Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1866-09-06
THE PRESIDENTS POLICY
Speech by Gen. Butler.
The Philadelphia Conven-
tion and the New Orleans
Riots Reviewed.
THE TRUE NATIONAL POLICY.
RETROSPECTIVE.

RETRosPECTIVE
Gen. Butler, by Invitation Of the citizen
Of Gloucester, Bas., addressed them o
national topics co the 25;h Of August.
He began by reviewing the history Of th
war. Without any possible cause, be said
eleven States went out Of the Union upo
! the protest that sectional President hs,
been elected. By going ont Of the Uno
the speaker did not mean that by their act
| they altered the governmental right Of n
United States over foot Of the territory o
the United States, or over any citizen. The
all remained sal ject to national laws, ant
smeuable to national tribunals Thcs,
States passed acts Of secession, and fought
bravely against the armies Of tho Govern.
ment.
They fought so long and With such varied
fortune that the Chicago Convention de.
clared tho war failure; hut through the
goddess and mercy Of divine Providence,
and the valor and patriotism ofo armies,
we we're enabled to capture every man in
arms on the soil of the United States. APP
plsuse. We captured the meu, and when
we took them prisoners Of war we captured
their slaves. their property and their con.
stitufional rights. and he believed that A
distinguished General was pretty near the
truth when he said the only right captur.
Ell rebel had was the right to be HANGED. -
Laughter and applause And at the very
moment when the rebel President was Zee
ing before our advancing cavalry, when the
heart of the nation was beating with high
bopes for the future, the hand Of the sssas
sin Booth struck down our honored and be-
loved President aud by that act the Vice
President was placed in the Ligh ofioe he
now holds.
ANDREW JOHNSON.
Almost the first words of the new Plesi-
dent were the decla, a,iou that treason should
be made odious and traitors punished. =
These words had the true ring to them, and
every man said to himself il We have LOST
Lincoln, we have man in his place xEo
will 10 doubt prove worthy sUccessor.-
President j ohneon refused to sanction the
terms OF Johnston's surrender to Sherman
What were those terms? General Sher.
man, anxious 10 doubt for return Of
peace and honest in his intentions, said in
effect, if johnson surrendered. the people
of the Southern States should be restored to
oil their rights. which means, of cOurse.
civil and political rights. Andrew johnson
refused to sanction those terms ara set
them aside, and for the very reason ibst,
baving returned the Southern people 10 all
their civil and political rights, il, rendered
uugatory all We had fought for during the
four years We had passed through. The
Government Of the United States had but
TO invite the terms upon which the States
would be readnIitied into the Union, and
the people would have eagerly agreed to
them. If after the people had laid down
their arms. South Carolina bad the same
rights under the Constitution as Massachu
setts. why did the President undertake to
impose conditions to their coming back to
The people OF South Caroline. Georgia,
and the other States If at
that time it was comrrtent for the Presi
dent to make those orders and impose those
vas it SOP II was simply
and solely for the reason that the people of
those States bad been in rebellion. and the
United States had the right to state the
terms and conditions upon which they
would be received back into the Uuion.-
President johnson gave them certain or
ders, as Commsuder-in-C Chief. because those
eleven States occupieds different position
in the country from the loyal States. II
these States had never lost any of their civil
Or political rights by their rebellion, then
no man, not even the President, had right
to impose any conditions npcn them, or
keep ont their representatives from Con
rress. The President nor Congress has no
light to say what Massachusetts or New |
York shall do or shall not do; but after she
'evolts, makes war, captures our men, and |
murders our President, then she has lost |
,er rights, and the loyal States shall say
when, and under what terms, they will re-
,eve her again. Applause,
THE PHILADELPHIA CONVENTION.
Gen. Butler next discussed at length the
points of difference between Congress and
he President, and then passed to the pro-
eedings of the Philadelphia Convention.
lie said:
There assembled in the city Of Philads.
lelphia on the 18th of this month Con-
'ention of delegates-if men can be called |
leleg who went on their own hook-and |
Imsng other things they undertake to tell
is how 70 settle this war, which they nor
heir friends did not fight. These men who
vent down there from the North were the
lind of men who, when there was bad news
rom Virginia, went around your streets and
aid, 1T is just as | told you. You
an never conquer the ooutp. ne war
$ failure" and such expressions, and
Who when you had had glorious news, such |
IS Farragut had passed the forts at New |
orleans or Mobile, gravcly shook their
leads and said they didn't believe word of
t. That is the class of men who got TO-
and sent delegates to Philadel hia to
ettle this question, and We wish to know by
What right they assume so much. My tel'
ow citizens, it is the men who did the fight
nr that will do the settling on both sides
Veil, that body assemblies, aud the first
,iece of evidence we have that these pee
lie are ft to return to their relations in the
Jnion, is the beautiful spectacle Of the
delegates from Massachusetts, and Sonth
carolina walking arm in arm into the Wig
,am. On that occasion the extremes met,
mt it was like the dog chasing his own tail |
1T was the ends of the same dog. Laugh
or.
As lawyer would say, he demurred to
he arrangement There is not man so
oolish as does not know that the men who
vent TO the Convention we're not the repre-
entatives of the sentiment of Massaehu
etts. There was MIR. Winthrop, a very
politician. but who never con
n L 4. - L sLaw