The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1869-06-02
BUTLER.

WAX WITH ENGLAND.
Says the correspondent
handed the General an article from the New
Ork Evening Post which ironically discoursed
ON Buffers financial theory of a war with Eug-
land, as II had been reported by Washington cor
respondents. | asked what he had really said
about the effect of q war with England.
He replied
81 have said, in private conversations, not that
there would be any commercial benefit i'm war
with England, but that If a war broke out the
result would be beneficial to this country
"How p l inquired.
''We have imported one hundred and twenty
ono millions from the LIST of January to the lst
of May, this year, and exported only sixty NIL
liOns-our bonds not only going out to pay for
the balance from these imports, but the gold
with which the debt is paid is also borrowed on
our bonds at eighty cents on the dollar Eng
land buys substantially nothing of us in com
parison with what she sends to u.s. Now, only
proposed to treat her, nation, an indi-
vidual treats an unkind neighbor who has in
jured him. He simply says, l shall have no.
thing to do with you, either socially or in the
way of business; and that, irrespective of the
question to whether his neighbor had the
legal right TO injure him, or did something ie-
gally for which suit should be brought Most
prudent persons prefer to refuse all intercourse
Now, / think the United States should treat Eng
land in the same way. That was whotwe did in
1S0S."
now IT MIGHT PAY.
''With what RESULT
''With good result to the country" said Mr.
4 Butler, 'for it was the very beginning of the
establishment of our manufactures Up to that
time we had substantially none. True, war
came on because of the claim of the right of
search and the imprisonment of our sailors.
And should think that the writer in the Ecen-
ing Post of which you speak, was simply re-
echong one of the Federalist Trades against
Jefferson for what they were pleased to term
Jim Madison's blockade
''What have you said about declaring war
against England"
Nothing" answered the General "Therc is
no occasion to declare war against England. l
simply said
NoN-INTERCOURsE,
but that, in case of war; what we shall save in
importation and make by capture would be quite
equivalent to the expense OF what would be sub
stantially naval warfare"
HOW BUTLER WOULD ARGUE AGAINST ENGLAND.
''SUi1, General, you have not quite clearly
stated how you would argue the case against
England 1t isn't quite enough to say that it
was part of her policy to break up this Govern
ment What is your theory in full?'
swell, then" responded the General, II
should show that in violation of every principle
of international law on which she had ever
acted as to the proper treatment of rebels; in
defiance of her long and well-establshed theories
about slavery, which she had not only pro-
claimed, but practically carried out; and in the
face of the treaty which she had with us TO eX-
tinguish the slave trade, she hastened to recog-
niZe a confederacy whose cornerstone was
slayery-whose existence as nation could only
be maintained by the prosperity of slavery
and the reopening of the slave trade-objects
and designs which were openly avOwed
by the Southland all this for the sole
purpose of destroying our Government
and running or gripping dangerous rival II
we should put our claims for damages on this
ground, then the alacrity of England in recog-
nizing the Confederacy need only be considered
as evidence of her interest. On this ground. we
should not need to discuss whether she was
technically right or technically wrong in ac-
knOwledging the belligerency, or whether the
blockade justification of that recognition
or not. If she took advantage OF technical law
20 injure n friendly power and to do untrlendly
acts for the purpose of destroying that friendly
power and destroying her commerce, 1t is just
rs much an injury that requires Teparation
as though the same acts, with the
same intent, had been done without
such technical legal justification. All questions
of disputed law arising under the law OF nations
where there is no final arbiter but the sword
might it would seem, be well laid aside May
we not well say that she had left us a legacy OF
slavery which, being interviewer in the indus
trial pursuits of almost one-hat OF our country
became, for the time at least, OF necessity, par
of our institutions, while in her empire 1t was
only an incident of her colonial wealth. She
then set lis the example of emancipation, which
she could easily do without danger to her Gov
ernment. She taught us that slavery was wrong
and emancipation and freedom only right. Afte
our Government had fully accepted these views K
such an extent that large portion OF our people
becoming fearful for what they considered thei
constitutional rights, and that what they held a
their most valuable property would be destroyed
under our Government, rebelled to save II ant
instituted war, at once, at the earliest posslol
moment, she led the way to sustain them in tina
rebellion and aided to set up that slavery whic
she had declared to be our national sin. Wha
motive could there be for her to do this eXcep
the desire to destroy Government at a
hazards? Then the fitting out of the Alabama
allowing her to escape and giving her shelter
and permitting the Shenandoah to go out, b(
come not incidents of her sympathy with reoe
lion but her own act in pursuance of her design
TO destroy our commerce and cripple our powe
From this point of view these acts are not inc
dents of her recognition of the Confederate
but they are the means which she adopted I
crash our Government.
WE CAN AFFORD TO WAIT.
"Now as to the remedy. We need not go
war. We can afford to wait. England took he
chance to cripple us when we were in troubl
We can await till some fitting opportunity el
ables lis to repay her in kind. We can easl
find means whenever she gets into war, to swee
her commerce from the ocean and substitute OF
own in ITS place. We can afford to wait.
BoUTwEII's POLICY.
"You have been at Washington lately; what {
YOU think of Mr.. BOUTWELL, s policy! 1t seems
me that your friend Grant did not succeed
carving out his policy Of running the Cover
n ment without the aid of the politicians; II do
look at this distance as if he had unconditional
surrendered to them. VIII Mr. Boutwell, do u
same to the Wall street people?'
''If," said General Butler, i know anything
the Secretary, and I've had am intimate kho'
ledge of the man for thirty years, | can safely 81
thar if the Wall street people think they c'
change HIM in any policy he has taken, and abo
(which he has thOrOuphly informed himself al