oar midst in time of war is no longer to be
tolerated, and justice to ourselves, our fami-
lies and our country, no less than to weak-
minded disloyalists themselves, the only hope
of whose reclamation is in a vigorous policy,
requires that the sternest justice should at
once be meted out to those who persistently
refuse to obey the laws, and the active and
dangerous class be separated from the peace-
able and loyal, by the exercise of the un-
doubted power of the government to arrest
and detain dangerous persons during times
of war; therefore
Resolved, That this Convention, on the
part of the loyal people of Maryland, de-
mands of the Government of the United
States that all adult citizens of this State,
who shall refuse to register on oath their al-
legiance, submission and obedience to the
United States, and thus persist in the posi-
tion of public enemies, and all persons who
shall be preyed to have taken part with or
openly expressed their sympathy with the
recent invasion of the State, shall be banished
beyond the lines of the army, or imprisoned
during the war;
Resolved, That the President of this Con-
vention transmit certified copies of this pre-
amble and resolutions to the President of the
United States and to the commanders of the
military departments in which Maryland is
embraced;
Which were read the first time.
On motion of Mr. THOMAS,
It was ordered to be entered on the jour-
nal that had Mr. Thomas, of Baltimore city,
and Mr. Sykes, of Howard, been in their seats
on yesterday, they would have voted in favor
of the order of Mr. Hatch, tendering the
thanks of this Convention to the citizen and
patriot, Ishmael Day, for his heroic act in
shooting the traitor who dared to pull down
the American flag ', and would also have voted
in favor of the order of Mr. Schley, of Fred-
erick, requesting the President and the com-
mandants of the military departments to as-
seas upon sympathizers with the rebellion re-
siding in this State the total amount of all
losses sustained by the loyal citizens of this
State by reason of the recent rebel raid.
Mr. BELT submitted the following resolu-
tion :
Whereas, By the 21st Article of the exist-
ing Declaration of Rights of this State, it is,
among other things, provided " that no free-
man ought to be taken or imprisoned, or dis-
seized of his freehold, liberties or privileges,
or outlawed or exiled, or in any manner de-
stroyed, or deprived of his life, liberty or
property, but by the judgment of his peers
or by the law of the land ;" and whereas, on
the 19th instant, this Convention did adopt
the following order, to wit: "Ordered, that
this Convention, representing the people of
Maryland, hereby respectfully request the
President of the United States and the com- |
mandants of the military departments in
which Maryland is included, as an act of jus-
tice and propriety, to assess upon known
sympathizers with the rebellion, resident in
this State, the fatal amount of all losses and
spoliations sustained by loyal citizens of the
United States resident in this State, by rea-
son of the recent rebel raid to compensate
loyal sufferers;" and whereas, there is an
obvious conflict and contradiction between
the said order and the before recited Article
of the Bill of Rights; and whereas, the sub-
ject-matter of the said order is not properly
within the purposes for which this Conven-
tion was called, bat is irrelevant and alto-
gether foreign to the same; therefore
Resolved, That in the opinion of this Con-
vetion, the aforesaid order was improvidently
passed, and that the same be and it is hereby
rescinded.
Mr. STIRLING. I raise the point of order
that this resolution preposes to take contra-
dictory action to what has been already taken
by the house, without reconsideration. I
submit that that is contrary to parliamentary
law.
The PRESIDENT sustained the point of order.
Mr. CHAMBERS. Will the Chair allow me
to refer to the fact that at the late session of
Congress a gold bill was passed, and the pro-
position was entertained for its repeal. I did
not know that it was against the rules of leg-
islative bodies to repeal a resolution or order,
or law of its own enactment.
The PRESIDENT. The house is competent
to repeal any measure which it has passed ;
but this is a different proposition, to do indi-
rectly that which cannot be done by the
rules; for the question of reconsideration by
the rules can only be agitated by a motion lo
reconsider made by a member who voted
with the majority.
Mr. BELT. Do I understand that it is in-
competent for the house to pass an order re-
scinding the former order, or that I as a mem-
ber of the house am not competent to offer
such an order?
The PRESIDENT. The Chair decides that it
is incompetent to rescind a proposition in the
mode adopted by the gentleman from Prince
George's (Mr. Belt.) The gentleman at-
tempts to reach this proposition indirectly.
The rules prescribe a certain form in which
the question shall be reached. A question
decided by the house stands as the judgment
of the house until that judgement is rescinded
by the proper mode. The proper mode is by
reconsideration, emanating from some one
that voted in the majority. The judgment
of the house cannot be disturbed except by
those who voted in the affirmative.
Mr. BELT. My object is not to reconsider,
but to take independent action, to repeal or
rescind what has been done. I certainly
thought it was competent for me or for any
other member, to take that original action. |
