70 TRANSACTIONS OF THE AMERICAN INSTITUTE 



The fi)ll<)wing^ letter, prepurcil by Mr. Siiodgi-ass, was rcail by him at the 

 close i»f his remarks: 



" Observint;^ that your iiaiiic is proniiiu'iit in the pri)C('eiliiii;'3 of tlie Con- 

 stitutional Convention now sitting' in Maryland, as an atlvueatc ol emanci- 

 pation, we address yon this letter ('i'emjniry. 



"As those interested personally and in behalf of many others eng-aged 

 itJ aj^rieidtural pursuits, we desire some li<;-ht on tiie ftiljowinpf questions: 



" 1. What is tlie actual prospect of an early removal of slavery from 

 your State ? 



" 2. ^^'hen will the chang'e, if ii takes place, be consummated ? 



"3. At what price can lai»ds, in piod cultivation, be purchased ? 



"4. At what price such as have been under shive culture, and are sup- 

 posed to have been exiiausted thereby ? 



"5 Wiiat are the ailvantages of the eastern shore of the Chesapeake 

 Baj' for agriculture proper? What for hurticidtnre ? 



" 6. Wiial are tiie facilities for reacliing a maiket? 



" 1. Has any considerable attention been given in any part of your State 

 to fruit culhtre as a distinct branch of business ? If so, has ti\e ixperiment 

 proniised well ? 



"8. Wiiat deg-ree of social tolerat'on, to use a phrase which our pens 

 almost refuse to write, not to say of weh;ome, would \Te 'Yankees' receive 

 in neig'hborhoods heretofore given up to the abnost exclusive control of 

 slave culture and jiro-slavery prejudices; such, for example, as those coun- 

 ties, as we learn from the U. 8. census, there were before the war live 

 slaves to one white man ? 



" W^e desire to be s[)ecially informed as to probabilities touching' this last 

 query, because we have read statements of tlie results of settlements in the 

 border States, and particularly of the one much spoken of, some years ago, 

 as that of 'the Yaidiees in Fairfiix,' Va., which, while they ajipeared to l>e 

 most successful pecuniarily or m.ilerjuUy, seemed to encounter social bar- 

 riers which were surmounted, when at all, with annoying- dilVicnlties. 



" In answering the above questions, and others which yinir own mind 

 will naturally anticipate as arising in ours, yoTi will oblige thousands in 

 this section of the country who ojily await the removal of that natural 

 repellant <»f free labor, against which the majority of your people seem to 

 be setting their faces, and reasonable assurances of some degree of W(d- 

 (;ome, to the end that ihey may seek new homes and l-etter conditions iit 

 your more sunny clime. 



Mr. Solon llobinson moved that this letter be signed by the chairman and 

 secretary and forwarded to some promine-nt gentlemen in Maryland, ask- 

 ing for definite information that will be interesting to farmers in the north- 

 ern States who may desire to emigrate to that State in case slavery eman- 

 cipation should be carrie<l into efTect, and fdlowed his motion with some 

 re'iiaks, showing the jjropriety of that course. 



Dr. Trindde thought one of the inquiries should Ik; in regard to the health 

 of the country. He said that the eastern shore of Maryland, though much 

 the finest agricultural jiortiou of the State, is not so healthy as the iipper 

 counties. As a general thing he woidd prefer to emigrate to Maryland 

 rather than any of the western States. Some sections of that State hare 



