was prepared to offer a first section in a form
which he thought would embody the various
views of the Convention.
The section was read as follows :
"Every free white male person of twenty-one
years of age or upwards, who shall have been
for one year next preceding the election, a resi-
dent of the State, and for six months a resident
of the city of Baltimore, of Howard District, or
of any county in which he may offer to vote, and
being at the time of the election a citizen of the
United States, shall beentitled to vote in the
ward or election district in which he resides, in
all elections hereafter to be held, and at all such
elections the votes shall be taken by ballot."
The section having been read :
Mr. CHAMBERS withdrew his previous amend-
ment, and offered this in lieu thereof.
Mr. WEBER'S amendment thereupon fell to
the ground under the operation of the Parlia-
mentary Law; and
The question being on the adoption of the
amendment last offered by Mr. CHAMBERS,
Mr. BOWIE suggested to the gentleman, so to
modify it, as to insert after the words "a citizen
of the United States," the words "and of the
State."
Mr. CHAMBERS said, the difficulty was that
there were some forty members of the Conven-
tion, who would express the same idea in dif-
ferent terms. Personally, he had no objection to
it, except that it loaded down the section with
phraseology which could have no effect upon it.
Mr. BOWIE explained, that the only difficulty
he had about the matter, was that. in his judg-
ment, it was not in fact true that every citizen
of the United States was a citizen of the State
of Maryland for political purposes.
Mr. GRASON said that he thought the amend-
ment, as it now reads, was in conformity with
the wishes and opinions of the Convention. He
would therefore vote for it.
Mr. CHAMBERS suggested that the gentleman
from Prince George's could move his amendment
as a separate proposition.
Mr. STEPHENSON moved to amend the amend-
ment by striking out the word " six " and insert
" three " before the word " months," so as to
make it read " three months."
Mr. CHAMBERS expressed a hope that the Con-
vention would adopt the amendment he had of-
fered, as a substantive proposition. He would
afterwards introduce another proposition.
Mr. DORSEY rose to vindicate himself against
an insinuation that he had been actuated by some
sinister design in his conduct on yesterday. It
seemed to have been understood by some gentle-
men that the object of his amendment was to post-
pone the exercise of political rights by naturalized
citizens, by requiring of them, after they
had been naturalized here, to reside twelve
months in the States, as well as six months in the
county. He was informed by his colleague, after
leaving the committee room last night, that such
construction had been put upon his course. He
was informed this morning at the breakfast table,
that & sinister design was imputed to him. He |
then pulled out of his pocket an amendment which
he had prepared with a view to set himself right
before the Convention, and showed it to the gentlemen.
He could not have desired such a construct ion
of his amendment as was charged against him,
with any sinister design, because the report would
have borne the same construction after, as before
his amendment. It reads, " every free, white,
male citizen." Who are these citizens who have
come into our State and resided among us, and
been naturalized here ? They are all residents
of the State. The objection would apply to na-
turalized citizens from other States. He never
conceived such an idea as postponing the rights
of these citizens for twelve months. He had vo-
ted for the present proposition, which carries out
that which he brought forward yesterday. And
he would not now have said one word but to ex-
plain his conduct.
The question was taken on the amendment of
Mr. Stephenson, to strike out six months, and
insert "three," and it was rejected.
The question then recurred on the amendment
of Mr. CHAMBERS, of Kent.
Mr. CHAMBERS would explain in few words.
Originally every man voted in the county in,
which he resided, and every man in every part
of the county voted for the same officers, whether
for officers of the General Government or of the
State. There was no such thing as a voter in.
one part of a county or city, voting for a representative
of one district, and another voter in the
same county or city, voting for a represent alive
of another district. This arrangement was subsequently
altered. Now by the act of 1843, the
first eleven wards of the city of Baltimore, are
thrown into one Congressional district, and the
other wards into another. So Howard district
being part of Anne Arundel county, forms part
of one Congressional district, and the residue of
that county forms part of another. Congress
having full jurisdiction over the subject, has declared
that each State shall be divided into sepa-
rate and single districts, and it is therefore most
probable that this interference between the geo-
graphical lines by which the counties are divided;,
and the goegraphical lines of the Congressional
districts will occur in other instances, as
the increasing population of the United States
may continue to require an increased ratio
of representation. Now then it is apparent
that if a residence of six months in the county
or city, shall entitle a person to vote in any
part of the county in which he has his ac-
tual residence, the voters in a divided coun-
ty or city, have advantages not possessed by
those in other counties. Thus, a man residing in
Prince George's county for six months prior to
the election, must vote for the representative in
Congress for the first district, and if at any time
less than six months before the election, he re-
moves into the county of Anne Arundel, he loses
his rote altogether. But his neighbor, living it
may be, not one hundred yards from him, yet on
the opposite side of the line which divides the
two counties, and thus having a residence in the
first district, may by removing into Howard dis- |
