62                The Maryland Constitution of 1851.             [440

The report of the committee on the free negro popula-
tion was never considered by the convention; though there
were several attempts made for its consideration. The
question was considered when the twenty-first article of
the Declaration of Rights was under discussion. This
article declared: " That no freeman ought to be taken
or imprisoned, or disseized of his freehold, liberty or privi-
leges, or outlawed, or exiled, or in any manner destroyed,
or deprived of his life, liberty or property, but by the judg-
ment of his peers, or by the law of the land."⁶⁹

Mr. Brent, of Baltimore City, moved an amendment to
the article by substituting the word "citizen" for "free-
man." ⁷⁰ Mr. Brent said that the object of the amendment
was to provide for a contingency, which might arise, in
which it would be necessary to banish the free negro popu-
lation of the State. He considered that without his amend-
ment the Declaration of Rights would prohibit the legisla-
ture from removing this class. Several members of the
convention expressed their belief that the time was not
far distant when the State would be compelled to take
serious measures for the removal of the free colored
population from its borders. Mr. Merrick, of Charles
county, said that the time must come when a separation,
peaceably or forcibly, must take place between the free
blacks and the whites. No two distinct races could, or
ever would, inhabit the same country, except in the relative
condition of master and slave—of the ruler and the ruled.
Sooner or later they must separate or the extermination of
the one or the other must take place. The black race
could not remain; they were multiplying too fast.⁷¹

Under the original constitution there was no difference
in the character of citizenship between freemen of what-
ever color. In 1802 the political power of the State was
vested in free white male citizens only.⁷² Since that time

⁶⁹ Compare Magna Charta, art. 39. ⁷⁰ Debates, vol. i, p. 194.
⁷¹ Debates, vol. i, p. 197-198.                  ⁷² Act 1802, ch. 20.