St. Mary's beacon. [volume] (Leonard Town, Md.) 1845-1863, 1862-06-12
MARYLAND.

s;vh, mot uuI, ot til. landmarks of the
c1,.s,i,u.; n tut of the first principles
which should guide legislature III pro
r,.,iup the objects aud ends for which 1t
is instituted. Government, under "na'-
ever form administered, Is concession u
the goyerned-a creation OF the peoPhe-
intended for the protection and happiness
Of all. Security of life AID property arc
i,s declared objects. Any fixed policy.
therefore on the part Of those appointed
to Conduct the affairs OF nation, when
directly or indirectly in'perils or destroys
the vested rights Of its citizens, v'tiates
the compact between the governors anu
the governed. The plea Of public neces-
si,y NAV at times oe sufficient to put IN
Allowance the strongest claims OF justice
and right, but certainly there is nothing
in the rrcstn. posture of our national
affairs to excuse tue bad faith towards Ma
ryland aud the other border States which
Congress manifested in its recent proceed
ings, abolishing slavery in the District OF
Columbia. 1t could hardly be credited
that this emancipation act was believed oy
by its congressional advocates to be an
houest one. when they had before fheI
ewes an enactment of their own of an ops
posite character, passed by themselves
only short time before, and couched IN
th,: following language; "No amendment
snail be made to the constitution which
will authorize or give to Congress the
power to abolish or Interfere within any
State with tIe domestic institutions there
of. including that Of persons held to Ia
bor or service by the laws of said State. y
To tu'n away floh q proposition like
this, and initiate a system which invades
he vested rights which that proposition
III. ant to cover. looks very much like tri-
fling with the border States, and design
on the part Of Congress only to play them
along until all nou-slave States could be
made to work in unison against the rights
and interests Of the others. The limits OF
oppression. it would seem, are only to DC
ciircumscribcd by the extent to which the
popular mind will suffer them to be car
ried. Nothing could be more unjust to
MARYLAND than the course which the sla-
very agitation has been suffered to take.
1t IS true, there WAS . lawless populI
outbreak within her borders on the 18th
Of April. 1861. But many deprecated it
at the time, and her Legislature made eve
~ atonement in its power for the unhappy
occurrence Let any one read the proceed
ings and acts Of her last General Assem-
Lly, and then say if he can, what further
expiration could have been made. Mary
land is still one of the United States, en-
titled to demand the enforcement of the
constitutional guarantees made in her be-
half and to protest agar s: their infrac-
ton. Her legislature. penitant ns it
proved to be for the misclceds Of the 18th
of April, was not willing to sacrifice an
institution Of vital importance to her pros
pcri,y, or sec it interfered with by outside
influences. An,i-slavery distractions.
though harmless in New England, were
elements of ruin when transplantcd in
Maryland. The idealism Of the Negro
philist may be beautiful afar on. but he
comes extremely hurtful when brought to
our doors The most arden: Unionists in
Maryland are pretty much Of one mind on
the subj ct Of abolitionisn. The Cover
nor of Maryland, whose devotion to the
Union no one will question, insisted in
his inaugural address. upon the indisputa-
bic right Of Maryland to regulate slavery
f., herself The last legislature Of Mary
land. which was not behind any other in
the Union in evidences Of its attachment,
passed numerous resolutions indicative of
its sensitiveness as to all cxtraneous inter
medling in her domestic institutions
Resolution No. 3 deprecatcs the agitation
Of the slavery question in Congress Res
oluton No. calls for cessation Of such
agitation on the part Of Congress. Reso-
luton No. j is dcnunciatcry of the efforts
of abolitionists to emaucipatc the slaves OF
the District Of Columbia Resolution No.
Is protests against any interference with
the subject of slavery by Congress, and
any attempt to make this war pretext for
the abolition Of slavery Or servile inslr-
rection.
Subsequent action liz Congress has
shown with how little respect that body
was disposed to treat the feelings Of Ma
~ land AS for resolutions Nos 3 aud 9,
they have turned out to be no more in
Washington than SO much i"L,'aum fui-
msn" Resolution No. Is has also re-
ceivcd its quietus, the only rcspons there
to being the passage Of tLe emancipation
bill for the district Of Columbia. As to
resolution No. Is. the debate on Mr..
Lovejoy's bill to exclude slavery forever
from all places where the United States
shall have exclusive jurisdiction, proves
very conclusively that the border States
have but little sympathy in Congress. In
deed, if Lovcjoy's policy should be adopt
ed, it may well lie doubted, if before
another month rolls round. the recorded
slavery sentiments of Gov Bradford's in
augural, and the resolutions Of the late
Union Legislature Of Maryland should not
be discovered to be fat treason. At all
events. it will be hard if, after rendering
valueless the labor of Maryland, her peo-
pie should be expected for the mkt half
century to be able to fulfil their duties IS
tax payers.
To US it appears that the free States in
Congress are taking very poor way Of
convincing the world that the South was
wrong. when it charged them with ag-