Fellow-citizens :--Your cheers for the old
Commonwealth of Massachusetts are rightly bestowed.
Foremost in the rank of those who fought for the liberty of the country in the Revolution were the men of
Massachusetts.
It is a historical fact, to which I take pride in now referring, that in the Revolution,
Massachusetts sent more men south of
Mason and Dixon's Line to fight for the cause of the country, than all the
Southern Colonies put together; and in this second war, if war must come, to proclaim the
Declaration of Independence anew, and, as a necessary consequence, establish the
Union and the
Constitution,
Massachusetts will give, if necessary, every man in her borders — aye, and woman!
(Cheers.) I trust I may be excused for speaking thus of
Massachusetts; but I am confident there are many within the sound of my voice, whose hearts beat with proud memories of the old Commonwealth.
There is this difference, I will say, between our Southern brothers and ourselves, that while we love our State with the true love of a son, we love the
Union and the Country with an equal devotion.
(Loud and prolonged applause.) We place no “States' rights” before, above, or beyond the
Union.
(Cheers.) To us our country is first, because it is our country, (three cheers,) and our State is next and second, because she is a part of our country and our State.
(Renewed applause.) Our oath of allegiance to our country, and our oath of allegiance to our State, are interwreathed harmoniously, and never come in conflict or clash.
He who does his duty to the
Union does his duty to the
State; and he who does his duty to the
State, does his duty to the
Union--“one and inseparable,
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now and forever.”
(Renewed applause.) As I look upon this demonstration of yours, I believe it to be prompted by a love of the common cause, and our common country — a country so great and good, a Government so kind, so beneficent, that the hand from which we have only felt kindness is now for the first time raised in chastisement.
(Applause.) Many things in a man's life may be worse than death.
So, to a Government there may be many things, such as dishonor and disintegration, worse than the shedding of blood.
(Cheers.) Our fathers purchased our liberty and country for us at an immense cost of treasure and blood, and by the bright heavens above us, we will not part with them without first paying the original debt, and the interest to this date!
(Loud cheers.) We have in our veins the same blood as they shed; we have the same power of endurance, the same love of liberty and law. We will hold as a brother him who stands by the
Union; we will hold as an enemy him who would strike from its constellation a single star.
(Applause.) But, I hear some one say, “Shall we carry on this fratricidal war?
Shall we shed our brothers' blood, and meet in arms our brothers in the
South?”
I would say, “As our fathers did not hesitate to strike the mother country in the defence of our rights, so we should not hesitate to meet the brother as they did the mother.”
(Sensation.) If this unholy, this fratricidal war is forced upon us, I say, “Woe, woe to them who have made the necessity.
Our hands are clean, our hearts are pure; but the
Union must be preserved, (
Gen. Butler was interrupted here by an intense cheering.
When silence was restored, he continued:) at all hazard of money, and, if need be, of every life this side the
Arctic Regions.”
(Cheers.) If the 25,000 Northern soldiers who are here are cut off, in six weeks 50,000 will take your place; and if they die by fever, pestilence, or the sword, a quarter of a million will take their place, till our army of the reserve will be women with their broomsticks, to drive every enemy in the
Gulf.
(Cheers and laughter.) I have neither fear nor doubt of the issue.
I feel only horror and dismay for those who have made the war. God help them I we are here for our rights, for our country, for our flag.
Our faces are set South, and there shall be no footstep backward.
(Immense applause.) He is mistaken who supposes we can be intimidated by threats or cajoled by compromise.
The day of compromises is past.
The Government must be sustained, (cheers;) and when it is sustained, we shall give every one in the
Union his rights under the
Constitution, as we always have, and every one outside of the
Union the steel of the
Union, till he shall come under the
Union.
(Cheers, and cries of “Good, go on.” ) It is impossible for me to go on speech-making; but if you will go home to your beds, and the
Government will let me, I will go South fighting for the
Union, and you will follow me.--
N. Y. Times, May 17.
