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191.-Louisville (Ky.) peace resolutions, adopted August 17, 1861.
Whereas,--(the preamble sets forth that there is no mistaking the position of
Kentucky in the present civil war, as she is unalterably for peace.)
Resolved, That while this State desires to be true to the
Union, she also desires to be at peace with all the States.
Resolved, That we earnestly desire the restoration of peace to every part of our beloved country, and as the speediest and surest method of effecting that result, we appeal for a cessation of the war now being made on the
Union.
Resolved, That we behold a dissolution of the
Union a remedy for no evils, but an aggravation of all.
Resolved, That we do not see how peace, enduring and substantial, is to be attained by the
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establishment of two independent governments within the present Union.
Resolved, That we deprecate the attempt being made to produce by force the disruption of the
Union.
Resolved, That, for the purpose of restoring peace, all patriotic men abandon sectional parties at the
North and the
South, and that the rights of the
Government should not be abandoned while it dictates to an armed rebellion.
Resolved, That the neutrality of
Kentucky but forshadowed her love of peace, and that all negotiations looking to the constitutional settlement of all sectional differences, and to the preservation of the
Union, shall have her hearty cooperation.
Resolved, That we are unwilling that any foreign power shall own the mouth of the
Mississippi, or any ports of the
United States, and therefore are unalterably opposed to a dissolution of the
Union; that we are for our country, now and forever, whether assailed by. foreign or domestic enemies.
The seceders' resolutions.
1.
Resolved, That the people of
Louisville have ever been loyal to their country and its Constitution; and, animated by this sentiment, in common with the vast majority of the people of
Kentucky, will unwaveringly seek peace for themselves and their whole country.
2. That the position of
Kentucky is mediatorial; that she has, in Congress and in her Legislature, nobly extended the olive branch to her sister States; and that, not despairing of the
Republic, and keenly feeling the calamities and humiliations growing out of the present unnatural strife weighing down every part of our once united, prosperous, and glorious country,
Kentucky still offers herself to our countrymen of every section as a mediator.
3. That war is a dire necessity, never to be resorted to except as the only means of accomplishing a certain good, and that civil war is the worst of all — that its sectional triumphs are national humiliations, and its battle-fields' names accursed, reddened as they must be with the blood of fraternal slaughter.
4. That peace brings trade, employment, prosperity, and abundance, giving comforts and support to wives and children; while war brings stagnation, forced idleness, prostration, and want, producing privation and starvation.
5. That our people should earnestly invoke the
Father of Mercy and the
Prince of Peace to show favor and give peace to our war-afflicted country, and imbue us with the wisdom,the patriotism, and the forbearance of our revolutionary fathers, as well as a due appreciation of their sufferings, their toils, and their glory, that we may, in these trying times, emulate them in transmitting the God-given boon of peace to posterity.
6. That on Saturday, the 24th inst., the
Peace Party of
Louisville, each person wearing a white rosette or ribbon, will erect a white flag, the symbol of peace, with the word “peace” inscribed on its folds; that we urge upon every county, city, town, and precinct in the
State to erect similar flags; that the people erect them on their houses, and that steamboats, railroad trains, and every species of vehicle carry them.
7. That the
Chairman appoint a committee of persons, who shall be an Executive Committee, whose duty it shall be to prepare an address to the people of
Kentucky on the subject of peace, to correspond with other parts of the
State to procure peace, and to carry out the objects of this meeting.
8. That the Journal, Democrat, Anzeiger, Courier, and all the peace papers in the
State are requested to publish the proceedings and resolutions of this meeting.
The following gentlemen were appointed an Executive Committee:
Wm. P. Campbell,
Wm. Terry,
J. S. Lithgow,
Jas. Bridgeford,
John Bell,
Wm. Inman,
B. H. Hornsby,
A. A. Gordon,
D. Spalding, Jr.,
D. B. Leight,
Emanuel Lieberman, and
E. S. Worthington.
On motion, the meeting adjourned.