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KENTUCKY. 



The Democratic Convention for the appoint- 

 ment of delegates to the national nominating 

 body, and the selection of candidates for elec- 

 tors, was held at Louisville on the 25th of May. 

 The following declarations were adopted by 

 acclamation : 



_ 1. The Democracy of Kentucky, in State Conven- 

 tion assembled, hereby declare that the Government 

 of the United States is one of delegated powers 

 alone. Its authority is defined and limited by the 

 Constitution ; and all powers not granted to it by 

 that instrument or prohibited to the States are re- 

 served to the States or the people. 



2. That the Democratic party is the party of the 

 Constitution, the party of reform, and the party of 

 economy, and, if intrusted with the administration 

 of the Federal Government, will hold it to be a 

 present and pressing duty to restore full and perfect 

 equality among the States, arrest the aggressive 

 usurpations of centralized power, reestablish the 

 moral character of the Government, and eliminate 

 crime as a common characteristic of political life. 



3. That the present deplorable condition of the 

 morals and business interests of the country is the 

 result of a corrupt and partisan Administration, and 

 that reform is absolutely necessary for the relief ot 

 the people and the preservation of the Government, 

 and that this can only be done by a change of the 

 Administration. 



4. That, in view of the present distressed condi- 

 tion of the country, we declare that we favor the 

 immediate and unconditional repeal by the Congress 

 of the act of January 14, 1875, commonly known as 

 the resumption act. But in order that our opinions 

 on a subject of such grave importance may not be 

 misunderstood, we also declare that, regarding gold 

 and silver as the true basis for a currency, specie 

 payments should be resumed at the earliest time at 

 which it can be done without detriment to the com- 

 mercial and industrial interests of the people. 



5. Thiit we demand that labor shall be relieved 

 from the oppressive burdens of a protective tariff by 

 the adoption of a tariff for revenue only. 



6. That the delegation from this State to the St. 

 Louis Convention is hereby directed to cast its vote 

 as a unit on all questions coming before the con- 

 vention, and, having full confidence in the ability 

 and patriotism of our delegates, we leave them un- 

 instructed, and pledge the Democracy of Kentucky 

 to support the nominees selected by the convention. 



The Prohibitionists held a State Convention 

 at Louisville on the 27th of July, nominated 

 candidates for electors, and adopted a declara- 

 tion of the well-known principles of their or- 

 ganization. 



An election for county and other local offi- 

 cers took place on the 7th of August, but 

 members of Congress and presidential electors 

 were voted for on the 7th of November. The 

 total vote for electors was 259,614, of which 

 those on the Tilden and Hendricks ticket re- 

 ceived 159,696; Hayes and Wheeler, 97,156; 

 Cooper and Gary, 1,944; Smith and Stewart, 

 818. The plurality of Tilden over Hayes was 

 62,540; majority over all, 59,778. the ten 

 Congressmen chosen were all Democrats. 



A convention of the Democrats of the State 

 was held at Louisville on the 18th of January, 

 1877, to consider the state of the country and 

 give expression to their sentiments regarding 

 the disputed result of the presidential election. 

 It was the largest political convention ever 

 teld in the State, and included most of the 



prominent Democrats from all the counties. 

 Many speeches were made, but the general 

 sentiment of the occasion was freely expressed 

 in the following resolutions : 



BLIND FISH, MAMMOTH CAVE. 



Resolved, That we reaffirm our ancient faith in 

 republican institutions, our devotion to the Ucion 

 of the States, the doctrine that the Federal Govern- 

 ment is strictly one of delegated powers, and that 

 each State has the right to regulate its own domestic 

 concerns. 



Resolved,. That it is our firm conviction that Sam- 

 uel J. Tilden and Thomas A. Hendricks, at the late 

 election for President and Vice-President, received 

 not only a large majority of the popular vote, but 

 also a large majority of the electoral vote, and that 

 liberty and the Constitution demand that they shall 

 be placed in the offices to which the voice of the 

 people has called them. 



Resolved, That a count of the electoral votes by the 

 President of the Senate, without the concurrence 

 and direction of both Houses of Congress, would be 

 in violation of the Constitution, contrary to usage, 

 revolutionary in character, and an act of usurpation 

 to which the people will not submit. 



Resolved, That we will sustain our Senators and 

 Representatives in Congress in the maintenance of 

 their constitutional powers and the fearless dis- 

 charge of their duty, unawed by attempted usurpa- 

 tions by the Senate or menace of military power by 

 the President. 



Resolved, That an appeal to arms is the last des- 

 perate remedy of a free people in danger of being 

 enslaved, but may become a necessary remedy in 

 resistance to destructive usurpations and military 

 despotism. We urge upon our Senators and Repre- 

 sentatives the exhaustion of all peaceful means, 

 consistent with honor and with the Constitution, for 

 averting the perils with which our institutions are 

 threatened, before leaving the people to the dire 

 alternative of submitting to tyranny or fighting for 

 freedom. 



Resolved, That every State in the Union is the 

 equal of every other State, and Kentucky does now, 

 as heretofore, protest against the claim that certain 

 States may be treated by the Federal Government 

 differently from the treatment accorded other States. 

 She avows that this is a Union of equal States, and 

 that outrages committed upon any State are out- 

 rages upon', and full of danger to, all the States. 

 She denounces the use of military force in uphold- 

 ing illegal governments in Louisiana and South 

 Carolina with the same warmth and indignation 

 with which she would resent the seizure of her 

 Capitol as a barracks and the inspection of the cer- 

 tificates of her legislators by a corporal of the guard. 



