441]            The Maryland Constitution of 1864.               95

The election took place as ordered, on October 12-13.
There seems to have been little or no disorder or military
interference at the polls, although it was charged that in
some districts gross frauds were perpetrated.⁸ These
could hardly have been very extensive on either side, as
recourse would undoubtedly have been had to the courts
in the same manner as was done in the case of the sol-
diers' vote. The result of the regular state vote showed
that the Constitution had been defeated by an adverse ma-
jority of 1995.⁹ Of course everything now depended on
the result of the soldiers' vote, the returns of which were
slowly coming in. The opponents of the Constitution now
attempted to throw out this latter vote, and thus insure
the final defeat of the document. On October 24, 1864,
an application was made to the Superior Court of Balti-
more City (Judge Robert N. Martin) on behalf of Samuel
G. Miles for a mandamus directed to Governor Bradford,
commanding him to exclude all votes cast at any place
outside of the state of Maryland from the count upon the
question of the adoption of the Constitution. The peti-
tioner stated that he was a qualified voter of Maryland
according to the existing Constitution, but had been un-
lawfully excluded from voting by the Judges of Election
because he refused to take the oath illegally prescribed ac-
cording to the new Constitution. He further averred that
the soldiers had not been subjected to the oath according
to the requirements of the new Constitution, and hence
their votes should not be counted if the above action of
the Judges of Election was sustained. Also by this same
document the petitioner stated that he would be unlawfully
deprived of his property in slaves without any compensa-
tion therefor. The court dismissed the petition on the

⁸ "Sun," Oct. 13; Frederick "Examiner," Oct. 19; Denton
"Journal" (quoted in "Sun" of Oct. 24); "American," Oct. 29.
See also Scharf, " History of Maryland," iii, 596.

⁹ See appendix for detailed vote.