Benjamnin F. Butler, Butler's Book: Autobiography and Personal Reminiscences of Major-General Benjamin Butler

The Dominion of Canada was made a headquarters for the concoction and carrying out of all sorts of incursions upon our territory, robbing banks, setting fire to our cities, sending garments charged with infectious disease to be distributed among our people, and affording a path for supplies of British gold by which our currency was debased by speculators in gold, by raising large premiums upon gold supplied through English sources. These, with the encouragement given by England from the very beginning of the war that if the South could make sufficient headway to justify the British government in declaring the independence of the Confederacy it would so do,--all these formed an aggregate of national wrongs and injuries that could not be compensated for by money. Through the greed of the influence thus moving upon President Johnson, a treaty was concluded which made a settlement of the Alabama claims for the actual destruction of some property. This treaty was submitted to the Senate and rejected, but was again renewed in the commencement of the administration of President Grant. A commission from England was sent to Washington to negotiate it. A treaty was negotiated called the Treaty of Washington, which I then believed, and still believe, to be exceedingly adverse to American interests.

I advised President Grant against it in every possible form, and against any treaty. I said our claims as a nation against England are simply incalculable, and the only negotiation should be to see what recompense other than money we should receive from her. I suggested that in the most diplomatic language possible and with all the amenities of statecraft, we should say in substance to England: “You have done more against our country than you can ever repay. To settle those injuries we want you to remove yourself as far as possible from being our neighbor, and give up the province of Canada. You have been an exceedingly bad neighbor from the beginning, and we want you near us no more. Cede Canada to us and we will settle all difficulties and give you a clean release of all claims.”

Grant was impressed with my idea, but the bondholders changed his determination. They claimed that if we had any trouble with England our bonds would be depreciated. To that I answered: “What harm in that depreciation? We shall pay the interest on ”