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368 HISTORY OF MARYLAND.
"' Whatever powers I may have, I shall use only after full consultation, and in fraternal
concert with the other Border States, since we, and they, in the event of any dismemberment of
the Union, will suffer more than all others combined.'
"' I am now in correspondence with the governors of those States, and I await with solicitude for the indications of the course to be pursued by tliem. When this is made known to me
I shall be ready to take such steps as our duty and interest shall demand, and I do not doubt
the people of Maryland are ready to go with the people of those States for weal or woe.'
" And he added—' I fully agree with all that you have said as to the necessity for
protection to the rights of the South ; and my sympathies are entirely with the gallant
people of Mississippi, who stand ready to resent any infringement of those rights. But I
earnestly hope they will act with prudence as well as with courage.'
" On the 3d of January, 1861, being pressed by a majority of the Senators of Maryland
to call the Legislature together, he published an address to the people, in which he protested and enlarged upon his own patriotism in refusing to convoke the Legislature;
denounced the motives and principles of' the men embarked in the scheme' of calling it
together; charged the existence of a conspiracy to capture the Capitol and the Federal
archives, which was at the bottom of the movement he was resisting, and endeavored to
rally the citizens of the State around himself and his policy, by every appeal to their fears,
their sympathies, their credulity and their prejudices. Yet even in this, the most elaborate
and passionate of his efforts, he does not venture to desert the plan of consultation and
united action with the slave States of the Border.
"' Believing,' he declares,' that the interests of Maryland were bound tip with those of the
Border slaveholding States, I have been engaged, for months past, in a full interchange of views
with the Governors of Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee and Missouri, with a view to concerted
action upon our part. These consultations, which are still in progress, I feel justified in saying
have resulted in good; so that tohen the proper time for action arrives, these sister States, bound
up in a common destiny, will, I trust, be prepared to act together.'
" And, he adds, with increasing emphasis :
"' I firmly believe that the salvation of the Union depends upon the Border Slave
States. Without their aid, the Cotton States could never command the influence and
credit and men essential to their existence as a nation. Without them the Northern half
of the republic would be shorn of its power and influence. Within the Union, I firmly
believe we can secure guarantees for our protection, which will remove these distressing
causes of irritation.
"' Iftoe find hereafter that the North shall, after due deliberation, refuse to give them,-we
loill, in a united body, demand and receive a fair division of the national domain.'
" On January f 2th, a conmittee of most respectable gentlemen, deputed by a conference
from all portions of the State, and held in the Law Buildings of this city, had an interview
with the Governor. The conference had deferred to his declared objections to the convocation of the Legislature, and the committee were instructed merely to solicit that he
would issue his proclamation inviting the people to determine, by their ballots, whether
they desired a convention to be called. In case of an affirmative response to the appeal,,
the Governor was requested to designate a day for the election of members to the contemplated body. The Governor declined. He still desired delay. ' He preferred waiting'
(according to the announcement in the Baltimore American) 'until Mr. Crittenden's
compromise resolutions should be finally acted upon, before taking any decisive step upon
the subject at issue.' On the 24th of January, to the astonishment of everybody, except
those initiated in the mystery, there appeared in the Annapolis Republican, a copy of a.
letter bearing date as far back as the eighth of that month, and .addressed to the Hon. J.
L. Corry, Commissioner of Alabama, wherein every previous suggestion of the Governor,
and of everybody else, looking to ' a united South,' a ' concert of the Border States,' a.
4 united body,' a ' position side by side with Virginia, Tennessee and Kentucky,' an
Object Description
| Title | History of Maryland - 3 |
| Creator | Scharf, J. Thomas (John Thomas) |
| Publisher | J. B. Piet |
| Place of Publication | Baltimore |
| Date | 1879 |
| Language | eng |
| Type | Books/Pamphlets |
Description
| Title | 00000399 |
| Type | Books/Pamphlets |
| Transcript | 368 HISTORY OF MARYLAND. "' Whatever powers I may have, I shall use only after full consultation, and in fraternal concert with the other Border States, since we, and they, in the event of any dismemberment of the Union, will suffer more than all others combined.' "' I am now in correspondence with the governors of those States, and I await with solicitude for the indications of the course to be pursued by tliem. When this is made known to me I shall be ready to take such steps as our duty and interest shall demand, and I do not doubt the people of Maryland are ready to go with the people of those States for weal or woe.' " And he added—' I fully agree with all that you have said as to the necessity for protection to the rights of the South ; and my sympathies are entirely with the gallant people of Mississippi, who stand ready to resent any infringement of those rights. But I earnestly hope they will act with prudence as well as with courage.' " On the 3d of January, 1861, being pressed by a majority of the Senators of Maryland to call the Legislature together, he published an address to the people, in which he protested and enlarged upon his own patriotism in refusing to convoke the Legislature; denounced the motives and principles of' the men embarked in the scheme' of calling it together; charged the existence of a conspiracy to capture the Capitol and the Federal archives, which was at the bottom of the movement he was resisting, and endeavored to rally the citizens of the State around himself and his policy, by every appeal to their fears, their sympathies, their credulity and their prejudices. Yet even in this, the most elaborate and passionate of his efforts, he does not venture to desert the plan of consultation and united action with the slave States of the Border. "' Believing,' he declares,' that the interests of Maryland were bound tip with those of the Border slaveholding States, I have been engaged, for months past, in a full interchange of views with the Governors of Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee and Missouri, with a view to concerted action upon our part. These consultations, which are still in progress, I feel justified in saying have resulted in good; so that tohen the proper time for action arrives, these sister States, bound up in a common destiny, will, I trust, be prepared to act together.' " And, he adds, with increasing emphasis : "' I firmly believe that the salvation of the Union depends upon the Border Slave States. Without their aid, the Cotton States could never command the influence and credit and men essential to their existence as a nation. Without them the Northern half of the republic would be shorn of its power and influence. Within the Union, I firmly believe we can secure guarantees for our protection, which will remove these distressing causes of irritation. "' Iftoe find hereafter that the North shall, after due deliberation, refuse to give them,-we loill, in a united body, demand and receive a fair division of the national domain.' " On January f 2th, a conmittee of most respectable gentlemen, deputed by a conference from all portions of the State, and held in the Law Buildings of this city, had an interview with the Governor. The conference had deferred to his declared objections to the convocation of the Legislature, and the committee were instructed merely to solicit that he would issue his proclamation inviting the people to determine, by their ballots, whether they desired a convention to be called. In case of an affirmative response to the appeal,, the Governor was requested to designate a day for the election of members to the contemplated body. The Governor declined. He still desired delay. ' He preferred waiting' (according to the announcement in the Baltimore American) 'until Mr. Crittenden's compromise resolutions should be finally acted upon, before taking any decisive step upon the subject at issue.' On the 24th of January, to the astonishment of everybody, except those initiated in the mystery, there appeared in the Annapolis Republican, a copy of a. letter bearing date as far back as the eighth of that month, and .addressed to the Hon. J. L. Corry, Commissioner of Alabama, wherein every previous suggestion of the Governor, and of everybody else, looking to ' a united South,' a ' concert of the Border States,' a. 4 united body,' a ' position side by side with Virginia, Tennessee and Kentucky,' an |
