Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1853-1862, 1861-10-16
a PownRFUL pocUmrNrr
PeanIa .r II ksn.lIn. nrSGs I.nrIdge 70

Address of Hon. }. @. Breck5nrId9e "a IN,
People OF KeRIuckYs =
1dthe People Of Kszt3tek;y. slssr q
by your representatives in the last Legislature
yeu conferred on me the commission of Senator il
the Congress of the United States. In March last
| when my term Of service began the Union baf
been dissolved by the withdrawal Of seven States
when the policy OF coercion has since increased tc
twelve States At that time a msiority of the peo
pie OF kentucky still cherished the hope of peace
ini reunion Soon afterwards, when the Govern
ment at Washington commenced that series M
usurpstlons which has now left nothing of the Fed
| efAL Cobsutuuon, and resolved on war of subiu,
gatlon against the withdrawing States To Secnre
union and brotherhood. you determined 70 take no
part In the war but to protect your liberties by
position of armed neutrality. This decision was
expressed BY large majority Of the people at the
had opposed the policy before the election bnt
afterwards, in common with the great mass OF tho
| with whom had acted, sequIesced in your e,.
pressed will and. have maintained It as the fxpd
| attitude of kentucky. In obedience as supposs to
your wishes, proceeded to Washington and at the
special session Of Congress in July spoke and voted
against the whole policy Of the President and
Congressi demanding IN addition for Kentucky the
right to refuse not men only bat money also to the
war, ior would have blushed to meet you with
the confession that had purchased for you exemr-
ton from the peris of the battle field and the sbae
OF waglng war against your Southern brethren By
hiring others to do the work you shrank from per,
| forming. During that memorable session a .7ery
small body of Senator's and Rspreseptatiyes. eyen
beneath the shadow of military despotsm resis-
ted the usurpatons of the Executive and with what
degree Of dignity and frmaess they will wlllinslv
submit to the judgement of the world. ------ =
Their efforts were unaFailing-yet they may
prove valuable hereafter as another added 10 far
mer examples Of manly protest against the progress
of tyranny.
On my return to Kentucky at tae close of the late
special session OF Congress it was my purpose i'm
medlately TO resign the Office of Senator. The YER
oal and written remOnsirances- of many friends in
different parts of the State induced me to postpone
tte execution OF my purpose, bat the time has ar
rived to carry It into effect, accordingly now and
hereby return the trust into your hands. ---- :
And IN this connection, since the Government At
" ash1ngton has thrown drag net over the whole
surface of society to collect proof against ndiVid-
uals of connection with the Government of the Con-
federate States and since portion Of the Northern
press has charged, that certain private eorrespon-
dence recently seized at Philadelphia by the Federal
authorities viii convict me Of political crimes 1 |
deem It due to you and TO myself to declare that
have not done or said snythDg inconsistent with |
the relations lave borne 70 the State and to the
ederal Government, or which could reflect stain
upon the commission which / now surrender.
do not resIga because think have misrepre-
sented you. On the contrary, believe that nv
votes and speeches n tn Senate have expressed
your deliberate viii as atested through the ballot
box. resign because there is no place left where
; Southern Senator my sit in council with the SEN
ltors OF the North. In truth there is no longer
Senate Of the United States within the meaning and
lpirit of the Constitution. -. =. -
The United States no longer exists. The Union
s dissolved. For 3 time after the withdrawal of
he Southern States, and while there wss a hone
ne rupture might be healed, it might be assumed
hat the Union was rot yet dissolved, and such was
Ae position Of Kentucky, in declaring her neutrali-
and Offering her mediation between the contend |
og parties But time has now elapsed, and mighty ,
vents have occurred which Danish from the minds
I reasonable men all expectation of restoring the
Jnion. Coercion has been tried and failed The /
9uth ma mustered IN the field Deariy many com
atants the North, and has been far m IRE ieto
lous. The fields Of Manassas and Bethel of SDrinO
ED and Lexington have marked with terrible I
nd sanguinary line the division between the old I
rder of things and the new. I
1t is the right of Kentucky and her peculiar duty
recognize these great facts and to act on them Z
ne constitutional compact which created and IN. | i
ED the old Union is st an end. A large number Il
the original and additional parties have with t
rawn from it So large number that its stipula- p
OBS can no longer be executed, and under such | 81
rcumstsnces no court has ever decided contract d
be binding between the remaining parties or |
tempted to enforce its execution The Coustitu- "a
On requires positively that each State shall have n
least one representative in Congress, but now | v,
Teye States have none that each State shall have 81
70 Senator's but now tWelVed States have none: | m
at all duties iEposts and excses shall be uniform ri
roughout the United States, butAow in more than tn
e-thlTd OF them none are or can be collected ! an
mmerce cannot be regulated between the respec- 70
'e States- Uniform rules of naturalization and DC
nkruptcy cannot be ad pted. Post Offices and / IN
st roads in nearly half the States hsTe been given ~
!, and preference is given to the ports of one 20
ate over those Of another Even the election of 81
esident has become impossible. The Constitu. ex
is mandatory all the States to appoint elect ct
s., and requires a majority of the latter TO va
ct; but more than one third of the States re- III,
e TO appoint, and hence no election can be made III
the people. If the election goes to the House of m,
representatives., the Constitution req Irss that at is
st two thirds Of the State shall be represented in an
It body. The Constitution can no longer be | a.,
ended for it requires threefOurhs of the State S.
concur and more than one-thirds of the Sta.gs wi
re Withdrawn from the Confederacy. All the hs,
eguards provided for by the States in the instr vi
nj still father to secure public and personal hh Law
y have been destroyed. The three depart Ian
nts of the Federal Government which were We
etully separated and their boundaries defined of
re been merged into one, and the President sas- of
ned by great army, wields unlimited power - kn
; exemption of persons from arrest without IL of
lsl warrant the right Of citizen to have his set
y brought before judge to determine the ls a
lty of his Imprisonment, the security provided of
INST searches and seizure without warrant of me
, the sancusy of tie h6me ths trial by Jury Ma
freedom Of speech and of the press--these and res
~ other precious right which our 2fathers sl1b- lie
ed they had locked up in the Constitution have d
q torn from 1t and buried beneath the heel Of at
ltary pO"Ets 1He OLates LeQe sla OnlstlkutIOD. nv
ecu Flglu OOAAdafIes around tlat government Ver
expressly reserved to themselves all powers enb
delegated They did not delegate to the Federal VIII
Ternment the power 20 destroy them-yet the Maj
azure has SET lse above the creator. The stre this
Is ooctFlne Is announced By the President and The
ID Epon that the States derive their povs7 from Of
Federal Government and msy he suppressed on Ger
pretenee OF military aasessiiys The gaaf IL by
State of Maryland has been utterly abolished "a
souri, s engaged in heroic struggle 70 pRaserva poll
exstence and to throw eff the horrors of nartsf that
proclaimed by subordinate military comma q eral
'hFeFyWnere the civil has given way to the of d
tary power The fortressss of the countrysFs pro,
with victims seized without warrant OF law llsuI
ignorant of the cause of their imprisonmenss she
Legislators of States, and other public ofcers have
seized while In the discharge of their official horn
es taken beyond the limits Of their respective eusa
IS ana imprisoned IN the tors Of the Federal 20 Nj
A subzerEient Congress lrstifes the itys'
'pations of the President and proceeds to con- tuck
: the destruction of the Constitution. History othe
declare that the annals of legislation do not the
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