The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1869-12-22
NR. GREELEY'S SECOND LETTER
TO GFVERAL BgTLER.


l =
| took ample time 10 make il fun and delibe-
rate. l AIN glad that yUu saw fit to make it
public, SO that ] 1iISt saw il in print fDi
the questions on which we differ :uc nowi>c
of private o. personal interest, but deeply
concern our country and al her people,
| Pardon my belief that they also concern
| humanity, and that their solution will e."
tcrninc that our race has or has not made
progress since the GOOD old days when tho
galows wa always brought into free play
at The clos rr cTc!y civil war. II the hope
that puhli: 49, Eent gs1 he somewhat en-
! lightencd and ,ei ~ or discussion.
| ! propose her { rcf'i-T, several Of YOU
more important positions.
|. Let ne thank YOU onrr more for til.
| lrankncSs with which the main point il
controversy is presented in your letter
| You state correctly that Your posit;o
| originally was that "thc leaders" in the
southern rebellion ''Should be punished q
| examples" You and ! are boil, aware
| that no list Of those ''leadcrs' could have
| been fairly made that would have reduced
| their number Glow one hundred, incluGin
| the Cabinet officers, members OF Congress,
Governors of States, and army officers o.
West Point, education and grades irnr
Northumberland upward, who abandoned
he service ol the Union for that of the IL
bcliiOn. Yet N0u now suggest that "somc
halt-dOzcn, more or less" would have e;C-
feed for such exemplary Justice. When
five more yeas Of peace she'll 'lluIc inlcr-
Vencd | am quite confident y2u will con-
slider that two or three examples woulA
have been enough: and after tho lars
five more years you viii be satisfied lat TO
have strung up in 1865 him who was your
choice for President in 1860 would have an
swered the purpose.
] sha, differ from vou then as 7 differ
from you now. l believe the killing Of
many, or few. or one, of The Confederate
chiefs, at any time after the complete over
throw and collapse Of their revolt. would
have been fearful, CHASTITY blunder, sowing
seeds of bitterness and wrath that must
nave borne evil fruit throughout future
ages. l dislike yicarious punishments alto
gether /; and | realize that in this case
they would convey to the spared rebels
this monitiOn you, too, deserve hang
ing; but then you are insignificant.
and hemp is dear" 1t would have been
a patent Of nobility for generations At
the South to be able TO claim kim
ship with one who was tried, convicted,
and executed ~ one Of the Confederate
"lcadcrs.' Their death would have opened
4 deep abyss between those who fou-hj toG
and those who fought against the Union.
one life thus taken would have ra1!liod
more and longer th,n i hundred tI3t;s.nd
sacrificed in fair, manly collision ca the
.irli OF battle. The great Hebrew warrior
and monarch fully colnrh"hcndcd This dill
terence when he directed. from his death
hcd, the cutting of from life Of his valiant
lieutenant. .toah, because he had shed
ne hlood OF war in peace" Il. King.
H., -
Al. Let NE ihaull you again that ynu oTc-
tnrrcd truth 10 chivalry III reminding me
that Won were in 1867 q Republican candI-
date ioy Office. and succeeded by natJer-
ng vote. while !. when still more recently
a candidate, was defeated III part by Re-
publican ballots. ,r not care 10 ScI1ltl-
niTc your figures. since In" general }0ct Is
clear. Nay. more. Had been. like you. i
volunteer. and not raG>cltrtcG candidate.
If;link still more EcnGbliCans wouiG have
refused Ine their votes OH this ground for
| al, sure thNt the few thou Sas.t's "ho
scratched my name oil Their ballots by DO
means measure the strength Oil the adverse
feeling evoked ~ my early, persistent, de-
tiaDt. efforts 10 prevent the Republican
party im5riiing lis hands IN the blood Of Id
ver~arics wholly in its power. beg YOU
never to doubt that fully comprehended
this from the oiit>et--b.neW IHat the course l
took was not calculated 10 make Inc apopu-
lar candidate for Office or extend the c'fcu-
lation OF my journal. We had lust closed
in complete triumph long, cXhauStinG.
bloody war, which had carried mourning
into nearly every household : and / lGliy
realized the peril invoked ~ him who III
tclDoSes between al ir:t", bleeding victor,
and his PROSTATE, lctenselcsS foe. assure
you. General. that if | had deemed it the
chief end OF man 10 obtain Office, ENJOY
popularity, and haeH in the sunshine ol
power, should have taken very different
course. I! | had not loved my country,
h. Il i,sr hG,,l' kprl-
iny. more than loved office anG hnnor',
.noulG have chimcd in with Andrew JOHN
sons siugSOng-'' Treason i Il crlme, trA!-
tars must be punished called with
YOU for examples to be made Oh Inc leaders
Of the crtlshcd-out rebellion.
But | had read some history, and one OF
the lessons J. CLEANED from it WAS IN" dNty
of resisting and, i possible, restraining the
passions of Il party completely trlumpAant
in the issue OF Il desperate civil war. dlQ
not lind THAI The seventies 9t Philip l.aiN
his licutcnanis had saved the Nethcriands 10
Spain: that the "bIoody :tSSizcS' OF JET
frcys after Nonmouth's 5 overthrow had but
'tr0ssed the throne Of James II. saw that
the execution Of Louis y /. and his Queen
hal not saved the French Republic; that
the execution OF Marshal NeE did not per-
Detugte the throne Of the Bourhons; That
Inc hanging Of Macy Sandor and twelve
more Hungarian generals after GCrSoy
surrender did not prevent the recovery oil
their country'S ancient liberties. IN snort,
il there be one lcsscn written ali over The
face Of history, il seems lo me that pride
eoeth before destruction that the con-
Gueror in Il civil teld who has Siutlcd ms
tenmesnce stands often very near his nnai
downfall. | should have known if Shak-
speare had not said it that Z" bloody instruc-
ttons'' quite commonly "rcturn 10 plague
the inventors" And as I had stood by the
cradle Of the Republican party, and iondly
believed that its mission OF beneiicence IS
not yet exhausted, / sought 10 save II from
= fatal hlundcr, even though ut some per-
sonal cost. | Judge that tie hanging Of Jcn.
Davis would have cost that party one nun
Lrcd thousand votes, While IL would not
have saved it even that OF the original
mouth-piece of the vindicliNe policy, Nj.
Andrew Johnson; ana ulu not pcI4eFc Il
had SO many votes TO spare.
iii. I regret th;ct YOU should risunder-
stand me as regarding this mlttci' III the
LIGHT of party policy alone. Such was never
my thought nor my expression. opposed
Ihc DolicY of vengeance because deemed
il inlrinsically wrong and pefnlcI0us.
advocate the fifteenth amendment because
7 deem il essentially Just and bcneEccnt.
r. tha former were not wrong, 1t would not
hr impalitic; II the latter were not emit
ncntIy right, we might survive its failure.
7 nresented the party aspects Of the case in
nv former letter, not as the most vital, put
~ those in which the error OF your poticy
could be most clearly femonstratcd; IL
we're ever 50 good Gree'an' otiaGticn mlgnI noe to
vnnr nolicy as suicidal by no means pre-
sluded nor belittIed other objections; 1t
silonlT % affirmed that, if there were no other,
this wouId suffice to condemn it. Let us
;a,r ~. ,round in the light of accom-