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382 HISTORY OF MARYLAND.
action on her part would materially promote a peaceful settlement of the
pending dispute. They were satisfied that the people of the State were
misunderstood in both sections of the country, and that their silence was
taken by the South to indicate a determination to make no further struggle
against the advance of abolitionism, while at the North, it was construed into
an admission that the republican party had done no wrong. They believed,
moreover, that to these false impressions the precipitate measures of the Gulf
States, and the uncompromising attitude of the North, were in a great degree
attributable; and they thought that through the influence of Maryland and
the other border slave States, the extremists of the South might be persuaded
to be more moderate, and the fanatics of the North compelled to be more just.
But this State, through the action of Governor Hicks, was not suffered to
express in any authoritative way, the sentiments of her people; and encouraged
by her inaction the republican party maintained its unyielding attitude.
Meanwhile, the Union was undergoing a rapid process of disintegration.
Several States had already withdrawn, and several more followed within a
brief period. Maryland did nothing to save the Union until it was too late
to accomplish that end. If the progress of the revolution was to be stayed,
then alone could the work have been done; and if it was possible to avert the
downfall of the republic, the conservative masses of Maryland wished to be
the medium for accomplishing a result so patriotic, and by them so ardently
desired.
While these grave issues were confronting us, from which only the most
decisive and energetic action could extricate us, Governor Hicks kept Maryland in a state of feverish anxiety by his continued allusions to some dark
and desperate plot, which, he said, was hatching in the State; and he
stimulated the excitement which pervaded the country, by announcing the
existence of an organization in Baltimore, whose purpose was to seize the
capital. On the faith of his statements, Federal troops were concentrated at
Washington, and State Legislatures vied with each other in commending his
vigilance and patriotism. Yet when he was authoritatively called upon by a
committee of Congress to furnish some evidence of the treasonable scheme
which he had been endeavoring to counteract, he found himself unable to
give any specific information whatever. Not one solitary conspirator was
unkennelled; not one single member of the band which was to subvert the
government, was pointed out; and not a particle of proof was offered to
satisfy the public that any one in Maryland ever seriously suggested or
countenanced any such plot. The information which he possessed, and to
which, as he. said, the people at large had not access, turned out to be little
more than newspaper paragraphs and anonymous letters. However, by his
action, he succeeded in gaining a little notoriety, and bringing reproach upon
the people of his State.
The special committee of Congress who investigated the alleged "plot'
to prevent by forcible resistance the inauguration of Mr. Lincoln, and seize
the capitol, in their report, say:
| 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 |
| Title | 00000413 |
| Type | Books/Pamphlets |
| Transcript | 382 HISTORY OF MARYLAND. action on her part would materially promote a peaceful settlement of the pending dispute. They were satisfied that the people of the State were misunderstood in both sections of the country, and that their silence was taken by the South to indicate a determination to make no further struggle against the advance of abolitionism, while at the North, it was construed into an admission that the republican party had done no wrong. They believed, moreover, that to these false impressions the precipitate measures of the Gulf States, and the uncompromising attitude of the North, were in a great degree attributable; and they thought that through the influence of Maryland and the other border slave States, the extremists of the South might be persuaded to be more moderate, and the fanatics of the North compelled to be more just. But this State, through the action of Governor Hicks, was not suffered to express in any authoritative way, the sentiments of her people; and encouraged by her inaction the republican party maintained its unyielding attitude. Meanwhile, the Union was undergoing a rapid process of disintegration. Several States had already withdrawn, and several more followed within a brief period. Maryland did nothing to save the Union until it was too late to accomplish that end. If the progress of the revolution was to be stayed, then alone could the work have been done; and if it was possible to avert the downfall of the republic, the conservative masses of Maryland wished to be the medium for accomplishing a result so patriotic, and by them so ardently desired. While these grave issues were confronting us, from which only the most decisive and energetic action could extricate us, Governor Hicks kept Maryland in a state of feverish anxiety by his continued allusions to some dark and desperate plot, which, he said, was hatching in the State; and he stimulated the excitement which pervaded the country, by announcing the existence of an organization in Baltimore, whose purpose was to seize the capital. On the faith of his statements, Federal troops were concentrated at Washington, and State Legislatures vied with each other in commending his vigilance and patriotism. Yet when he was authoritatively called upon by a committee of Congress to furnish some evidence of the treasonable scheme which he had been endeavoring to counteract, he found himself unable to give any specific information whatever. Not one solitary conspirator was unkennelled; not one single member of the band which was to subvert the government, was pointed out; and not a particle of proof was offered to satisfy the public that any one in Maryland ever seriously suggested or countenanced any such plot. The information which he possessed, and to which, as he. said, the people at large had not access, turned out to be little more than newspaper paragraphs and anonymous letters. However, by his action, he succeeded in gaining a little notoriety, and bringing reproach upon the people of his State. The special committee of Congress who investigated the alleged "plot' to prevent by forcible resistance the inauguration of Mr. Lincoln, and seize the capitol, in their report, say: |
