feeling towards him or any other gentleman
upon this floor. The chair is indebted to the
gentleman for giving him the opportunity of
saying so.
Mr. BILLINGSLEY, I assure the president that,
so far as I am concerned, I conceive that he
discharged his duties as the presiding officer
of this body, and protected me in every right
that belongs to me as a member of this con-
vention.
Mr. BARRON. I suppose an explanation is
due from me. I find that the dignity of the
chivalry is very much touched if a man ob-
jects to being called a robber by them. I
do not know that they pay their honest
debts any better than I do. When the gen-
tleman from St, Mary's (Mr. Billingsley)
said we had robbed him of his property, to
whom was he talking? To this convention ;
to yon, and to me, "You have robbed us
of our property." I rose to a point of order,
not out of any disrespect towards him. In
the few humble remarks I made here some
time ago, I used no such language towards
him. I did not say to him, "You give a
negro four pounds of meat and a peck of
corn meal to live on for a week, and then
you pocket the proceeds of their labor, the
sweat of their brow." No, sir; I kept that
to myself. I did not charge them with stand-
ing up here as if they were gods with whips
in their hands to lash humanity as they
pleased.
But today it is necessary I should throw
down the gauntlet, and talk the matter over
plainly, and not handle it with gloved hands.
Think how great they are ! Are they any
more than men? The blood in my veins is
just as good as the blood in theirs. And no
man on this floor, independent of you, Mr.
President, shall ever charge me with being a
robber without my noticing it.
And what occurred in less than thirty
minutes afterwards? Because I called the
previous question, without desiring to be
heard upon this question myself, I was ac-
cused by the gentleman from Anne Arundel
(Mr. Miller) with not having common honesty.
That was modest in that gentleman
certainly. I thank him for it.
Mr MILLER. I disavow any intention to
use that expression. If it escaped from me,
it did so inadvertently.
Mr. BARRON. I do not care how high-
born the chivalry are; as long as I stand in
this convention I am the peer of the best of
them here, I am to-day a man just as God
made me, and that man is not in this con-
vention and does not tread the face of this
earth, to whom I am afraid to speak my
mind. With this explanation I am willing to
let this matter drop,
The PRESIDENT. The chair is fully satisfied
that the gentleman from St. Mary's (Mr.
Billingsley) from his manner and mode of
expression, and from his generally gentle- |
manly deportment in this convention, did
not entertain the slightest intention to reflect
upon the motives of any gentleman in this
convention. The chair does not believe that
the gentleman from St, Mary's entertained
any such sentiment. The chair has to judge
by the manner in which gentlemen express
themselves. What harm is it to any indi-
vidual to use the word "robber" in a po-
litical sense? There is no gentleman in this
convention but what has used equally as
strong expressions. The attention of the
gentleman from St. Mary's being called to
it, he instantly disclaimed any intention to
offend any gentleman in this convention. It
is utterly impossible for the chair to restrain
gentlemen on account of their particular
modes of expression. Men have different
ways of expressing themselves. I could
have checked every gentleman in this con-
vention, if I bad chosen to put a literal,
strict interpretation upon their words. There
is not a man in this convention but what,
from a strict interpretation of his language,
has committed an insult to this body. It is
a peculiarity attending all political debates.
It is a part of the freedom of speech allowed
to gentlemen for the purpose of enabling
them to exercise freely and fully a right
guaranteed to them under the constipation
and laws of this State. If gentlemen here
say that they have been robbed of their pro-
perty, it does not mean that each one here
who voted for that measure has participated
in any such thing as is commonly under-
stood by the term ''robbery," It is spoken
in a political sense. That is the only sense
in which the word is used.
1 checked the gentleman from Anne Arun-
del (Mr. Miller,) and I believe it is the second
instance only in which I have been compelled
to check gentlemen, on the ground that the
use by him of the words " common honesty,"
the manner in which he used them, the ap-
parent warmth with which he used them, indi-
cated that he imputed improper motives to the
members of this convention. It is the duty
of the president of the convention to protect
the rights and honor of every member here.
The gentleman from Baltimore city (Mr.
Barron) is the peer of every other man in
this body. The gentleman from Kent (Mr.
Chambers,) the gentleman from St. Mary's
(Mr. Billingsley,) and the gentleman from
Charles (Mr. Davis,) are equally the peers of
every other man in this body. We all stand
upon the same common platform, subject to
those frailties that are incident to human
nature. We can none of us claim any supe-
riority over the others, ft is the fluty of the
presiding officer to see (hat equal justice is
meted out to every one of you, and that he will
do under all circumstances and upon all occa-
sions. And he will further say, that if any
: gentleman violates intentionally or know-
ingly the rules of this body, he will put him |
