The Cleveland leader. [volume] (Cleveland [Ohio]) 1865-1865, 1865-08-07
DAILY LEADER,
DAILY, TRI-wEEKLY 4 WEEKLY
PUBLISHED By h
CLEVELAND LEADER COMPANY.
MONDAY, AUGUST I, 1865.


9he Restucby Election
Today the election Of . State Treasurer,
tate Legislature and members Of Congress
axes place in Kentucky. Although the
yfioes to be filed are only of minor i'm
,ortsnce this election viii effects
more than any previous one in the history
Of the State, its welfare and interests. The
of the election, recognized and I'D
mitted by both parties, is simply this;
Shall the Constitutional Amendment
abolisbing Slavery be rstiied or re-
The last Legislature, in re-
fusing, last winter, to ratify the amend
ment, merely RENTED the question to the
people and it became at once the touch
stone for the division of old parties and
the Capitalization of new ones. The can
yass upon the question has been very
spirited one, as has been natural in view of
the fact that Kentucky, being now
the only slave State except Della
ware, has practically more at stake
IN il than any other State, and
thst upon Hs proper ueclsloH hVT
future welfare, in a very large measure, de-
ponds. No one can donbt that Kentucky,
if a free State, would increase in popula-
ton and wealth with a rspidity equal to
that of her smaller, younger, and less fer
tile sister, Ohio; and that with the incubus
of slavery removed, she might ave over
take the Buckeye stste, whose free insti-
TuTIour n1vO 6IV0H H0E $500 = $500 - $50
road to sfluence. The objection that the
abolition of slavery would give q violent
and il iurious shock to the agricultural IL
terests of Kentucky, hiss lost its force in
the progress of the war, which has reduced
The number of slaves in Kentucky from
2254s8 in 1860 TO less than half that num-
Der, and their average value, per capita
from $500 to $45.
Meantime, every loyal man perceives
that as emancipation has becomethe policy
of the general government, and as the ef-
| forts of q single state cannot restore the
system of slavery as q national institution,
it is better, both for the state and the
Union, that freedom should be universal.
Nor should it be forgotten that upon the
result of this election depends the relstioDin
which Kentucky will stand to the free states
and to the Government. The amendment
will be ratified, and slavery abolished, ii
necessary, without the help Of Kentucky
but it will be we'll for Kentuckians to bear
in mind that if her help is not given, she
assumes ct once the attitude of a half
rebelHous State, opposed to the only policy
which can pacificste the Union, AID hel
action will but tend to p~erpetuste the civi
anarchy which is psralyzing her energies
and the military rule under which she is 81
FESTIVE.
1t is noticeable that, feeling the force Of
these arguments every Union man
including many who supported Nc
Clellan st the last election, is out,
sDoken in favor of the amendment
Brsmlette, Msgofin, Guthrie, George D
Prentiss, and wen c-sbbed old Wicklitfe
stand shoulder to shoulder with Rousseau
Green Clay Smith, and Speed, in this fght
Ae-E.oAAom-while every returned Tebe
and rebel sympsthizsr is following the Iesc
of Gsrres Davis and Lazarus W. Powell II
opposition. The has been gallant
" conducted and every loyal voter will b
stringent orders will exclude many rebe
sympsthizers. Vast gains will be made OF
the vote LAST fall, when Lincoln received
26, 592, and Mcclellan 6l,47s, but we fea
that the gain will not be large enough t.
carry the State. However the friends o
the amendment are very ssDguine, and ",
shall hope for the best.
The Legislature to be elected, beside
having to act upon the Amendment, vii
have the duty of e~lecting q United State
Senator, in place of Garrett Davii
Lazarus w. Powell, q former Kentuck
Senator, just ousted by james Guthrie, an
an intense COpPerhesd of the Vallsndig
ham and Ben. Harris order, is the "Dem
o~eratic' candidate, while General Love
H. Rousseau will receive the support of th
Union men. On ordinary occasions thi
would be . MISTER Of much importsne
but it is dwarfed in magnitude by th
vital interests involved in the contest upo
the Amendment.