The amendment was offered in order to meet
this hardship, as I consider it, upon the city
of Baltimore. But I am perfectly convinced
from what I have seen and heard that there
is no probability that the section will go
through; but I think it will cause a great
deal of debate, which I am not willing to
cause in the convention.
COMPENSATION FOR SLAVES.
Mr. CLARKE submitted the following amend-
ment as an additional section :
Section —. The legislature at its first ses-
sion after the adoption of this constitution
shall provide by law for taking a census, at
the expense of the several counties and the
City of Baltimore, of all the negro slaves
which were in the State on the first day of
January, 1861, and at the date of the adop-
tion of this constitution, giving the names,
ages, and sex of such negro slaves, and the
names of their owners, and shall provide by
law for obtaining and preserving among the
records of the several counties and the city of
Baltimore the evidence of title of such own-
ers.
Mr. CLARKE said: I will merely state in ex-
planation the reasons which have induced me
to offer this article. I was not at all sur-
prised to learn, when I came to this conven-
tion that before its labors ended there might
possibly be engrafted in this constitution a
provision changing the relation of master and
slave, or providing for the abolition of slave-
ry in the State of Maryland. The state of
the public mind, the result of the election,
the interchange of views of members of this
convention, prepared me for such a result. 1
had hoped that the house would so shape its
action upon ibis question that on arriving at
this result some provision might be made
looking forward to compensation from some
source for the owners of slave property thus
destroyed 'by the action of this convention
Hence I did not wait until the article in the
report on the legislative department was
taken up, to express my views with reference
to this question, but availed myself of that
privilege when the bill of rights was under
consideration.
When we reached the legislative report
this convention went a step farther. No
only had we provided for the abolition of
slavery in the State of Maryland, but the
convention by its vote decided to restrict the
power of the legislature from passing any
law in reference to the compensation of own
ors, and from passing any law making a
appropriation. When the vote was taken on
that article I suggested a doubt, and I have
now a very grave doubt, whether in case
Congress should make an appropriation to
the State of Maryland the legislature of the
State would have the power to act upon the
subject so as to parcel out and provide for the
distribution of the fund. I suggested further |
that even supposing it was only a doubt, not
plain—
Mr. SANDS. I think the gentleman was
not present yesterday when this section was
passed:
" The general assembly shall have power to
receive from the United States any grant or
donation of land, money or securities for any
purpose designated by the United States, and
shall administer or distribute the same ac-
cording to the conditions of the said grant."
Mr. CLARKE. No, sir; I did not know that
had passed. That settles the doubt then.
There is not a word about slaves, but I pre-
sume that was intended to embrace that ques-
tion. To a certain extent, therefore, the
convention has more nearly than I supposed,
adopted the line of policy in regard to this
question which I think should befollowed.
By adopting such an article the convention
contemplates, I will not say the certainty, but
the possibility of such a grant being made.
It is known that I offered a proposition for the
appointment of a committee to wait upon the
President and upon members of Congress, to
learn whether such an appropriation would
be made. This proposition was laid upon the
table; and I then bad notice from the gen-
tleman from Baltimore county (Mr. Berry)
that he would renew the proposition at the
proper time. The proposition was not re-
newed Congress adjourned", and [presume
Congress having adjourned the gentleman
thinks that this convention could not avail
themselves of the proper time, and could not
act at all on the subject. We have never had
a renewal of the proposition.
But although Ibis convention has not acted,
we have standing upon the statute books of
Congress, a resolution passed by Congress in
solemn form, slating it as the duty and obli-
gation of the federal government to make an
appropriation to those States which might
adopt the policy of emancipation for the pur-
pose of enabling the State to compensate its
citizens tor the losses, public and private, oc-
cassioned by such a change in its domestic
policy. Not only that, but we have the re-
peated assurance of the executive, of the
justice and propriety of such a course. We
have had further, cabinet ministers placing
it before the country in this form, that this
was an obligation on the part of the federal
government to make an appropriation to a
State which might adopt this policy, placing
the obligation upon the same high ground
which rests upon the government to pay its
creditors. Therefore, although Congress has
not yet made the appropriation, although
Congress may not make the appropriation be-
fore slavery is abolished in the State, although
in my opinion the best way to secure it was
to make it a condition precedent, yet I do not
concede the proposition that if the State of
Maryland emancipates her slaves prior to such
an appropriation, her claim against the gov- |
