shall have a condition of things here which
the last week or two but faintly foreshadows.
How has it been with loyal men in the State
of Maryland, and how has it been with known
rebel sympathizers, when the loyal men were
fleeing for fear of their lives, or what was still
worse their liberties, men who had stood by
and protected those of a different political
faith, when they were fleeing to the army or
elsewhere for personal safety, how was it with
the known—I do not say the suspected—
traitors to the State I They were in their
carriages and on horseback, riding hither
and thither, playing guide, and playing host
to the men who without a single shadow of
right were devastating the State of Mary-
land.
Loyal men have lived in Maryland under
this condition of things all along; but come
what may, they do not intend further to do it.
They will lay down their lives, God knows
bow willingly, before they will. Who has
had the protection which the loyal citizens
deserve in this State? So long as the Federal
armies were here, we were all alike safe. If
there were occasional acts of wrong done,
the authorities have been willing, ready, and
earnest to redress them. It afforded equal
protection, and so long as a man chose to
stay at home and attend to his business, he
was perfectly safe. The known rebel sym-
pathizers in Maryland were safe. The Union
men were of course safe then.
Just let the table turn, and how stands
their condition? A new state of things had
come, and the rebel sympathizers Were jubi-
lant all over. You might tell him that hosts
were invading his native State, and had cap-
tured the capital of his native State, had
burned bridges and houses, towns and cities,
and there was a glow of delight all over.
They never thought of the bill of rights of
the State of Maryland or any other bill of
rights. But tell one of these men that the
power of the government had swept the in-
vader from the soil, that he was driven back
to his stronghold, laden, it is true, With
booty, and his face elongated at once, and
you saw all over him that he felt that the
time of his deliverance was not, yet come.
There is not a man upon this floor at whose
side I am not willing to stand in the defence
of his rights—I don't care what party he be-
longs to—not one. I have seen enough since
I last stood upon this floor to convince me
that for Maryland there is but one thing that
can save you, sir, and me, and the men, wo-
men and children of our State; and that is
that we shall stand side by side and say to
these people: we have no sympathy with
you; you have no business here; you shall
never come here; if you do, you shall not
find outstretched hands or smiling faces; you
shall find trees across your path; you shall
see little puffs of smoke from behind every
bush and haycock; and we will never lay |
down our arms until we put you out of the
State. I hope that thing is coming; and I will
help it along.
I want it to go out from my place here to-
day to the Union men of Maryland that I
take shame to myself that this has not been
done long ago. That host would never have
come upon and desecrated our soil, had they
known that we Marylanders were ready to
welcome them with red hands to hospitable
graves. There would have been no necessity
for any such order as this here to-day.
The conduct of the loyal men of Maryland
is putting a premium on treason. It gives
the man who chooses to profit by it, a double
protection. While these gentlemen—I beg
your pardon for using that word—were riding
through the State, certain parties who had
friends on the other side of the line, had only
to take out of their pockets a little piece of
paper, and say: " Look at that." What
was it? A copy of this bill of rights? Wag
it an order from the President of the United
States, from the. Governor of the State of
Maryland, or from the military commandant
of this department? No such thing, It was
a nice polite little billet under the hand and
seal of Mr. Bradley T. Johnson, Esq., or those
he served.
I want my friends to understand this, I
will help them to protect their rights while I
have the power to raise an arm. And I want
this thing to be reciprocal, I want them to
help me to protect mine, when rebel hosts are
treading the soil of our State. I want them
to go with me and help drive them away.
Then when they hold up the bill of rights to
me, I will say, I stand by you my brother.
But I say here in my place, to the young men
of Maryland—there are thirty or forty thou-
sand of them, good and true men; and if in
the beginning they had done what they ought
to have done; if they bad organized and
armed themselves, we should have been spared
this rebel invasion. I take my share of the
shame with them. I tell them here to-day, as
one man, that I am willing to join them to-
day or to-morrow, in making of the loyal
people of this State a thoroughly armed and
organized, and being armed and organized, a
thoroughly invincible body of men to all
such proceedings as this. Let gentlemen join
us and see what brotherhood there will be
upon this floor, see if in every emergency we
do not stand by them shoulder to shoulder,
But we can consent no lunger to live in
Maryland without any protection whatever,
while other people have double protection. I
want the President of the United States, the
Governor of Maryland and the military com-
mandant, I want every man in proper au-
thority to know and understand that the
loyal men of Maryland do not intend to live
under this condition of things any longer.
While I hope that my personal intercourse
with every gentleman here has led him to |
