112 EVIDENCE. [ART. 37.

with any state which may adopt gradual abolishment
of slavery, giving to such state pecuniary aid, to be
used by such state in its discretion to compensate for
the inconvenience, public and private, produced by
such change of system ; and whereas, by the twenty-
fourth section of the act of congress approved on the
twenty-fourth day of February, eighteen hundred and
sixty-four, provision was made for enrolling all able
bodied male colored persons residing in the United
States as a part of the national forces, and for award-
ing to each loyal person to whom a colored volunteer
might owe service, a just compensation not exceed-
ing three hundred dollars for each colored volunteer,
and under said provisions, and previously thereto,
under the military authority of the United States, a
large number of slaves owing service to loyal citizens
of Maryland, were induced to leave their owners and
enlist in the military service of the United States, or
were received on board of steamers under the com-
mand of the said military, and carried away from the
service of said owners by said military, so that their
service was totally lost to said owners, and very few
of the said loyal owners have ever received any com-
pensation for slave volunteers so enlisted or for ser-
vice so lost, and whereas, by the twenty-fourth
article of the declaration of rights of the constitution
of this state, which went into fall operation on the
first day of November, in the year eighteenth hun-
dred and sixty-four, all persons held to service or
labor as slaves in this state were thereby declared
to be free; and whereas, no compensation for the
inconveniences, public and private, produced by such
changes of system has been made by giving to this
state pecuniary aid according to the faith of the fede-
ral government solemnly pledged by the joint reso-
lutions aforesaid; and whereas, the general assembly
of Maryland by joint resolutions passed at this pre-
sent session has resolved that the state of Maryland
has a good, valid and just claim upon the govern-
ment of the United States for reasonable and ade-