The position of Maryland.
The Baltimore Exchange protests, in the name of the people of
Maryland, against the high-handed measures which the Administration has adopted for the purpose of crushing out, by force of arms, all opposition in that State to as lawless and tyrannical an exercise of power as ever disgraced the annals of a nation.
It says;
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If, however, the hope is entertained that by adopting this tyrannical system of repression and suppression, the
Southern sympathies of the people of
Maryland will be crushed out, we frankly tell those who are possessed of this delusion, not to be deceived by appearances.
Whatever may be the opinions that are held among us, they cannot be radically changed by a display of force.
There may be, and doubtless is, at this juncture, a singular calmness on the surface; but who can measure the strength of the under-current?
With the exception of those who are timid and timeserving, there are very few among us who have not made up their minds as to the proper course to be pursued whenever the occasion is opportune, and a free and unbiased expression of the popular will can be had. If, as some assert, we are powerless at this time to successfully resent the outrages that have been put upon us, why then we have no recourse but to bear them with what patience we may. We must learn to suffer and — to wait.
To steadfast souls, whatever may be the darkness of the present, the future still discloses its bow of promise.
When men dare not speak their inmost thoughts, it is an act of prudence to remain silent.
It would be madness and not courage that would counsel resistance to an overwhelming force.
But ‘"the whirligig of Time"’ brings about its changes, and we warn the Administration and its Northern allies that silence does not always imply acquiescence, nor must abstention from active opposition be taken for abject submission.
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