Holmes County farmer. [volume] (Millersburg, Ohio) 1857-1926, 1863-01-22

pensatod Emancipation ProposHion- DeBuneia
ton Of he EmaHcipation Proclamation.
! proceed now 10 th
consideration Of the attitude which Ken
lucky has occupied in the Inauguration
and prosecution Of the unhappy evil wa
that convuIses The nation, and in its con
sequences Affects on the civilized world.
And here let me premise that Keniuck,
stands guiltless Of all the blood tina, ha
been shed in this deplorable controversy
From the countless battle-felds, coyere,
with the bodies of the slain, none cnr
arise to arraign her a. the cause Of III,
slaughter. From the beginning her voic,
has been for peace. In every conceivable
mode IN which that voice could find r'tcr
ance, she was heard begging and imrlgr.
ing Tor peace. She spoke t. the nation
through her LegisIature-lhroagh hen
Representatives, il Congress-tbrorgb q
special delegation sent to the Peace Con.
vcntion at Washington, and. still more
recently aud emphatca.ly. in the Jorde,
State convention held in this CITY. And
to her, too, be ongs the high honor o,
PROPOSING to Congress, through our dis.
ttdgushei and venerable statesman and
patriot, compromise known as the
/ I"Crittenden Resolutions" =" which. if a.
doptcd, would have settled the coDtlovor.
sy upon terms fair, just AMI honorable Ia
all, and which must, in the end, be the
basis oi any satisfactory adjustment con.
81 tent with the present cJnstitGti,n.-
Every sensible consideration aliectiDg
either national, State, or individual wei
fare, prompted her so to act. She re-
Garded the integrity of the nation as her
buckler against foreign interference and
her shield against internal di.turbance.-
she regarded the State a. sovereign with.
IN her chartered limits for all purpose
not specially committed to a nationa,
constitutional government. And looking
beyond mere governmental regulations
she considered carefully the happiness Of
the individual citizen, and propcrlv con.
cluded that it could only be secured by 3
strict adherence to the Constitution Of the
| Uuited States and a maintenance of the
I delegated powers themselves. In this
latter view she had, at a very early peri
od OF our national history, eminently dis
tlngulahet herself, and shown how sensi.
tive she was upon even the appearance Of
/ any eneroachmeut upon the rights Of the
States II, in hel zeal 10 defence of those
rights, she oveIstepped the limits OF State
power something must be pardoned to
the excitement OF 1898, which. in resist.
ing encroachment, fell into an error bv
/ constTuctlveIy asserting for the State, as
autagonistlc to national usurpation, pow
ers equally inconsistent with the existence
OF the stability of the Republic. At least
such has been the argument upon the Nir-
gina and Kentucky resolutions of that
period. But even then it was never con-
tended that redress was to be sought for
ent OF the Union and not in it. Wbile
nuiillcation was declared to be the right.
lul remedy, 1t was as explained bv Alr.
Madison, only to hold in allowance the
exercise OF power until the question of
jurisdiction could be settled by the arJiter
| provided for in the national constitution.
lier whole history is that of a Union.
Ioyn5, loyal people. She has shown
L
ISL and tile war with Mexico were sig
na.lzed by Kentucky valor, and the bones
OF her SONS were left upon every battle.
heId. And when, too, the first germ of
this rebellion opened in South Carolina.
upon the preteXt OF an oppressive tayiI,
no State was more severe in its danrnci.
alton, and none more efficient to snppges,
It, But hatever Of glory she may have
achieved, either in combating the foreign
enemies OF the country, or in its diylo.
macy, or IN the national councils, it will
ali be eclipoed in the manner in which she
has borne herself in the present awful
crisis. The future historian will rive her
the praise of having been calm wuen all
o.hero Were eXclted-as having been far
ABOVE all mere questions Of pecun'arv in
teIest or OF party success, aud selfpoi,ed
and seIt-sustained, planting herself upon
the constitution AMI the Union ami the
rights o! the States, she placed herself.
and all that she had upon the altar of.
patriotism,
10 10 this was no easy task. In the
angry discussions which preceded hos
tlIltIeS, and in the complication of party
issues, the Legislative and Executive De
paItmentS OF the State government has
been placed in hands known to be South
ern IN their Sympathies, and disposed to
oOStruct the general government in the
exercise of its le Ultimate powers. \ rev.
oIution at home had first to be effected,
and this was done by appeals to the rea-
sou and justice eff the people themselves.
lhe loyal men Of Kentucky, with pro-
found wisdom, endeavored to keep the
the State out of this fratricilal quarrel,
and, to maintain, as long as it was prac-
tlcaUle, an informal neutrality, under COW
er OF which she might the more power
fully address herself to the North and Of
the South, and bring them to reason. She
therefore threw herself, like n massive
wall, between the exasperated sections,
hoping that, from her central position
beng cotermnons with six powerful
States, and having the great rivers of the
Cumberland and Tennessee debouching
within her borders, and upward of seven
hundred miles of coast on the Ohio and
he "lnland Sea"-her geographical i'm,
oortance, If nothing else, Nigh cauc her
voice to be heard, But during this whole !
rying interval she was against cession, S
against aboitionisls, against agitators; I
yet she never was guilty of the folly of {
ienying to the nation the right to the ex- c
'rcise Of any powers in this State that d
/ 4