sentation. I therefore greatly prefer that form
of communicating, at all times, with any
other department of the government.
There is another tiling to be said with ref-
erence to this. If it is impossible to remedy
the injustice on writing, however great it
may be; it is useless and worse than useless
for us to squander the time of this convention
upon the subject. Now what can be done ?
Take the facts as stated by the gentleman
from Prince George's yesterday, as stated by
his colleague this morning, precisely as stated,
what is it possible to do under the circumstances?
As I understand the statement, an
irresponsible body of men, sent by no officer
of the government, and it is not known
who—
Mr. BERRY, of Prince George's. Let me
correct my friend. He was sent by the col-
onel of his regiment stationed at Bladensburg,
and the negroes taken from our county were
taken to Bladensburg and not to Washington,
and were never reported to the department.
Mr. STOCKBRIDGE. So I said; they were
not sent by an officer of the government, they
were not acting officially. Whether the order
came from a sergeant, a captain, or a colonel,
still it was not from any proper official
source, it was something outside. They
took certain men. These men, as I understand
it, have been credited by the government
to the place where their names were
entered, and where perhaps bounties were
paid. How is it possible lo trace these men
upon the muster-roll? Or beginning at the
other end, taking the muster-rolls, how is it
possible to trace these men back as Maryland
men? That class of people change their
names whenever they please, without waiting
for acts of assembly. They may have gone
under one name or another name. So tar as
I can conceive, it is altogether a matter dis-
connected with the government, and one in
which it is impossible to trace the men so as
to rectify any injustice that has been done.
Mr. BERRY, of Prince George's. If the
gentleman will allow me, I will say that if
the inquiry is set on foot by 'he proper au-
thorities, I will undertake to prove every in-
dividual so enlisted, and can trace them to
one particular regiment in which they were
placed by this officer. I will have them all
identified
Mr. STOCKBRIDGE resumed: I will only
gay that it wilt come very near the power of
omniscience if that can be done.
Mr. BERRY, of Prince George's. Not atall.
Mr. STOCKBRIDGE. It will not fall much
short of it, I was going on to add one other
remark, that if it could be done, supposing
for a moment that it could he done as the
gentleman seems to suppose, they have been
credited certain part of the State, or
it they have gone out of the St ate they have
been credited to another State. Does it not
necessarily follow that if it could be done, |
the whole apportionment within the State, or
as between the States, has got to be remade,
and a readjustment and new apportionment
to be made? Does there not necessarily fol-
low an entire suspension of the draft for
500,000 men, indefinitely, blocking the oper-
ations of the government for months, to rec-
tify it? It seems to me perfectly plain that
it is so; and that the government will not
be disposed to submit that its operations
shall be so embarrassed and impeded) for
the very reason that they will say, if this
injustice was committed, it should have been
noticed in a proper form, and at the proper
time. It certainly would not have been half
as hard to follow and identify these men, to
tell where they were then, as it would be
now alter the lapse of time. If you have the
power now to trace them, much more had
you the power then, and yon should have
attended to it at that time. In the exigency
upon us now, in the necessity for men, in our
requirement of an army, the United States
shall not be delayed until this investigation
can be made, and this readjustment. It
seems to me therefore, in the first place, use-
less. At the same time, I have no objection
to vote to send a communication of inquiry
to the governor.
Mr. BERRY, of Prince George's, demanded
the yeas and nays upon the amendment
moved by Mr. HEBB, and they we're ordered.
The question being taken, the result was—
yeas 40, nays 32—as follows:
Yeas—Messrs. Goldsborough, President;
Annan, Bond, Brooks, Carter, Cunningham,
Cushing, Daniel, Ecker, Galloway, Harwood,
Hebb, Hopkins, Hopper, Keefer, Kennard,
Larsh, Marbury, Markey, May hugh McComas,
Mullikin, Murray, Negley, Nyman, Parker,
Purnell, Robinette; Russell, Sands, Schlosser,
Smith, of Carroll, Smith, of Worcester,
Sneary, Stirling. Stockbridge, Swope, Sykes,
Todd,' Wooden—40.
Ways—Messrs. Abbott, Belt, Berry, of
Prince George's, Billingsley, Blackiston,
Briscoe, Known, Chambers, Clarke, Crawford,
Davis, of Charles, Dent, Duvall, Earle, Edelen,
Gale, Hatch, Henkle, Hodson, Horsey,
Jones, of Somerset, King, Lansdale, Lee,
Mitchell, Miller, Morgan, Parran, Pugh,
Ridgely, Smith, of Dorchester, Turner—32.
When their names were called,
Mr. ABBOTT said: Believing this to he a
matter entirely out of the province of the
convention, I shall vote against every prop-
osition of the kind, I vote " no."
Mr. SANDS said; Believing this a matter
of sufficient importance to be acted upon by
the convention, and believing that we shall
all be convinced on reflection that we would
better address the governor a communication
than to send a committee, I shall vote for
the order as amended by the gentleman from
Allegany. I vote "aye." |
