have been in the army of a foreign country,
and subsequently naturalized by the United
States. That will remedy the difficulty.
Mr. BERRY, of Prince George's, demanded
the yeas and nays, and they were ordered.
The question being Liken, the result was—
yeas 47, nays 12— as follows:
Yeas—Messrs. Goldsborough, President;
Abbolt, Annan, Audoun, Brooks, Cunning-
ham, Cushing, Daniel; Davis, of Washington,
Dellinger, Earle, Ecker, Farrow, Galloway,
Greene Hatch, Hebb, Hoffman, Hopkins, Hop-
per, Keefer, Kennard, Markey, Mayhugh,
McComas. Mullikin, Murray, Nyman, Parker,
Pugh, Purnell, Robinette. Russell, Scott,
Smith, of Carroll, Smith, of Worcester, Sneary)
Stirling, Stockbridge, Swope, Sykes)
Thomas, Thruston, Todd, Valliant, Wickard,
Wooden—47.
Nays—Messrs. Berry, of Prince George's,
Brown, Dail, Davis, of Charles, Edelen, Hod-
son, Hollyday, Lee, Mitchell, Miller, Morgan,
Wilmer—12,
The amendment wag accordingly adopted.
Mr. STOCKBRIDGE submitted the following
amendment:
Add to end of section, the words " or affir-
mation."
The amendment was adopted.
Mr, STIRLING submitted the following
amend ment:
Add to the end of the section the following
words:
" But the provisions of this section, in relation
to acts against the United States, shall
not apply to any person not a citizen of the
United States who shall have committed such
acts while in the service of some foreign
country at war against the United States,
and who has since such acts been naturalized
or may be naturalized under the laws of the
United States, and the oath above set forth
shall be taken in the case of such persons in
such sense."
Mr, SCOTT. It strikes me that the same
object can be attained in a much shelter way,
in the place of referring to those in arms
against the government, by saying those in
armed rehellion against the government.
Mr. STIRLING. That will not reach it. The
person must swear that he shall not have ex-
pressed a desire for the triumph of the armies
of the enemies of the United States, over the
armies of the United States; and a man could
not take that. oath if he had been a soldier of
Great Britain in the last war. Putting in
the word rebellion will not cover that point.
That is the difficulty. I had to put in the
general word "enemies" for the purpose of
covering the whole case. I have drawn this
rather hastily, and it can be perfected, if it is
desired, subsequently.
Mr. SCOTT. The object aimed at is entirely
proper; and perhaps the committee on revi-
sion may put it in different language, and 1 |
may be entirely satisfied It is only the
style of it, the wording that I object to.
Mr. CUSHING. As to the application of the
amendment to persons in the last war, a man
who was a soldier in the war of 1812 would
be about seventy years old now. Still I shall
vote for the amendment.
The amendment was agreed to.
Mr, AUDOUN submitted the following amendment:
Amend by adding, "before the officers of
registration "above mentioned "shall proceed
' to act as such they shall take and subscribe
to the oath aforesaid."
Mr. STIRLING. That, as a proposition, is
perfectly correct; but it strikes me that it
comes properly into the fifth section, which
prescribes that " every person elected or ap-
pointed to any office of profit or trust under
the constitution or laws made pursuant
thereto, before he shall enter upon the duties
of such office shall take and subscribe to the
following oath or affirmation." The officers
of registration will be persons holding an
office of trust under the constitution; and
that will be the oath of office when they
must take. The judges of election will take
the oath of office under the constitution.
Mr, AUDOUN. I refer not to the judges of
election, but to the officers of registration.—
The oath prescribed in the fifth section is not
the oath prescribed by the amendment as of-
fered by me,
Mr. STIRLING, It may be a much stronger
oath; and that is the reason I want it there.
My opinion is that a man who holds office of
any kind should take a much stronger oath
than this.
The amendment was rejected.
MODE OF ELECTION.
On motion of Mr. SCOTT,
The convention returned to the considera-
tion of section first, as follows:
"Section 1. Every white male person of
twenty-one years of age or upwards, who
shall have been one year next preceding the
election a resident of the State, and fur six
months a resident of the city of Baltimore, or
of any county in which he may offer to vote,
and being at the time of the election a loyal
citizen of the United States, shall be entitled
to vote in the ward or election district in
which be resides, in all elections hereafter to
he held, and every free white male person of
twenty-one years of age and upwards, who
shall have been one year next preceding the
election a resident of the State, and for six
months a resident of the city of Baltimore, or
of any county in the State, and being at the
time of the election in the naval or military
service of the United States, shall, when
the United States are actually engaged in
war, be entitled to vote wherever they may
be. for any and all officers to he elected
under the constitution of this State or of the |
