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a provision establishing representation on the
bails of population.
And, pending the quedion, (and Mr. CHAMB-
ERS, of Kent, being entitled to the floor,)
The Convention adjourned.
MONDAY, January 27th, 1851.
The Convention met at 11 o'clock.
Prayer by the Rev. Mr. GR^DFF.
The roll was called, and, after some time, a
quorum being present, the journal of Saturday
was read and approved.
BASIS OF REPRESENTATION.
Mr. DIRICKSON said, that before the Convention
proceeded to the consideration of the business be-
fore it, he desired to submit an order with a
view to its being entered on the journal. On
Friday last, he and a friend who accompanied
him, had been unavoidably detained from their
seats. He saw that, in his absence, a most im-
portant vote had been taken. He referred to
the vote upon the proposition of the gentleman
from St. Mary's, (Mr. Blakistone,) in regard to
the basis of representation. As be, (Mr. O.) re-
garded this as one of the most important and
vital questions that would agitate this body, and
as one upon which, therefore, every member
ought to be heard, at least so far as his vote was
concerned, lie would ask that the votes of himself
and the gentleman from Kent, (Mr. Lee,) might
be permitted, under the courtesy of the Conven-
tion, to appear upon the journal; and with this
object in view, he would offer the following
order:
"Ordered, That it be entered upon the journal
that Messrs. John Lee, of Kent, and L. L. Di-
rickson, of Worcester, vote in the negative upon
the proposition submitted as a substitute by Mr.
Blakistone, of St. Mary's, on Friday last, which
said motion is in the following words — That the
committee on Representation and Apportionment
be requested to report a plan of apportionment
and representation — making numbers, exclusively
the basis of representation to the House of Dele-
gates."
The order was adopted.
Mr. PARKE called the attention of the Conven*
tion to the fact, that he had on Saturday last,
given notice of sundry amendments to the report
of the committee on the Bills of Rights. His object
in so doing, he said, was to have them put upon
the journal, in order that members might have
an opportunity of examining them. He found
that they had not been spread upon the journal,
and he would now offer the following order :
"Ordered, That the proposed amendments to
the report of the committee on the Declaration
of Rights, submitted by Mr. Parke, on Saturday
last, be entered on the journal."
The PRESIDENT, after an explanation as to the
course adopted in relation to such matters, de-
sired that the sense of the Convention should be
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taken, whether such amendments should be
printed upon the journal, and in bill form like-
wise.
Some conversation followed.
Mr. SPENCER made a suggestion in relation to
the appropriate distribution of matter, ordered to
be printed to the several contractors.
This led to some further conversation, when
Mr. WEBKR offered the following as a substi-
tute for the order of Mr. PARKE :
"Ordered, That all reports of articles for the
Constitution, and all proposed amendments, shall
be printed on the journal."
Mr. WEBER briefly stated his reasons, after
which
Mr. PARKE accepted the substitute as a modi-
fication of his own proposition.
And, after some further conversation, the
substitute was rejected.
On motion of Mr. CHAMBERS, of Kent, the
Convention reconsidered the said vote.
On motion of Mr. C , the said order was
amended by striking out the words "and all pro-
posed amendments;"
And, as thus amended, the order was adopted.
THE EXTRA JOURNALS.
The PRESIDENT announced the unfinished busi-
ness of the morning hour to be the consideration
of the following order heretofore offered by Mr.
THAWLBY :
"Ordered That the order adopted some weeks
past, authorising the printing of four extra jour-
nals for each member of this Convention be re-
scinded."
Mr. SPENCER had. on Saturday, made a motion
to lay the order temporarily on tht table, in or-
der to give to the chairman of the committee on
printing, (Mr. Stewart, of Baltimore,) who was
not then in the city, an opportunity to make an
explanation upon one point as to which » differ-
ence of opinion seemed to exist, to wit — whether
or not there was any contract with the printers.
Mr. STEWART being now in his seat, Mr. SPIN-
CER withdrew his motion to lay OB the table.
Mr. STEWART, of Baltimore city, made an ex-
planation, setting forth the action of the com-
mittee upon the matter of the extra journals.
The point of it was this; no contract had been
made (Mr. 8. said) with the printers. Before
the recess, he had informed them that they must
not supply these extra copies under any impres-
sion that there was a contract — the whole mat-
ter being within the control of the Convention.
After the Convention had re-assembled, he told
them, as no reporter had yet been appointed, that
they might go on and still supply them. Subse-
quently, some ten days since, he had brought the
subject to the coi sideration of the Committee as
he felt it his duty to do. A reporter had been
appointed; the system of reporting the debates
and proceedings was in full operation; and he
(Mr. S.,) did not suppose that the same neces-
sity existed for the extra journals. The com-
mittee, upon a computation of the cost, which
was not large, came to the conclusion that they
would allow the printing of the extra copies to
be continued, until such time as the Convention
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