Daily national Republican. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1862-1866, 1864-10-04
GEN. BUTLER ON THE REBELLION
AND THE DrTY OF WAR DEMO-

Ny DEAR CAMERON: You will deem mo
most remiss correspondent. If you had been
| enabled IN come here you would have found
much Of interest in answer to the question
| What Of the rebellion from your point of view
| We have been lying In front OF Lees army
now for four months, which have by no means
been spent in vain. From the examination OF
thousands Of prisoners and deserters, and ar
tcles In the Southern newspapers, am GER
tain that these have been months of depletion
TO the Southern army; that the whole arms-
bearing population Of the States within the
rebel linea have been exhausted In the effort to
recruit their forces, and the eapabllity II not
the will to resistance Is fast dwindling away.
The Confederate Congress in December last
passed an act, the first section Of which Is In
these words: "The Congress Of the Confeder.
ate States do enact that all rhis residents in tho
Confederate States between the ages of seUst,-
teen and nm nre In tho service Of the Coufcd-
crate States.o
The act then provides how farmers, mechan-
les, and others may he detaied Iv military du-
hority, 10 raise the provisions and do the work
for the army in the field.
What would our Democratic friends who aro
so blatant over " Lincoln's tyranny" say to
such draft as that on our side? l would like
to sec Gov. seymour's mild protest against IL.
l would not like 10 hear Voorhees, denuncia-
tlons OF 1t, for they would be vulgar.
,, Now, when read 10 the Richmond papers
clamorous calls that the detailed men shall be
all put into the ranks, how can doubt the
} united testimony Of deserters and prisoners
that tho rebel means as to men arc at an eud.
)l Never having been a convert " tho theory
) that the provisions al tho South would be
. readily exhausted, have not placed much re-
lance upon that result. Yet II is certain that
the means of transporting those provisions
from point to point by rail have given out, and
! the railroads are becoming so crippled In their
I equipment that II Is impossible for them 10
! furnish the movement OF men and supplies
; necessary to the extensive military operations
required TO meet our forces.
Add to this the concurrent testimony of pris-
oners, deserters and refugees, that the rank
and file of their armies are In the confident ex-
pectation and belief In the promise of their
leaders, that this will DC their last campaign,
that the nominees of the Chicago Convention
will he elected In November, and that the in.
dependence OF the Confederate States will be
acknowledged and a treaty Of peace concluded,
and you have an imperfect synopsis Of the rea-
sous why ! believe the rebellion near Its end.
, II will be for the loyal men Of the North to
sec to 1t that their treason does not end in the
way proposed by the Southern leaders, aided
by the election Of Gen. Mcclellan and the Chi.
cago platform.
Here is the only danger, If danger exist al
s all.
3 Therefore whatever may have been or may
be tho preferences of any man as to any person
for .hc Chief Executive of the nation, or dis
h upon matters Of mere administration-yea
even In important points of administrative
policy, as laid down In the platform or fore.
Z shadowcd in Its acts-lt seems to me the plain
duty of every loyal man to support the election
Of Lincoln and johnson.
y The question now before the people is not as
to the prepnnderanCe or fitness OF Mr. Lincoln
a or General Mcclellan for the Presidency. Ad
\ nit that neither or eltne, one or the other IL
;, of himself the hest man for the place. What
~ then One must he elected. No other result
y is possible We arc then remitted to the class
;, of political ideas which each represents and
!, to what is still more important, to the mon and
= their affiliations by whom each will be sur
, rounded; and controlled In fact, and by whom
bis administration will be shaped in the event
= of election. Can 1t be that any true man, es'
i peCiaNy any Andrew Jackson Democrat, can
10 desire this Government put into tho hands OF
" the Messs. Nallandgham, Woods, seymour
:, Pendleton, Long, Harris, Voorhees,, and theiI
surroundings, North and South Let us sec
what their platform and their candidates mean
The war is to be carried on or 1t Is not If not
, then disgrnceiul and dishonorable peace,
which will be no peace, and which no true
man wants, is to be the result Or, If carried
l. on, lhru both platform and candidates are
pledged 70 tc disbandmGnt Of two hundred
s. thoGs sand c"!orod men, now doing duty as sol
" dlers or serving the army, their places to b,
N supplied either by volunteers, at an expense o
" hundreds of millions In bountes, OF by a draft
ii which is the great ground of complaint by tn
IN opponents of the Government.
s- Nay, more, If either the Chicago platform o
i'd McClclan's acceptance means anything thcs
10 negroCs are 70 be returned to their masters, l.
j. tight or labor on the other side, because mos
~ Of them coming from the border States, doe
any doubt, il returned to their masters, the
yd would be at once sent into the rebel linct
where alone such property has any value
ui Upon the theory Of the Chicago platform an
he McClellan's constitutional rights of States,
.r. | think 1t "wOuld exhaust the resources
IT, statcsmanship" to show why these men shoul
~ not be returned to their former masters, as, IL
re- deed, was the practice IN General Mcclellan
N army.
IA Still further, does not Gen. Mcclellan twlc
over in his letter and platform promise nc
ia' constitutional guarantees to the rights of IL
be South!
les Il 1t possible that all these concessions arc
ha be forced from the North by secession and th
nv point OF the bayonet!
'ht That which specially affects the mind of IL
Irs old and true Democracy of the country in I'll
he Baltimore platform Is its declaration as to 81,
!, very. In tue view | take of this question
~ seems unfortunate that such declaration wa
lat made, as 1t proves stumbling block to manI
Ter Why not treat the slavery question accord
ing to the fact that slavery dies and is burie
wherever our armies marchi No politics
action can aid, no resolutions OF convention
iaI can hinder that result. The war, If prosecute
he to the end, Will accomplish all that the moi
Ys. ardent antl-slayery man eau desire, Sc that
. the war goes on to the bitter end for the restol
% alton of the Union, then slavery is no NOR
he and all the declarations that the war shall Z
of shall not be carried on for the extinction {
ne slavery are futile and worse than useless.
The war will eItinsuish slavery whether W
'o wish II or not. Ny, II has extinguishe
slavery, by rendering the slave worthless.
Charleston, to-day, negro Can he bought fc
80, 900 in Confederate money, which sells fC
he $50 Tor one In gold, making the value OF Ii
~. negro 800; and this, too, with cotton
IN Sl,75 per pound In New York Before the wa
an the same negro would bring $1,000 in golC
~. with cotton at IL cents In New York.
,n. Some different system of labor must be d,
L. vised for the southern country in the future, an
peace upon any terms, even the acknowledg
ment Of tie confederacy, cannot prevent 4
In- II am right In /, is view of the subject-an
~, upon this conviction have acted since | sa
the fact in Louisiana in lS82-then what
p, there in the Baltimore platform to which an
,is true loyal Democrat, who loves his countrN
and Is determined TO fight, II need be, for Il
b. Integrity and honor, can object! | see nothing
n. But in the changes rapid In administratly
ng policy made by this war, no one will tie him
at self TO any party cry or party platform.
bY,fn rfiD in nv pr