So  armed  neutrality  was  defeated  in  the  House  by  one
vote,  but  it  was  enough,  and  settled  the  question  in  the
House.     "Thus,"  says  Colonel  Jacob  in  his  address,

"the  Union  men  had  only  been  able  to  defeat  'armed  neu-
trality' by  one  vote;  that  thou?^h  unable  to  aid  the  government
actively,  or  to  make  peace,  yet,  by  '  m.ediatorial  neutrality,'
they  were  able  to  turn  over  the  struggle  to  the  people  who,
true  to  their  love  for  the  Union,  elected  a  new  Legislature
with  nearly  three-fourths  majority  in  the  House  for  the  perpet-
uation of  the  Union  and  a  largely-increased  majority  in  the
Senate."

The  neutrality  of  Kentucky  was,  therefore,  forced
upon  the  Unionists  by  the  necessities  and  circum-
stances of  the  times.  They  had  to  deal  with  a  Legis-
lature elected  in  1859  before  the  question  of  Union  or
disunion  was  actually  upon  the  people.  It  is  plain  if  it
had  been  elected  in  i860,  when  the  question  was  up  and
the  Unionists  triumphed  both  at  the  August  and  Novem-
ber  elections,  there   would   have  been  no  occasion  for


Neutrality  51

neutrality.  Under  the  circumstances,  the  Unionists  did
all  they  could  to  save  the  State  from  being  stampeded
out  of  the  Union.  If  they  had  acted  without  discretion,
and  had  allowed  themselves  to  be  led  into  the  vortex  of
secession,  they  would  have  been  unwise  and  censurable.
