Year: 1865

you a condition of uncertainty and perplexi-
ty, which prevents the people o. this State
from settling upon any plan Of future pros
per:ty and welfare for their State; which not
only keeps up the spirit of discomfort and dis
cord among you here, but gives your enemies
handle which they can, and will, use against
you. If the question Of slavery is only once
settled by the assent of the people OF Ken
tucky; If the people Of this State, and the
other border States and Southern States,
consent that slavery shall be abolished by the
adoption Of this amendment, then the ques-
ton of negro suffrage comes up for discussion
upon its own merits. Parties, as they at
present exist, will be broken up, and new
parties will be formed. Men viii assume the
sides to which they leeI that they Naturally
and prosperity belong. They will not be car
rying the Republican flag under Repnbi-
can organization, nor the Democratic flag IN
der Democratic organization, upon questions
which have long since been decided.


"The question of negro slavery, whether
Kentucky assents or not, is in the process OF
death and decent burial, and why should the
people of Kentucky, who have high, great
and solemn interests to attend to- things that
affect your welfare here and hereafter, engage
their attention about this dead and buried
carcass, this obsolete issue, this thing which,
whether yol will or not, is to go ont Of sight2
Why should you engage your attention on
this when there are other things..that demand
your attention and upon which you can call
to your assistance many who, upon this issue,
are against you and viii be against you. Il
those of US who have gone through the con-
troversy of four years can be assured that
vestige of slavery yet remains in the country,
do you suppose we will be willing to disband
that great and powerful organization which
has pursued it now almost to deaths door, p
Don't you believe that we will stand firm, no
matter what may be our disagreements upon
other subjects2 Don't you believe we will
stand together until we carry it out and put
it under ground? I think you have seen
enough to convince you that we will. F"


Mr.. Blair then said that Chief Justice Chase
was at the head ofthis negro suffrage scheme;
that he stepped down from his high position
on the Supreme Bench to traverse the South
ern States, in Government vessel, and urge
the negroes in VicEsburg, and elsewhere, to
protest against the appointment Of Judge
SharEey as Governor Of Mississippi. A man
here said, ''Blair is a much better Union man
than the Chief Justice. y


In conclusion, Mr.. Blair favored general
amnesty. He wanted to see A. H. Stephens
go to the Supreme Court and submit to his
trial, and urged in his behalf that, while he
was doing his best to keep the South in the
Union, the present head Of the Buraeu Of
Military Justice was holding truce with
rebel commissioners, which resulted in the
fall of Sumter; that, even after Lincoln's in
auguration, every Cabinet officer, but one,
was in favor Of separation; that the present
Secretary of War was a member Of James
Buchanans Cabinet, thot was making no re-
sistence to secession, while A. H. Stephens
was making a Union speech in the Georgia
State Convention.