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been done, came in and by the side of it, piled up
amendment upon amendment, until his Ossa stooc
"like a wart," wholly overwhelmed. And while
this was going on, before any final action coulc
be taken, presto, [as the gentleman from Caroline
Mr. Stewart, would say,] in came a new subject
and the Convention was turned entirely into a
new track. This he [Mr. B.] was desirous to
avoid.
Mr. B. proceeded to refer to the remarks made
on a previous day by his friend from St. Mary's,
[Mr. Blakistone^] when, in alternate tones of the
softest persuasion and the loftiest command — that
gentleman bad summoned the members of the
Convention to the discharge of their duty. Mr.
B. reminded him that the motion to postpone the
representation question to the 15th of February,
did not come from his, [Mr. Bnchanan's,] side
of the House, and admonished him that he should
be careful how he assailed others, lest, as in this
instance, the arrow should fall upon his own
house, and hit his own brethren.
He, [Mr Buchanan.] desired delay, because he
thought it would ultimately result in expedition.
He called attention to articles in the morning
papers, asking whether the Convention had yet
done any work. He was desirous to hold up to
them the handiwork of the admirable artificer
from Kent, [Mr. Chambers.] For his own part,
he, [Mr. B.] had been almost stationery here.
He intended to remain so until the work was
performed — or nearly so, and he protested
against any individual undertaking to denounce
him as derelict to his duty, or as one who had
done nothing. He would only say, in conclusion,
that he would vote against the amendment of the
gentleman from Kent, [and no one could ever
have supposed that he,(Mr. B.)would vote other-
wise,] and in favor of the amendment of the gen-
tleman from Queen Anne, [Mr. Spencer.]
Mr. SPENCER obtained the floor.
Mr. BELL interposed with the remark, that his
object in making the motion to lay the subject
on the table, had been to avoid the very discus-
sion into which the Convention was now going.
Mr. SPENCER. The floor was assigned to me.
I am not disposed to throw any impediment in
the way of the gentleman. But 1 stated on Sa-
turday last, that I desired to hear from tke gen-
tleman from Kent, [Mr. Chambers,] the reasons
for the proposition he had submitted, in order
that I might have an opportunity to reply. I rise
now for the purpose of redeeming the pledge
which I then gave.
The PRBsinENT interposed and stated that
when the order was announced, the fact
had for the moment escaped his attention, that, at
the time of adjournment on Saturday, the gen-
tleman from Kent, [Mr. Chambers,] had the
floor, was addressing the Convention, and yielded
for a motion to adjourn.
Mr. BUCHANAN. I beg the gentleman, [Mr.
Chambers,] ten thousand pardons, but my word
is pledged to renew the motion of the gentleman
from Alleghany, [Mr. Fitzpatrick,] for upon that
pledge alone it was that I obtained the floor.
Mr. FITZPATRICK. I will releave the gentle-
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man from his embarrassment. Certainly, I
never would have made the motion to lay on
the table, had I known that the gentleman from
Kent, [Mr. Chambers ] was entitled to the floor.
Mr. CHAMBERS thereupon took the floor and
said :
When the House adjourned be had not intend-
ed to occupy ten minutes more of its time. He
was quite inclined to gratify the suggestion made
by the gentleman from Frederick, to have this
debate continued in committee of the whole, and
have every gentleman to submit his plan and en -
able us to select some one, or compound one out
of the mess. He would, however, avail himself
of the opportunity to add a word in vindication
of his amendment.
The idea of giving to Baltimore a representation
equal to the largest county, did not originate with
him. The reform committee and the reform
legislature of 1836, adopted it, recommended it
to the good people of the State, who confirmed
it by their representation in 1837. It was the
basis of compromise; Baltimore agreed to it, and
was willing to increase her delegation with the
increase of the largest county. It was a reason-
able compromise. It was known that from the
early days of the colonial government the counties
had been tqually represented. The State had
prospered and all its political interests had been
faithfully and usefully attended to; practically,
every thing worked well in the machinery of the
government. But the large counties and Balti-
more desired to have more political power, or at
least, more political offices, and the compromise
was made, by which the small counties were
greatly reduced in their comparative numbers
and power.
*The census of 1840 was made the basis of the
first adjustment of the number of representa-
tives to the counties respectively, and it was to
he thereafter altered and made to conform to the
population ascertained by every second census
thereafter, but the same principle was solemnly
agreed on, as the mode of adjustment. Balti-
more was still to be equal to the largest county in
the number of her representatives. The first
census, therefore, which was to occasion a re-
adjustment was that of 1860, butnow in 1849, be-
fore the revolution of one-half of the period which
is to bring I860 into being, this compromise is
disregarded, and the diminished small counties
must again submit to be shorn of a portion of
their reduced power, and Baltimore is no longer
to be kept equal to the largest county, but, as
some of her divided delegation on this floor claim,
is to have a number of delegates in exact pro-
portion to her numbers — that is to say, Baltimore
is to have thirty-three members of the House of
Delegates, while Kent county has two. To deny
the policy and expediency of this, was charged
upon him as a great heresy. He did not refer
to the abusive newspapers, to which his friend
from Baltimore county, (Mr. Buchanan,) had al-
luded. He regretted being obliged to say, that
some ofthese could not be touched without defil-
ing a gentleman's hands, nor their language re-
peated without polluting his lips.
His opinions had been assailed from higher
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