The weekly Ottumwa courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1857-1872, 1863-04-16
GEN. b. r. BUTLER'S .NREAT
SPEECH IN NEW YORK.

3f H-s
M. Mayor: With the profoundest graf
-itpde, Sir, for the too aattering commenda-
ton Of my administration Of the various
trusts committed to me by the Government
which, in behalf Of your associates. you
have been pleased to tender me, receive my
most heartfelt thanks. [Applause.l. To
the citizens Of New York here assembled in
kind appreciation Of my services, supposed
to have been rendered to the country, ! ten.
der my deepest acknowiedments, lar
plause,] I accept it sll--ail, not for myself
but Cor my brave comrades, the Army OF
the Gulf [Applause.] ] receive it as an
earnest Of your devotion to the Country
which sou love, your allegiance to the con-
s,itution under which you live, and under
which. you hope to die. [Applause. At
this time aud this hour, perhaps, before |
go into detail, it may BE- we'll, at little
length, sir, with yonrs permission, in order
that the acts ofthe Army of the Gulf may
be understood, that some slight detail
should be given of-the thesis upon which
we administered our duties Applause.
The first question, the,, to be ascertained
is, what Is this contest in which the country
is engaged ? AT the risk of being a little
tedious [applause;l at the risk even of call
your attcotion to what might seem other
wise elementary, propose to run down,
and condense the history of the contest, and
see what it is the whole country is about at
this time, and at this hour. That we are in
the midst of civil commotion, all known,
but what is that commotion? Is it a rebel
lion? or, is It "a revolution ? And, pray,
Sir-although it may seem little elemen-
tary what is ri t? A. riot, if ] under.
stand it, is simply an outburst of the pass
ions for moment, with breach Of the law,
to be pat down and subd1ed by the civil
authorities. If it goes further, to be dealt
with by the military authorities. But, you
say, Sir, why treat us to q definition of
''roit'' on.this occasion +? Laughter. Why
ofall things On earth, should you undertake
to instruct New York audience what a
riot is I? [Rerewed laughter.l To that
answer, because the Administration of M r
Buchanan dealt with this great change Of
affairs in the country as if it was riot
/ Applause. Because the Government off,
GERS gave the opinion that in Charleston it
was but a riot, and as there was no civil au
,thority there to call out the military, Fort
Sumter must be given over to the traitors
aud that was the beginning of this trouble
Let US see how it grew up deal not now
with causes, but with effects--with facts.-
Directly the guns Of the rebels turned upon
Sumter, and the various States of the South
in convention assembled, inaugurated Sc
ries of movements which took out of the
Union different States and, as each was ia
ken out, or assumed to be taken out, of the
Union. the riot was not then found in them,
but they became insurectionary, and the
Administration dealt, as you willremember,
pn the 10Th of April, 1851, witt this as an
insurrection, and called out the military and
the militia Of the United States for the pur-
pose Of subduing an insurrection, ! was call
cd at that time into the service to aid, my
self, in putting down the insurrection. |
found riot at Baltimore. They burned
bridges They had hardly risen to the dig
nifty of finsurrection, because the State had
not moved, as an organized community;
but few men were rioting at Baltimore,
and, marching there at the head of United
States troops, as you have done me the hon
or to remember, the question came up,
"What have before me ?" And there,
you will remember, we were to put down
all kinds Of insurrection, as long as the
State of Maryland remained loyal to the
United States, and it had not grown into an
insurrection, which | understood to be an
infraction of the law. Transferred thence
to Fortress Monroe, found the State of
Virginia, through this organization, had Ia
ken itself out of the Union, and erected for
itself, or ondeavored to erect for itself, sep
arate Government, and dealt with that
State as being'in rebellion--[applause]- -
and that the property Of rebels, of what
ever name or nature, should be dealt with
as rebels property, subject to the laws Of
war. [Applause.l I have been thus care
full, Sir, in stating the various steps, because
! came here although through your kind.
ness, dealing with high eulogy. I came
here to answer for my acts, done before the
country, and before the world, and to an
swer to every, charge of inconsistency, or
wrong in intention. Wrong in judgment l
may have ,oeen but wrong in intention, or
Inconsistency, never, Applause j and upon
the same theory which felt myself obliged
as loyal to the Constitution and to the laws
to put down an insurrection while Maryland
was loyal, whether that insurrection was
white or black, by the same allegiance to
the Constitution and the laws, felt bound
to ccafiscate slave property in the rebelions
State of Virginia. [Applause.l Pardon
me, Sir; but right here say that am a
little sensitive on that subject. l am an
old fashioned, Andrew Jackson Democrat
of twenty years standing. Applause, and
three cheers for the second hero of New Or
leans.l And so far as know, have never
swerved-so help me God from one Of his
teachings [Applause ] Up to the time
when this rebellion took place, l went as
far, Sir, as the furtherest in Sustaining the