of the United States, exercising its legitimate
power, chooses to place upon the criminal
statutes. Make the law. You cannot punish
lay an expost facto law. That I suppose the
Constitution of the United States, and all
constitutions refuse the power to any legisla-
ture to do. Make the law. Describe what
facts you please, to constitute the crime.
Connect it with any proper punishment the
legislative power chooses to inflict.
Then get an individual to take and catch
whomsoever the prejudices of his neighbors
may point out as a proper victim, and punish
him under that law. But let the facts constitu-
ting his crime be the subject of legitimate in-
quiry, according to your own provisions, ac-
cording to the principles which have been re-
cognized as the only safeguard of personal
liberty and the security of property and repu-
tation, ever since the first formation of a gov-
ernment in this State. Our fathers at all times,
and under all circumstances, have had these
guards. We say here in practical terms, as
we have ever said, that in all cases and at all
times, the military ought to be under strict
subordination to and control of the civil au-
thority. We say that no individual shall be
deprived of his right to life, liberty or pro-
perty, without a trial by jury. We say that
"no aid, charge, tax, burden or fees, ought
to be rated or levied under any pretence,
without the consent of the legislature."
It is admitted that mistakes may be made.
It is acknowledged that mistakes have been
made. I say that if an experiment of this
sort is to be made, and this is to be estab-
lished as a practice in the State, one-half the.
cases, or more, will be mistakes. I believe
that this imputation of secessionism has arisen
and been made against more persons, three to
one, by malevolent persons who have spoken
falsely on the subject, than the fact and the
truth could warrant. Yet it is upon such
evidence alone that these persons must rely.
I am unwilling to consume the time; but I
wish to say that one remark that has been
made has been very far from being verified in
our experience; for there is really no more
safety at home than abroad, If it is not in
the knowledge of the gentleman who made
the remark, it must be in the knowledge of
nine-tenths of this body, that men who have
been as quietly at home as men could be, who
have not raised a hand, have been charged
with being secessionists, and have had con-
tributions levied upon them.
Again, with regard lo the fact alleged that
in the late raid whole classes of people were
exempt, I know nothing but what I have
read in the papers; but I have not seen
this statement; but on the contrary, have
seen it stated that in many instances the
rebels that made this raid spared nobody,
My impression was that they had been very
impartial. It is true that they burned Gov-
ernor Bradford's house, which I understood |
to be in return for the burning of the governor's
house in Virginia; and with regard to
Mr. Day's house, I understood that that was
burned in consequence of his shooting some-
body for taking down the flag.
Suppose that half the town of Frederick or
of Hagerstown had been burned by incen-
diaries, and by no foreign enemy at all.
Would any one think or dream of asking the
President of the United States, the Governor
of Pennsylvania, or any other foreign power,
foreign in this respect, to appoint a military
officer to bunt up all whom they should
please to call incendiaries, and punish them ?
We live, as has been well said. in a land of
constitution and laws. Let us observe them.
We are sworn to do so. I appeal to gentle-
men who have talked about the constitution,
and the oath to support it, how they can jus-
tify, upon the oath which they have taken,
this acknowledged departure from those very
principles in our existing constitution and in
our proposed new constitution, which have
been enacted here with all solemnity imagin-
able, and so far as I know, without one
solitary dissenting voice? If we had then
known what has since occurred, would gen-
tlemen have turned their backs upon the
acknowledged principles of jurisprudence,
which are at the foundation of the govern-
ment? I think not. I say then that being
in themselves fundamental truths, they are
truths yesterday, to-day, and forever. In
the language of your own bill of rights, they
are to prevail at all times and under all cir-
cumstances.
I do hope, therefore, that there will be an
end to this proceeding, and some step taken
to have it rescinded, so that it may not longer
stand upon the journal. I consider the lan-
guage a plain, direct, and unmistakable con-
tradiction of the bill of rights,
Mr. SCHLEY. I do not rise for the purpose
of making a speech. This crisis demands
acts—not words, I think that if the gentle-
man does not know who are offenders, he is
lamentably ignorant, There are others who do
know who are offenders. Perhaps be knows
who are Union men. There are those in the
vicinity of the Union men who have suffered,
and they have escaped, because it was known
who were Union men, and who were not
Onion men. Perhaps also the gentleman may
know that the old maxim of a house divided
against itself, may be very well applied to the
State of Maryland, where there is this ter-
rible conflict of opinion in time of civil war.
He may also know that self-protection is the
first law of nature; and that we are animated
by that, law at this time in passing the order,
and carrying that order into execution.
Apart from these plain principles, he may
also remember that a distinguished citizen of
the democratic party of Maryland—I allude
to Enoch Louis Lowe—laid down the propo-
sition at the beginning of the rebellion, that |
