to the Reporters to bring up the proceedings,
and he would, therefore, move that the Commit-
tee rise.
The motion having been agreed to—
The Committee rose, and reported progress.
Mr. CHAMBERS, of Kent, suggested that as
many members were absent, or going away for
the Sabbath, he would, to give them an oppor-
tunity of being here at the meeting of the Con-
vention, move that when the Convention adjourn-
ed it adjourn to meet on Monday, at twelve
o'clock.
Mr. HARBINE moved to substitute ten for
twelve.
The motion of Mr. CHAMBERS (being first in
older) was agreed to.
And then the Convention adjourned until Mon-
day at twelve o'clock.
MONDAY, January 20th, 1851.
The Convention met at twelve o'clock.
Prayer by the Rev. Mr. GRIFFITH.
The roll was called and a quorum being pre-
sent, the Journal of Saturday was read and ap-
proved.
The PRESIDENT announced the regular order
of business to be the fall of the committee for
Reports.
Mr. JENIFER, chairman of committee No. 14,
to which was referred the order to enquire into
the expediency of reporting some constitutional
enactment by authority of which the future Le-
gislature of the State shall have power to pass
laws, providing for the removal of the free col-
ored population from the State of Maryland,
" asked to be discharged from the further consid-
eration thereof, and that the same be referred to
the committee on the free colored population.
The motion was agreed to.
On motion of Mr. STEPHENSON, it was
Ordered, That the committee on Corporations
enquire into the expediency of providing in the
new constitution for limiting the time for which
charters hereafter granted, shall endure to twen-
ty years; also, into the the propriety of vesting
the Legislature with the power of altering or re-
voking any charter whenever, in their opinion,
the public interest may require it, but in such
manner that no injustice be done to the corporators.
DOUBLE SESSIONS.
The PRESIDENT announced the unfinished bu-
siness of the morning hour to be the resolution
heretofore offered by Mr. FIERY, providing for
morning and evening sittings of the Convention.
Mr. PHELPS suggested that, as the attendance
was not very full, it might perhaps be better that
the resolution should lie over until to-morrow.
Mr, FIERY acquiesced in the suggestion,
And by general consent, the resolution was
laid over until to-morrow.
ORDERS OF THE DAY.
Mr. WEEMS called up the motion of which be
had given notice, to re-consider the vote of the |
Convention adopting the resolution heretofore of-
fered by Mr. THOMAS in relation to the preparation
of a map for the use of the Convention,
showing the boundaries of the several election
districts, &c.
And the Convention proceeded to the consideration
of the motion to reconsider.
Mr. W., in explanation, said, it seemed to him
that it was impracticable to obtain the informa-
tion sought by the resolution, and the only object
he had in moving a reconsideration, was to ena-
ble the gentleman to make such explanations as
would perhaps be satisfactory to the Convention.
Mr. THOMAS ".aid lie was under the impression
that the gentleman from Calvert, (Mr. WEEMS,)
upon conference with the officer of the Conven-
tion who hid charge of the execution of the or-
der, would readily learn that such progress had
been made in the preparation of the map, as
would satisfy his mind that all the information
asked for, could he obtained within a very limited
period. Most of the tabular statements called
lor in the order had previously been ordered by
the Convention; and the only effect of his (Mr.
T's) resolution, would be to append these statements
to the map. The boundaries of the counties
; the boundaries of the city of Baltimore, and
of the several wards of the city; and many of the
boundaries of the several subdivisions of the seve-
ral districts were already delineated, and he was
assured upon the authority of the gentleman who
was malling the map, and who was an experienced
surveyor, that the whole of the work
would be completed in a short time.
The occasion did not require, that he (Mr. T.)
should assign the reasons which had led him to
offer a resolution calling for this map. He sup-
posed it would be anticipated by every intelligent
gentleman, that he (Mr. T.) intended to
make use of it in the contingency of a proposition
to sub-divide the Slate into several single election
districts, for the choice of members of the House
of Delegates. That was his own individual pre-
ference. How far that preference would be concurred
in by the members of this body, he had
no means of predicting;, lie had conferred with
very few gentlemen but he knew that there were
others besides himself, who had such a preference,
If there were only a small minority here
who desired at the proper time to express their
reasons for prefering this mode of apportionment,
they threw themselves upon the courtesy of the
Convention to afford them the requisite facilities
for procuring such facts and documents as would
enable them to submit that preferred mode to the
consideration of the Convention, if it could be
done without a very large or unreasonable ex-
penditure of the public money.
The largest portion of the cost had any
been incurred by the officer having charge of the
work. He had employed an experienced sur-
veyor. The whole map, Mr. T. supposed, would
not cost more than twenty dollars. After the
map should have been prepared, it was his inten-
tion to submit a proposition to have it litho-
graphed, that each member of the Convention
might have one or more copies. The litho-
graphing would be a matter of small expense. |
