The Burlington weekly hawk-eye. [volume] (Burlington [Iowa]) 1860-1876, 1863-04-11

why, Gen. Butler, what is your experience
Will the negroes fight" TO that answer. I
have no personal experience, because left the
Department of the Gulf before they we're fairly
brought into action. But they did fight under
Jackson, at Chalmette. More than that. Let
Napoleon III. answer, who has hired them to do
what the veterans of the Crimea cannot do-to
whip the Mexlcans. Let the veterans of Napoleon
L, under LIE Cleve, who were whipped out from
San Domingo, say whether they will fight or not.
What has been the demoralizing effect upon them
as race by their contact with white men,
know not; but cannot forget that their fathers
would not have been slaves, but that thew we're
captives in war. And, if you want to know any
more than that, can only advise you to try
them. (Great applarse) Passing to another
deduction from the principle that we are carry
ing on war against alien enemies, meet the
question whether We thereby give foreign ma
lions any greater rights than if we considered
them as Rebellious portion of our country. So
far as the Rebels are concerned, they are estop-
ped from denying.t that ithey are alien enemies;
and so far as foreign nations are concerned, al
though they are alien to US, they are upon our
territory, and until we acknowledge their indie
pendence there is no better settled rule in the
law Of nations than that foreign recognition of
them is an act Of war. And no country is more
sternly bound to that view thsnis England, which
held the recognition by France of our own indie.
pendeuce to be an act Of war, and declared war
accordingly. What then is the duty of neutrals
Let us take for example the English nation
They have no treaty with the Rebels, no open
relations with them. They have treaties of amity
and commerce with us. A contest arises be-
tween US and our enemies to whom they are
strangers, and they claim to exercise the same
neutrality as if the contest were between two
nations with which they had treaties of amity.
Let me illustrate: I have two friends who have
got into fight l am on equally good terms
with both, and do not choose to take part in
their quarrel. hold myself neutral. But sup>
pose one of my friends is fighting with stranger
of whom know nothing that is good; have
seen nothing except that he would fight; is it my
duty then to stand perfectly neutral? 1t is not
the part of friend az between men nor between
nations. The English say, We will not sell you
any arms, because we should have to sell the
same to the Confederate States. To that an
swer, You have treaties of commerce with US by
which agree to trade with us. You have no
treaty of commerce with the Rebels. insist
that there is greater duty to US, considering
this as separate nation-an interloper trying
to get admitted into the family of nationa-
There is still another logical consequence which,
in my judgment, follows from this view of the
| case. ss % w.tara
| A great question put to me has been: How
are we to get those men back ?-how are we to
get this territory back ?-how are we to re-
construct the Union? think that's much
better answered upon this hypothesis than any
other. There are but two ways in which this
contest can be ended. One is by revolutioniz.
| ing given portion Of this country, and hav-
ing them ask to be admitted into the Union !;
the other is to bring it back by the triumphal
car of victory. Whenever any portion Of the
inhabitants of the South shall become again a
part of the Union, and shall erect themselves
into State and ask US to take them back
with such Constitution as they ought to be
admitted with there is no difficulty in les being
done. There is no witchery about it. This
precise thing has been done in Western Vir
ginia She went out, and staid out for q while.
By the aid of our armies, and by the efforts of
her citizens, she revolutionized and threw off
the Government of the rest Of Virginia and the
Confederate yoke, erected herself into State,
with a Constitution which believe is quite
satisfactory to you, especially with the amend
ment, came back, and has been received again
into the Union. This is the first, the entering
wedge, Of the series of States which will come
back in that way. But if they will not come
/
then do they become. Territories Of the
United States. fApplause1 We acquire them
precisely as We acquired California and Neva-
d.; not exactly as We acquired Texas. Was
there any difiulty in taking in q portion Of the
1 Louisiana purchase? Will there be any diff
Guilty when her people are ready, in our taking
them back again! Will there be any difficulty in
reconstructing the Union, when those who
have gone out without cause, without right,
without grievance, that have formed themselves
into new States and taken upon them
selves new alliances, are ready to re-
turn? I am not for taking them back with.
out readmission. feel as a husband might
feel whose wife had run away with an
other man and divorced herself from him;
should be unwilling to take her again to my
arms until we had gone before the priest and
been remarked. l hare the same feeling
with regard to these people who have gone
out. When they repent and come back, L am fol
receiving them, but l am not ready till then.
I lApplause. TO your iattering illusions, Sir,
to nv acts in the Department of the Gulf,
will answer single word. When left that
Department, l sat down deliberately aud put
in the form of an address to the people Of the
Department an exact account of the acts lhad
done while there; and l said to them: You
/ /
deny it, have waited more than three months
and | have not yet heard any denial from that
Department that those things were done. To
that fact point as disqualification of your too
fattering eulogy, as an answer forever to
every SANDER and every calumny. The ladies
of New Orleans knew whether they were safe
Has any one of them ever said she was not?-
The men of New Orleans knew whether their
life and property were safe. Has any man
ever said it was not? The poor of New Or
leans know whether the money that was taken
from the rich rebels was fed out to them. Has
auy one of them denied it. [Applause.] To
that record point as the only answer l shall
ever make to the calumnies that have been
poured upon me, and upon the officers every
where in that Department that aided SO suc-
cessfully in carrying out every. effort for the
good of the country. Applause
desire now to say single word upon the
question, what are the prospects of this war?
Nv opinion would be no better than that of
/ another man; but let me show you the reason
4 for the faith that is in me that this war is pro
crossing steadily to q successful termination.