6

A careful perusal of the orders themselves will show that they have not been misrepresented in this summary. Examine carefully, fellow-citizens, we beseech you, the picture which they present. The Governor of Kentucky calls the attention of the judges to a single one of many laws which define their duty, and that one a law whose rigid enforcement was supposed to be beneficial to his own political party and injurious only to his opponents. General Burnside enforces the proclamation for the purpose of preserving the purity Of elections, and (while himself threatening the judges of election, should they permit a disloyal vote to be cast) directs that the soldier shall interfere no further than may be necessary to enable the judges to discharge their duties under the laws of Kentucky. His subordinates threaten the judges and voters with confiscation^ arrest and imprisonment and actually publish their orders and carry out their threats without punishment from the General or remonstrance from the Governor.

In addition to all this there was at work beneath the surface a potent machinery, whose labors could be traced only by results, for the work was done, in darkness and in secret.

In every city, town and considerable village in the Commonwealth, there had long been organized, under the authority of the Secretary of the Treasury, a body of men known as a " Board of Trade," an innocent title, little expressive of their true functions. Under the same regulations of the Secretary no shipments of goods to the interior of the State could be made without the permit of the United States Custom House officers at Cincinnati or Louisville. In order to obtain such a permit the individual applying must have procured the recommendation of the " Board of Trade" located-nearest to his place of business, and tho recommendation was given to none but "loyal" men, each Board establishing its own test of "loyalty." Without such recommendation no merchant could hope to add to his stock by importation   no mechanic to replenish tho materials necessary in his calling. These inquisitorial bodies, therefore, held in their hands the absolute fate of every tradesman and mechanic in the State. The prosperous merchant and needy shopkeeper were alike at their mercy. Tho tradesman and mechanic were thus left to choose between a vote for Mr. Bramlette and the utter ruin of their business.

Such, fellow-citizens, were tho circumstances under which the election of Aug. 3d was begun. Its result was no longer doubtful. Had Gen. Burnside designated by name the individuals who should fill the various offices of the State, he would have saved us the expense and trouble of an "election"   the rights of the people would not have been more flagrantly violated, nor would the officials thus appointed have been amy more the creatures of his will than are those whom he has more indirectly imposed upon us.

The limits to which we are confined, forbid any attempt at a detailed account of the manner in which the "election" was conducted. The military orders before referred to were carried out with rare fidelity, by those to whom their execution was entrusted. A few officers (to their lasting praise be it spoken,) openly expressed the shame they felt at their connection with such a task. Armed soldiers were stationed at every considerable poll. The judges of election were, contrary to law, taken exclusively from the ranks of our opponents. Many weak men, apprehensive of injury to person and property, cast their votes for Mr. Bramlette, in violation of their convictions. The votes of many more; when offered for our candidates, were illegally rejected. Thousands of others were deterred from an attempt to vote by the knowledge that illegal tests would be applied to them, their votes refused, and themselves probably arrested. The names of our candidates were illegally stricken from the poll books at many precincts, and never plaoed upon them at others. Judges were arrested for refusing to conduct the election in a manner forbidden by the laws of Kentucky and their own oath, and voters were imprisoned for the high crime of confessing themselves Democrats.

These are' sweeping charges, but they can readily be substantiated. That we may not be supposed to avoid specification, we publish in the appendix (marked No. lfi) a statement showing the outrages perpetrated afr different points in more than twenty counties. Our materials are ample to swell the list almost indefinitely, but these will be sufficient to indicate the general character of the whole. The