National Republican., 1883-10-15
Earnest Meeting Of Prominent Gentlemen in It's
Favor Saturday Night
Araignment Of the West Point Engineers
for Incompetency.
The Memorial to be Presented 10 Congress Praying tho
Restoration Of Suffrage,
Auxiliary Clubs to be Formed In Various
Sections OF the District.

VA
held Saturday night at Association hall, No.
635 Pennsylvania avenue northwest. IL was
not intended as a mass meeting. Those pres
ent wero there in response to invitations from
the temporary chairman. Among tho num-
Der were Hon. A. M. Clapp, Surgeon General
Hamilton, Of the marine hospital service; Mr..
NJ. ID. Helm, of the Critic; Capt A. Grant, DIR.
i. A. Adams, Maj. A. @. Richards Mr.. J. II.
Crane, W. II. Burr, Of the county. George
Holmes, A. Watson, and Charles IL. Bliss,
Hon. A. M. Clapp occupied the chair, and
Mr. M. ID. Helm was chosen temporary secre-.
tary. Tho chairman offered the following
memorial to be presented to congress. He
said it was an epitome Of the case as drawn up
four years ago:
The memorial OF the undersigned, n committee
appointed by public meeting of inhnbitants OF
the District OF Columbia, respectfully repre-
sents:
in the District of Columbia, was ceded and relin
quished in the act of nineteenth December, 1884,
gfess and government Of the United States under
the express stipulation that the Jurisdiction of the
ofindiyduais % residing GI wv within the lin limits % Of he
cession, should not cease or determine until con-
gress should by law provide for the government
That by the act of twenty.seventh of February
1901, congress declared that the laws of the state
of Maryland as they then existed should be- and
continue In force in tho part Of the district ceded
by Maryland to the United States, which act has
And your memorialists further respectfully
represent that the aforesaid legislation OF the gen,
the United States established among S the laws Of
this district the constitution Of Maryland, then In
existence, OF 1776, with its declaration OF rights
providing among other things
1. That all government of right originates from
the people, is founded in compact only, and in
stituted solely for the good Of the whole.
IL. That the people OF the state ought to have
she sole and exclusive right q regulating the in
.ernal government and the police thereof.
v. That the right IN the people to purtiCipate In
,he legislation is the least security of liberty and
the foundation OF & al free government; @ for this
crest with an attachment 10 the community should
Kill. That this declaration of rights =
ought not TO be altered, changed or abolished by
the legislation of this state but In such manner as
the convention shall prescribe and direct.
That these legislative enactments Of Maryland
two powers for The benefit Of the inGabItants Of
the distric which it is not competent for the con-
gress to extinguish.
have been deprived of the rights above described
by the legislation of congress- have been deprived
of the right to regulate the internal government
Of the district; OF the right OF being represented
in the legislature aud Of the right Of suffrage, ~
provisions of law providing for an executive, for
asecretary for the district, Tor legislative assem-
bly, for board Of public Works and for & DELE ,S
government Of the district in the hands Of three
commissioners appointed by the president
be permanent by the act of June II, 1878.
And your memorialists respectfully represent
ersl constitution that the inhabitants OF the Dis
trict of Columbia should be deprived OF the right
people Of the United States On the contrary, It is
we'll understood and declared, at the time of tho
abortion Of the constitution. n that the people
Mr. Madison. In the rty.tbird number Of the Fed.
be appropriated to this use viz that OF the seat OF
the federal government with the consent of the
in thecompaetfor the right and the consent OF the
citizens inhabting 1t, as the inhabitants will find
sufficient inducements Of interest 10 become will
Ing parties to the cession; as they will nave had
their voice in the election Of tho government,
which rs 70 e1efee M oray ove
from their own suffrnges, win, Of course, bs
allowed them; and as the authority of the legisla-
ceded part of IT, to concur in the session. will be
derived from the whole people of the state in their
adoption of the constitution every imaginable OBJ
jection seems to be obviated.
Thus it appears that congress has not fulflled.
but perverted the design OF the people who
Your memorialists further represent that the
fourth section OF the fourth article Of the federal
constitution declares that THE United States
shall guarantee TO every state IN the union re-
publican form of government" and by implica-
government shall be maintained and not obliter.
ated in district where the United States have
The population of this district was n portion of
the people OF the United States, who ordained and
established the federal constitution s as such they
creature of their own creation. These rights are
inalienable equally with life liberty, and the
pursuit of happiness, which cannot he preserved
ifthe only means of their preservation, suffrage,
and popular government be withdrawn from the
people at large as they are from u.s.
The political rights Of this people were not
created and cannot be destroyed by congress;
They existed before congress came into being, and
those suppressed by unlawful force cannot be dc.
slroyed.
ally in our republican system, and forms an ex-
ample dangerous to the liberties of the people. II
the states allow suffrage to be abolished and the
republican form to be crushed here, what reason
can be urged for maintaining 1t within your own
borders?
the Intervention and aid OF your honorable body,
and that you may by appropriate expressions ad.
dressed to the senators and representatives Of your
state in congress direct them to secure TO the lit
habitants of this district the rights of suffrage rep
resentation, and local government guaranteed TO
United States and Maryland and by the princi-
Piles of the federal constitution.
1t Is probable that the above, with ad-
ditions, will be presented to congress soon af-
J ter its reassemblng.
[ Mr.. W. II. Burr, o we'll known farmer of
the county, then made the following state
\ ment.
An attempt has been made by Lieut.. Deputy
Commissioned Green to cut my farm In two with
. road, for the benefit of q few Maryland farmers
and TO crafty personal enemy of mine. re.
sisted II, making an argument before Commits
sioners Dent and Morgan in the presence
of Lieut. Green. After being heard in
opposition, Lieut. Green had the impu.
dence to tell me- In the presence of the
other two commissioners, that the opening of the
road had been ordered. "WhaG then am / here
for, said Il ~ came here on the invitation of the
commissioners by public advertisements" lie
made some sort of reply, and then read tho law
aloud. ltwas against him. "Now don't you see -
said !, "thnt YOU were mistaken p He was silent.
But the other two commissioners afterward de-
cIded to open the road.
A jury was ordered to assess damages. ap-
peaTed before the jury, and they awarded me $500
Before the Jury was drawn, knowing that the de-
oision of the commissioners was fiia, /, TO save
further expense and trouble to myself ana the
district wrote 10 the commissioners offering to
take $3.50. A juror told me that IL they had known
OF my offer they would have given me more than
$500
The commissioners q. c. Deputy Green, pre-
sume) then invited me to settle on the basis OF
my offer of $3.50. /, of course declined.
Then the commissioners u, G., Lieut. Green, 1
supposel notified me Of an appeal to a second
Jury. Thereupon made the commissioners this
offer; Il" If you Will spend 5000 in much peeded
improvement OF the road leading TO my farm |
will abate that amount from the $500 award No
notice was taken OF this liberal oiier,
When the second jury was summoned, fearing
that might not know enough law 10 maintain
my rights, / paid lawyer S75 70 attend 70 the
case. did not appear IN person before the jury.
The second jury awarded me $500.
But now the commissioners rcfllso to OpOn the