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592 HISTORY OF MARYLAND.
unfitted to the condition and necessities of the State, deem it proper to present, for your
serious consideration, some of the reasons which have induced us to oppose it in convention, and which, we respectfully submit, should induce you to reject it.
" At the outset of this movement we, in common with a large portion of the people
of the State, entertained the opinion that this period of civil war—a war in which
scarcely a family in the State was exempted from the excitement necessarily resulting
from the personal participation of one or more of its members, and in a large number of
cases, from the death of such member, and from the destruction of property, and the
pecuniary loss to which they had been subjected, was not the appropriate time for a calmr
considerate work, which of all others demanded the cool deliberations of men in the
highest degree divested of personal or party prejudices.
"A Constitution should institute a form of government for all time—for all persons
who are to be governed by it, under all the changes to which political organizations must
be subject—consistent with the great eternal principles of political, social and moral truth
and justice, which, as they never can change, should never be disregarded, and made to
give place to those impulsive feelings and opinions, which, in moments of passion and
excitement, blind the judgment of even good men.
"The proceedings of the convention have fully justified all' our anticipations of the
evil influence of the times upon the character and temper of its members. Many persons
were chosen delegates who have never been engaged in such pursuits as would probably
direct their attention to subjects connected with elementary principles of organic law,,
fitted for the government of a free people for all time—men whose claim to a seat in the
body rested entirely on their violent and vociferous support of extreme partisan doctrines,
and that persecuting spirit against all who differed from them, which is always the result
of great excitement. Accordingly, we have found the majority indulging in violent
partisan measures having no relation to the proper duties of the body, even so far disregarding the obligations which they cannot but acknowledge to be universal, as to.invite
the arbitrary and irresponsible interference of the President and his military subordinates,
at their sole will and pleasure, to seize, confiscate, and appropriate the property of such
of our citizens as they may select, and to exile others into the country of the public
enemy for imputed offences, of which they declared them guilty without trial or opportunity of defence, while in the same breath they announce, as an acknowledged principle,
' That no man ought to be taken or imprisoned, or disseized of his freehold liberties or
privileges, or outlawed, or exiled, or in any manner destroyed or deprived of his life,
liberty or property, but by the judgment of his peers, or by the law of the land.' Let the
freemen of Maryland reflect upon the fearful consequences of a surrender of these fundamental, these essential principles, which underlie' the fabric of all political, social and
personal security, and they may well be prepared to estimate the work of those who have
trodden under foot these sacred safeguards of our rights, in their eager and relentless
pursuit of a large portion of our fellow-citizens, who are made the victims of a blind and
fanatical persecution,*and that for no other cause than an honest difference of opinion as
to the political course of the party in power.
" Looking to the actual changes which the proposed Constitution will make in the
organic law, it may be said they chiefly consist in two particulars—one, the anxious
advancement of the negroes; the other, restrictions and impositions upon their owners.
Some change has been effected in the judicial system, altering the arrangement of the
districts and circuits, increasing the number of judges, and extending for five years their
term of office. But this, like other matters, did not seem to be of sufficient importance to
demand the concentrated and decisive support of the whole party.
"It is known that the city and county of Baltimore, and three large western counties,
sent to the convention a number of members sufficient to control its action. Their
delegates number thirty-six, being a majority of the ruling party, and of course, omnipo-
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 | 00000627 |
| Type | Books/Pamphlets |
| Transcript | 592 HISTORY OF MARYLAND. unfitted to the condition and necessities of the State, deem it proper to present, for your serious consideration, some of the reasons which have induced us to oppose it in convention, and which, we respectfully submit, should induce you to reject it. " At the outset of this movement we, in common with a large portion of the people of the State, entertained the opinion that this period of civil war—a war in which scarcely a family in the State was exempted from the excitement necessarily resulting from the personal participation of one or more of its members, and in a large number of cases, from the death of such member, and from the destruction of property, and the pecuniary loss to which they had been subjected, was not the appropriate time for a calmr considerate work, which of all others demanded the cool deliberations of men in the highest degree divested of personal or party prejudices. "A Constitution should institute a form of government for all time—for all persons who are to be governed by it, under all the changes to which political organizations must be subject—consistent with the great eternal principles of political, social and moral truth and justice, which, as they never can change, should never be disregarded, and made to give place to those impulsive feelings and opinions, which, in moments of passion and excitement, blind the judgment of even good men. "The proceedings of the convention have fully justified all' our anticipations of the evil influence of the times upon the character and temper of its members. Many persons were chosen delegates who have never been engaged in such pursuits as would probably direct their attention to subjects connected with elementary principles of organic law,, fitted for the government of a free people for all time—men whose claim to a seat in the body rested entirely on their violent and vociferous support of extreme partisan doctrines, and that persecuting spirit against all who differed from them, which is always the result of great excitement. Accordingly, we have found the majority indulging in violent partisan measures having no relation to the proper duties of the body, even so far disregarding the obligations which they cannot but acknowledge to be universal, as to.invite the arbitrary and irresponsible interference of the President and his military subordinates, at their sole will and pleasure, to seize, confiscate, and appropriate the property of such of our citizens as they may select, and to exile others into the country of the public enemy for imputed offences, of which they declared them guilty without trial or opportunity of defence, while in the same breath they announce, as an acknowledged principle, ' That no man ought to be taken or imprisoned, or disseized of his freehold liberties or privileges, or outlawed, or exiled, or in any manner destroyed or deprived of his life, liberty or property, but by the judgment of his peers, or by the law of the land.' Let the freemen of Maryland reflect upon the fearful consequences of a surrender of these fundamental, these essential principles, which underlie' the fabric of all political, social and personal security, and they may well be prepared to estimate the work of those who have trodden under foot these sacred safeguards of our rights, in their eager and relentless pursuit of a large portion of our fellow-citizens, who are made the victims of a blind and fanatical persecution,*and that for no other cause than an honest difference of opinion as to the political course of the party in power. " Looking to the actual changes which the proposed Constitution will make in the organic law, it may be said they chiefly consist in two particulars—one, the anxious advancement of the negroes; the other, restrictions and impositions upon their owners. Some change has been effected in the judicial system, altering the arrangement of the districts and circuits, increasing the number of judges, and extending for five years their term of office. But this, like other matters, did not seem to be of sufficient importance to demand the concentrated and decisive support of the whole party. "It is known that the city and county of Baltimore, and three large western counties, sent to the convention a number of members sufficient to control its action. Their delegates number thirty-six, being a majority of the ruling party, and of course, omnipo- |
