, 1864-11-26

lEs
laboris utterly denorali1ed, no family know
when they rise IN the morning, whether they
have servant TO prepare their breakfast for
them or not. But this Is by no means the
worst, Tor family Of any industry may con-
trive to cook their own breakfast, and dinner,
too, but many OF our farmers arc almost or
quite deprived Of their laborers. Some have
lost only one or two hands, but some have
lost fourth or half and some all. OF their
servants. The Important considerations
heEc sqggest themselves, how arc the farms
and if not cultivated, where arc our supplies
Of food to come from? These arc practi-
cal questions for Kentucky. planters
and farmers to meet, and they have
nothing to do with the result 6f the late elcc-
ton: they are contingent solely upon The
prosecution Of the war to put down the re-
bellion. Again, many Of the farmers have
had lhe wives and small children Of their men
left on their hands, present and prospective
burden, and, what adds to the perplcxity Of
their position, The active men Of eyery age;
and many of the younger and midd1e-agcd
women, have been going away and will con"
tinuc to 60 until, apparently, the institution
of-slaVcry will remove itself, and with It we
shall lose nearly all our labor. The Govern
'meutwants active black men for soldiers; the
policy of their enlistment has become settled
BY legal enactment, and BY the same power 1t
is decided that the wives and children Of the
colorcd soldiers obtain with the enlisted ne-
gro the status Of freedom. We are dealing
with facte, and not with an argument whether.
such policy was wise or polite toward
decision Of the question. It is Of all-absorb-
ing interest In our State. Wc haYe numerous
private letters and communications intended
for publication, all asking il something can
not be done early to stop these catastrophes.
They all say they can not wait the slow. pro-
dad h. !
or BY ourselves. They argue that the patient
will die before the doctors have their rcmc-
dies ready. Emancipation, 1t Is urged, mar
be effected BY the Legislature, at their meet
Ing, In January, by making compensation
for. as our Constitution lorbids the Legislature
to cmancipatc without compensation, the
with compensation. We have no idea, how
ever, that the Legislature viii do this, even at
the present nominal value Of the slave. When
President Lincoln proposed compensation,
Congress did not vote the supplies necessary
for the compensation, and there is hardly
possibility that It will be offered again. The
without compensation, except the bounty for
able bodied soldiers.
: The question now is, not how shall we savc
Slavery, but how: shall we raise our bread and
bake 1t after we have rnised it! Where shall
VIC get the laborf We have now neither
slavery nor freedom Wo have none Of the
benefits Of either system Of Labor, but aresuf-
ferine the disadvantages Of both, in the midst
Of tllc Reconciliation and anarchy that pre-
vail around us. Shall We let events take
their course, and without effort, drift with the
stream and land wherever our unguided bark
may bring up? Is this the part Of wisdom, Of
statesmanship, or, better than either, Of
common sense? No one can assert 1t. We
say again, let US meet this question ,practi-
cally; lay aside prcfudices and look to our