The Evansville journal. [volume] (Evansville, Ind.) 1866-1870, 1867-04-08
Kentucky CubernatOrial Can
Speech of Col. Barnes at Louisville.

Col. Sydney NJ. Barnes, the Union
candidate for Governor of Kentucky,
and John l.. Helm, the Rebel Demo-
cratic candidate, met at Louisville
last week in joint discussion. We
had hoped to give the discussion IN
full, but none of the Louisville papers
had sufficient enterprise to report 1t.
We find, in the Courier. garbled re-
port of Col. Barnes speech, from
which we make the following ex-
tracts: +
Col. Barnes was introduced to the
audience by the Hon. Joshua +.
Speed, who stated that Col. Barnes
was the first man who planted the flag
Of the Federal army on Lockout
Mountain.
SPEECH OF COL. SIDNEY NJ. BARNES.
Fellow citizens of the city Of Lou
isville: l trust you will give me your
patient and candid attention. l do
not know how long will speak to you
or really what / will say; but | will
attempt to present to you fairly the
issues between the two or three par
ties in the State Of Kentucky. | have
been nominated as candidate for the
Office of Governor upon the Union
ticket not by my desire or my request.
I had no agency in this matter. My
party made this demand upon me, and
never having known in the army
how to disobey an order, / did not
know how to disobey or refuse to be
candidate of the Union party in the
State of Kentucky. (Applause.) l
have had no time to prepare any set
speech or reduce anything to method.
/ have been in the midst of my courts
from the commencement of them to
the present time, and [ quit my courts
to come here and arrange this canvass
and meet Governor Helm in reference
to appointments and to show dispo-
sition in good faith to carry out the
principles of my party. am Union
man, without an if or a but. Cap
plause.) II have never for one mo-
ment since the commencement of this
struggle permitted myself to think of
abaqdoping the great principles. Of
plause.) L intend sses long as God
gives NC UIcdtu. W uIdiuldAu duu Uc-
fend them. applause loI regard
my existence as staked upon the. for
tunes of the great Union party Of this
country / regard the existence of
my family, and of your families, as
staked upon the issues of the day. It
is no time, then, for any man who is 4
the friend of his country to abandon,
in the hour of conflict and strife,
these greatprinciples. We have been
assailed and are assailed as no set of
men ever were assailed. Every kind
Of SANDER and yituperatiot that could
hH hAaned upon ,nnrtal mai hes
been heaped upon us. But we have
gone forward with firm and steady
principle, intending all the time to
maintain the perpetuity Of the insti-
buttons Of the country and make war
upon all its enemies. (Slight ap-
pIause.) / don't intend to permit
myself to be driven into any defen-
sive canvass. My notion is that
Union principles defend themselves.
The first thing to which [ propose to
invite your attention, is the platform
of the Union party. (Mr. B. here
read the platform of the party. with
which all are familiar.)
2 Now, fellow citizens. that is the
platform upon which I have been
nominated, and I pledge myself to
sustain the principles there enun-
ciated. I consider that they are
sound, wholesome, and true, and
such principles as any reasonable and
candid man can support. There is
not one syllable In this platform that
pledges us to negro suffrage or negro
equality. But we have been charged
with this, and this is the burden of
the song against US, coupled with OPP
preston on the part of Congress; and
an effort has been made to prejudice
the public mind against US. It is un-
just, and if l were to say unmanly l
don't think | would be mistaken. |
assume as fact that no set of men
can with truth maintain the fact that
the party in the State of. Kentucky
has ever advocated it. / am opposed
to negro suffrage because of the fact
that they are just free. They have
been in duress, and not in a condition
to understand the institutions of the
country. What may come in the
future, what effect the education of
the negro will have upon his des-
tiny or the destiny of the white race
are questions to be developed in the,
future. 1 don't propose to assail any
man personally. i expect to conduct
this canvas upon high and honorable
principles | have nothing to say
againstmy distinguished friend lHelm)
as a man. have known MIN for
twenty years as a gentleman and a
statesman, as man Of learning in his
profession as lawyer. In early man.