, 1864-10-08
GENERAL Butler ON TINE
REBELLION.
TIE MILITARY AID POLITICAL
CAhlPdIGN.
n " ORD tot oyn1 1E1enaocrnta-Fa
Lctser to htEa0k Cameron.

a Word toH oyn1 1Esemocrntt-Fa
Lesser to ntiaok Cameron,
HDQns. DEPT V1noM1A AND NORTH CaRo1.xa,l
/ In THE FIELD, 6-pi, sB, 1854,
Ny DEAR CAMERON You a. Ill dsem me 4
most IeLates correspondent 1fyou nad neea
cbth'ed 10 cume tcru you you'd have fuu I'd
| much OF 1ntefeet III ans ser to the question.
rie@2
We have been lying In front Of Lees army
] row 1or fonr n,0nths, which hive bg nd
msaDs bstn epent in vsfa. From the exa1,a.
Ihsion OF thoutaada oi prisoners aud deser.
ttte, and xtticies intuu Southern newspl~
| ptrs, I'm certsia that taesa have beeil
| months OF depletion to the Southern army;
that 1he *holc armH-bearlng population OF
tue 6tat&s .ithin the EebL lines have beeQ
| exhausted In Tbs effort TO recruit their torcss,
aud the caiab llty, ,f~n5t the will, to Resist
1nce Ii fart Winding awa7.
| Tbs Confederate Congress; iu December
lsst paestd an act, tho first section OF which
| Is in thtee lords: "Tne Congress Of the
| CuLftdt1ate States do enact that az ph4e .en-
de..ts Of the Confederate States between the
egss Of sesx'!es': and nv, arc in the service Of
The hct then provides how flrme ers, ne.
chspics and Others may be dtta3ied by rn;'it .ry
| aathor fy u raise the proyislu1s and do the
| work for the army in tue field.
What woula cur Democratic friends who
arr 20 hIa'ant over s'Lidcoln's tyranny" SLY
to -uch a tr~ts Is that on our sideY / yoald
like to sec Gov. seYuours mild protest
sgain5t It. would not like to hear Vooe-
hee's denunctations ot it, for they woaId be
Yp1gar.
Now. when Rad In tho Richmond papers
clauotous calls that the detailed men shalt
be all put into TIC rnnks, how can doubt
The nnffaA nf desarfHta md
ers that the rebel means IS to men aro at ao
eud9
Never having been convert to the theory
that The provisions at the "eouth would bn
Ieadily exhausted. have notplaced much re-
lance upon that result. Yet 1t is certain that
the mtans OF trsne porting provisions from
point to point b3 nil have given out, and tuo
raDroRus are becoming so crippled Ia thelr
equipme.ts that II Is Impossible for them to
'u1Dish the movement Of men and supplies
itc.tfsf4 TO The extensive military opera.
uons required to meet our forces,
add to this the concurrent testimony of
prttoners, oestrters aud refugees, that tho
rank anu file Of th6ir armies are in the con-
tdent expectation and belief In the promt.e
ct tbeir leaders. that this ssiIl <be their last
Convention will be elected In November, and
that the independence Of the Confederate
States Tlll Le ackno wtedged and treaty OF
peace concluded, and Tou have an Imperfect
synopsis Of the reasons why believe the
rehe1iion Dear It's end:
It viii be for tho loyal men Of the North
to see to II thRt their tresaou does not end
In tbs wsy proposed bp the Southern leoders,
aided bY tie election Of Gen. Mcclellan aud
the Chfcago Platform.
Herr IL the only, danger, If danger exists at
all. Therefore, WhateVer nav have baan or
nag be the prcicrelces Of an1 man as to any
perscn 10! the Chief Executive ofthe nation.
or DISSATISFACTION with the course OF tte.
Government upon matters Of 1pere admins.
tratton-5sa, even IN the important poiots OF
A,dmlnls'ratise policy, as laid down Ia The
eeems 10 me the plain duty Of every loyal
man to support the election Of Lincoln and |
johl eon.
