should it be referred to them, in their con-
sideration of the subject I wanted to inquire
of the gentleman in relation to the first arti-
cle he proposes. I thought he might not
have fully considered the effect of that arti-
cle, and my suggestion was for the purpose
of enabling him to perfect an order on which
he evidently prides himself,
In regard to the other suggestion, why
confine this to the mulatto alone? Why
should there be any more difficulty in the
mind of the gentleman in regard to giving
the mulatto an equal privilege lo labor with
the white, than there is in allowing an equal
privilege to the quadroon, or any other per-
son having the taint of negro blood? I also
want to know by what process of inquisition
he proposes to find out whether a person is a
mulatto or not? Some of these persons are
80 white that it would require an anatomical
and physiological examination to determine
whether they are mulattoes or not. My sole
object was to ascertain whether the gentle-
man had presented a proposition to this Con-
vention in a shape which he considered per-
fect.
Mr. CLARKE. Certainly not; merely asug-
gestion.
Mr. EDELEN. Before the vote is taken I
desire to present my views briefly upon this
subject for the consideration of the Conven-
tion, and first, in reply to the gentleman who
has just addressed the Convention, (Mr. Cush-
ing.) He will find that this word "mulatto"
is not an expression new to the laws of Mary-
land, and the process by which it is to be de-
termined who is a mulatto and who is not, I
would suggest to him is for the courts. If
this provision is incorporated into the Con-
stitution of Maryland, the question will come
up on an indictment; and it will then be for
the courts to say whether the party on trial
comes within the designation of " free negro
or mulatto" or not
Now, sir, we all know that since 1839 there
has existed upon the statute-book of this
State a provision prohibiting the immigra-
tion of free negroes from any other State,
territory or district. And the reason why
this subject addresses itself with more force
to our consideration at this time; why such
a provision as this should be incorporated
into the organic law of the State, is because
of the peculiar circumstances by which we are
now surrounded; the circumstances adverted
to by the gentleman from Prince George's
(Mr Clarke) in his argument yesterday, and
also referred to by him to-day. The tables of
the census of the United States show that the
State of Maryland, one of the smallest States
in this Union, has now within her BORDER=0s a
free negro population exceeding that of the
great Empire State of New York. Why is this?
Is it not because there is something peculiar in
the climate and soil of the State of Maryland
that invites their immigration here? Now |
with that immense population of free negroes
already upon us, and with Washington city
almost within a stone's throw of several
counties of this State; then whenever this
war shall cease, or whenever the status of
this class of our population is determined in
some way or other, and those now there col-
lected are ready to come in upon us, what, I
ask in all sincerity and earnestness, will be
our condition?
I do not propose at this stage to discuss
this question in all its bearings and in all its
details. But something has been said by the
gentleman from Baltimore city (Mr. Abbott)
about the peculiar habits of this class of pop-
ulation in that city. Now it is very different
,in Baltimore from what it is with us in the
country. There you have your police officers
at every turn and corner of the streets. And
the free negroes there, whether they are or
are not of a better class than those we have
in the counties, have nut the same opportuni-
ties or means of indulging their peculiar hab-
its of thieving and robbing as exists in the
sparsely populated rural districts. The gen-
tleman says that with them they steal only a
little ham and bacon. But allow this flood
of free negroes to overrun us in the coun-
ties, and what protection or security shall we
have for our meat-houses, our pig-sties, our
ben-roosts, or even the corn in our fields ?
In reference to the question of labor I have
this to say, that it is true that in our part of.
the State we are sadly in want of labor.
Judging from the facts as they now exist, I
have no hesitation to say that a great deal of
our grain and harvests now growing will fall
ungathered to the ground, for want of the
necessary labor to save it. Yet although my
constituents are suffering in this way, al-
though I myself am personally interested to
such an extent that it might be supposed that
private interest might induce me to seek for
this class of labor, I feel that it would be
like giving to a patient a stimulating draft
which, while it might afford temporary re-
lief, would leave him in a more hopeless con-
dition than that in which be was before.
We must look far into the future; we are
not legislating for the present only. We must
shape our action on all these questions that
are presented for our consideration, in such a
way as to secure the most permanent results
for good. We have in the action of other
States precedents to justify our engrafting a
provision of this kind in the Constitution
and where, too, they were not surrounded by
the peculiar circumstances that attend our
present position. Gentlemen of this Conven-
tion will find upon examination that Indiana
incorporated a similar provision in her Con
stitution. And a similar provision was en
grafted upon the Constitution of Illinois, but
I believe it failed to be ratified by the people
Mr. JONES of Somerset. It was ratified by
the people. |
