Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1853-1862, 1861-09-08

pledged not only not to cease the dangerous agita
ton, but to continue it regardless Of the C0nstitu
ton and the judiciary-when the sectional party
had. through it's representative official leaders. an
nounced its purpose to wage irrepressible con
fct till all the States should BE- free al slave
States, meaning thereby that all should b. free
even then, the statesmen of Kentucky, earnestly
anxious to preserve and perprtu7ie the I'm on
and the Government establi he'd by oar
fathers, presented The olive branch 70 their
| Northern brethren, in the form Of pro
posed amendments to the Constitution. These
amendments. presented by distinguished Senator
from Kentucky, proposed no aggression upon any
| Northern rights They asked rev rights tor
the South They simply required fresh guarantees
for existing Tights and they demanded less for tbs
! South than the Supreme Court had solemaly cesid
ed the South TO be c3nstutionaly entitled TO enjoy
J These amendments accepted by the North. wOald
| have been satisfactory to the South. The
! President and the late Secretary of State OF the
Confederate States, then Senator's Of the United
States avowed their Willingness TO accept TIE
O. ttsnden amendments satisfactory 70 tie Sluth
Their accept znee b. the dominant party In Go gress
| would have diminished no earthly right OF enjoy
ment of the North, nor Sdded one earthly right to
the South, except pledge OF future tranquility in
the enjoyment of existing constitutional rights Tie
olive branch thus rendered was rudeiy rspeiied b.
| the North. All other proposals of CON promise.
adj ustmeut and peace were arroganiy rejected aad
the nsolent menace of coercion was lnsultingy held
in terTorera over free people!
4
correct Interpretation OF the will of The people
of Kentucky, signifed by their late votes Uadoubl
eddy, the people Of Kentucky are ardently attached
to the Union established by their fathers, and ope
ed according TO the rule of the Constitution I'm
dsubtedy they have meant that all civil remedies
shall be exhausted before they viii PeiInqush the
fond hope of its restoration and preparation. IN
doubtedly they have meant to wait the exhaustion
of all civil remedies before they viii even consider
the question Of assuming new external relations
rhir papfoptlv undprafand q the of the
| people, and have cordially respected their
| ing But have never understood the proud and
| brave and Just minded freemen of Kentucky to
mean that they will tamely submit to uncostituton-
| al aggressions upon their sacred rights. Ihage
| never understood them to renounce the sentiment
and feeling of sympathy with the people of sggrieY
ed sister States. Nor interpret any OF their
expressions to mean an approval of the war to sub
jugste the South. Still less can cOnstrus any of
their votes as meaning that they will submit them
selves as joint instruments in prosecuting a coer
Give war against their Southern brethren. They
have only meant to say that they still have some
hope Of the restoration and peFpetuation Of the
Union; and until that hope Is utterly blasted, they
will not alter their existing relations. 1t in this
view that they have struggled to preserve the
t. ALLY and peace of the State and hold her in posi-
tlOn to exercise msdtOrial Office between the bel-
ligerents Should all such hopes and offices fail,
they will then assume such attitude as their own
judgment may sanction and they will maintain 1t
with the valo- and fortitude characteristic of Ken
! u kiaRs.
