The southern aegis, and Harford County intelligencer. (Bel Air, Md.) 1862-1864, 1862-03-22

TEST. Ihere are thousands of voters in
this State who do not own any negroes at
all, and some who own fg, Of only
nominal value, to say nothing,f the hordes
Of abolition paupers, who flight in the
course Of a year or two, Be introduced
into the State, to vote on this question.
These parties, who might be in the ma
jority when the vote came to be taken,
would thus have it in their power to de-
fraud those who owned the valuable slaves,
of millions of dollars. The vote of
man who was not worth one dollar, would
go a. far in deciding the one-sided bargain
and sale, as that of the owner of fifty ne
groes. And it is not to be doubted that
the new test of "loyaAy' would also be
applied; and, of course, all those who
were too conscientious to forswear all the
principles of truth and justice which have
governed their course of life, would be de-
prived of their property, without compen-
sation or redress.
Further argument on this point is un-
necessary. The injustice and absurdity
of the proposition must be apparent to
every one.
How would they estimate the value of
the negroes under such circumstances !?
1t could not be done by the ordinary laws
of supply and demand because in this
case the seller would be prohibited from
replacing the property sold; and this con-
sideration would of course greatly enhance
its actual value. Who would sell horse,
for which he had use, for five times his
value, as rated by the laws of trade, if, as
a condition, he was obliged to bind him
self never to own another horse? This
view of the subject is undoubtedly to be
considered.
If the Federal Government must step
out of its we'll defined bounds to interfere
with our negroes, the only way it can eff
feet its object, with any show of justice
or propriety, is to come fairly into mar
ket, like other dealers, and advertise for
negroes as it does for its other wants,
and state the conditions. We are very
certain that if the Government will offer
the owners what they believe to be the
full value of their negroes, it will soon
get them all; and it is equally certain
that if it does not offer their value, it will
not get them without gross outrage on
the rights Of property.
The Union-by.jorce men in this State,
who have become so infatuated with the
cry of "Union," "the Flag" &C., as to
have lost all sight Of law and justice, are
no doubt prepared to advocate any mea-
sure that Mr.. Lincoln and his coadjutor
may dictate but Mr.. Lincoln is very
much mistaken if he supposes that the
adjustment of slavery in this State, by
whatever means, will exercise any concili-
atory Influence over those who now op-
pose, politically, the dogmas and acts of
the aggressive party which he represents.
1t is an insult to our people to be told,
from such source, that our opposition to
the Black Republican party arises from
entirely selfish motives. At the same
time it is an acknowledgment that the ex-
eeution Of the designs Of his party requires
a sacrifice of important property interests
on the part of his opponents.
The President should know that there
are thousands of persons in this State who
never owned a negro, and who never ex-
pect to own one, who are yet uncompro-
missing opposers of the interfering policy
OF his party-men who are influenced
solely by the purest motives who vener-
ate the Constitution of the United States,
as it has always been interpreted by the
Supreme Court, (our only authority and
WHO revered the "Union" so long as the
principles of justice and equality, which
gave origin to it, were recognized and re-
spected by the leading contracting parties.
The integrity of neither the shareholders
nor the non-slave-holders can be shaken
by the pittance which Mr.. Lincoln is pre-
pared to offer.
Again, the President and Congress
have no right to expend the peoples Gin
GLIDING Maryland's) money for any such
purposes. They would have precisely the
the same right to buy up any other kind
OF property in the State--say horses, for
lnstance-and then prohibit the introduc-
ton OF any more into the State.
The President is not warranted in as
serting that slavery is the cause of seces-
sion. Such is not the fact. Our troubles
are all to be attributed to tho shamefully
illegal and unconstitutional action on the
part of the Abolition Republican party.
For years after the abolition mania arose
IN the North, its rawlings were scarcely
needed at the South. But finally these