393]           The Maryland Constitution of 1864.              47

there was another outburst of great anger on the part of
the majority. By motion of Mr. Hatch, of Baltimore City,
thanks were tendered to Ishmael Day, of Baltimore County,
"for the heroic and gallant act in shooting down the traitor
who dared to pull down the country's flag." Mr. Schley,
of Frederick County, offered an order that the Convention
request the President, "as an act of justice and propriety,
to assess upon known sympathizers with the rebellion resi-
dent in this state, the total amount of all losses and spolia-
tions sustained by loyal citizens of the United States resi-
dent in this state, by reason of the recent rebel raid, to
compensate loyal sufferers." This was passed by a vote of
33 to 17, the minority solidly opposing it.²⁹ On the follow-
ing day Mr. Belt offered a resolution that this order "was
improvidently passed, and that the same be and is hereby
rescinded," but it was overwhelmingly defeated by the ma-
jority members.³⁰ On this same day Mr. Stirling sub-
mitted resolutions which, considering the number of South-
ern sympathizers in Maryland, as the experience of the past
two weeks had shown, demanded of the Government of the
United States that all those refusing to take the oath of alle-
giance or who shall have been "proved to have taken part
with or openly expressed their sympathy with the recent
invasion of the state ... be banished beyond the lines of
the army or imprisoned during the war." ³¹ These resolu-
tions were passed on July 21.³² The minority consistently
fought all these extreme proceedings, the resolutions being
characterized as "unjust, extraordinary and inhuman,"³³
and they not only voted against them, but actively opposed
them in debate, urging in particular that the Convention
was exceeding its authority by thus acting in a legislative
capacity. Mr. Belt vainly attempted to amend Mr. Stirl-
ing's resolutions by declaring that nothing contained
therein should be taken to endorse any other theory of the

²⁹ Proc., 257-8.                               ³⁰Proc., 267-8; Deb., ii, 830-1.

³¹ Proc., 265-6.                ³² Proc., 273-7.                ³³ Deb., ii, 873.