The daily phoenix. [volume] (Columbia, S.C.) 1865-1878, 1866-03-28
The President and Con. Butler.

The President and Con. Butler.
| The Washington correspondent OF
the New Orleans Crescent communi-
Gates to it the following account of
m interview between the President
and Gen. B. f. Butler:
The interview was yery LENGTHY.
extending over one hour and half,
during which time the notorious Ben
jamin employed all the arts of which
he is capable to impress the Execu-
tive mind. I do not pretend to re-
port the conversation verbatim, but
present the substance Of it, and in
some parts the exact words employed.
have also good reason to know that
the Crescent is the only journal which
has received accounts of this impor-
tant interview. may premise that
Butler has been for some time fre-
quenting the radical haunts, and,
although holding no official position,
is recognized as an efficient wire
puller. The President was not as
tonished, therefore, when card was
brought in, requesting the honor of
few minutes tete-d-tete; but having
been wearied by repeated interviews
on this same subject-the signing Of
the Freedmen's Bureau bill-Mr.
johnson had become exhausted and
petulant, and said in his expressive
manner, ''When did he come? Well,
let him come in After being seated
face to face with the President, the
''hero of New Orleans" laid out his
case in full, urging the approval of
the bill, and suggesting its adoption
as the basis of q compromise between
the Capitol and the White House.
The President, with his usual i'm
perturable manner, listened to the
entire rigmarole of the politician, and
then answered him with the words of
the statesman; words that we're doubt
less Immediately reported to his radi-
cal friends in waiting: ''Gen. Butler,
you are very we'll versed in all the
astute theories now urged in the
Capitol, but let us leave this fim-fam
and come down to plain common
sense. We fought this battle for the
Union; our entire course during the
war was an endeavor 70 restore the
States to their constitutional posi-
tions; we tried to do so in Georgia,
and ask you would you not have
received Georgia during the war as
State of this Union, had she sent q
representative to Congress? Wherever
I found green spot of loyalty in
Tennessee, l tried to sustain it, and
endeavored to obtain representation
for it. If they were States then, why
are they not States now? You have
appointed judges over them, you col
lect taxes in them, and you refuse
them representation. Why, they
have not even delegate like the ter
ritories. Their voice-the vote of
eleven millions of people-cannot be
heard in the National Capitol This
is hard and unjust. Are you afraid
of few Southern members? Why
not admit those who can take the
oath, and send the rest home, to have
their places filed by other men? You
think to soothe me by admitting the
Tennessee delegation, because 1 hap
pen to belong to that State, but the
rights of every State of this Union
are equally dear to me. Your party
talks very much of supporting my
policy, but when it comes to voting,
you follow different course. You
talk of my kingly conduct. of losing
my head;' this is almost equivalent to
melting people to assassinate me- If
you proceed in this manner, revolu-
ton will not be far distant In the
name of God, when is this to stop?
This bill secures them-the negroes
all they ought to have, and a little
more, too. I do not say whether I
will sign the bill or not" After Andy
has once expressed his opinion, he
has q peculiar manner of shutting
himself off from the further CONVEX
sation of the speaker, and this man
ner he adopted on the present occa-
sion. During the interview, he had
continually used the word General
in a slightly satirical tone.
SPOKEN LIKE A HERo.-A literary