Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1861-10-19
BY MCLANAHAN & DILL.

| usuTpatiOns / protested i'm your name, in th
presence of their authors and at tue seat OF thei
power. l protested IN vain, and never agsn
win meet in council with the usurpers.
And now, fellOw-citizens, / am sure you wi
pardon me II I add few words Ia reference L
the condition of our State and nay own course
| The Constitution Of the United States has beel
| DESTROYED, and by no act Of Kentucky. Th
powers she delegated in that instrument to tn
Federal government have reverted TO her, andtln.
exercise of power over her by that gOvernmen
without her consent is usmpatiOn. IN the wrccl
of the Federal system, she exists an independ
ent commonw wealth, with the right to choose he
/ own destiny. She may iOinthe North. She ma,
! ioin the South. She may poise herself on he
| own center and be neutral In every form b,
| which you could give direct expression to you
viii, You declared for neutrality. A large ma
! iority of the people at the May and August elec
| tons voted for the neutrality aud peace OF Ken
! lucky. The press, the public speakers, the can
| didates, with exceptions in favor OF the govern
/ ment ct Washington, so rare as not to need men
| ton, planted themselves in this position. Yo7
! voted for it, and you meant It. You were prom
I scd it and Won expected it. The minority ac
/ guessed in good faith, and at home and ABROAD
this was recognized as the fixed position of the
State Ii was taken at the beginning of hUstil
ites and Il is but reasonable 10 infer thst every
Subsequent act Of outrage by the Washington
government has c0ntirnedy your original purpose
Look at the condition of Kentucky, and see how
your expectations have been realized, how these
promises have been redeemed
First bv the aid of some citizens of the State
arms belonging to the whole people were Illegal
lv and secretly introduced by order Of the Presi
dent. and distributed 10 one class of our peopl,
upon the false pretensc that they needed then
tOr protection against their own tellow-citizens
This was the first violation.
Next, Federal military officers begun to recruit
soldiers and establish camps in OrJT midst, and
Federal money was lavshly expended in the hope
to demoralize and corrupt the people. A studied
system Of deception was practiced as long a.
possible or the people For time it was denied
that they were Federal camps, ana it was saiC
that they were merely voluntary assemblies O
Kentuckians for their own protection and that o
the State. These monstrous falsehoods hay,
since beer freely exposed. This was the SECOND
violation.
Previous TO these events, the State was in
condition of tranquility and peace No indica
tions existed anywhere of internal disorder
But row the people becoming alarmed at these
proofs Of purpose to force Kentucky into thS
war, beguuto assemble in great mass meetings
and to demand loudly the promised neutrality
The Washington government. however, and il,
abettors in Kentucky, suppOsn" their schemes
10 bc ripe for execution. now resolved 70 have
what they called "actirc loyalty About this
time the Legislature met aud the drama then
moved rapidly on. The camps We're avOwed 70
be Federal camps. The guns which had been
elandestnely and illegally introduced, were now
called oui 20 maintain "actiye loyalty Federal
officers begun 20 swarm among us. Every sp-
pliauce OF corruption. every allUrement Of ambi-
ton was brought into play. Presently Federal
army was in possession OF large portions of the
State and the conspiracy stood fully revealed,
while the people, whose only error had been
their generous Credulty, stood thoroughly be
traved. lt is known to citizens OF Louisville Of
al parties that usl before that meeting of the
Legislature, a member of the Washington cabi-
net said TO a prominent citizen Of Kentucky,
that the position OF the State should not be
maintained, that the government preferred hos
tilitY to neutrality, and that Kentucky must be
compelled to support the Federal government in
the wa. Your wishes, iellow-ciiizens, had been
sPuTned and you have been thrown into this
vortex by the government at Washington, aided
by their kentuciCy sympathizers.
The pretended reason for the military Occupa-
ton OF the State founded on the occupation of
Columbus by the Confederate troops, is uucan-
did and False For besides the fact that The in
vasiOn Of kentucky was o. foregone conclusion at
Washington, and that camps OF soldiers were
under arms in our midst to invade Tennessee, it
is notorious that Gen. Grant left Cairo 10 seize
Paducah before the occupation Of Columbus,
while in taking the latter place the Confederate
troops anticipated the Federal troops hY less
than an hour For further proof Of The insiu-
CzTty Ds the ia:se elsuloF about the invasion 0f
Tennessee, the Confederate commander an
nOuced 10 yUuI authorities that lr occupied
Columbus purely in self defense and stood
ready any moment to Withdraw simultaneously
with the Federal force. To say that the WASH
iHet0n government Lad q right to invade the
State IS to say that you had no right % be
neutral, and to submit to the invasion from
power which has eiiaced every ycsHge Of the
Constitution, would be to bow in the dust and
to a simple despotism
Il is not necessary to say much about the
Legislature. 4 ma30Tity Of them. instead of
protecting the rights and persons OF the citizens,
have either voluntarily or under duress, been en-
gagged IN sustaining the usurpaaions of the Fed
eraf government in passing bills OF pains and
penalties to ieTitg sgirled people into servi-
tude, in ndepnving the Governor Of has iusl oon-
authority, aud in abdicating their
share of the government by formally inviting a
Federal military force TO take possession of the
State, well knowing, as they did, that this milf
I8ry force would sapeisedethe State government.
OF that body, nearly oue-iourtp have getlrnd be-
cause Of the military occupation OF he State,
and the seizure, imprisonment. pursuit and exile
Of many Of the most eminent and patriotic cit
zaps Of the STATE by that military force. The
y0iae q ri.sse members can no longer be heard
in the co6ncils Of the Stale, EGr tLeir votes be
taken The Legislature Is thus, to say The least
Of it, a mutilated department of the State gov
5Tamept. IL is true that there remains a sufi- |
aient number FOR quorum, but are they free 2
or, Whon the Federal government talll5 military
possession OF q state, lis legislature Iaust con-
form TO the viii Of the military chief or be- sun
pressed, as we have recently seen in the case of
Missouri, whose State government was dispersed
and martial law proclaimed, and still later in the
ease Of Maryland, When tAiFiyllgllt members of
the Lsgiglature were seized and imprisoned on
the mere suspicion of Intending to legislatc at
variance with the viii of the military govern
nent. We cannot, tbcreforc, know that thc
public resolutions, OF pretended laws of the two
bodies, are the declarations Of ther active sill,
because ye have the strongest reason to believe
That, II not 10 accordance with the Nill Of the
government at Washington, they would neet
he istu of the Legislatures Of Missouri and
Maryland.
On the other hand, we kn0, thai these resoln- |
lions and laws 6Fe IN conflict with their public /
pledges and with the expectations Of the people !
L IS more charitable % believe that the meInbers
d Frankfort, o. a majority Of them aIe actuated
5Y fear qf military ipTCe, rather than by per
verse design 20 violate tie VII! Of ,leif constitu.
ants, ami degrade tlR Stale 70 the condition 10 |
which il is attempted to bring down Missouri 1
and Maryland. j anything were wanting 10
this view, # win be found IN attend 1
mt events. The resolutions they adopted on the /
9Th septembar, sanctiouiRs the entrance Of Gen |
Anderson's forces, were accompanied BY Gn5 de- 4
rlaring that no person should be touched in his |
iie liberty OF property on account Of his politi-l
aaI opinions Yet on the very day, ! believe. /
hat these resolutions passed. th8 Ggantz Gf The I
Federal government seized the printing establish |
1lent Of the Louisville Courier, the only offenSe
lf whose proprietor was, that be criticized with
iledom the usurpations OF the government ~ |