each county, and one from the city of Baltimore,
which is purely territorial; and in every scheme
for representation in the House, except that spoken
of by the gentleman from Baltimore city,
(Mr. Brent.) the territorial principle is to be
discerned more or less clearly. In the particu-
lar scheme, I am now considering, it is to be
found in that feature, which secures to each
county at least two members, in all events.
And here, Mr. President, allow me to make a
remark necessary to prevent misapprehension. I
have seen the idea advanced, that the govern-
ment of Maryland, is a confederation of coun-
ties. I hold no such opinion. The counties, as
such, possess no sovereignty. They are mere
municipal divisions of the State, established for
the convenience of government. I claim representation
to be apportioned in part on these territorial
divisions only because it will ensure the
representation of every interest, and give to the
people of every section a check upon the action
of other sections, injurious to their interests; a
measure I deem essential to their protection and
happiness.
Here then. Mr. President, is a principle lying
at the foundation of our government, which
comes down to us, crowned with the experience of
two centuries Under the direct agency of this
principle, Eden , the last and proudest of the Imperial
Governors, was driven from our soil, and
the sons of Maryland, assumed the privileges and
responsibilities of freemen. Our fathers, amid
the din of arms, and with their garments red
with the blood of that revolution, which was com-
menced and prosecuted to achieve civil liberty
and constitutional government, engrafted it in
our organic law, and under its benign influ-
ence, we have lived and prospered. Generations
have risen and flourished, and passed away
—Maryland has grown from a poor and feeble
colony to a rich, populous and independent State.
The foot prints of oppression and tyranny have
never marred the beauty of our soil. Life, liberty,
property and labor, have found here a sure and
safe asylum. The meanest and mightiest have
alike shared its benefits Then, why shall we
abandon it ? Why set at nought the teachings of
time, and venture on new experiments whose
best promise, if realized can never exceed the
fruition of the past, whose slightest failure will
entail ruin on the future?
Mr. President, it may not be in our power at
this late day, to recall all the, reasons which gave
rise to this rule. We cannot travel back through
the long lapse of years, and describe all the mo-
tives which induced our forefathers to incorporate
the element of territory into their scheme of
representation; nor can we trace the motives
which under all circumstances, have induced an
adherence to it. Some of the reasons have,
doubtless, in the change of time and circumstances,
ceased to operate; but others con-
tinue in full force to this day, and new ones have
arisen which imperiously require the smaller
counties to retain their present representation, to |
preserver them from absolute dependance upon
the larger counties and the city of Baltimore.
If we look to the geography of Maryland, we
find her peculiarly situated. The Chesapeake
flows through the entire length of the State from
north to the south dividing the State into unequal
portions. The Eastern Shore is now, and
always must remain, an agricultural region. It
is adapted to the use of slave labor. The West-
ern Shore is also divided into tow sections; one
of which may be called the tide water section;
and that above the water may be called the
western section. These two sections are very
different. The tide water section is a grain, and
tobacco region; slave labor is exceedingly productive,
and the number of slaves, is nearly equal
to the number of the whites. this section has
no minerals, and is not adapted to manufactures.
In many of its characteristics, it is like the Eastern
Shore; and to some extent their interests are the
same. The west in section stretches along the
southern BORDER=0 of Pennsylvania, and its inhabitants
partake in a great degree of the character
of the inhabitants of that State. In this region
slave labor is not productive, and the number of
slaves is comparatively small. The county is
hilly and in parts mountainous and while it contains
large tract of fertile land a large part of
its surface is not adapted to agriculture. It
abounds in water power and a large part of its
capital and labor is devoted to manufactures,
which are annually increasing. The extreme
west is a rich mineral region. The supplies of
coal and iron are inexhaustible; and these now
afforded a cheap and convenient outlet by means
of the public works constructed at the expense of
the State, are attracting, and will continue to at-
tract, capital and immigration. Allegany is is destined,
at no distant day, to the most populous,
and richest county in the State. Her lands are
not adapted to agriculture. Her population,
which must soon be immense, will be exclusively
engaged in mining and manufacture ing Slavery
scarcely exists in that county; the whole number
of her slaves is but seven hundred and twenty-
four From the character of the country, and
the direction given to labor, slave labor never
can he profitable there. Slavery must therefore
rapidly diminish and soon entirely disappear.
Another striking feature in the condition of
Maryland, is the large commercial and manufacturing
city of Baltimore, which is already numbers
a population nearly equal to one third of the en-
the population of the whole State and is rapidly
increasing. That city exercises a large influ-
ence in the affairs of Maryland, and is destined
hereafter to increase still greater in influence. Her
relations to the rest of the State, and the policy
she is likely to pursue, will presently be particularly
considered.
It is to be remembered too, that the different
classes of population are very unequally distributed.
I have compiled from the last census the fol-
lowing table, which shows the inequality in the
several divisions of the State already referred to: |
