favor of the restriction now proposed, was that
it might do some good, while he himself and his
friends, who stood opposed to it, contended that
it would do much harm—operating more against
legal than illegal voters, by disqualifying many
of the former, and few of the latter.
In framing an organic law, much must be left
to the discretion of the Legislature. The act of
Congress directed the creation of election dis-
tricts in the States, but the details were left to
the Legislatures. Every local regulation as to
residence indistricts which are continually chang-
ing their boundary lines, should be left to the
Legislature. As was suggested by the gentleman
from Kent, municipal matters should be left for
the action of the municipal authorities. It was
proper that local regulations should be made
by local authorities. Among the frauds alleged
to have been committed, that of colonization was
a fraud of one municipal authority upon another
authority of the same character. This cannot,
however, apply in cases where votes are aggregated
through the State. It can only apply, to
elections in Congressional districts. It will ap-
ply to Baltimore, where owing to the contiguity
of votes, colonization does exist; and in refer-
ence to this matter, both parties are obnoxious
to censure. In the rural districts of the State,
the elective franchise was in as great purity as
human infirmity will permit.
The great evil exists in Baltimore city, which
is divided into two districts for Congressional
elections. These districts have been twice gerrymandered
by the whig party. Since the year
1842, the evil has been the fruit of party legis-
lation. The Legislature have the power to correct
this evil by an honest apportionment, and to pre-
vent the colonization of voters. It is not to be
doubted these evils have arisen from the strife
of parties. But we are not making a Constitu-
tion to reach every contingency which may arise.
This is an isolated case in Maryland, and can be
cured by the Legislature without any provision
in the organic law.
This proposition of five days residence would
be productive of inconvenience in the rural dis-
tricts. A great number of the persons residing
in the interior, are laborers Who are continually
passing over the lines, from one district into an-
other. It is much worse in Baltimore, where
thousands of persons who have no fixed domicil,
are daily passing over imaginary lines, and
it would be wiser to allow them to vote where
they are, than to make restrictions which would
disfranchise many legal voters.
He then put a case to shew that even if the
proposition was introduced into the organic law,
its effect would be different from what was con-
templated by the friends of the measure, and
would not prevent illegal voting.
In reply to what bad been said by the gentle-
man from Prince George's, as to the simplicity
of the judges of election, he contended that the
gentleman was mistaken; that the election laws
were simple, that they had been put in the hands
of the judges, and that some of those judges had
been judges for many years. But admitting mal- |
administration, that was no argument against the
law itself.
It had been asked on the other side, what rem-
edy, if any, we proposed for illegal voting? And
with a purpose of impugning the sincerity of
gentlemen, who had voted against restrictions,
it was charged that whilst we thus voted, we admitted
the existence of the evil. On a former
occasion, he had urged as a remedy, that fraud up-
on the ballot box, was an evil, which could be
better reached by cure than by prevention. He then
said, that illegal voting should be declared an in-
famous crime, that a single conviction followed
up by ignominious punishment, would do much,
by example, to abate the evil. This suggestion
had been met by honorable gentlemen, who con-
tended for district residence, as a remedy, or an
aggravation of the evil. They had characterized
it, as an invitation to illegal voting, and had ap-
pealed to the utter inefficiency of existing penal
laws for such a purpose.
He was free to admit that the present penal
laws against illegal voting, have sullied that
experience, but such testimony served only to
enforce the necessity of their repeal, and the substitution
of other laws; which, recognizing the
vice, as one of the deepest moral turpitude, would
provide a penalty commensurate with the crime.
He admitted that the existing penal laws, invite
to the offence. What are they? Why) they
provide a mere fine of a few dollars for a violasion
of that, which has been again and again
characterized in this House as the dearest and
most cherished right of freemen. Will any man
pretend that such a penalty would for a moment
restrain a person depraved enough to perpetrate
the act of illegal voting? No sir—no sir! The
penal laws are mere waste paper; they have
proved utterly useless; and it was time to profit
by the experience of the past, to provide such a
punishment for illegal voting, as its frequency
and enormity demands.
He was ready to make illegal voting an infamous
crime, a just cause of disfranchisement;
and by this remedy, rather than by the imposition
of shackles upon the right of suffrage, which
involve the innocent with the guilty, he hoped
in some degree to purge the ballot box. He con-
cluded by admonishing his friends, that the adop-
tion of this restriction, would be to open the
door for all the propositions to be revived, which
had been rejected.
Mr. DAVIS rose, in the language of a distinguished
Senator of the United States, "to
establish the truth of history." He found at the
few remarks which he had addressed the Committee
a day or two since, he did injustice to the
populous and distinguished county of Frederick.
He wished to make the amende honorable.
In giving the history of her efforts to reform, her
own internal affairs, he made an important omission,
which he now wished to supply.
He then restated the facts in relation to the
action of the county of Frederick, concerning
the change in the mode of appointing the levy
court, in 1838, and the adoption of the six months
residence as a qualification for the members of |