The question now before the people is not
os to the preponderance or t1tue.R Of hfr. /
Lincoln OF General Mcclellan for the Presi-
oency: Admit that neither o. either one or
the other is OF himself the best man for the
Place. What then? One must be elected.
No other result Is possible. We are then re-.
nit1ed te the class Of political 1deas which
each represents; and 10 What is still more
important to the men and their atfillatious
By whom each Will be surrounded, and cou-
tro'led In TACT, anc by whom his A1mtufstra-
tion " Ill be shaped iu the event of election.
Can 1t be that anJ true man, especlall3 any
Anofew jackson Democrat, eau desire this
Government put into the hands ofthe Messrs.
yallanqieban', Woods, Seymour, Pendieton,
inae, North and south9 Let Us see 1hat
their platform and their candidates mean:
The war is to be carried on or it is not: If
rot, then diseraeefnl aud 1ishonoeable
Feaee, which will be no peace, aud which no
tue man. wants, - to be the result. Or. ii
carried on, then both platform aad canli-
dates nre pledged to the disbandment OF t~o
hundred thousand eo1ored men, now doing
DUTY as eoldiers Of serving Ia the army, their
places to be supplied either BY volunteers, at
an expense OF bunuEeds Of millions in bouu-
ttts, or By drats, which is the great ground
Of complaint by the opponents OF the Coy
ernrnent.
Nay, more, If either the Chicago Platform
or McClellaL's acceptance msars anything,
these negroes are to be returned to their mas.
ters, to tight or labor on the other side. Does
any one doubt, II returned to their masters,
they would &c at once sent into the rebel
lines, where alone such properly has nuy
value? Upon the theory OF the Chicago Plat
Of ststes," think 1t would "e1haust the re-
soufces Of ttatesmacship" to show why these
men should not be returned to their former
matters, as. indeed, WAS the practice OF Gen
McClel1an's army.
over tn his letter acd platform promise new |
constitutional guarantees to the rights Of the
Is 1t possible that all these concessions
are to be forced from the North By secession
at the point of the ayonet?
That which specially afftcts the mind of
the old and true democracy OF the cou.tEy In
the Baltimore Platform is Its declaration rs |
to elaycry. In the view take Of this ques-
tion 1t seems unfortunate that such decar.
aticn was made, as 1t proves stumbling
block to many.
Why not treat the slavery question sccord-
Ing to the fact that slavery dies and Is buried
Wbtrevc our armies march? No political
action can aidsno resolutions Of conventions
can binder that result. The war, II prose-
most ardent anti-s1avery man can desire, 50
that If the var goes on to the bitter end for
the restoration of the Union, then slavery Is
no more and all declarations that the var
Ehall or shall not be carried on for the extInc-
tion Of slavery are futile and worse than uee-
leep. The war will cxtingulsh slavery
whether We wish 1t or not Nay, 1t has e1
tirguished elayer5, by rendering the slave
worthless. In Charleston, to" day, !. negro
can be bought for s. coo In Confederate
makiD e the value Of the negro 500. and
thie, too, with cotton at $I75 per pound in
New York. Before the war the same negro
would bring 81 600 in gold, with cotton at
IL cents In New York
Some different system Of labor must be
devised 1or the Southern country In the fu-
ture, and peace upon sny terms, even thu ac-
kuewledguent OF the Confederac7, canuot
prevent It. Il am right in this view Of the
s0bjeet-and upon thIs conviction l hare
acted since saw the fact in Louisiana in
1663-then what is there in the Baltluorc
plstform to which any true, loyal Democrat,
who loves his country, aud is determined to
fight, # need be, for It's integrity and honor.
can object? I see nothing. But in the
changes SO rapid in administrative policy
made By this war, no one will tie himself to
anT party CRY or party platform.
l bave bnt one article in my political creed
at the present time. am lor sharp, thor
ough srd decisive prosecution Of the war
until the authority Of the Union Ia acknoW-
LEGGED and Its laws obeyed upon every foot
OF sotl ever within the boundaries ot the
United States.
Believe me truly yours,
BENZ. F. BUTLER
Hen. Simon Cameron.
The Proposed Confederation Of the
British ProV1uccs.
MONTREAL, Sept. 26, 1864.