protected in the Legislature; for the purpose of
electing delegates therein, the city of Baltimore
shall be divided into ten districts, as follows:—
The first and second wards, as now laid off, shall
constitute District No. 1, the third and fourth
wards District No. 2, the fifth and sixth wards
District No. 3, the seventh and eighth wards
District No. 4, the ninth and tenth wards No. 5,
the eleventh and twelfth wards No, 6, the thir-
teenth and fourteenth wards No. 7, the fifteenth
and sixteenth wards No. 8, the seventeenth and
eighteenth wards No. 9, the nineteenth and twentieth
wards No. 10. And every county shall,
by the General Assembly, be divided into as
many districts as the county is entitled to dele-
gates, and numbered accordingly, and the quali-
fied voters in each of said districts, shall at the
time and in the manner, in which delegates are
chosen, elect one delegate, who has been for one
year, next before his election, a resident of the
ward from which he shall be elected, and has in
all other respects the requisite qualifications of
a delegate. And the residence in the district,
requisite to give a right of suffrage in voting for
delegates, shall be six months next proceeding
the election. But in case any voter otherwise
qualified, shall have resided less than six months
in the district of his then residence, he shall not
thereby wholly loss his right to vote at the then
pending election; but shall be entitled to cast his
vote for a delegate in the district in which he
may have resided for the six months next pro-
ceeding his removal to the district of his exist-
ing residence. And the Legislature may pass
all laws necessary to carry into effect this arti-
cle of the Constitution.
Art. 3. Of the sixty-two members constituting
the House of Delegates, Allegany county shall
elect three, Anne Arundel county three, Balti-
more city ten, Baltimore county four, Carroll
county three, Caroline county two, Calvert coun-
ty two, Cecil county two, Charles county two,
Dorchester county two, Frederick county four,
Harford county two, Howard county two, Kent
county two, Montgomery county two, Prince
George's county three, Queen Anne's county
two, St. Mary's county two, Somerset county
three, Talbot county two, Washington county
three, and Worcester county two.
Art. 4. It shall be the duty of the Legislature
at its first session next each after the publication
of the decenial census of the people of the United
States, whenever it shall thereby appear, that
any county or city by the increase of its popula-
tion is entitled, according to the aforegoing basis
of representation, to one or more additional del-
egates; or whenever the population of said dis-
tricts shall become so grossly unequal as to ren-
der it necessary that a reorganization of said dis-
tricts shall take place in order to a nearer equalization
of the population thereof, to reorganize
the said districts, and add to their number such
additional districts, as said increase of delegates
may render necessary.
Mr. DORSEY said, that being under the opera-
tion of the gag-law, which this Convention, he |
should ever think, had most unjustly imposed upon
us; five minutes only being allowed to the mover
of any amendment, and not a word in reply or
explanation to any other members; the time was
so limited that he would not, and could not be
able to explain the grounds, upon which this im-
portant amendment, entirely new, undiscussed,
and unconsidered, (as far as he knew,) by this
Convention, ought to be substituted for the pro-
position of the gentleman from Washington.
That proposition had anumber of obnoxious fea-
tures to him, one of which was, that it gave to
the non-slaveholding counties forty delegates,
while it gave to the slaveholding counties thirty-
three—thus stripping them of all security or
means of protection for their most valuable rights.
His proposition would give to the non-slavehold-
ing counties and the city of Baltimore thirty-one
delegates, and to the slaveholding counties the
same number, thus placing both portions of the
State, distinguished in this debate as "slavehold-
ing and non-slaveholding," as regarded slavery
upon a perfect equality. It would be perfectly
immaterial whether they adopted the federal
basis or the aggregate basis, for the result under
t is amendment would he precisely the same in
every county. It would be perfectly immaterial,
oo, whether they adopted the principle, which
all appeared disposed to be in favor of, that no
county should have less than two delegates, or
whether they should have a territorial represen-
tation; or, as he regarded it, a representation for
population, but without reference to numbers.
It would do justice to all by giving two to each,
and to the larger counties an increased delega-
tion.
They would deprive Frederick and Baltimore
counties, of no delegation on account of terri-
tory, but would provide as to one delegate from
such county or city, in the mode which existed
prior to 1836, when representation was given to
population, in proportion to its numbers, with a
limitation as respected the city of Baltimore, If
five thousand lived in one county, and five hun-
dred in another, the Legislature formerly intend-
ed that each should have the same number of
delegates. As he had said, the principle was the .
same, whether they adopted the federal or ag-
gregate basis. It gave the same number that
would be given, if they were to adopt it, with re-
ference to territory. It would give to Anne
Arundel three, whereas if the qualified territo-
rial basis, proposed by this amendment were not
adopted, she would have but two. It would give
Carroll three, instead of two. So with a number of
other counties, which he had not the time to give
in detail. It provided a perfect system in itself,
and was designed to operate for all time to come,
as a perpetual ratio and basis of representation
in the House of Delegates, for every part of the
State. It superceded the necessity for any fu-
ture Convention, in reference to representation
in the Legislature. The proposition of the gen-
tleman from Washington did no such thing. It
might operate for then years, but there would be
an end of it, for there was no provision for re-ad-
justment to meet the varying conditions of popu- |
