56               The Maryland Constitution of 1864.            [402

states. The Democrats in the Convention did not fail
to push their advantage.

Early in the session Mr. Clarke had presented a reso-
lution providing for a select committee to confer with
President Lincoln on the subject,⁷¹ but Mr. Negley of
Washington offered an amendment including a declaration
of emancipation in Maryland, and the whole matter was
tabled without debate.⁷² We have also seen Mr. Clarke's
second unsuccessful attempt, in which he desired to make
emancipation conditional upon national aid.⁷³ But as the
question of slavery within the state was now definitely
settled, the majority could no longer oppose action looking
toward national compensation on the ground that it af-
fected the final result in the state, so on July 26, Mr.
Duvall of Montgomery submitted a provision to be added
to the legislative report allowing the General Assembly
to provide for the distribution of any money received from
the General Government for the purpose of compensating
the slave-owners. Mr. Jones of Somerset added an
amendment including among the beneficiaries the owners
of those slaves which had been taken under the authority
of the President for use in military and other like enter-
prises, but this however was lost. Mr. Stirling now
grasped the situation and offered a provision which seemed
to satisfy both sides and was at once adopted with only
one negative vote.⁷⁴ It was incorporated in the Constitu-
tion as Article 3, section 45, and provided that the "Gen-
eral 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 according to the condi-
tions of the said grant." The motion that the General
Assembly be required in addition to make some provision
for perpetuating records of slave ownership was at once
defeated ota the ground that it was unnecessary.⁷⁵

⁷¹ Proc., 134.                  ⁷² Proc., 147-8.                  ⁷³ See page 53.

⁷⁴ Proc., 319-20.                       ⁷⁵ Proc., 332-4; Deb., ii, 997-1000.