15 comes a war measure which any nafion, under any law, under any construction, would warrant our right to enforce. And this course should be adopted toward the English nation, for I have never heard of any blockade runners under the French flag, nor under the Russian flag—nor under the Austrian flag—nor under the Greek flag. No! not even the Turks will do it. [Applause.] And, therefore, I have ventured to suggest the adoption of this course, for your consideration as a possible, aye, not only possible, but, unless the thing has a remedy, a probable event: for we must see to it that we protect ourselves and take a manly place among the nations of the earth. [Applause.] But I hear some friend of mine say, “ 1 am afraid your scheme would bring down our provisions ; and if we didn’t export them to England we should find our western market still more depressed.” Allow me, with great deference to your judgment, gentlemen, to suggest a remedy for that at the same time. I would suggest that the exportation of gold be prohibited, and then there would be nothing to forward to meet the bills of exchange and pay for the goods we have bought, except our provisions. And, taking a hint from one of your best and most successful merchants, we could pay for our silks and satins in butter, and lard, and corn, and beef, and pork, and bring up the prices in the West, so that they could afford to pay the increased tariff now rendered necessary, I suppose, upon your railroads. [Applause.] And if our fair sisters and daughters will dress in silks, and satins, and laces, they will not feel any more troubled that a portion of the price goes to the Western farmer to enhance his gains, instead of going into the coffers of a Jew banker in Wall street. [Applause.] You will observe, my friends, that iu the list of grievances with which I charge England, I have not charged her with tampering with our leading politicians. [Laughter.] So far as any evidence I have, I don’t know that she is guilty, but what shall we say of our leading politicians that have tampered with her? [Laughter.] I have read of it with much surprise—with more surprise than has been excited in me by any other fact of this war. I had, somehow, got an inkling of the various things that came up in previous instances. I was not very much surprised at them, but when I read a statement, deliberately put forward, that here, in New York, leading politicians had consulted with the British minister as to how this United States could be separated, every drop of blood in my veins boiled ; and I would have liked to have seen that leading politician. [Tremendous applause.] I do not know that Lord Lyons is to blame. I suppose, sir, if a mau comes to one of your clerks and offers to go into partnership with him to rob your neighbor’s bank, and he reports him to you, you do not blame the clerk; but what do you do with the man who makes the offer? [Laughter.] [A voice: “Hang him!”] 1 think we had better take a lesson from the action of, Washington’s administration—when the French minister, M. Genet, undertook oven to if human actions indicate human thoughts. [Cries of “ That is so.”] It is idle to tell me Great Britain does not know these vessels are fitted out in her ports. It is idle and insulting to tell me that she put the Alabama under $20,000 bonds, not to go into the service of the Confederate States. The Jacob Bell alone would pay the amount of the bond over and over again. We did not so deal with her when she was at war with Russia. On the suggestion of the British Minister, our Government stopped, with the rapidity of lightning, the sailing of a steamer, until the minister himself was willing to let her go. We must take some means to put a stop to these piracies, and to the fitting out of pirate vessels in English ports. They are always telling us about the inefficiency of a republican government, but as they are acting now, we could stop two pirates to her one. [Applause.] We must, in some way, put a stop to the construction and fitting out of these pirate vessels in English ports to prey upon our commerce, or else consent to keep our ships at home. We must stop them—we must act through the people of England, if we cannot secure a stoppage m any other way. [Applause.] I have seen it stated that the loss to our commerce already amounts to $9,000,000—enough to have paid the expense of keeping a large number of vessels at home, and out of the way of these cruisers. What shall we do in the matter ? W hy, when our Government takes a step toward putting a stop to it, (and I believe it is taking that step now, but it is not in my province to speak of it,) we must aid it in so doing. [Great applause.] We are the Government in this matter, and when our Government gets ready to take a step, we must get ready to sustain it. [Applause.] England told us what to do when we took Mason and Slidell, and she thought there was a likelihood to be a war. She stopped exportation of those articles which she thought we wanted, and which she had allowed to be exported before. Let us do the same thing. [Applause.] Let us proclaim non-intercourse, so that no ounce of food shall ever by any accident get into an-Englishman’s mouth, until these piracies cease. [Laugh'er and applause.] [A voice: “Say that again !”] Gen. Butler; 1 never say anything, my friends, that I am afraid to say again. [Applause.] I repeat—let us proclaim nom intercourse, so that no ounce of food shall by any accident get into an Englishman’s mouth, until these piracies are stopped. [Applause.] That we have a right to do; and when we ever do do it, my word for it, they will find out where these vessels are going to, and they will write to the Emperor of China upon the subject. [Applause.] But I hear some objector say, " If you proclaim non-intercourse, England may go to war.” Now, I am not to be frightened twice running. [Laughter.] I got frightened a little better than a year ago, but I got over it. [Great laughter.] But further, this is a necessity; for we must keep our ships at home in some form to save them from these piracies, when a dozen of these privateers get loose upon the seas. It be
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