Cincinnati daily press. [volume] (Cincinnati [Ohio]) 1860-1862, 1861-09-06


psrtisans may suggest, the judgment of my
unimpassioned fellow-citizens aud impartial
history will render me justice and vindicate
my motives, acts, and good name against all
unfavorable criticism.
1t is scarcely necessary, but brief refer
epce will establish the avermeuts above
made. cite the declarations of my Inaugu.
raj; the reports and exhibits Of all my Mes
seges; my correspondence with Commission
eIs to Kentucky from Southern States; my
effortsto procure q National Convention; then
to procure a Convention of the slave States;
then of the Border Slave States; then my cor
respondence with the Governors of Ohio and
Indiana to keep peace on our borders; then
my endeavor, associated with General Thos.
L. Crittenden, to interpose the mediatorial
offices of Kentucky between the belligereuts;
the missions Of General Buckner and Senator
johnson to Cairo Columbus, and Tennessee;
the arrangement between General Buckner
and General Mcclellan; the assurances I
have received, and which have never been
violated, from the Governor of Tennessee, of
his purpose not to violate the neutrality of
Kentucky; the conference between General
Buckner and the President of the United
States; and, lastly, though | may cite many
other acts, all inspired by the same purpose
of preserving our neutrality and peace, the
missions herewith reported to the Federal
and Confederate States. The honest people
of Kentucky will correctly interpret the
spirit and purpose of all these acts; nor can
calumny deny nor malice successfully dis
| tort them. Neither can any act, public or
| private, inconsistent with the spirit and pur-
| pose of these efforts to preserve the peace
! and neutrality of the State, ever be brought
| home to my door. But my earnest endeav-
ors to save the State from the horrors of civil
war are established by evidences which viii
remain perfect historic record; and which
| owe it to my own good name, to my fellow
citizens of Kentucky, and to my children, to
leave among the archives of the State.
The Presidents war proclamation, of April
| Is, in which he called for sevety-fve thou
sand militia, was, in my opinion, Illegal
even in view of the professed objects of the
call; and did not then doubt that the real
object of it was the prosecution of an uncon-
stitutiOnal war of coercion against the South.
| did not and could not hesitate therefore,
| in returning peremptory refusal to the de.
mand upon me for Kentucky troops. The
| Constitution of the United States must be
construed nationally. The powers given to
| Congress were not intended to be exercised
| by the President without the intervention of
| Congress. For instance the power to declare
war is given to Congress. This implies that
| the President tconstitutionally can not declare
| war without the consent of Congress. The
act of 1895 was passed by Congress to provide
for calling forth the militia to execute the
laws of the Union, to suppress instructions
and to repel invasions. Upon careful con-
| sideration of the act, it is manifest that the
calling forth of the militia contemplated
was where there had been judicial investi-
| cation, decision of the court and execution
| awarded, and the power of the courts and
the marshaps power not being sufficient, the
| President being officially informed, should
| call out the militia. ..s
This act therefore, did not authorize the
| President to call out seventy-fve thousand
men, for two reasons: first, there had been
by the courts no judgment or decision, or
| efforts on the part of the marshals to execute
the law; second, the alleged insurrection
consisted of number of States of the Con-
federacy Withdrawing from the Union, and
| could not be coerced back without making
war on them; and Congress alone having the
war making power and having declined, a
short time before, after full consideration of
the proposition, the Presidents call was the
initiatory step to the war which he had not
| the constitutional power to make. If part of
the States have no other than revolution
arg right to separate from the others, it was
not provided in the Constitution that the re-
| naming States should have the right and the
| power to coerce them back, unless it be under
the power to declare and make war, which,
it is fair to believe, was intended for foreign
nations and not part of our own, as it is a
part of the history of the Constitution that
the Convention which formed it refused to
grant the power to coerce back a seeding
State.
This act of 1895 was on the statute book
when Mr. Webster denied to President Jack
son the power to call on the militia force of
the country to coerce the collection of the
revenues in 1888. The history of that case
shows that the President awaited the action
of Congress- aud did not take any step
toward calling out the militia until specially
authorized by Congress. l refused troops
therefore, because, in my Judgment, thC
Presidents call was unconstitutional, an(
without the sanction of law. The Presden
admits, in his message to Congress, that ne
cessity had compelled him to act withou
the authority of law, and asks that his act
shall be sanctioned. | could easily shelte
myself under similar plea of necessity.
the necessity Of which he speaks was grea
in his case, it was far greater in mine, be
cause no other policy, in my humble judg
ment, could have been pursued by Ken
lucky, which would have prevented civi
war among our own people, and that l re
garded as the worst Of all calamities.
The call for additional forces for the lauC
and naval Service the blockade of the South
ern seapoIts the bloCkades and embnrgoe
established on rivers and roads; the suspen
| sion OF the sacred writ OF RdOedS corpus TN
imprisonment of men without warrant hear
ing or trial by jury the suppression of ciyi
authority and the establishment of MARTA
} law in various cities the unreasonable seiz
ures an6 searches of persons, houses and pa
pers; the arrest, search and Imprisonment
even of women; the suppression of newspa
| pers; the withdrawal of mail facilities il
| Kentucky west of the Tennessee; the estab
lishment of martial law in Missouri; the con
fiscation of the property, emancipation OF tn
} slaves, and subVersion of the State Govern
| ment of that people by Major-General Ere
i mont, and the total obliteratiOn of all Stat
lines and authorities; these, and that de
moralizing, monstrous and unconstitutiona
t confscation bill recently passed by Congress
make up a record well calculated to alarm
/ and to startle a free people justly jealous @
, their rights. ] have been, and am still, un
able to give to these acts any sort of sanction
They are acts which give to the Government
| intended to be conducted according to tn
Constitution, the character, in substance, q
once Of a usurpation and a despotism.
{ In conscientiously taking such view q
: the Presidents rule, have not intended t
!. be disloyal to our State or Federal Govern
5 ment. l have refused obedience to only on
s demand made on me by the Federal authorl
Y ties, and in that have been sustained by tn
Q people of Kentucky and by the Constitutio
of my country. The people have sustaine
}. me in my recommendation against coercion
i in my recommendation of Senator CritteT
s den's amendments to the Constitution as
d settlement of our national difficulties, againI
s the occupation of our soil by Federal mil