attend to them, which pertain to free negroes
and mulattoes.
I vote for this proposition merely to extend
the jurisdiction of the orphans' court; merely.
to suggest to the orphans' court that there is
some propriety in giving the preference to
their former masters, a propriety as suggested
by the gentleman from Baltimore city in
view of the relations which exist between
these parties, and not for any purpose of en-
slaving the apprentice, not for the purpose of
caring for the interests of the master, but be-
cause you cannot get rid of the fact that you
throw upon the community a large number of
these people who are helpless, both from
youth and from age. I have heard no propo-
sition from any quarter of this house to ex-
tend the liberality of the State to the benefit
of this class of people. They are to De thrown
upon their own' resources, helpless and uned-
ucated as they are, upon their own providence,
I vote for this proposition because it simply
adopts one single principle and no more.
The only question before the house is this,
will you give a preference to the master over
a stranger in apprenticing a free negro or
mulatto? There is no other question in this
matter. There must be apprenticeship. They
must be bound out, unless the acts of assem-
bly are repealed or modified, for this provis-
ion is the same as the law now is in that re-
spect. There is a certain class of vagrants,
and the orphans' court have an arbitrary
power to bind them. There is another class
over whom, with the consent of their parents,
they exercise that power. There is another
class that can take care of themselves whom
the orphans' court have power to bind out
under your code. Now I propose that in the
exercise of their power they shall give the
preference to their former masters.
Mr. SANDS If they are not vagrants they
cannot be bound out.
Mr. RIDGELY, They must be vagrants un-
der the existing law, having no domiciles. If
all vagrants must be bound out, under the law,
as they belong to that class they must be
bound out. And the orphans' courts have pow-
er to exercise a discretion over the cases, and
to be controlled by the circumstances in bind-
ing them out. Do the orphans' court bind
out people twenty years of age? Do they
bind out girls of seventeen or boys of nine-
teen years of age? The uniform rule is to
bind them when they are young. They are
taken when they are young—and it is not ex-
pected that their services will be of much val-
ue during that period of their life—in the ex-
pectation that as they progress in years they
will be some sort of equivalent for the care of
them in their earlier years,
These are the reasons I stand by my vote
upon emancipation. As the gentleman from
Baltimore city says, I stand or fall by it. I
gave that vote deliberately, from a conviction
of duty. I would not swerve from it to the
54 |
right or to the left. But I cannot be persuad-
ed to believe that I am in the slightest degree
derelict from that position in caring, to the
best of my judgment, for these helpless crea-
tures, large numbers of whom I know are im-
provident, and who may be thrown upon the
world without means of support. If any
member will suggest to the convention any
means by which that object can be secured
without such interposition, I should like to
have them. For these reasons I shall vote for
the proposition with a slight modification
to put it beyond all doubt that the party to
be bound out shall occupy precisely the
same position that the free negroes and mu-
lattoes now occupy, that there shall be no ob-
ligation to bind them out indiscriminately,
but that in all the category of free negroes and
mulattoes now Known to the law, when bound
out, the masters shall have the preference to
others; if the court think proper. So far 1
will go, but no further.
Mr. PUGH. I ask simply the privilege of
putting on the record two sections in the code
which misled me, if I was misled, with regard
to the law;
" 151. Wherever any person shall die seized
or possessed of any lands, tenements, or heredi-
taments lying within this State, and any of the
persons entitled thereto or any part thereof,
shall be under age, and without a guardian
appointed by last will and testament, or by
the orphans' court, the administrator of the
decedent, as soon as administration shall be
committed to him, and not before, shall take
possession of such estate, and discharge and.
fulfil all the duties of guardian to such in-
fant, and shall account with the court in like
manner as guardians are required by law to
account and subject to the like control and au-
thority of the court in all respects whatever.
" 152. No administrator shall be bound in
any manner to discharge and fulfil the duties
of guardian after the close of his administra-
tion or alter the end of three years from the
granting such administration, nor after a
guardian shall be appointed by the orphans'
court."
1 submit that although he is not bound to
act as guardian after the expiration of three
years) nevertheless he can be I also submit
that I was about right in another view of the
orphans' court. The gentleman from Balti-
more county (Mr. Ridgely) is in favor of the
jurisdiction of the orphans' court for the ben-
efit of poor white people. I was in favor
of it yesterday not only for benefitting poor
white children, but poor white orphan chil-
dren.
Mr. SCHLEY. I desire to make one or two
statements of facts contained in the last cen-
sus. Preliminary to that, however, I desire
to say upon the proposition contained in this
section, that I know of nothing which tends
one panicle to confuse my judgment of the
practical operation of this section, if it be |
