, 1863-09-11
ENI.1sTING BLACKS IN MA
lsYLAND.
Letter from Judge Bond.
BALTrhoRz, Aug. Is, 1861

BALTIMORE, Aug. Is, 1863.
The Hon. Ed. h. Stanton, Secretary Of War:
DEAR SIR: In obedience to your request,
deeire to submit In writing to you, for the
consideration Of the Var Department, the
following views respecting the use Of the
power given to the President by the act of
Congress, approved July II, 1852.
There are, By the census Of 1860, in Nary
land. 50, goo free negroes, and $1,000 Slaves.
by about 10000 perzons, The population Of
the State is $50, 600.
The GOVERNMENT, rs I am informed. has di.
rectcd an officer Of the army, Col. Blrnoy.
than whom, in my Judgment, no better se.
lection could have been made to enlist the
free blacks OF the State In the service Of the
United States, which enlistments are proceed
irg with great rapidity.
The objection which I have to this proceed
Ing, in common with other non shareholders.
Is one which will strike your mind With great
force.
To take away from the State the hearty,
strong and able free blacks, who now do the
manual labor On the farms Of the seven com
pa1atively free counties Of tile State aud in
the city Of Baltimore, will leaye those Sec
ttons Of the State without labor, or else COM
pei them, the most loyal sections Of the State.
to hire slave labor.
It is well known that free white labor will
rot enter the State to supply the place Of the
free colored lahorer while slavery continues
to exist here.
This at once gives new value to the insti-
tuition which no loyal man desires should be
permanent, and which it has been both hoped
and conceded the war would destroy, and
and which, likewise, the Administration has
taught us to believe 1t WAS its policy to rid
us Of forever.
I do not mean to assert that oil the slave
holders III this State are di6loyal, but By far
the greater portion of them arc, and such as
are hostile to the Government are BY far the
most bitter and active Of its enemies in our
midst. The course now pursued by Col. Blr-
ney, under Instructions as understand 1t,
viz: that Of enlistfug none but free persons,
!. will double the value ot slaye property, Is Il
Ia called, and actually indirectly put money
in tht hands of those hostile to the Govern.
ment, which 1s taken from the purses of the
Loyal non .slage geholding people Of the State.
suppose the Government has no wish TINT
such should be the result Of its action In tho
That persons owning slaves should bear their
proportion Of the public burden, and that
slayes should be enlisted pari 17asu with the
FREQ persons Of color.
grcss above referred to warrants it. Tho act
gives the President power to employ all per
sons Of African descent to put down tn REBEL
ion-not all free persons. Thosepersons there
tore Of African descent held to servico in this
State nre clearly within the words Of the act,
and that their relation" is not, and was not,
intended by Congress to be 4 bar to thelr
military service ts plain from analogous
statutes respecting the enlistment Of white
pcrso1s.
The fundamental idea Of all the laws on
the statute book respecting this matter, Is
that military service is the equal duty Of nj
persons Who enjoy the protection Of, OF owe
nhfH1hrrn In u ear mt
the master. lie &C Congress allows the en-
ustment Of minors who, By law aud natuzal
right, owe seryice to the parent, and no CO H.
pensation Is made to the father for the lost
service Of his boy, between tho ages # 10
and 81. Yet the law Of Maryland recognizes
this obligation to service on the part Of the
child, and entorces It when refused.
Again, the law OF Maryland establishes the
relation OF master and apprentice. Without
the statute euch relation could not exist. Il
is the mere creature Of Law. Yet the act Of
Congress does not exempt the .ndcnture1
youth from ecryice, nor does 1t provide com
pensation for the master. Higherand eboye,
Paramount to all such relations, Is the c1aim
ct the country for military service, and all
ouch ties and obligations, whether BY force
OF i.W or by contract, nre supposed by Con-
gress TO be made or epto1ned Ii full view Of
the we'll known duty Of military service.
I need not suggest TINT slavery exists In
IT.
