Year: 1863




CONVERSATION WITH THE NEW YORK CON-
MITTEE.


In conversation with the New York
commi tee which waited on him Thursday
to tender him the honor of a public din
ner, General Butler gave most interest
ing account of is administration in New
Orleans and of affairs and society he found
there. We make the following extracts
from a report ofhis remarks:


with reference to the slavery question
his views has undergone a radical change
during his residence at New Orleans,
and while entertaining no preiudices
against his old political associates, who
would only say to them, that if they had
gone there with the same sentiments
that he felt, they would have come away
with the same sentiments that he felt
Laughter. He thought that he might
say that the principal members of his
staff, and the prominent officers of his
regiments, without any exception went
out to New Orleans bunker democrats of
the hunkerest sort, for it was but natural
that he should draw around him those
whose views were similar to his own, and
every individual OF the number had come
to precisely the same belief on the ques-
ton of Slavery, as he had put forth in his
farewell address to the people of New
/ Orleans. This change came about from
seeing what all of them saw, day by day.
In this war the entire property OF the
South was against us, because almost the
entire property of the South was bound


up in the institution Of Slavery. This
was well known fact. probably, but he
did not become fully aware of it until he
hod OF Orl
The South had $I63, ,000,0 900, of taxable
property in slaves Sl63, 100000 in all
other kinds of property. And this was
the cause why the merchants of New Or
leans had not remained loyal They found
themselves ruined-all their property
being loaned upon planters notes and
mortgages upon plantations and slaves,
all of which property is now reasonably
worthless Again, he had learned what
be did not know before, this was not a
rebellion against US, but simply rebel
lion TO perpetuate power in the hands of
few Shareholders.


At first he had not believed that slavery
was the cause of the rebellion, but at
tributed it to Davis, Slidell and others,
who had brought it about to make politi-
cal triumphs by which to gain their for
mer aseendancy


The rebellion was against the humble
and poorer classes, and there were in the
South large numbers of secret societies,
dealing in eabalistic signs, organized for
the purpose of perpetuating the power of
the rich over the poor


When he saw the utter Generalization
of the people, resulting from Slavery, it
struck him that it was an institution
which should be thrust out of the Union.
He had, on reading Mrs. Stoves book
Uncle Toms s Cabin, believed it to be an
overdrawn, high wrought picture OF South
ern life, but he had seen with his own
eyes and heard with his own ears many
things which 90 beyond her book as much
as her book does beyond an ordinary
school girls novel. He related an instance
of the shocking Generalization of society
at New Orleans There came into his
Office a woman twenty seven years of age,
perfectly white, who asked in proper
language if he would put her in one of
her fathers houses. Her history was this:
Her father had educated her in the city
of New York until she was between
seventeen and eighteen years of age, and
taken her to one of the metropolitan ho-
tells, where he kept her as his mistress
Not relishing the connection, and desir-
ing to get away from him, she went to
New Orleans-he followed her, but she
refused to live with him, at which he
whipped her in the public street and
made her marry slave. She afterwards
resumed the unnatural relation, going to
Cincinnati, but was sent back by her hus-
band or father with child belonging 70
somebody Ter father fed from the city