, 1861-01-08
Yu,nortant ,Aadrn.s,a i; from the Qover-

nor OF Maryland.
BA1ruoaz, Jan 6.-GoT. Hicks publishes an
address TO the citizens Of Maryland, giving ht1
reasons Tor refnsiug 70 convene the Lsgisla.
ture. It fills ten co1umns @of the An.ertcon,
and abonnds With most emphatic Union sentl-
: II firmly believe that divislon Of this gov
ernment would inevitably produce clyN war;
This Secession leaders Of South Carolina and
the fanatica1 demaRoEues Of the North hare
alike proclaimed that such Will be the result,
and no man Of sense IN my opinion can qaea-
crisis, Il convened, to remove the present trou-
bles which beset the Union? We are told BY
the leading spirits Of the South Carolina Con
vention that neither the election Of 4E. Lin
coin or the non-e1eeution OF the Fugitive
Slave Law, nor both combined constituted
cause OF their discomfort dates az tar back as
1883. Mary1and and every other State u TIE
Union, with united yolce, then declared the
cause insufficient to justify the course OF
South Carolina. Can The that tho people who
then nnanmogsy supResedh the aniooss souss 81
the bidding of 1nodorn Secesslonistsf
IhaYe been told TINT the position OF Mary
Land should be defined, SO that both sectlous
could understsnd 1t. Do any really n1lsundcr-
stand her position1 Who that wishes to u1'-
derstand It can fail to do 80? II the action
that Maryland was with the South in sympa-
thy and feeling, that sho demands from the
North the repeal Of offensive unconstitutional
statntcs, md appeals to 1t for new guarantees;
that she will wait d reasonable time Tor the
North to purge her statutc books 80 as to do
Justice to her Southern brethren, and II her
appeals are vain, will make common canse
with har sister border States in resistance to
tyranny, If need be-It would only be saying
what the whole country well Knows, and what
may be said mnch more elIectunlly by her pco-
pie themselves than by the Legislature chosen
eighteen months since, while none of these
questions we're before them.
That Maryland is 4 Southern conservative
State NIL know who know her people OF her
history. The business aud agricultural classes
planters, merchants, mechanics and laborinE
| mcn-those whs have the real stake IN the
community, who would b forced to pay the
taxes and do the fighting, are the persons Who
should be heard In preference to excited poll
ticians, many of whom, having nothing to lose
from the destruction Of the government, may
hope to derive some gain FROM the rnin OF the
State. snch men would naturally urge yon to
allies at the North have deuominatcd cove
nunt with he'll.
The people Of Maryland If lcftto themselves
would decide, with scarce m exception. that
there is nothing in the present causes Of COM
plaint to justify immediate secession, and yet
victions Of duty, we are precipitated into civil
war because South Carolina thinks differently.
Are we not equals, or shall her opinions con-
troll our actionsg
After nc have solemnlY declared for our
selves, as every man must do, are We to he
forced to yield our opinions to those>of an
other State, and thus In effect obey her nan
| date? She refuses to wait for our counsels.
Arc We bound to obey her commands The
men who hare embarked in this scheme to
! convene the Legislature will spare no pains to
carry their point. The whole plan Of opera
tions, In the event of the assemblagc Of the
Legislature, is, as I have been informed, al
ready marked out. Tho list Of ambassadors
who a1e to visit the other States is already
agreed on, and the resolutions which they
hope will be passed By the Legislature, fully
committing this State to secession, are said to
be already prepared
In the course Of nature, cannot hnse long
| to live, and feryently trust to be allowed to
| end my days citizen Of this glorious Union !;
but should I be compelled to witness the
downfall OF that Government, inherited from
our fathers, established, as it were, by the spe~
cia1 favor Of God, I will at least have the con-
ISOLATION ut my dying hour that I, neither by
word or decd, assisted In fastening its disrup~
ton" [Bigncd.] Tuos. Il. HICKS.