120 RESOLUTIONS.

NUMBER 3.

The General Assembly of Maryland have seen with concern certain
indications, at the seat of the General Government, of an interference
with the institution of slavery in the slave holding States, and cannot
hesitate to express their sentiments, and those of the people they
represent, in regard to a policy so unwise and mischievous.

This war is prosecuted by the Nation with but one object, that,
namely, of a restoration of the Union just as it was when the rebellion
broke out. The rebellious States are to be brought back to their places
in the Union, without change or diminution of their constitutional rights;
in the language of the resolution adopted by both houses of Congress
at its extra session in July last, with remarkable unanimity, this war is
declared to be prosecuted not in any spirit of oppression, or for any
purposes of conquest or subjugation, or purpose of overthrowing or
interfering with the rights or established institutions of those States,
but to defend and maintain the supremacy of the constitution and to
preserve the Union, with all the dignity, equality and rights of the
several States unimpaired, and that, as soon as those objects are accom-
plished, the war ought to cease.

The objects and purposes of the war thus impressively declared, are
those alone which the Nation can rightfully contemplate in its prosecu-
tion ; and the moment the object of the war changes from a simple
restoration of the Union as known to the constitution, to something else
in conflict with the guarantees of that instrument, from that moment
the war itself changes its character.

The duty of the Government in a great crisis like the present is a
very plain one, it is to preserve, protect and defend the constitution of
the United States; and, thankful as we have reason to be for our ex-
emption from the devastation and ruin of civil war, we rely further upon
the wisdom and firmness of the President, in the discharge of the high
and solemn trust committed to his hands, to resist and rebuke all
attempts, from any and from every quarter, to convert this war into a
crusade against the institution of domestic slavery as it exists in the
Southern States, under the guarantees of the constitution, or to take
advantage of the troubled condition of our country, for the gratification
of personal views or sectional prejudices.

It is, therefore, in accordance with these views:

1. Resolved by the General Assembly of Maryland, That we cordi-
ally approve of the resolutions passed at the extra session of Congress,
already alluded to, and earnestly desire that in the prosecution of the
war the sentiments and purposes it announces as the deliberate judg-
ment of the Nation, may be steadily kept in view, and faithfully adhered
to by all the Departments of the Government, and by our armies in the
field.

2. Resolved, That our confidence in the wisdom, firmness, and modera-
tion of President Lincoln remain undiminished. That we have seen,
with approval and gratification, the sentiments announced by the Presi-