the gentleman from St. Mary's (Mr. Dent,)
as taking from the legislature the power,
should the general government place ten or
twenty millions of dollars, or any amount in
the bands of the State, of passing any law
for the purpose of carrying out the object of
compensation under such a provision of ap-
propriation. Not only that, but it would
have this farther effect. Even should there
be a disposition on the part of Congress to
make such an appropriation, the opponents
of any appropriation could urge that the
legislature had no power to receive and make
a disposition of the funds. I regard it there-
fore, as simply a declaration to the federal
government, not only that we are not willing
to receive and do not ask any appropriation,
but by the action of this convention we tie the
hands of our legislature in such a manner
that they can receive »no such appropriation,
And viewing it in this light I shall vote "no."
Mr. NEGLEY. Inexplanation of my vote I
would say that I do not think the meaning at-
tached to this section by the gentleman from
St. Mary's (Mr. Dent,) and the gentleman from
Prince George's (Mr. Clarke,) can properly be
attached to this section. The plain sense of the
section is that the general assembly shall pass
no law, nor make any appropriation—that is,
pass no law raising the money, or make any
appropriation of the money when raised, to
compensate masters of slaves, &c. It would
not preclude the legislature from passing a
law to create a commission to receive any
money and distribute it, which the general
government might appropriate, I vote "aye."
Mr. SANDS. I wish to explain my vote. I
do not conceive that any such construction
as has been placed by the gentlemen from St.
Mary's and Prince George's (Messrs. Dent
and Clarke) can be placed upon this section.
And I now notify them that if they had offered
an amendment to that effect, providing that
nothing contained in this section shall prevent
the legislature from passing law, rule or
regulation necessary to dispose of any fund
which the general government might appro-
priate for compensating the owners of slaves
hereby set free, I should have voted for it
most heartily. I cannot conceive that the
section will bear their construction, and
therefore I vote "aye. "
Mr. VALLIANT. I wish to say in explana-
tion of my vote, that I do not construe this
fortieth section as it has been construed by
gentlemen upon the other side. If I did I
should feel obliged by the pledges I made to
my constituents to vote against it. But net
construing it as they do, I shall vote "aye."
SUPPORT OF MANUMITTED SLAVES, &C.
Mr. MILLER submitted the following as an
additional section:
"Section —. The legislature shall provide by
law and make appropriations from the trea-
sury, if necessary, for the comfortable support |
and maintenance of such slaves manumitted
by the adoption of this Constitution as may,
by reason of age or other cause, be unable to
support and maintain themselves."
The PRESIDENT. Is not that substantially
the proposition submitted by the gentleman
from Queen Anne (Mr. Brown,) and rejected
by the convention?
Mr. MILLER. Something like it may have
been submitted as an amendment to another
section, and been voted down for that reason.
I consider it perfectly in accordance with par-
liamentary usage to offer it as an additional
section to the report.
Mr. JONES, of Somerset, moved to amend
the proposed section, by adding the follow-
ing: "Provided that all slaves who, at the
time that this constitution shall go into effect,
shall be manumitted thereby, and shall be
minors, shall be thenceforth in the condition
of negro apprentices, under the law of this
State, to their owner; males until they shall
arrive at the age of twenty-one years and
females until they shall arrive at the age of
eighteen years. "
Mr. MILLER moved that the Convention ad-
journ.
Mr. STIRLING asked for the yeas and nays
upon the motion to adjourn, and they were
ordered.
The question was then taken by yeas and
nays, and resulted—yeas 19; nays 31—as fol-
lows :
Yeas—Messrs. Goldsborough, President;
Bond, Brown, Clarke, Dent, Duvall, Edelen,
Hoffman, Hollyday, Jones, of Somerset, King,
Lee, Mitchell, Miller, Parker, Parran, Peter,
Stockbridge. Thomas—19.
Nays—Messrs. Abbott, Annan, Audoun,
Cunningham, Cushing, Daniel, Davis, of Wash-
ington, Earle, Ecker, Farrow, Galloway,
Hatch, Hebb, Hopkins, Kennard, Markey,
McComas, Murray, Negley, Nyman, Pugh,
Purnell, Russell, Sands, Schley, Stirling,
Swope, Sykes, Todd, Valliant, Wooden—31.
The motion to adjourn wass accordingly re-
jected.
The question recurred upon the amendment
submitted by Mr. JONES, of Somerset.
Mr. JONES, of Somerset. I think that the
proposition of the gentleman from Anne
Arundel (Mr. Miller.) and the amendment
that I have submitted, are both entitled to
the consideration of this Convention upon
principles of humanity and justice, The
gentleman from Charles (Mr. Edelen) has
said that in his county the number of slaves,
before the federal government had occasion to
take the able-bodied males into the army,
considerably exceeded in number the white
population there. Among the number that
is left in that and every other slaveholding
county in the State, there are a great many
helpless; a great many women and children
utterly unable to support themselves, and
who must be a burden to somebody. The |
