Maryland independent. [volume] (Port Tobacco, Md.) 1874-current, 1884-10-31
:, coNProN's CANDIDACY.

IT.. following is a copy ct letter
.-;,,en to the Baltimore Amer'ed" Of a
49,, date by subscriber which we
-, ritboui comment fer the perusal
4 - If onr readers who may feel IN
- in Nr Comptons early POLITE
cal history:
i rim, lmcricoD.--Tn speech de-
ii NJ Annapolis &c, tember 9th.
y. Compton. the Democratic candidate
n. Fifth Congressional District, in-
f ~ his audience that the only guar
.o ",es he had to offer that i elected he
I -",, 40 his duty was his record IN rep
n.en,ine his county eleven years in the
.,,;.l,,nre AMI his record for tue last
l,,n vears a. State Treasurer, adding
~, chen the Republican candidate ac-
.r,oJ if he had a public record. he
IWr Compton, would attack it. EvI-
l5,ntly Mr. Compton most highly appre-
s;,tes Ms own public record, but unior-
,no,,ely il is is such. in part at least,
hat all men cannot approve. There
-. bni few men who have passed the
.a.;or piri. if not all their days, in .la-
Gland who are 50 narrow minded as to
70 unable at this late day to overlook
tho enthusiasm and love Of ONES own
.,,,o and section which drew SO many.
especially young men into the vortex
4 di.nnion. or who fail to admire the
MIN. and manliness Of many who left
teir business or professions and joined
the South in a death struggle already
begun: but for the man who in the prime
# liz. with full knowledge Of the re-
.ponsibIiry resting upon him as a mem
ber Of the House Of Delegates. For
hat man and his associates, who used
their every effort to carry Maryland out
of the Union, to make cur state battle
ground. Union men have had no such
sympathy Ii they, through weakness
and ignorance, through prejudice or
passion. we're carried away, they GER
taiply we're not then, and may not now,
be safely trusted in the national councils.
however worthy of prefcrment in other
respects. But it is not to Mr. Comp
toni record in the House Of Delegates
in rcfrrcn e to the secession movement
that the writer desires now to call atten
ZION. Ga the 10th Of March, 1860, IA
bill was passed in the Ma-yllnd House
Of Delegates (sec journal, page 90l) }
entitled an act to amend the 6Sth art-
Gle of the Code of Public Laws by re-
pealina the 42l. 43J, 44-h and 10th
sections Of said article, and by adding
thereto certain sections prohibiting man
of negro slaves, and authoriz-
ing free negroes to renouncc their free
lom and become slaves. This and 9th
er bills were severllly endorsed AMI
passed by yeas and nays. Did Mr..
Compton vote for this bill forbldding
The keenncss Of the
glbe authorize free negroes to re
uounce their freedom and become slave"
needs ~ comment If we care to know
why the free colored population Of Ma
ryland was all at once to prefer slavery
to freedom, We may look for a probable
cause in the still more monstr0us act pass
ed by the same legislature only three
lays anterior to the above, and for
which Mr.. Compton is recorded as 70 :
ug This act was commonly known as
he Free Negro Law" The Journal
1f Proceedings calls il "a bill entitled
IN act to add u new section to the Code
of Public Local Laws of St. Mary's
Calvert, Howard. Kent and Baltimore
5ountIes entitled an act to appoint !
board Of commissioners for the better
control and management of the free col
Dred population Of the said counties. -
It. was afterwards amended by adding
Worcester. Caroline, Charles, Somerset
Prince Georges, Talbot, Qneen Anne
and Dorchester This bill was severa
times voted upon, Mr. Compton's nam'
appearing among the yeas" One
the vote stood 81 yeas (Mr. Compton
voting yca) and y nays-.lost for wan
of a constitutional majority a motor
was made to reconsider the vote b.
which the bill was rejectcd-yeas )
(among them Mr.. Comp'on's). Ways 20
Finally the bill was passed. Mr.. Comp
Ton voting yea, evidently bccausa OF
provision that it should be submitted t
the people of several counties nance
therein, at the next presidential election
in 1860. 1t may be safely said that n
bill offered in our STATE legislature eve
excited more uufavorable comment thai
the so.caIled Free Negro Bill of 1860,
and it was defeated in every count
named in the bill, except Somerset.
In the other counties the vote stood a
follows;