Be it resolved by the delegates of the Democratic and Conservative citizens of Maryland, assembled in general convention in the city of Baltimore, to consult together for the preservation of the Constitution of the United States, the restoration of the Union, and the dignity, equality, and rights of all the States, and the promotion of national harmony, that it is the paramount duty of all patriotic citizens, without regard to past political creeds or present political organizations, to cooperate for the rescue of the nation from the dangerous practices and doctrines which now threaten the destruction of our cherished form of government.
Resolved, That the courage, firmness, and prudence with which President Johnson has resisted the open efforts and secret machinations of the Radical majorities of the present Congress; his unceasing endeavors to establish all the States in their just representation in their National Legislature, and his humane and conciliatory policy towards those latelv in arms against the Federal Government, accredit him to all men as the faithful, honored, and trusted Chief Magistrate of the American people.
Resolved, That the Constitution of the United States cannot be rightfully amended until the representatives of all the States shall have been admitted to an equal voice in proposing, and their several Legislatures to a free choice in adopting or rejecting, all contemplated amendments, according to the letter and spirit, and in the mode prescribed in that sacred instrument.
Resolved, That we recognize in the National Convention which is called to meet in Philadelphia, on the 14th instant, a gathering of the patriots and statesmen from every party and from every section of the United States, for the purpose of devising the most effectual means of sustaining the national administration, of completely restoring the Union under the Constitution, and of healing all sectional strife; and that we are prepared to hail their happy labors for the restoration as our fathers hailed the work of those who founded our beloved institutions.
Resolved, That the spirit of the call of the Philadelphia Convention would not be fully met unless each and all of the recognized politics organizations of this and of every State who accept the national situation, and who desire to see a truly national convention assembled under the flag of our country, are represented by delegates in that convention; and it is the sense of this body that the Democratic, the Conservative, and the Union organizations ought to be distinctly represented in their individuality as well as collectively in the unity of their purposes and objects in that august assemblage. And therefore this convention do firmly accept the proffered faith of the Union convention which assembled in this city on the 25th of July last; and in return we pledge the delegates whom we shall elect to cooperate on fair and equal terms with the delegates whom they have appointed, to the end that all men may know that the patriotic hearts of Maryland are, as the heart of one man, devoted to the Constitution, the Union, and the Government of the United States.
