KANSAS. 



KENTUCKY. 



447 



K 



KANSAS. The entire vote of this State at 

 the presidential election was 20,132, of which 

 Mr. Lincoln received 16,441, and Gen. McClel- 

 lan 3,691. The only division in the election of 

 State officers was between those who were 

 friendly and those who were opposed to U. S. 

 Senator Lane. On the vote for Governor the 

 Lane ticket (Crawford) received 11,577 votes, 

 and the anti-Lane ticket (Thatcher) 7,794. In 

 the Legislature, the Senate and House were 

 unanimously Republican. Senator Lane was 

 reelected by this body to Congress by a vote of 

 82 to 17 scattering. 



The military department of Kansas was 

 placed uuder the command of Maj.-Gen. Cur- 

 tis, who entered upon his duties Jan. 17th. 

 Some disturbances, arising from the appearance 

 of small parties of guerrillas, were created on 

 the southern and eastern border. In other parts 

 nothing of importance took place to disturb 

 the peaceful pursuits of -the citizens. The ap- 

 proach of Gen. Price toward Kansas, in his re- 

 treat from Missouri, caused the small force un- 

 der Gen. Blunt to be concentrated to oppose 

 him. At the commencement of the year the 

 State had contributed 14,000 men to the Fed- 

 eral service. This number was still further in- 

 creased in answer to the various calls for troops 

 made during the year. 



The improvement in the finances of the State, 

 arising from the increased ability of the citizens 

 to pay taxes by the aid of Federal currency, has 

 been quite favorable. The State debt scarcely 

 exceeds two hundred and fifty thousand dollars. 

 The institutions of the State comprise a system 

 of public schools, a State university and normal 

 school, and an agricultural college. These, 

 however, are in their infancy, and the latter are 

 as yet hardly organized. Arrangements have 

 been made also for the establishment of institu- 

 tions for the insane, blind, and deaf mutes. 



KENTUCKY. The manifest purpose of the 

 Federal Government to bring the able-bodied 

 negroes of Kentucky into the army, produced 

 much excitement in the State early in 1864. 

 On the 10th of Dec., 1863, the Governor was 

 notified by Capt. Edward Cahill, that he had 

 been ordered to Kentucky to recruit free color- 

 ed men for the army, and the assent of the 

 Governor to the necessary proceedings was re- 

 quested. 



In reply, on Dec. 14th, the Governor said : 



You do not inform me by what authority you come 

 to Kentucky to recruit "free colored men.'* I know 

 of no act of Congress requiring such service, nor 

 have I seen any order from the war department di- 

 recting it. On the contrary, I am well assured, that 

 in deference to our peculiar position, and to avoid 

 unnecessarily aggravating the troubles of the loyal 

 Jien of Kentucky, the authorities at Washington do 

 jot contemplate recruiting "colored men" in Ken- 

 tucky. We are ready to fill our quota from the 

 " free " white citizens of Kentucky. We will unhesi- 



tatingly comply with the requisition for men to de- 

 fend our Government. We claim the right to furnish 

 from citizens whose duty it is to make that defence, 

 and who are ready to comply with the requirements 

 of duty. The duty of defence devolves upon those 

 who e'njoy the benefits of our Government. From 

 such we will fill the call upon us. We presume that 

 white men, who owe the duties of allegiance to the 

 Government, will be accepted for its defence. We 

 will furnish them. If, therefore, vou came to recruit 

 "colored men" for the benefit of Kentucky, we de- 

 cline your services. If you came to recruit for the 

 benefit of another State, we deny your right to do so, 

 and forbid it. Xo State has the right under any law 

 or order to enter Kentucky to recruit either white or 

 "colored" men. We do not intermeddle with any 

 State that chooses to recruit " colored" men within 

 its own limits. But no State that is not willing to 

 meet the measure of duty by contributing its quota 

 from its own population shall be permitted to shelter 

 from duty behind the free negro population of Ken- 

 tucky. 



We shall meet the call upon us without enlisting 

 colored men, and your State must meet its call from 

 its own white or " colored" men, as may best suit its 



Eeople, and not assume to recruit either white or 

 lack in Kentuckv. 



Yours, &c. " THOMAS E. BRAMLETTE, 



Governor of Kentucky. ' 



In a letter to Gen. Boyle on the same subject, 

 dated Jan. 13th, the Governor says: "No such 

 recruiting will be tolerated here. Summary 

 justice will be inflicted upon any who attempts 

 such unlawful purpose." 



On the 18th of February, the Legislature be- 

 ing in session, adopted the following resolu- 

 tions ; the vote of the House was, yeas 79, nays 

 5; of the Senate, on the first resolution, yeas 

 21, nays 1; on the second, unanimous; on the 

 third, yeas 21 ; on the fourth, yeas 18, nays 3. 



Resolved by the General Assembly of the Common- 

 wealth of Kentucky : 1. That this State need make no 

 further declaration, by legislative resolutions, of her 

 intense loyalty or of her sincere and unalterable de- 

 votion to the National Union and the Constitution. 

 Her stand has been taken after the maturest deliber- 

 ation, and is known to the world. She will not now 

 prove recreant by taking any backward step, but will 

 go forward with all her resources of men, money, and 

 credit, to the support of our gallant armies in tht 

 field, until the rebellion is subdued and treason dis- 

 armed ; and she will, through the peaceful mode pre- 

 scribed by the fundamental law of the land, use her 

 efforts to correct any errors that have been commit- 

 ted, either by the Executive or the Legislative De- 

 partment of the Government. 



2. That we regard as impolitic the enlistment of 

 negroes as soldiers into the armies of the United 

 States, and we earnestly protest against their enlist- 

 ment within the State o*f Kentucky ; and we respect- 

 fully request the President of the United States to 

 remove from our limits and borders all camps for 

 negro soldiers, by which our slaves are enticed to 

 leave the services of their owners. 



3. That, in the opinion of this General Assembly, 

 the constitutional relation of the States in rebellion, 

 as regards the Union, was not changed by the crim- 

 inal action of their people in attempting" to secede, 

 thus forcing a civil war upon the country; and when 

 the people of any or all those States shall, in good 

 faith, return to their allegiance, their States are, as 



