KENTUCKY. 



433 



were concerned, seem to have been held liable 

 to indictment and fine, and even to expulsion 

 from office, by the latter. 



A petition, signed by two judges and mem- 

 bers of the bar in the State, was presented to 

 the House of Representatives by one of its 

 members on February 18th, "praying the re- 

 peal of the laws disqualifying any one, because 

 of race or color, from giving testimony in the 

 State courts," which was appropriately re- 

 ferred. The same appears to have been the 

 sentiment entertained on the subject by the 

 members of the Kentucky bar generally. 

 Among the members of the General Assembly 

 negro testimony met with more decided op- 

 position than favor. In the House a bill was 

 introduced, proposing " to allow all persons, 

 without distinction of color, to testify in the 

 courts of the Commonwealth of Kentucky, 

 with the consent of the parties in interest," 

 which was referred to the Committee on Re- 

 vised Statutes. The unconditional admission 

 of negro testimony in the State courts was 

 subsequently brought before that body, but 

 neither of the two propositions appears to have 

 been taken up for serious action before the 

 final adjournment. In the Senate a bill was 

 introduced, purporting "to repeal the third 

 section of an act conferring certain civil rights 

 and privileges on negroes and mulattoes, ap- 

 proved February 14, 1866." The subject was 

 discussed on February 28, 1871, when, besides 

 other amendments read for information, the 

 two following ones were offered by different 

 Senators, which seem to be worthy mention : 

 the first proposed " to allow all persons to tes- 

 tify in civil and criminal cases where the par- 

 ties interested agree to admit such testimony ; " 

 the second, "that all persons be allowed to 

 testify, without regard to color, race, or previ- 

 ous condition of servitude, and to repeal all 

 acts in conflict with this provision." The bill 

 with the amendments was referred to the Ju- 

 diciary Committee, with instructions to report 

 on March 3J. At the time fixed, the chair- 

 man of the committee reported the opinion 

 of the majority of its members to be " that 

 the bill should be amended by way of a sub- 

 stitute, and then passed," the substitute pro- 

 viding "that hereafter no person shall be 

 deemed incompetent to testify in civil or 

 criminal actions on account of color or 

 race." During the animated debates which 

 took place on the subject on the 7th and 

 the 10th of March, when it was finally dis- 

 posed of, numerous amendments to the bill, 

 and other motions relating to the manner of 

 proceeding, were offered, severally voted upon, 

 and rejected or adopted. The amendments 

 adopted were the three following: "That 

 both plaintiff and defendant shall be compe- 

 tent to testify in all cases where negro testi- 

 mony is received " yeas 19, nays 12 ; " that 

 when a party introduces negro testimony, he 

 shall not be competent to testify, unless the 

 opposing party shall introduce negro testimo- 

 VOL. XL 28 A 



ny "yeas 20, nays 10 ; "this act to take ef- 

 fect when Congress repeals the act approved 

 May 31, 1870, entitled k An act to enforce the 

 right of citizens of the United States to vote in 

 the several States of the Union, and for other 

 purposes " yeas 17, nays 13. After further 

 discussion, a Senator moved to strike out the 

 enacting clause. The Speaker announced that 

 the motion, if carried, would kill the bill. 

 Several Senators asked the withdrawal of that 

 motion ; but the mover refused to comply. 

 He personally favored negro testimony, and, 

 as chairman of the Judiciary Committee, to 

 which the matter had been referred, he, in the 

 name of a majority of its members, had pre- 

 viously presented a report recommending, in- 

 stead of the bill originally proposed, the pas- 

 sage of a substitute admitting negro testimony 

 simply and unconditionally ; but he considered 

 the bill as it now stood with its amendments 

 to be " injurious and defective, and as meeting 

 the views and wishes of no one." His motion 

 being finally put, it was carried by an almost 

 unanimous vote yeas 25, nays 5. 



By a special message, dated February 10, 

 1871, the Governor, John W. Stevenson, ten- 

 dered his resignation, to take effect on the 

 13th, that he might enter upon the duties of 

 Senator in the Congress of the United States. 

 Preston H. Leslie, the Lieutenant- Governor, 

 took the required oath, and was installed as 

 Governor of Kentucky for the rest of Mr. Ste- 

 venson's term. 



A daring act, in open defiance of law and 

 the legitimate power of the State government, 

 was done in the very capital, and while the 

 General Assembly was there in session. A 

 large body of armed men, whose number was 

 variously reckoned as between 75 and 150, 

 entered Frankfort before dawn on February 

 25, 1871, and freed from prison a white man 

 detained there on the charge of having mur- 

 dered a negro. The impression made on the 

 people by the commission of this evil deed 

 was the more shocking, and the general in- 

 dignation stronger, by reason that the public 

 feeling at the time was in the highest degree 

 of excitement and alarm on account of the 

 peculiarly striking acts of violence known as 

 the "Stamping-ground" outrage, which had 

 been perpetrated on negroes shortly before; 

 when the colored population of the place 

 were so much alarmed, that, abandoning their 

 homes, they fled in large numbers to Frank- 

 fort for refuge and protection, scarcely believ- 

 ing they could find it even there, notwith- 

 standing the assurances given them by the 

 authorities and prominent citizens. As a pre- 

 cautionary measure to prevent the escape of 

 the culprit, or a successful attempt at his res- 

 cue, four militiamen had been placed on duty 

 to guard the jail. The manner also in which 

 the band conducted their plan and accom- 

 plished their purpose indicated organization, 

 extent, and power. They left their horses on 

 the other side of the river, and, having secured 



