vide that those negroes may come hack.
The characters of those who have left the
State are pretty well known in the neighbor-
hoods where they formerly lived; we know
those among them whom we can trust, who
would not be such burdens to us as others
would; who are not such rogues as might
come from other States. The negroes con-
gregated about Washington I have no doubt
are the worst of the whole South; they are
those who run away from their masters in
time of trouble, and all of that sort, and I
do not want any such class in this State,
But we know the character of those who
have gone out of this State, and I want them
to have the privilege of coming back.
Mr. STOCKBRIDGE nailed the previous ques-
tion, and, the call being sustained, the main
question was ordered to be put,
The question was stated to be upon the
amendment of Mr. Abbott.
Mr. CLARKE, I understand the gentleman
from Baltimore city (Mr, Abbott) will ac-
cept my amendment to his amendment.
Mr. ABBOTT. Yes sir, I accept it,
Mr. NEGLEY. I hope the gentleman will
not accept that amendment. I want to vote
for his amendment, but I cannot vote for the
other.
The amendment as modified was then read
as follows:
Insert in the proper place the words: "Or
any person who sympathizes with the rebel-
lion of the Southern States, or any one now
living north of Mason's & Dixon's line."
Mr. ABBOTT called for the yeas and nays
upon the amendment, but they were not or-
dered.
The question being then taken, the amend-
ment was not agreed to.
The question then recurred upon the orig-
inal proposition offered by Mr. Clarke, as
modified upon the suggestion of Mr. Schley,
to except soldiers in the service of the United
States.
Mr. CLARKE called for the yeas and nays
but they were not ordered.
The question being taken the order was
adopted and referred accordingly.
THOMAS J. CORKRAN.
Mr. STOCKBRIDGE, in accordance with no-
tice given by me on yesterday, I now move to
reconsider the vote of yesterday morning by
which the Convention directed payment to be
made to Thomas J. Corkran, for services al-
leged to have been rendered as a page.
The PRESIDENT. Did the gentleman vote
in the affirmative ?
Mr. STOCKBRIDGE. I voted in the affirma-
tive for the especial purpose of making this
motion, and I wish to explain my reason for
making it. I do not make it because of the
amount of money involved in that order
alone; if that was all that was involved I
would not trouble this Convention with this
motion. But the facts, as I understand them, |
are simply these: this person was a gentleman
who had previously discharged certain duties
as a page for the House of Delegates, how ef-
ficiently it is not necessary to state. He came
here, as I understand it, from his home in
some remote corner of the Eastern Shore of
the State, I do not know where, for the pur-
pose of procuring the same position in this
body. While here, on that electioneering
tour for himself, hardly discharging the du-
ties of a page, but as a part of his general
plan of electioneering, be performed for a day
or two, some of the duties of a page. Not
being successful, I suppose, he returned home,
as we have not seen him here since. This is
an order to pay him his per diem and mileage,
amounting to some $50 or $60, on this ex-
cursion relating to his own business and not
for the purposes of this Convention. Now if
he is to be paid, there are several others in the
same category; those are, some from Wash-
ington county, one from Carroll county, one
from Baltimore county, and I do not know
how many more; and after we have paid
them their mileage and per diem for excur-
sions relating to their own business, the Con-
vention will find that they have wasted quite
a large sum of money. I do nut think it just
to do that, and therefore I move that this or-
der be reconsidered.
Mr. TODD. I have no objection to the re-
consideration of that order. I have no per-
sonal interest in the question, whether it
passes or not; but I understood from my
colleague, (Mr. Noble,) who is absent from
his seat to-day, that this gentleman came over
here with the understanding that it was his
duty to come and assist here until the Con-
vention was regularly organized, and that
understanding of the matter led me to offer
the order which I did on yesterday. I offered
it however, nut for the purpose of having a
direct vote upon it by the Convention, but
for the purpose of having it referred to the
Committee on Accounts, I made that motion
to refer, but the President decided that it was
unnecessary, and I withdrew it. if the Con-
vention resolves to reconsider its vote of yes-
terday, I shall then renew my motion to refer
the subject to the Committee on Accounts.
Mr. MILLER. I see by an examination of
the journal of Wednesday of last week, that
there was a precisely similar order passed
there to pay a party who had been tempora-
rily discharging the duties of page, the per
diem and mileage allowed to permanent pages
for the number of days he rendered service,
The party was named Alfred Miller. Now, if
the gentleman in whose favor this order is
offered did actually come here, whether for
the purpose of getting ad appointment from
the majority or not, and actually discharged
these duties when there was nobody else to
discharge them, and we received the benefit of
his services, I think he ought to be paid just
as the other was. |
