Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1862-10-16
gen. BucLHer's Address 20 Ghe People Of
Kentucky.

/ One year ago / addressed You rom husse
vile. The despotisIG of the North, though &
that time in its incipiency, bad already invade
our State The prof0ssed advocates of fre
/ speech had crushed ths freedom of the Press
The privileges of the writ of habeds corpus ha
already been suspended by the dscta OF the pei
| ty instruments of usuwed power, The ConSt
( ntion, which was the basis of our old Union
had been violated in al its essential provisions
Oar citizens, for no other reasons than the advo
cscy of the principles Of the Constitution wer
| torn from their homes and from oar State 20 Ian
| guish il uorsheTR pnsOns--and denisd alike tn
| knowledge of their, aecasers and the pTivileg
of fair trial The Judicial department Of Tia
| government was virtually suppressed. Tn
| Constitution, the only basis OF Union, Was over
| thrown aud al its powers usugped by the exesu
4 tive and the degraded instruments, whom b.
] chose, TO Oppgess free and gallant people. Evei
/ then the Washington government was a revOlu
| tionsgy power built upon the ruins Of the Con
/ stitution, and welded by an unprincipled exc
cUtiYe for the suppression OF the Liberties OF tn
people.
As a citizen of g State so dear to its owl
| sons. and so renowned throughout the world fo
! It's love Of freedom, l felt it was not only MI
right, but my highest duty, TO resist these en-
/ croBchmeHts upon our constitutional rights. L
I was in this spirit that I addressed you The
events of The past year have justified the deei5
ion of those who from the beginning opposed
| the tyranny which has since oppressed US.
! Northern army, flushed with temporary sue
cess, has pursued its maTauding career with q
ferocity and cOntemps for the claims of justice
ana humanity, which have astonished the civil
lied world. Your property has been stolen OF
destroyed; your slaves have been taken from
you on the plea thst you are disloyal-disloysl
70 The tyranny and the usurpation which seeks
to take from you even the right of peaceful re-
monstrance; your houses have been invaded by
armed soldiersi you have been compelled to en-
dure, at the point Of the bayOnet, uDwarrsnta-
bic searches our fair women have been com
pelled to render the most menial services TO the
hirelings of the North who have assumed to be
your masters no iresides have been sacred
from these ruthless intTusions. The unofsnding
victims Of this relentless despotism have been
dragged 10 the jails and to other lOathsome pris-
ems TO crafty private malice or to satiste the
lust of tyTaRnical power. And when the prisons
of our Ssate were flied with freenen and free
women, the penitentisries and bastiles Of the
North still opened to receive others, until the
numbers are now so astounding that even the
names of the victims are not permitted 20 be
known. The once bOasted land of freedom,
under abolition domination, is one vast prison
house. The starry banner, once so famed in
Southern song. has fbeen converted, in the
hands of Sumner and Garrett Davis, and Seward
and Lincoln, and Hunter and Pope, and Tur-
chin and Boyls and Butler, into the emblem of
all that is oppressive to man and cruel and dis
respectful 70 woman. Yet 20 this emblem. de-
graded By being SO upheld, we are required sub
nissively to bow IS TO tslisman which will
saHCtify the most atrociOus of crimes.
Freemen Of Kentucky It needs not that
you look abroad upon the burning cities and vii
lages, and the devastated fields Of Tennessee
sud the Mississippi valley, aad of our mother
State, Virginia, to convince yourselves of the
true character Of your opprsssofs. Oar own
Siste shows sufficient evidences of their tyr
amy. Nor need you listen to the piercing cries
Of the women of northern Alabama Our op-
pressoTs would teach I'd that the nsmeless bra
lalities OF Mitchell and Turchin were ssnctified
by the folds of the immsculste banner under
which these deeds were perpetrated for we
leavu That their master has rewarded these out
laws for their crimes. NoT need You look to
Butler and New Orleans to see the depths of
degradation TO which man msy descend when he
becomes the instrument of abolition tyranny
From the jails and prisons Of our own State the
fair daughters of Kentucky call upon Us to re-
lease them from desp0!ism almost without 8
parslel in history Well may the organ Of Mr.
