been deprived of their property by the action
of this body. Now is that reasonable? Can
you, with the same amount of justice, claim
compensation for property which has been
destroyed by the public enemy of the coun-
try, on the highway or elsewhere, as you can
claim from your own government, your own
State, compensation for property of which it
has deprived you? Now, it has failed to
strike me with any reason or force, that there
is any justice in that claim, I admit the
claim to compensation; but I do not admit it
to rest upon the same foundation and basis
as that upon which we claim compensation
for property of which this body is seeking to
deprive us of; but of the opportunity to do
which I pray they may yet be deprived, by
the returning sense of the people, shown in
the rejection of this constitution.
But does the proposition before us even
offer compensation? Not at all. It is scarcely
a crumb of comfort to those who have been
deprived of their property, or to those whom
it is sought to deprive-of their property or
rights without compensation. You have re-
fused every proposition that has been offered
here looking to the hope for compensation
either from the State or from the general
government. You have tied the hands of
the legislature of the State, and prohibited
them, by a section of this article; from making
any provision by law, or making any appro-
priation from the treasury of the State for
compensation to the owners of any slaves
who have been liberated by the constitution
which you propose to submit to the people.
You are not even willing to leave it to the
people of the State at some future election,
when it might be made an issue before
the people whether there should be any
provision of this character made or not.
There was certainly a manifest indisposition
to trust the good sense of the people. I have
no doubt that gentlemen remember how they
came here, by how many votes this conven-
tion was called. And they seem to be ap-
prehensive that, under a change of circum-
stances, there might be a different result at
some future election hereafter.
But to refer to one objection), and the only
objection that is made here to this section ;
that it makes a distinction in favor of one
particular class of property owners. For 1
believe they do go so far as to admit, in their
arguments at least, that there is property in
slaves. And is there not a property? Can
any reasonable man say there is no property-
in slaves in Maryland, or has not been?
Shall we appeal to the higher law which has
emanated from the northeastern section of
our country, and has invaded the whole of our
State, especially since it has been backed up
so strongly by bayonet logic, which was ap-
pealed to as a convincing argument by the
gentleman from Frederick (Mr. Schley) a
few days ago. That is the law upon which |
all these arguments are based, that there is
no property in slaves.
Gentlemen have gone far back beyond the
establishment of State governments, to allow
there was no property in slaves then, and
therefore there can be none now. Sow the
people have heretofore been a practical peo-
ple. They have heretofore taken practical
views of all questions before them when per-
mitted to do so. 1 emphasize the words—
"when permitted to do so"—and I mean
something by it, They have not enjoyed
that privilege of late. They have been de-
prived of it by means discreditable to n free
government;, although those who sustain
the course which has been practiced are
claiming to be the very emanation of perfec-
tion; or to be the essence of perfection in
human government, especially free human
government.
But let us take a practical view of this
question. Let us go to the common sense
of gentlemen of business. They will say,
all will say, that there is property in slaves.
But when. yon lose your slaves by action of
the government, or the State, you do lose
your property. Have not slaveholders helped.
to sustain the government of this State, by
paying taxes, since its formation? Have not
slaves contributed as property to sustain the
public credit of the State, from its earliest
formation to the present time? Have they
not constituted the basis of at least
125.000,000 or thereabouts upon which the
State has relied for taxes? And have not
some gentlemen here present, put the money
for which these slaves have been sold, into
their pockets? I think it highly probable
that some have, and that money was the pro-
ceeds of property. Slaves have been recog-
nized as property from the beginning; and
that is the only common sense, plain, prac-
tical view that any gentleman can take of
the matter. It is useless to go back to all
this paraphernalia of the common law and
the statute law of England. Look at your
own statute books in Maryland; look at the
practical operation and view which has been
taken of this property in this State in years
gone by.
You have, by your action heretofore taken,
denied us any prospective compensation.
Give us the little crumb of comfort that ia
held out in the future by the proposition that
was submitted bv the gentleman from Balti-
more city (Mr. Stirling.) That is, require
the legislature- to provide that a registration
of that kind of property may be made, so
that in the event of there being hereafter any
disposition or policy on the part of the State
or the general government or both, to pro-
vide some compensation, then there may
be some way of compensating by some rule
of fairness, equity and justice.
Some gentlemen present will remember, 1
am sure, a speech that was addressed |
