of the propositions which have delayed its action
have emanated from the quarter from which this
motion is to come to-morrow.
Mr, GWINN. From myself?
Mr. MORGAN. No—but from the quarter of
the State from which this motion is to come to-
morrow. I do not inlend to say, that the gen-
tleman has interrupted or impeded the progress
of the public business. But what. does the gen-
tleman now say? He declares, in the presence
of this body, that if he had known what would
have been the result of our proceedings, his right
arm should have withered before he would have
voted, as a member of the Legislature, for the
bill which authorised the call of this Convention.
Sir, does the gentleman intend to say that any
one of the propositions which have been main-
tained here were spoken of in the Legislature?
Did the gentleman ever hear the question of re-
presentation talked of when the bill was under
consideration? Gentlemen were very cautious
upon that question, until after the passage of the
bill—and yet the gentleman comes here and tells
us that his right arm should wither by his side
before he would have voted for it, if he had
known what now he knows.
Every body knows that certain propositions
have been brought in here from Baltimore city,
which have been defeated; and now, because,
as I suppose, they were not decided as he and his
constituents desired that they should be, he rises
in hi« place and proposes to put an end to this
Convention. I cannot sympathise with him in
such a purpose. I fell my friends here that the
people of the State of Maryland, beyond the lim-
its of the city of Baltimore, desire that a Consti-
tution should be formed; and that if the votes and
proceedings which may be recorded here should
not be in consonance with the views of the people
of that city, they may be in accordance with the
views of the people of the rest of the State. And
for that reason, I shall vote against any motion
to bring the session of this body to an abrupt or
premature termination. The most important
measures before us have yet to be acted upon,
and I believe that the confirmation by the people
of what we may do here, depends upon the result
of these measures.
I have heard much of the dilatory proceedings
of the Convention. I have seen the charge in
the newspapers and elsewhere. But look at the
condition of things. No State in the Union can
be cited as an example for our own. A Conven-
tion assembled in any other State, under circumstances
similar to those by which we are sur-
rounded, would have been placed in the same
difficulty. The condition of our people is differ-
ent from that of the people of any other State.
In one section of the State, we have a large
slave interest, and in another section an anti-sla-
very feeling. We have a large city in our midst,
with an overwhelming population, claiming re-
presentation according to numbers, and with the
counties in opposition to it. We have a commer-
cial and agricultural interest, and all these interests
conflicting with each other. And, to crown
all, we have an organic law that has remained
essentially unchanged for seventy years; so that

we have now to engraft upon it all the modifica-
tions and improvements, which, through this long
lapse of years, have been developed in the science
of human government. All these delicate and
difficult questions have now to be settled by us,
as the people of other States, through their Con-
ventions, have already settled them. I cannot,
therefore, concur in the opinion any where ex-
pressed, that we have been here doing nothing.
If we now go earnestly to work—if we attend
to the business belore us, and deliberate calmly
and wisely upon it, the people, instead of con-
demning us for what we have done, or finding
fault with the time we have spent, will 'greet,
with their approbation and applause, the Consti-
tution which we may submit to them.
I shall, therefore, vote against the motion of
the gentleman from Baltimore city, (Mr. Gwinn,)
but in favor of every proposition calculated
to expedite the transaction of the public busi-
ness.
Mr. SOLLERS. I call the previous question.
There was a second.
The main question was ordered, and having
been taken, the motion of Mr. SOLLERS was
agreed to.
So a committee was ordered to be appointed.
The PRESIDENT, The Chair nominates as the
committee, Messrs. SPRIGG, MCLANE, RICAUD,
SCHLEY and BUCHANAN.
Mr. MCLANE asked to be excused on the
ground of feeble health.
The Convention excused Mr. McLANE,
And the PRESIDENT appointed Mr. BROWN in
his stead.
Mr, SPRIGG asked to be excused, upon the
ground of his imperfect acquaintance with parliamentary
practice.
The Convention excused Mr. SPRIGG,
And Mr. JOHN DENNIS was appointed by the
PRESIDENT in his place.
Mr. DENNIS asked to be excused from service
on the ground that tie had already been appointed
a member of four committees,
Mr. D. was excused.
The PRESIDENT then said that the House being
very thin, the Chair would take further time to
complete the committee.
On motion of Mr. HARBINE, the Convention
proceeded to the orders of the day.
THE LEGISLATIVE DEPARTMENT.
The Convention resumed the consideration of
the unfinished business, being the report of the
committee on the legislative department.
The third section was read, as follows :
Sec. 3. The first election for Senators and
Delegates shall take place on the first Wednes-
day of October, eighteen hundred and fifty-one,
and on The same day in every second year forever
thereafter, the general elections for Delegates
and for one half of the Senators, as nearly as
practicable, shall be held."
Mr. DORSEY moved to amend the section by
striking out the word "general," in the third
line.