Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1865-02-07


received lhs evening Of the IS h, BY tne VI yor
on behdf Of the citizens, aud addressed a hrge
coucour,e Of bis aeghbJrs aud i,isnds. We
print below yearly the whole Of bis speech, omit
tog only that part vhca related to bis occupa-
ton Of Brnqdl Hundred, aud the closing sen
tence' in winch be spoke Of his persona relations
with the people Of Lowell.
SPEECH OF GENERAL BUTLER
lis Honor The Miyor, my Ft.ends and .Neigh-
boys: propose, WITH your leave, to rtctll to
your minds what mas happened to the army in the
fed, and especially what has occurred wlthin the
natroeer cnce where have e1deayored to serve
the interests Of The country since ! LEFT You q
year igj November iis,. C.isd 5y The pulIa
kludnvas Of the President 60 take commaaI Of
the Department. OF Virginia and North Carolina,
upo1 reaching For.re., honros and looking ab,g.
to zee wat duties deyolysd upon me-, found
there, n the fr,l place, demanding im mediate
attention. eighty thousand freed men, women anA
children, wuo had esc pei from slavery and thrown
themselves q, ward, upOl the guardianship OF In5
United States Thee was no depanmeL tai or
ganzlioH for their care maiutsnince, protection
and education,
NJ first dIty thon upon assuming nd
in the absence OF active military operation, seemed
10 be toward the hslps beings thus cast upon
our hands. / 4 ew what yol would have sid
ought 10 be- done under tae circumstances, and
did as lkougat you would have done. e,tab.
l,hed ,ystcm order and organization Of labor,
so that .Ls freedmen, who would wof9 could
WORK and those vUo would nat work m ght lod
N ais Whereby they should work, and TO that eve.
~ freedman, woman and child should have whH,
thank G1d, We always have had ia MassscAusett,
hr oil, food lud ralmen' and proeelioa from ths
inoemency OF tbc wssfhef. (AppA1seJ Aided
by your lslo~ oi I631' Capt. H4eef, Capt. Brown
AMI Cspl. James, applied myself % th.s WORK,
aud presently order aad Industry arose out Of
ehaoa 10 the si.irs of tte freedmen In North Oar.
oaua and Virginia lul organization OF hose
siiafs gIs carried on t,. further under the charge
NJ LleIt. Col. k.nsmsu, brd has silcs been con
tnusd under The supeuutendence Of your lowu,-
mac, MaJlr Carney. We have, G, ne result Of
one years woiA u that department, five thousand
nsn Drough. u.o the army of tse United States
vi hout Dounty and GOV many more with bounty
do 40, know, Usoautt tney Gere credited TO The
several states 10 vho.s regiments they enlisted,
snd not TO the United Safes By the labors Of
mi, year we Lavs demons,rated that the former
sl.vs population nf The south can be self-,upport.
ing, even without large proportion Of the able
bJdied men. We have ,Aytd from ihe govern
ment ran na alone which were 10 be dlait out 10
ihsmi one hundred thousand do ais, aud all ths
IN two bl'rc.7 n8yinS made tie .ifge losse. IN
the negro aiArs Of North Carolina because Of tho
disturbance OF laocf IRON lae yellow fever, the
dlI 0l Plymouth and ihs evse lali0n or Washing
toa "a Apul last by the order Of tie Lieutenant
General. Within t1r same splce Of time We
have succeeded 10 demo stating ih3, these 20.
groes are captte OF he ~ educ ed. Ajt1 hy
toe sell-'ac hci K A1urs ci b teyu rst trschet.
from the Norm, hu Gfeds and thousands oi enid
ftn have been tauSh. l. re q, ID aGu,s, tuu, Rho
never read belo e. AlI lbps the negro is being
h.ttd tor that ne~ state OF Haffty aud citz-n,fip
TO when he has been raised. Suea are SOME Il
the results II this WI. (AppIause.)
The utI m'tsr u order Of tine 10 which ny
attention was called WIS The ,xchange OF prisoner.
ssuiJ CT whcl Interests every man, Wsmin and
chlli wh0 has a brother, s0a, husband or father
10 the army. Inst also was placed in nv hands
by The ptrlalty Of tho President. ilund the
Former cjnmsroaer OF exchange Of tue United
States and the tg-nt ac inS in the beh,f OF The
Confederate Sistes couIeudng upon question:, as
10 h The accounts, in ttg,fd TO tae exchange
ot prisoners 'houl1 BE- KEEP whether the UAued
States hld received feW more or less than the
Confederate States or the contrary, and state
OF smbtIerrd fee ing had arisen between them,
% Il at exchanges had been suspended. there.
fore ui,d The experiment to see II the Confsdsr.
ates would 'eturG man t man, they givng u, IS
many soldiers as We gave 10 them This vas
done and laying all other questions aside special
exchange went on. Some time in March las,
Mr. DAD, The Confederate agent Of exchange.
came to Fortress Monroe sLd there, after iull |
discussion Of all matters Of difference, We came
TO just AID equitable understanding, arranging
the adjustment OF numbers delivered, paroles and
exchanges, on all disputed points but one, and
that r lated to exchange Of negro so.disrs. The
Cohfederats egent persisted that negroes hereto.
iors IN bond ge, wnen captured, should be uss'.
ed as slaves aud st at work ~ slave, under their
masters. Tuis | could not permit Whoever
had worn the uniform Of the United States asa
soldier was entitled 10 ls protection in tAs fullest
sense. IL wing settled all else, however, had |
determined to bling about system Of spscisl sx.
changes until we should receive all ihs white men
hsid oy the rebels and should give them an equal
numesr In exchlng and thus sll eur white so.
ders would be liberated Whsa the exchange
OF man for min had given IA oil our white soldiers
in their prisons, there would st.l remain about
fifteen or twenty tho, sand rebel prisoners in our
hands and only about live hundred negro soldiers
10 theirs.
Arriving at thst painl, proposed to say to the
Confedsrates, we are wiling u take these ave
hundred men and give YOU an equal number OF
your soldiers. II the rebels refused that offer,
and still held our negro soldiers in bondage and
at labor, designed to say 10 them If YOU do
not deliver me those men Ike other prisoners of
war, and II you work those i've hundred, | will
work your fifteen thousand = and as Napoleon
built ihs olna OF Lingusdoc with forty thousand
A lslriAn prisoners Of war, so will thls govern.
ment build the ship canal We want to connect thu
Mlsss'tppl river with the lakes, by the labor of
the rebe prisoners IN cur hands. My word hr
II, 1t that stand had been taken, We should never
have built much canal, btoiuse, when afteysard
the rebels set come Of my negro soldiers at work
on the Publications, and put sn equal number
OF virginia Reserves al WORK in bl.ca Gap ia T..
ialiauon, the negroes were instantly taken out OF
uenenss an treated as prisoners OF war.
reported the points OF agreement between
myself aud The re0sl agent to the Secretary Of T
War anu asA-1 ior power TO adjust the other
questions OF dtsrenC. 80 as 10 hsye the question .
OF en'l,vIng negro soldiers stan alone 10 os dealt
WITH by ITSELF and that the whole power OF the
V"''ed o'aIes should be exerted to do Just ice to
'n !ss "hl had i'ught the battles Of the country
end been elptured in s service
me ne "lole Oeleosw" referred by the Secretary
oi War y tue Lieutenant General COMMANDING.
VINO 'eieStaphed the on the fJurteen,h Of ami.
1914 in sao'ianee; Break off all negotiation,
on me SUI c. Of exchange I'LL further crd.r..n
Aau therefore all negotiations were broken olr
ave TINT a AnAnl.l 49, . w