Delaware State journal and statesman., 1866-10-02
THE ISSUES OF THE DAY.
GREAT SPEECH OF
GENERAL 3. F. BUTLER.

IcspOnse 10 repeated calls, spoke as follows
GENTLEMEN OF THE CoNvENTGoN:--Mal
| ask your indulgence and most perfect at
tention that l may be able to make mysel
heard. We arc met here upon the mos
momentous issues ever presented TO any body
OF men, and to such body of men was
never before q governmental question pre-
sented for adoption. You are called upon
to support as citizens, those principles and
those rights and that course of government
for which yor fought in the field. Zap.
plause.
We might have well hoped when the last
Rebel surrendered, and when our arms were
victorious everywhere, that peace and unity
and concord would prevail; but unfortu-
nately for the country, some evil thought
entered into the heart of the Executive OF
the nation. Assuming to himself strength
of mind and of purpose to deal with ques-
tion which he should have presented to the
whole government of the United States in
Congress assembled, he undertook by his
own fiat to reconstruct the country. 1t was
an act the power TO do which no President
had ever before claimed.
The question of admitting States into the
Union had more than once been presented
to this government. Kansas we all remem-
Der. Missouri has passed beyond the memo
ry OF many. History tells us, however, that
the country divided upon the question of
what terms Missouri should be admitted
upon, Did the then Executive, able and
constitutional lawyer that he was-did the
Executive claim that by his fiat, by his policy,
he could say how State was to come into
the Union? No. But passing on, the pre-
sent Executive gavewhat he called an expert
mental government to each of the States, for
which l have searched in vain to find any
constitutional authority. What won the
States that had revolted from the Union?
For in that question, to which I purpose to
call your attention for few moments, it
seems to me the whole issue is here and now
to be determined. You remember that be-
cause Abraham Lincoln was elected, eleven
States, with the sympathy OF some two or
three more, revolted from the Union, seized
all the property and drove out every vestige
OF Union authority and Union power; armed
themselves against the Constitutional au-
thority OF the country; confederated them
selves into union and government; raised
armies and attempted to inaugurate gov
ernment, and set atloat navy and put them
selves In such position that the Supreme
Court Of the United States decided that all
the people in this territory were public enc
mics, engaged in civil and territorial war.
Here at this point, fellow-soldiers,w we should
If they were not at that time out of the
Union, certain it is the Union was out of
them. Laughter Standing just there,
my comrades-sailors--w we passed Fort
jackson, under the lead of the immortal
Farragut, did we believe that Louisiana had
all her rights in the Union at that time?
You who landed at Port Royal after that
most brilliant bombardment, fellow-solders,
did you believe that South Carolina was then
in the Union, with all her rights and privile-
ges, as part of the growing power of this
Union2 Clearly not. Then let US follow
on for few moments, because if there is
any man so stupid here as to believe that at
that time South Carolina had all her rights
in the Union as q part of the government,
him have ! offended, and he had better take
his hat and go to TO dinner, for l shall not
address him any longer. [Applause. ] Now
then, with varied success at Gettysburg, An
tietam, and thousand other battles of which
you are the representatives, the war was
fought out. We all agree that at the time
| have spoken of, the beginning of the war,
these men had no rights in the Union.
Then the war was fought out. What was
the next step in the progress of the nation?
All the armed soldiers representing these
men surrendered themselves prisoners of
war. Mark that. Surrendered themselvesl
Surrendered themselves and their rights, and
everything they had, to our victorious arms.
| Applause. Is there any man here who
will claim that by surrender men get rightsi
| tApplause.l Is there any man here who
will claim that man is conquered by saying
VI give up9n Applause Then they got
no rights. What did they becomep What
did they claim they wereP What did they
claim amnesty asp Paroled prisoners of war!
Now, then, my doubling friends, if any there
are here is not paroled prisoner of war
prettypoor material to make sovereign States
of this Union out of? [Conunued applause.
What were the States, then, IN intendment
of public lawP What were the States in in
tendment of national right and of every de-
cision of every court and every jurist? They
were but camps of paroled prisoners, under
guard of our soldiers, to see that nobody
molested them so long as they behaved we'll
Now, then, l ask you right here, can there
be any doubt in the language of your resolu-
tons that the Congress of the United States,
representing the government of the conquer
ing army of the United States, have full
rights TO make all necessary rules and regu-
lations for the government of camps of pa
rolled prisoners of war? do not discuss the
question what you call them. deal with
the question boldly and firmly. You may
call them territories, conquered Provinces
anything but our governors. won't stand
that. [Applause.l But / have heard the
sophism which is the end and aim, the Alpha
and Omega, of all argument against us, to
this effect Well, don't understand you
there. You say that a State has no right to
secede. You say that the States tried to
secede, and you whipped them, and prevent
ed them from seeding. Then you say they
are not in the Union. How do you reconcile
that? Let us for moment deal with that
What do we say precisely? We
say that no act of State, or of the govern
ment of the United States, can alter the re-
lations OF single citizen of this government
to itself without his consent We say that
no State can take single foot of American
soil from under the authority of the Ameri-
can government or the protection of the
American flag. We say the obligations of
every man remain always the same to the
United States The distinction we make is
this; they lost their rights by the crimes
they committed, while they did not get rid
of their obligations. They had rights as q
part of this government, as States in this
Union. They had obligations as citizens of
the United States. Let me give you an ex-
ample familiar to our courts A man COM
miis murder. At that moment he has all
the high rights of citizen-the right to the
ballot; the right to be elected to office; the
right to the marriage relation; the right to
the government of his children; the right to
walk freemen around the streets. But, by
the act of murder, by that crime, he forfeits
his right to his liberty, to his wife, 10 his
children, and even TO life itself Mark mel
He gets rid of none of his obligations to
society by Lis crime. [Applause.
So with these States. While they could
not make one hair white or black, so far as
their disseverance from the Union was CON
cerned, yet they, by their treason and their
crimes, could forfeit all their rights in the
Union. Not less traitors because they were
not less citizens because they were
traitors. (Applause) Now, then, what is
a Slater for it is said that State can never
die. Suppose for moment that all the peo-