PROCEEDINGS OF THE Missouri. State Convention, HELD IN JEFFERSON CITY, JUNE, 1863. ST. LOUIS: GEORGE KNAPP & CO., PRINTERS AND BINDERS. 1863. 66 22d 66 The Missouri State Convention assembled in the House of Representatives this day pursuant to a call from the Governor. The President, Gen. ROBT. WILSON, of Andrew county, called the Convention to order at 10 o'clock. The roll being called by the Secretary, the following members answered to their names: Messrs. Birch, Bogy, Breckinridge, Bush, Douglass, Dunn, Flood, Hitchcock, Holt, Hough, How, Howell, Leeper, Linton, McClurg, McDowell, McFerran, Norton, Orr, Rankin, Ray, Scott, Shanklin, Sheeley, Smith of Linn, Smith of St. Louis, Vanbuskirk, Waller, Welch, Woodson, and the President. Wm Baker, C. B. Walker, 66 18th Henry J. Deal, 66 25th Mr. JNo. F. PHILLIPS moved that a Committee of three be appointed, to whom the credentials of the new members should be submitted. Messrs. Phillips, Douglass and Henderson were appointed the Committee. Mr. W. P. HALL moved that a Committee of three be appointed by the Chair to inform the Governor of the State that a quorum of the Convention was present, and prepared to receive any communication he might think pro The PRESIDENT having announced that there per to make. was not a quorum present, Messrs. Hall, Bogy and Breckinridge were On motion of Mr. BoGy, the Convention ad- appointed the Committee, who soon reported journed till half-past 4 P. M. AFTERNOON SESSION. that the Governor would communicate with the Convention in writing. Mr. W. J. HOWELL moved "that the Secretary of this body furnish each member with three daily papers during the present session The Convention met pursuant to adjourn of the Convention, and that the cost of the ment at half-past 4. same be paid as other expenses of the Conven The roll was called, and sixty four members tion." Carried. answered to their names. On motion of Mr. J. D. FOSTER, the Con The credentials of the following members vention proceeded to the election of a Chapmembers were offered: lain, a Sergeant-at-Arms, and a Doorkeeper. C. F. Ward, Bates, S. W. Winston and Fred'k Behrle were nominated for Doorkeeper. The votes were-Ward, 7; Bates, 3; Winston, 41; Behrle, 3. her resources would be more rapidly developed, by the substitution of free labor for slave labor. Entertaining this opinion, I looked to the rapid increase of free population and its excess over Winston having received a majority of votes, the slaves as sure, in time and by ordinary was declared elected. On motion of Mr. FOSTER, Mr. W. S. Porter was unanimously elected Sergeant-at-Arms. On motion of Mr. FLOOD, Mr. J. A. Welch was unanimously elected Chaplain. The following communication was then read: JEFFERSON CITY, June 15, 1863. Hon. ROBERT WILSON, President of the Convention. DEAR SIR: Mr. Vincent Marmaduke, a member elect to this Convention, from the Saline District, having been under military arrest for disloyalty, and now on parole in the city of St. Louis, has applied for an extension of his parole to the City of Jefferson, for the purpose of enabling him to attend the present session of the Convention. The Commanding General of this Military Department has instructed me to submit the matter to the Convention, and if it should appear that there is no objection on the part of this body to his taking his seat, his parole will be extended accordingly. Respectfully, your ob't servant, JAS. O. BROAdhead, Prov. Mar. Gen. Dep't of Mo, The following message from the Governor was then read by the President: MESSAGE. Gentlemen of the Convention: Under the power conferred upon me by your body, I have called you together again to consult and act upon matters of the highest interest to the State. The subject named in the call as that which, in my judgment, chiefly demands your attention, is that of the emancipation of slaves. In my message to the General Assembly, I expressed to that body my general views upon the subject in this language: "Having always lived in States where slavery existed, I have had no such prejudice against the institution as is felt and expressed by many. But I have long entertained the opinion that the material interests of Missouri would be promoted, and laws that govern commercial interests, to effect a change in our labor system. Taking no part in public affairs, I have been content to let the whole subject take its natural course, without mingling in the discussion which has arisen.” "The necessity for action at this time grows out of the present condition of the country. A great rebellion against our Government exists, and its primary object is to inaugurate a government in which slavery shall be fostered as the controlling interest." "If the leaders of this rebellion do really desire to have our State within their pretended Confederacy, there can be no more effectual mode of extinguishing that desire than by showing our purpose to clear the State ultimately of the institution which forms the bond of cement among the rebellious States." Such being my views, and being bound by the Constitution "to recommend to the consideration of the General Assembly such measures as I should deem necessary and expedient," I suggested to that body a scheme of gradual emancipation. The General Assembly was prohibited by the Constitution from passing any law for the emancipation of slaves without the consent of their owners, or without paying them, before such emancipation, a full equivalent for the slaves so emancipated. The prostrated condition of the finances of the State rendered it impossible for the State to pay the equivalent required by the Constitution. The certainty of obtaining money from the United States for that purpose was not sufficiently clear to form the basis of legislative action. The plan I recommended would have reduced the compensation required to an insignificant amount, an amount which in fact might have been provided by the State. The General Assembly failed to act upon the subject. The importance of the subject in its relation to all the interests of the State demanded, in my judgment, very speedy action, by a body capable of finally disposing of it by the adoption of some wise and just scheme of emancipation. The Senate passed a joint resolution requesting me to call the Convention together, and also a bill for the election of delegates to a new Convention, provided your body should not before the first day of July next adopt a |