Fremont journal. [volume] (Fremont, Sandusky County [Ohio]) 1853-1866, 1863-01-16
lGcneraI Buucr on southern society snd

week, OeneFal buueF maze hpcech OF some
length aud great interest giving the result Of
some Of his observations Of Southern society,
manners, DC from which we extract the follow
ing.
With reference 10 the Slavery question, his
views had undergonea radical change during
his residence in New Orleans, and while enter
tanning the prejudice against his old political
associates, who found fault with him on that
score, he would only say to them, that IL they
had gone there with the same sentiments that
he felt they would have come away with the
same sentiments that he felt. Laughter He
thought he might say that the principal mem
bers Of staff, aud the prominent officers of his
regiments, without any exception, went out to
New Orleans Hunker Democrats Of the bunker
est sort for il was but natural that he should
draw around him those whose views were SINH
lar 10 his own, and every individual Of the
number had come TO precisely the same belief
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 ofthe South was bound up
| in that institution. This was a well-known
fact, probably but he did not become fully aware
of it until he had spent some time in New Or
leans. The South had Sl63, 600, 900 of taxable
| property in slaves aud $l63,0O0000 in all other
| kinds Of property. And this was the cause why
the merchants Of New Orleans had not remain
ed loyal. They found themselves ruined-all
their property being loaned upon planters notes
and mortgages upon plantations and slaves, all
of which property is now reasonably worthless
| Again, he had learned what he did not know
before, that this was not a rebellion against us,
but simply rebellion to perpetuate power in
! the hands of few Shareholders At first he
had not believed that Slavery the cause of
the rebellion, but attributed it 10 Davis, Slidell
I 4 Al. Il. =
political triumphs by which to regain their form
err ascendency.
The rebellion was against the humble and
poorer classes, and there were in the South
large numbers ofsecret societies, dealing in cab
alistic slgns, organized for the purpose of per :
petuating the power Of the rich the poor.
| 1t was feared that these common people would
come into power; and that three or four hundred
thousand men could not hold against eight mill
lions.
The first movement of these men was to make
land the basis of political power; and that was
not enough, for land could not be owned by ma
ny persons. Then they annexed land to slaves
and divided the property into movable and i'm
movable.
He was not generally accused of being hu-
manitarian-at least not by his Southern friends
Laughter. When he saw the utter demorali-
cation of the people, resulting from Slavery, it
struck him that it was an institution which
should be thrust out of the Union. He had, on
reading Mrs. Slows book Uncle Toms Cabin
believed it to be an overdrawn-high h-wrought
picture of Southern life-but he had seen with
his own eyes, and heard with his own ears ma
ny things which go beyond her book much
as her book does beyond an ordinary school
girls novel. He related an instance of the
shocking decentralization of society at New Or
leans. There came into his office weman 81
years ofage, perfectly white, who asked him in
proper language if he would put her in one of
her fathers houses. Her history was this: Her
father had educated her in the City of New
York until she was betweeA l6 and Is years of
age, and taken her to one of the metropolitan
hotels, where he kept her as his mistress. Not
relishing the connection, and desiring to get
away from him, she went to New 0fleans-he
followed her, but she refused to live with him,
at which he whipped her in the public street
| and made her marry slave. She afterward re-
sumed the unnatural relation, going to Cincin-
natl, 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 United States forces leaving
her in state of destitution. She wanted to
live in one of her fathers houses, but her story
was not credible and he determined to investi-
gate it. To his surprise, it was found to be
well known, and testimony ofits truth was OBJ
tanned from A. B. and O, without difficulty
Notwithstanding this fact, widely known as it
was, this man could be elected in Louisiana; in
the City of Now Orleans, ajudge of ono of the
Courts.
On one occasion one of his aids brought bo-
fore him young woman, almost white, who
had been brutally. whipped and turned out Of
the house of her father. For this outrage the
man had been made to pay 1000 and give
deed Of Emancipation. (Applause.) These
were the kind of charges which had been
brought against him. -(Cheers and Cries of
"GoOd l") Yes, no right minded man could
be sent to New Orleans without returning an
unconditional anti-slavery man, even though
the roofs of the houses were not taken off and
the full extent of the corruption exposed.
All the lower class of the people Of New Or
leans were loyal During the first fourteen
days after the Union forces entered the CITY
fourteen thousand took the oath of allegiance;
and when he went on board the steamer, on his
return to the North; at least one thousand Ia
boring men came down upon the levee, and ut
tered no words except those Of good will to
him as the representative of the Government.
Gen. Butler continued by saying that the
war could only be successfully prosecuted by
the destruction of Slavery, which was made
the corner stone of the Confederacy. This was
the second time in the history of the world that
rebellion of property -holders against the lower
classes and against the Government was evtg
carried on The Hungarian rebellion was one
bellion Of men ofproperty against Government
and against the rights of the many. One Of
the greatest arguments which he could find
against Slavery was the demoralizing inf1uen-
ces it exerted upon the lower white classes who
were brought into secession by hundreds bo-
cause they supposed great wrong was to be done
them by the Lincoln Government, as they
termed it il the North succeeded. Therefore,
if you meet an old Hunker Democrat, and send
him for sixty days to New Orleans, and he
comes back Hunker still, he is merely incor-
rigible. (Laughter.)
There was one thing about the President 8
edict of emancipation to which he would call
attention. In Louisiana he had excepted from
freedom about $1,000 slaves. These comprise
all the negroes held in the Lafourche District !
who have been smancipated already for some |
time, under the law which free slaves taken in |
rebellious territory by our armies Others of |
these negroes had been freed by the proclama-
tion OF September, which declared all slaves to |
be free whose owners should be in arms on the
lst of January. The slaves of Frenchmen were
free because the code civil expressly prohibits
Frenehman holding slaves, and, br the 7th and |
9Th Victoria every EDglishman holding slaves
submitted himself 10 a penalty of $500 for
each. Now, take the negroes Of Secessionists
Frenchmen and Englishmen out of the $1,000;
and the number is reduced to an infnites;mal |
portion Of those excepted. This fact had come
TO his knowledge from having required every
nhaSitant of the city TO register his nationality
After all the names had been fairly registered
he explained these laws to the English and |
French Consuls, and had thus replied to de-
mands which had been made by English and
French residents Of Louisiana upon the Govern
nent for slaves alleged to have been seized
Applause.1
Cen RufIar than advarted 70 tLa 6oLt =.