The Baltimore County union. [volume] (Towsontown, Md.) 1865-1909, 1866-10-27

g The General Assembly shall pass no LAW nor
9 make any appropriation to compensate the
masters or claimants of slaves emancipated
g from servitude By the adoption of this Consti-
g tuition,
BY referring to tho debates in the State Con-
vention, it viii be seen that the slave-holding
copperheads opposed this section by every means
in their power and voted against it in body
They openly declared that the time would yet
come when their emancipated slaves would be
paid for, out of the Treasury of the State.
That time, they imagine has come now. AS
early as last Fall, an association was formed in
the slaye-holding portions of the State, whose
purpose was to prepare complete list of the
emancipated slaves, with their names, ages, &C.,
and also to collect corruption fluid with which
| to bride the Legislature and carry their object
| through that body. Men were employed to
travel over the country and collect certain sum
per head for every slave formerly owned, with
such statistics as might be necessary to identify
the slave and establish the claim of bis late mas
ter In some of the lower counties of the State
the copperhead candidates for the Legislature
openly declare that, if elected: they will make
an effort to carry through this measure. In our
county they fear the people and are not bold
enough openly TO ayow thcir approval Of it,
Some of them speak Of attempting 10 appropriate
the School fund 20 this purpose, thus closing the
doors ofonr Public Schools against the children
of the INDECENT but hard-laboring people of the
| State. Whatever suhterfuges they may adopt,
there can be no doubt that if once in control OF
the Legislature, one Of their first steps viii be
an action looking toward this end. -sa
Let sus see how such measure would affect
| the interests Of the State.
| BY the Census Of 1860, there were in Mary
land 81, 1S3 slaves. Counting them at $500
per head it would amount TO the sum Of about
| sac, 000, 600 This enormous debt would be set
tied upon us and our posterity for years 10 come,
and the payment of which would increase our
taxes, already burdensome, TO an enormous ex-
| tent.
1t would require a tax of So. 90 on every hum
dred dollars worth Of assessable property in the
State 10 reach it, Now the free sections Of the
State, by which we mean Baltimore city and the
counties Of Allegany, Washington, Frederick,
Carroll, Baltimore Hartford and Cecil, neither OF
which ever bad much interest in slavery, OVID
two-thirds of the assessable property of the State
and pay about three-fourths ofthe taxes Hence
its portion of this debt would be about two
thirds the whole amount or about $24, 600, 600 !!
In the free section there were only H. 277 slaves,
for which we would get BY such law, 1910
600. The difference, or $ls, 900, 900 would be
the amount the free section would be compelled
to pay TO the slave section for the liberation Of
their slaves !
Applying these figures 10 Baltimore county
with an assessed valuation of $50, l6o,652, our
portion of the Tax would be, at $500 on the
hundred, over 81, Ooo, oooi
In return we should receive for our 3,l82
emancipa,ed slaves at $500 each, Sl,272, $780,
The difference, or $2,727, 200, would be tb'
amount actually wrung from the pockets of th'
honest, Woodworking Taxpayers of the County
az their contribution to the shareholders of til.
counties for their emancipated Negroes.
This is an item of no small Importance TO the
tax-paying community. 1t is to the Union part,
that we are indebted for the clause in the Con
stituton shielding the State against this mon
strous wrong, in the first place. That party and
its candidates are pledged 10 stand by the Con-
stitndon and oppose this most Infamous burden.
Our opponents have kept prudent silence on
| this point. Why do they not speak ont and in
form the public whether they are in favor of pay
ing for the emancipated slaves or not The peo-
pie are already groaning under the burden of a
heavy taxation. Why do they not tell us whether
or not they are in favor of forcing every poor
| laboring man. every farmer, every manufacturer
and every mechanic, TO be still moie heavily
burdened TO paysthe late slave owners of the
lowers counties for their emancipated slaves p
| They dare not do IT, They know full we'll that
the majority Of those who would gain by the OPP
Grafton are their political friends and supporters.
Their silence shows that they are in favor of the
project as reward TO those men who are most
earnest in their support. This is no fancy
sketch, no empty charge. Any one can examine
the figures for himself aud see the truth Of our
statements
Again. The Fourth section of the ConStitu-
tiOual amendment proposed by Congress- declares
That the national debt shall be sacredly paid !;
that no part of the Rebel debt shall be paid nor
any payment be made for emancipated slaves
When it is remembered that large part of
the national debt was created for the payment OF
Bounties and Pensions to soldiers and to main
tain the cripples, the widows and orphans made
such by the war, and that thousands Of dollars
OF the government Bonds are held by the labor
ing classes. of the country, no honest man can
| for moment entertain the idea of repudiating
the national debt. But shall the Rebel debt be
paid Shall the loyal people of the country,
who gave go freely of their blood and treasure
that the Union of our Fathers might be preserv-
ed, be taxed TO pay debt contracted by its en-
emies in attempting its overthrow
! God forbid that such q crime should be per-
petrated, such outrage committed against
patriotism. Yet the copperhead party Of the en-
tire country persisteutly oppose this amendment.
Why do they do SO, unless they hope some day
| to have the Rebel debt and the slaves of Rebel
owners paid They tell US that the Southern
States, in their new Constitutions, have declared
this debtnull and void. 1t is true that some
have done SO, but others, among which is South
| Carolina, have not. A clause TO that effect was
put in the Constitution Of North Carolina, but
when the people came to vote on its adoption a
few months ago, they rejected it. But suppose
it were in every State Constitution in the South.
how easy would it be for the people to strike
out that clause at any time and carry their claims
into Congress. And should the unrepentant Reb-
els be admitted to Congress without some sub
stantial guarantee for the future by combining