his far-seeing judgment, and likely to consum-
mate the object proposed, and we would adhere
to that policy, and that system of taxation until
the last dollar is paid. I would hold to the pre-
sent financial system of the State, until it has
worked out its high destiny, of restoring the peo-
ple of old Maryland once more, to that proud
position they once occupied. Aye, more; I
would engraft upon this Constitution a guaranty
that those taxes shall be returned to the people,
when the public works become remunerative,
according to the mode prescribed by my amend-
ment. Shall we neglect this amendment, and
deceive the reasonable expectation of the peo-
ple? Continue to sport their confidence? Ever
allure them by a course of duplicity into hopes
never to be realized? I trust this is not the de-
termination of this Convention, but that we shall
evince our sincerity and good faith towards the
people of this deeply indebted State, by engraft-
ing this section upon the Constitution, to be sub-
mitted to their judgment.
Mr. DONALDSON called for a division of the
question;
Which was ordered.
Mr. SOLLERS rose to enquire of the gentleman
from Worcester. (Mr. Jacobs,) what the mean-
ing of this provision was ? As he, (Mr. S.,) un-
derstood it, the tax-laws were not to be repealed
until a sufficient fund should have been provid-
ed to extinguish the debt. Who was to be the
judge of that sufficiency?
Mr. JACOBS said: The legislature, I presume.
Mr. SOLLERS continued. It seemed then, he
said, to be unnecessary. If it was not intended
to bind the legislature against passing any law to
repeal the taxes, fur what purpose had it been
offered? Was it done to gratify bond hold-
ers? He could not think so. He did not
believe that any gentleman representing an agri-
cultural district, would introduce any proposi-
tion, prejudicial to the interests of his own
constituents, or calculated to promote the inter-
ests of bond-holders and stock-jobbers.
What then was the object of this proposition?
Was it intended as a mere expression of opinion
on the part of this Convention that we did not
intend to repudiate? Why, who dreamed of such
a thing? That day—the darkest in our history—
when "the heaven's were hung with black"—
had long since passed. And no man at this
hour would stand up and advocate any thing
like the doctrine of repudiation. He could not
understand the purpose for which the proposi-
tion had been offered.
If it meant that the legislature was to pass no
law to repeal the tax-laws, notwithstanding that
there might be a large surplus annually flowing
into the treasury, then he was opposed to it. He
would not, he dare not go before a down-trod-
den constituency, and tell them that although
there was a large accumulation of money in the
treasury, wrung from their hard toil and the
sweat of their brows, yet the organic law forbid
us relieving them from a burthen which was
crushing them. Gentlemen of the counties,
(asked Mr, S.,) can you do this?
He spoke of the peculiar position of himself
48

and of the people whom he represented, to whose
benefit these gigantic works had in no degree
contributed. Yet they were paying for them
annually more than they were able to pay—and ,
now a demand was made for a constitutional pro-
vision prohibiting the Legislature from repealing
the tax-laws although some of the burthens they
imposed might well be taken off.
It was not often that the gentleman from Kent,
(Mr. Chambers,) found it necessary to resort to
ad captandum arguments. But there certainly
was some savour of such an argument in the re-
marks which the gentleman made the other day,
when he appealed to the farmers here and told
them that the last taxes to be taken off would be
the taxes on the land. He, (Mr. S ,) declared
that the very first bill which reduced the taxes
would take off some five or ten cents from the land
tax. The very same influences which were
brought to bear for the establishment of the sys-
tem which the gentleman from Baltimore city,
(Mr. Presstman,) had yesterday designated the
auxiliary taxes, would again operate to continue
them whilst the necessity for taxes existed—and
these were the very last which the farmers would
consent to repeal.
We were told that this was a solemn pledge to
the people of Maryland and to the world, that un-
der no circumstances should the tax laws be re-
pealed, and that the faith of the State should be
maintained inviolate. No man was more disposed
to maintain the faith of the State than he was. But
where in the history of the world had a system
of finance been found so perfect, that it was not
susceptible of improvement ? There were cer-
tain gentlemen who seemed to take into their
own peculiar keeping the faith and credit of the
State—to regard it as exclusively the work of
their own hands, and to consider it almost a sacri-
legious act for any man to touch it. Gentlemen
must pardon him. But he knew of no work of
mere human wisdom which, in the change of
time and circumstances, might not require to be
changed. And was he to be told that, although
there might be surplus millions in the Treasury,
they were not to be touched, and that the enor-
mous taxes now weighing heavily upon the peo-
ple were to be continued, even when they could
safely and properly be relaxed? He, for one, could
not go home and teach such a doctrine to a con-
stituency who had so honestly and so freely paid
the taxes which the State, in the hour of her need
and her peril, had imposed upon her.
Mr. GWINN said, that he was opposed to the
first branch of the proposition offered by the gen-
tleman. He could not see the wisdom of keeping
up the present system of taxation, until the whole
public debt was paid off. Under the estimates
of the Treasurer, the sinking fund would absorb
it in about fifteen years. But what need was
there for the continuance of the present system in
all its parts, in order that this result might be
accomplished in so brief a time. Taxation was,
indeed, designed to meet the current interest,
and to provide for the payment of the principal
of our obligations. But it was surely only right
that this burthen should be as equally distributed,