lated land with nothing left of our nationality,
nothing but the paltry parchment.
Mr. DENNIS, I ask the gentleman what
sort of a figure he cuts now, going over the
country with no parchment atall?
Mr. PUGH. No, sir; I do not say that we
have no parchment at all, and have not said
so; but I say we are here framing a parch-
ment for the State of Maryland. At this
time there is no necessity for our being with-
out the present constitution. But I suggest
that it is important to secure and sustain our
existence, & matter which seems to be forgotten,
as a State, as a people, and that it is import-
ant to engraft upon the constitution, a pro-
vision which shall designate who are our
enemies and who are not. But I do state
that so fair as the constitution of the United
States is concerned, with the manifold con-
structions given to it, I am not in favor of
sticking to that parchment as interpreted,
more especially when Chief Justice Taney
gives it the construction he docs give it. I
will not moreover) allow the gentleman from
Somerset, to stick his construction of the
parchment into my teeth, I believe the con-
stitution is a subordinate part. I believe in
the existence of the nation as the paramount
and most important matter; and as I sug-
gested, I adopt the idea of the gentleman from
Baltimore city, when he said that the consti-
tution was the tabernacle wherein rested the
soul of the people; the present tabernacle
might go to ashes, but the nation, as a people,
exist forever.
Mr. EDELEN. Will my friend before he
takes his seat answer a question for my in-
formation? He has arisen on this floor the
advocate and defender of this amendment
offered by the gentleman from Baltimore
city (Mr. Stirling.) Now, I happen lo be One
of those who hold an office under this State
government, and I find upon this same page
of the journal that the gentleman from Baltimore
city has given notice that he will in-
troduce as an amendment at the proper time
that every person continued in office by this
constitution shall take and subscribe this
same oath to protect and defend the Union
of the United States. The question that I
now put to the gentleman from Cecil, for my
own enlightenment and instruction upon
this point is, whether I am to swear to sup-
port the Union that our fathers made, or a
Union to be reared up and reconstructed on
the basis he has laid down in the remarks he
has just submitted to this convention. They
are widely, vastly different. I wish to be
put right upon that point. I do not want to
go into this thing blindfold.
Mr. PUGH. The Union as suggested by
the oath takes no cognizance of any other
matter than the mere matter of Union. If
the gentleman subscribes that oath he swears
to sustain and support the Union of the
States. It is a mere question of opinion. It |
t is my opinion, and perhaps my opinion
1 only, that that Union can never be perfect
again with a system of slavery existing or
tolerated anywhere within the BORDER=0s of
the Union. But that has nothing to do with
the gentleman's oath. He may hold what
opinion about that he pleases. He is only
to swear to sustain the Union as I will swear
to sustain the Union without any regard to
the question of slavery itself. It is a mere
matter of opinion whether slavery can exist
in this country when united, or not. My
opinion is that it cannot.
All the gentleman is called upon to swear
to sustain is the Union, because by the word
" Union " is represented the nation—because
the flag of our country is the flag of the
Union—because there is a people with
another flag—a rag—displayed everywhere
around us, who wish to be recognized as a
people within this people—it is because we
cannot exist as a people with another estab-
lished nation, with another flag within us
—it is because we cannot exist as a people
recognizing any such existence in our midst
—it is for that reason that it is necessary for
every man to swear to support the Union of
the States in the interpretation of the words
I have given, meaning the people of the
United States whose flag is the stars and
stripes [Applause, promptly suppressed
by the President.]
Mr. EDELEN. I will suggest to the gentle-
man from Cecil that he has not answered my
question. The gentleman from Baltimore
city, from whom he quoted that celebrated
simile, that the constitution is the tabernacle
in which rests the soul of the people) said
very truly, the other day in this hall, said
upon the authority of the court which sits
above us, (the court of appeals) has said that
constitutions are different from mere sta-
tutory enactments—that constitutions are to
be construed and interpreted in the sense or
meaning which the framers of the constitu-
tion intended should be placed upon them;
in other words—the true sense to be given to
the constitution was the intention of the
framers.
Here is the point I wish to submit to the
gentleman from Cecil. He is going to sup-
port this amendment by his vote, I doubt
not. Now I desire to be enlightened upon
the point, whether, when I come to swear to
this oath I shall be called upon to support,
protect and defend the Union such as it stood
in the past—such as it was under the consti-
tution our fathers framed in the days of 1776
—or whether I shall be required to support
the Union as expounded by the gentleman
from Cecil,
Mr. Peon. I thought I did answer the
gentleman thoroughly. What is meant by
the Union is the Union without any refer-
ence to these side issues. The Union which the
gentleman will swear to support will be the |
