butler in reply alluded first to the
feeling with which be received this greeting
from friends and neighbors, to the noble ser
vices Of Massachusetts, troops and the Lowell
regiment in particular, and to the gallant
dead whom they were called upon to mourn
a. having lost their lives for the sacred cause
If liberty. Proceeding to a consideration Of
the duties Of the living, Gen. Butler said
have heard. but cannot believe It, that some
are flltering in this hour Of our counuy's peril;
that the faith Of some in the nations triumph in
this unhappy war has for a moment given away.
Do YOU believe that there Is a Just Cod Who
ever believes in Him must believe that the cause
Of right and Justice and truth must necessarily .
triumph Upon that subject never permit your
selves t. doubt. We may have TO peril more
treasure. 10 lose more sons and brothers in the
cause Of the country-but ultimate success i.
surc To doubt this Is, in my Judgment, atheism
Of the worst sort.
have heard II said. NY friends. that have
changed in some Of my ideas and thoughts on
political questions. since left YOU have chang
"a in some Of my ideas ! grant because have
learnt something Lgreat applausel; but that
have changed IN a single principle l deny l
stand before YOU the same Democrat, who for ~
many years battled for the rights Of the people
at the North. and now battle for the same rights
IN the South. have found out that this rebellion
is q rebellion against the working classas, without
distinction Of color; and have stood upon that
question where have ever stood, and where /
shall ask you 70 stand-as know you viii The
rebellion was begun and i carried on for the
purpose Of creating landed aristccracy, which
shah give to four hundred thousand the govern
fnent Of eight millions Of white and four mi lions
Of blacks II is for that JEFF Davis and his
confedeIates have undertaken rebellion which
they claim Is to secure the rights Of the people
Would YOU wish to he at the command Of these
masters at the South, who could make you DO
- they said by cutting of the supply Of cotton,
Il is for your freedom from those masters that
VIC are fighting to-day; that the people Of the
South may not claim To be our masters, but cur
hrothers; that We may place ourselves where
they viii feel Us to be- as we know We are-their
equals, not their interiors.
1t IS 10 correct this idea that the Northern
nan, with red blood, blue eyes, light hair and
that God gives 10 this image Of himself i not
equal to the slave-irivers, with their thin lins
and pallid brJws-itis to correct this idea | saw
that we are engaged in this momentous struggle
That Is the question before us and he who does
not side with Us on that question SAYS that he
desires to kiss the feet of these masters.
] went 10 Louisiana desiring 10 DO everything
ity might bring the principles, the laws and
the institutions which govern that State into
harmony with the Union but l found there no
disposition to have that done. found that the
aristocTacy looked upon US as their enemies; and
/ found that the working and middling classes
locked upon Us as friends. Within the first
month 1900 Of those who compose the bone
and sinew Of New Orleans had taken the oath Of
allegiance, not by lip service only, but from
their hearts and from that day found no man
owning slaves who would take the oath Of allegi-
ance, except for the purpose Of saving his prop
erty.
That was the rule: there were some excep-
tons. l found the working men true to the
Union, and found the slave owners false 70 the
Union. | dealt kindly with the working men,
and dealt harshly with the slave-holders. Loud T
APPLAUSE | recognized my friends and my en-
eInies and made as wide difference between
the one and the other a. there was between Dives
and Lazarus. (Applause) understand that
you have sent forth your sons and brothers, not
for the purpose Of making peace, but war,
wherever they found enemies. / believe that
you sent out your sons and brothers for the pur-
pose of insisting that the flag Of the United
States should wave everywhere in sympathy with
the powers Of the United States; and upon that
Thesis have acted | encouraged the labOring
men A thousand were employed every day by
the United States; thirty-f0ur thousand were
fed every day by the United States, and over
seventeen thousand Of these were foreigners,
whose Consuls assumed 10 represent them, but
who did not represent them truly, because the
Consuls represent commerce and property-not
men.
Thirty-four thousand - | have said were fed
every day, and precisely the same action was
taken toward men who needed this assistance as
would be taken here. But those men had
no voice in the newspapers abroad or at home.
the consequence was their thanks and their ap-
plause was never heard, while the complaints Of
the property men. who felt that when they were
struck slavery was struck. flowed al over Eu-
rope and the North; and every misrepresenta-
non that the malice Of enemies and traitors
could devise was resorted to, in order 10 embar-
rass. and if possible defeat my plans,
BE not deceived Be not weary Remember
this that while We may feel this war is hard
for u, it Is the effort Of desperation for them. l
have seen the conscript laws Of the South taking
the hoy Of sixteen and the old man Of sixty-the
sohoolmaster not excepted-and force them into
ranks While it costs Us effort. it costs them
desperation. While it costs Us labor, it costs
them Hfe-bloo,l; wish they might be won hack
without this but so they have not chosen. A
long IS life lasts, as long a any power remains,
we must stand by the Union, one and indivisible
(Applause.)
Every traitor, every man, every stream,
every lake. every river, every mountain, that
ever belonged to the flag Of the United States,
must still remain under the flag Of the United
states, cost what il VIII, cost what it may. Ten
thusiastic applause.) If, you hatteringly OBJ
served shall TO back 10 another field Of duty.
shall 90 back with the determination never to
give up. never to compromise, (renewed ap-
plause)never TO have anything but that flag Of
ours az the symbol Of our nationality. Whoever
differs from that let him 20 south Of Mason (
Dixon's line-he has no business here, ZAP
plause.) We may have no means Of dealing
with him here. but there are plenty at the South
who will receive him with open arms, for the
reason that he Is their friend, not the friend Of
the country Who proposes to give up the tomb
Of Washington Who Yorktown Who the
bonors won by jackson at New Orleans,
desire a single word on the question Of eman-
eipSton. On that question, you know, nave
held certain opinions. These opinions have re-
ceiyel. in some degree, correction | have views
TO offer which think viii commend themselves
70 the judgment of every one Of YOU Is there
A man who doubts that some time or other, in
the providence Of God, the negro Is to be free
and that some day the protection of the laws
VIII be extended over him, and that he Will be
come free
No man doubts that and all desire to guard
against the evils that may arise from that
change, and which cannot be made without DIS
organizing cur political system. 1t Is my opn-
ion that all this has been sent upon the nation
for some great object; and it is my opinion that
II win be easier at this time to settle this ques-
than to leave il to be settled hereafter. i II not
evident to every mind, that the day and the hour
have come when all men, so far as this country
Is eopcerned-and II i the last refuge Of slavery
on the globe-shaI be in political rights, free
and equal, as they were declared by the Decla-