The service Of ; child to his parent, Of IN ap-
prentice 10 hls master, of d hireliue to his
employer, If q legal obligation. One Law is
not superior to another. Statutes are of equal
force, and us the duty Of all persons to per
form military service over1iaes the one Of
these relations, the others have no claim to
Perhaps 1t would be as well to remove IN
erroneous impression which seems to be an
obstacle In the way Of dealing with this mat
ter, and that Is, that the relation Of master
and slaye has moro Of natural right, or Of the
accidents Of property. than the relations to
calls it, and it is nothing more, II The rela-
ton Of master and ,slaye.n The tight to hold
the slave may be OF more value than the
right to the services Of au apprentice, It
may be the subject Of Inheritance, and not
cease with tho lie Of the party to whom SER
child, but the value Of a thing does not alter
its legal status or definition. The law deals
with It in Maryland precisely as It. deals with
the relation Of master and apprentice.
If man cruelty beats bis apprentice, the
law dissolves the relationship.
If d man cruelty beats his negro, the law
disso1yes thst relationship also, and tho negro
is free.
If . man brings party owing service into
this State, intending to sell him to some one
ont Of the State, tho act of Assembly manu-
mits the party, and annuls the obligation to
service; and as the law Of Maryland views
the matter, 60 the act of Congress views it
as an obligation to service to which the mill
taEy duty Of the person owing service is para
mnunt.
Thelaw Of Maryland never loses sight OF
the fact that the party owing service is
pe'-soa. The law Of Congress- regards him,
lkewise, as person, aud that he owes mill
taTy service.
II the Department agrees With me In these
views, the duty Of the Government ia c1earlH
a few gears ago, the Legislature Of Mary
land, unccr the influence of ultra pro-slayeIY
counscls, submitted to the people Of a large
portion of the State for acceptance, law
State, to enter the relation Of seryituae
again, or be sold to the highest bidder. Our
people well knew that the free people Of col
or would forsake the State rather than return
again to bondage, and looked upon the law
as IN attempt to deprive them of the seryices
n,slaseholdlng community, to hire % the sur. mr.
plus slaTe population. The law was indlg-
nantly rejected.
Isubmit that tho Government, If It pursues
the course now practiced, will be In effect
putting In torce statue which the people Of
sMa!yland, In the :he5day Of Slavery IN this
State, refused to place on tie statue book.
A leading stakeholder has, am informed.
made n request that the Government aliow =
bounty or sum Of money BY way of COM
pensatsen to the owner of slaves who shall
enlist them In the service Of the United
States.
The objection to this course is that It IL
partial and unjust. The Government makes
no such allowance to poor father whose son
is enlisted, nor to mechanic whose aporen-
tfce Is drafted; and also that 1t renews q pro-
pota1 Of the President to compensate our
siaEeholding tellow-citizens who would favor
emancipation, agaiust 77hich proposition the
vote Of every representative from our s1aTe-
Folding districts was recorded six months !
ago, and they ore Tenominated for Congress-.
thus approving their action.
II, however. the Government, is willing to !
Yield the enforcement Of strict Inv to What |
they may think 4 more conservative policy. |
shall adopt any such method, or offsr boun,
y for the enlistment Of slayes, 1t is to be |
hoped that such allowance vill bs made only |
to loyal people, and that with respect to per |
sons owing service to dislpya1 men the para.
mount obligation of military service win be
enforced.
hope, however, the Government VII, rfow
1e matter aB do, and authorize the officer
ntrnsted with this service to issue the fol-
owing proclamation:
Yours, truly, HuGH L. BOND,
% ALL MEN OF AFRICAN DESCENT, BETWEEN THE
AGES OF EIGHTEEN AND PonTT-F1yE YEARS, IN |
MARYLAND.
The act Of Congress- approved on the nth Of Ju.
,. 1SG9, having enacted as follows, viz:
That the President Of the United Skate8 fe an
horized to employ as many persons Of Aftican de-
he suppression Of this rebellion; and, ior this
ufPose, he may organize and use them in snch |
nanner az he may judge best for tho public
and the President having, under that law aud
[s authority: resolved to employ persons OF Afi-
an descent for the suppression OF this rebellion,
nd Judged It best for the public safety to organ.
20 and use them as volunteer soldiers In tho Ser
Ice Of the United States, and to grant them all
be pay and emo1nments provided by law for auch
oldiers;
The President has authorized and directed me to