The daily phoenix. [volume] (Columbia, S.C.) 1865-1878, 1866-11-08
Condition or MARYLAND.

country. OF Maryland and her dis
franchised citizens, he speaks thus
feelingly and eloquently:
"No matter how loyal to this State
and the General Government citi-
zen now is, and is known to be; DO
matter how entirely he has abandoned
his opinion as to the right of seces-
sion; how sincerely, before the war
ended, he desired the success of the
Government, if at any moment he
entertained that opinion, and wished
for different result, he is excluded.
Sweeping as these exclusions are, as
the law was executed at the first re-
gistration, they were made more
sweeping. We all remember that
most of the registers at that time,
with an Ignorance or audacity never
before exhibited, refused registration
not only upon the prescribed grounds,
but upon the most ridiculous pre-
lenses. And the result was, that
nearly tlree-fourths of the voters
were excluded In the city of Balti-
more, about 1O,O00 were registered,
when its voting population was then
at least 5000 And bad as this was,
many of those who were registered,
at the elections which have since oc-
Cured, were denied the right to vote
by partisan Judges At the last mu-
nicipal election, less than 5000 votes
were polled, though the entire voting
population at the time was at least
100000 The same wrongs, both as
to registration and voting, though
probably less in number, have been
committed in the rest of the State.
Can this condition of things CONT
nue.? Ought freemen SO permit it?
"The blood Of our patriotic ances-
tors cries from the grave against it.
Its continuance is inconsistent with
the vital spirit Of our free institu-
tons. 1t is absolute political des-
potism. Owing to the wise and pa
triotic course of our present Governor,
the wrongs are being diminished.
This has been effected by his appoint
ment of fair and honest registers. BY
these. in the execution of the law,
the provisions Of the Constitution
have not been transcended And it
is confidently believed that at the
coming election a Legislature will be
chosen who will so change the law as
still further to lessen them. But
should this not happen, or the law
be not changed, there is still Il rene
dy left to us-not one to be accom-
plished through force, but pcaceably.
God forbid that civil strife should
occur in o,lr State, and happy it is
that none will be necessary. A
peaceable one has been resortod to
and is now going on. The validity
OF the Constitution in the particular
in question has been denied. NV
own opinion is that it is invalid, being
er post .f0cto within the meaning OF
the clause in the Constitution of the
United States, which prohibits !,
State from passing laws of that cha
racter. Acase involving the question
was in our Appellate Court, and :.
majority Of the judges held it to be
valid. The case is now pending an
appeal in the Supreme Court Of the
United States; should that court de-
eide otherwise, the matter will be
finally settled. But if not. and the
judgment of the court below is af-
firmed, there will be still left to Us
an equally peaceabie remedy.
Every people possess the inherent
right to alter their political institu-
tions, when. in the judgment of the
majority, it is necessary to their hap
piness and freedom. The majority
Of our people have that right, and
may exercise it with or without legis-
lative sanction. To make it depend
ent on such a sanction, would be to
place it with the peoples servants,
instead of the people themselves.
The right may be exercised by elect
ing delegates to q convention, with
power to form Il new or modify the
existing Constitutional work to
be submitted to the people for ap-
proval or rejection. If approved,
and it be republican in form, it will
be binding upon the State, and must
be recognized by the United States.
''This remedy for political evils is
one of the chief excellencies Of Go
vernments like ours. Intended to
secure liberty to the people, if they
fail to do so, the people have the un-
doubted authority so to change them
as to accomplish that end. For this.
the ballot-box is all that is required; !;
and in such q contingency, if there
be contest, the ballot is the only
weapon with which a free people con-
tends with each other. It was this
weapon which was alone used in the