The Camden weekly journal. [volume] (Camden, S.C.) 1865-1866, 1866-04-06
The President and Gen.
Butler.
An INTERVIEW ON THE FREEDMEN's BU>
REAU BILL.

The Washington correspondent OF the
New Orleans Crescent communicates to
it the following account of an interview
between ths President and General B. T.
Butler:
The interview was lengthy, extending
over one hour and half, during which
time the notorious Benjamin employed
all the arts of which he is capable to i'm.
press the Executive mind. do not pre-
tend to report 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 important in
tcrview. I may promise that Butler has
been for some time frequenting the Rad
ical haunts, and, although holding no
official position, is recognized as an eff
cient wire~puller. The President was
not astonished, therefore, when a card
was brought in, requesting a few min
utcs' tess,a-tete; but having been wearicd
by repeated interviews on this same sub
iect-thc signing of the Freednen's Bu>
reau Bll--Mr. johnson had become ex-
haustcd and pctulcnt, and said in his ex-
pressive manner, "wken did he CONC !
We'll let him come in" After being
seated face to face with the President,
the 'bero of New Orleans" laid out his
case in full, urging the approval of the
bill, and suggesting its adoption as tile
basis Of compromise between the Capi>
tol and the White House.
The President, with his usual imper-
turbable manner, listened to the entire
rismarole OF the politician, and then an
swered him with the words of the states
man; words that were doubtless immc-
diately reported to his Radical 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
hiln-Aam and come down to plain COM
mon sense. We fought this battle for
the Union; our entire course durlug the
war1was 40 endeavor to restore the States
to their constitutional positions; we tried
to do so in Georgia, and I ask you
would you not have received Georgia
during the war as State of this Union
had she sent representative to Con-
&css? Wherever l 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
arc they not States now? You have ap-
pointed judges over them, you collect
taxes in them, and you refuse them repre-
scnsation. Why, they have not even a
delegate like the Territories. Their
voice-thc vote of eleven millions of peo-
canuot be heard in the National
Capitol. This is hard and unjust. Are
YOU afraid of few Southern mems
bcrs2 Why not admit those who can
take the oath and send the rest home to
have their places filled by other men!
You think to soothe me by admitting
the Tennessee delegation, because l
happen to belong to that State, but the
rights of every State of this Union are
equally dear to Inc. 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, "ot losing my head" this is al
most equivalent to iucting people to as
sassinate me. If you proceed in this
manner, revolution will not he far d's-
tapt. In the name Of God. when is this
to stop? This till secures them-the ne
groes-all they ought to have, and lit
tie more, too. / do not say whether |
will sign the Till or not" After Andy
has once expressed his opinion, he has a
peculiar manner of shutting himself off
from the further conversation of the
speaker, and this manner he adopted on
tie present occasion During the inter.
view lie had continually used the word
General with a slightly satirisal tone."