Seward exclaim, that it is time the North had
learned that they were ''WaTTng not only against
the civilized world" The name Of the "Aus-
trian BUtckeG," whose cruelty was wreaked
upon only one woman, conveys an idea of mod
Grafton compared with those OF these Northern
despots Let US not insult the memory Of the
Austrian by mentioning his name in the same
sentence with these Of Mitchell and Butler, and
Boylesnd Turehin.
Kentuckians View the position in which the
leaders Of the so called Union party would place
q.
declare that any attempt to coeTce the South
sh6uld be met by the armed opposition Of Ken
lucky. With these declarations upon their lips,
they gained your sutfrages. But no sooner had
they been placed in power than in violation of
their repeeted pledges, they joined in the aboli-
ton crusade against the South. Under the guise
Of a faithless neutrality, they devised q scheme
of treacheTy TO the people of this State, which
is calculated to deprive Us Of all civil equality.
and TO make Us virtually the political ssrfs Of
the North Through ell the mazes which du-
plicity can lend to 8 fortunate course, thsy have
soughtto lesd you from the support of the neu-
trality policy which they imposed upon the
State, hto making yourselves the instruments
OF enforcing sgainss the South and against
yourselves, the policy Of indiseriminate plumber
and robbery now urged by the abolition govern
ment Of the North.
Freemen Of Kentucky! Whatever doubts
may have heretofore existed as to the designs of
the Northern government, they have been dis
PEELED by the last proclamation Of their Presi-
dent Ia violation Of every principle of the
Constitution, in violation Of his ewn cOnstrue-
tions Of that instrument, in violation Of his most
solemn pledges, President Lincoln, assuming to
be the master Of all his subjects and that YOU
are his sbiect slaves, has now Illuminated gen
eral proclamation OF freedom 10 the slaves and
Of robbery Of other property of the South. 1t
IS the fixed policy Of the North. II The viii of
this abolition aUtocrat CO be fulfilled, be will
make his people a nation Of bandits, and will
light the incendiBry torch around every Ken
tucky freside. There are millions Of Northern
hearts which revolt at the thought Of such
policy. Can KsntuckisBs be found who viii
any longer submit to make thenselYes the in
in the hands Of New England to war
upon car own interests aad upon the interests of
cur brothers Of the Southl
WIZ you light the servile torch which is to
involve our own homes in the general conhsgTa-
tion, and draw upon ourselves the contempt and
derisien Of the abolition despots who view us
only as The tame instruments to carry out their
will4 VIII you consent that the proud women
If Kentucky shall become the menials Of the
North, or viii yoa shake of the fetteTs with
which you are bound and show that you are
worthy to be freemenf
Men Of Kentucky Two Southern armies.
under the able leadership Of the gallant Brsgg
and Kirby Smith, are now in your midst. They
come to relieve you from the tyranny with which
the North has SO long oppressed you No
peaceabe citizen, whatever bis political views,
win ba molested We make war only against
armed men-n0t ss our enemies do, against
citizens aud defenseless women and
children We ask those who, from sentiments
Of duty are with Us, to join the standard OF free
dom If you are worthy of liberty you VIII win
t. We have arms for all who viii join US.
Unite your efforts with those Of the South, aud
under the protection Of Providence, our beloved
State win not long be deseerated by tie foot
steps Of the abolition oppTessors. Let Us not
be the slaves and the instruments of the North
to cypress our own people; but actuated by the
spirit Of freedom which won our independence,
let as prove that the sons of our fste are worthy
of their parentaee, and entitled to claim the right
Of protecting the daughters Of Kentucky from
the insults with which they have so long been
visited. Whether from the gloomy prisons
which deRn0fic uthoritv has reeaad 10 erfrqh the