Their Anal decision will be law to me- Every
constitutional act of their lawful representatives
| will be executed by me with as much vigilance and
| fidelity il it originated in my own brain. No
true States Rights man can ever set himself IN fac
tious opposition to the will Of the people Of his
| State however honestly he may be opposed to her
policy. Ih&ve no consciousness that, in any thought
| WORT, or act of mine, have thwarted the lawful
! purposes OF the people If X ntucky On the con-
trary, have used uneeasing vigilance and efforts
to preserve the neutrality and peace Of the State
La proof of this refer TO every act of miBe, public
private, since the day of my inaugur alton. some
of the were reported to the former sessions Of
the Legislature. Others have gone TO the public in
other forms and others still are herewith iepOrted
Aud no word or act OF mine can be elttd incOnsist
ent with those and heretofore reported What
| ever the rancor of distemperad partisans may sug
| gest, the Judgment of my unimp issiOned fellow
citizens and impartial history wilt rence -e1im jus
| nce and indicate ny motives, acts, and good name
| against all uniavoraole crit!cu N
IL is scarcely necessary, bat brief reference will
! establ sh the Rvsrments above made l cite the de
clarstIons of my inaugural; the rephFts exhibits
| of ali my messages; my correspondence with Com
missiouers TO Kentucky from southern states; my
| efuts to procure National Convention; then to
procure a G. invention of the Slave States thsn of
| the Border Slave States; then my correspondence
! with the Governors of Ohio and Indiana 10 kt eP
| peace borders then my endsisvOF.
associated with Gen Thos. L. Critic len to inter-
| pose the meia.OrIal ,fi rs OF Kentucky between
! IN beligtrcats; the missions Of Gen BGCkner and
Senator Johnson tn Cairo, Columbus, and Tennessee;
| the arrangement between Gen. buckner and Gen
| Mcclellan; the assurances l have received, and
which have never been violated, from the Governor
of Tennessee, of his purpose not to violate the neu
! tralIty OF Kentucky; the conference between Gen
! Buckner and the President Of the United States
a.ld. lastly. though might cite m4ny other acts,
ali spired by the same purpose of preserving
| neutrality aud peace thu missions rewith report
ed 10 the Federal and Confederate States. The
honest people Of Kentucky viii correctly interpret
the spirit and purpose Of all these act; nor can
calumny deny malice successfully dislOrt them
| Neither any act public Or private, inconsistent
with the spirit and purpose Of these ettTts 70 pre-
serve the peace and neutrality of the State, ever
| be brought home TO my door. But my earnest en-
deavOrs to save the State from the horrors OF civil
| war are established by evidences which viii
/ remain perfect historic reSord; 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 If April
| 10, in which he called for as 900 mill
! tia, was in my opinion Illegal even in view Of tn
! professed objects Of the call, and | did nos then
doubt the real object of it the p, seeuton of
! an unconstitutional war of coercion against the
South. did not and could not hesitate, therefore
| in returning peremptory refusal to the demand
! upon me for Kentucky troops. Constitution of the
J United States must be construed rsti5nslly. The
powers given 10 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 constitutiOu4ly cannot declare war with
! out the consent of Congress. TIE act Of 1875 W
passed By Congress to provide for calling forth the
militia to execute the laws of the Unon suppress
| insurrection aud to repel inYasioDs Upon
full consideration of this act, it is manifest that the
calling forth Of the militia contemplated was whare
there had been judicial investigation, decision Of
J the court and execution awarded, and the power OF
the courts and the mlrshal's power not being suld
eli mt the President being officially informed. should
! call out the militia. This act, therefore, did not
authorize the President to call OFT Is 600 men,
for reasons: first there had been by the courts
| no judgment or decision, or efforts on the at
| of the marshals to execute the law secoud,
| the alleged instruction consisted of a num-
| Der OF States Of the COnfederacy Withdrawing
| from the Union. aad could not be coerced
back without making war them and Congress
| alone having the making power, and having
declined short time before after full consideration
of the proposition the Presidents call WAS the ini
! t4tory step to the war which be hsd not the con
stitutional powe to make. If part OF the States
have no other than revolutionary right to separate
from the other, it not provided in the Constl-
/ to ion that the remaining States should have the
right and the power to cOerce them back unless 1t
be under the power to declare ana make war.
which, it is fair to believe intended for foreign
nations and not part OF owh as it IS part
of the history of the Constitution, that the conTen-
ton which formed it refused TO grant the power to
| coerce back seceedng State.
This act of 1895 was on the statute b OK when
II id paui..n Il .nyg n