which shall be approved by the Treasurer of
the State, and which shall not be charge with-
out his consent.
The article having been read-
Mr. HOWARD said, he merely desired to remark
that gentlemen should reflect upon this propo-
sition as having only one object in view, and
that was, to prevent internal improvement com-
panies from underbidding each other.
On motion of Mr. BLAKISTONE, it was
Ordered, That it be entered upon the Journal
that Mr. Dent, of St. Mary's, have been called
home by the death of one of his children.
A NEW COUNTY.
Mr. FIERY presented a petition of sundry
citizens of Frederick county, praying that a
new county be erected, to be composed of the
south western portion of Frederick and south
eastern portion of Washington counties, com-
posing the election districts of Jefferson, Peters-
sville, Middletown and Catoctin districts, in
Frederick county, and Sharpsburg and all of
Pleasant Valley in Washington county.
Which was read, and on motion of Mr. Fiery,
referred to the committee on New Counties.
THE CASE OF MITCHELL.
Mr. SOLLERS said, he rose to offer an order
not exactly connected with the duties for which
the Convention had assembled, but which was
of so much importance to the people whom they
all represented, that it should be adopted.
The order was read, as follows:
Ordered, That the Governor be requested (if
in his opinion it be compatible with the public
interest) to cause to be transmitted to this Con-
vention, copies of all papers and documents in
relation to the case of the requisition of James
S. Mitchell by the Governor of Pennsylvania.
The question was taken, and the order was
adopted.
BASIS OF REPRESENTATION
Mr. CHAMBERS, of Kent, said he had yester-
day given notice of a motion to reconsider the
vote by which the Convention had adopted the
substitute offered by the gentleman from Queen
Anne's (Mr. Grason) for the proposition of the
gentleman from Frederick, (Mr. Johnson.) Sub-
sequently, a vote was taken adopting that substi-
tute as part of the constitution. He presumed
that before the first could be reconsidered, it
would be necessary that the vote last taken
should be reconsidered. He therefore gave no-
tice that he should at the same time move a re-
consideration of the last as well as of the first
vote.
The notice was entered on the Journal.
CORPORATIONS.
Mr. BRENT, of Baltimore city, offered the
following order, which, after a little conversa-
tion, was adopted:
Ordered, That the committee on Corpora-
tions be instructed to inquire into the expedi-
ency of reporting an article requiring all rail |
road or canal companies to charge an uniform
price or rate of toll, for the transportation of
passengers or freight, so that no discrimination
shall take place.
THE EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT
The Convention then resumed the considera-
tion of the order of the day, being the report
submitted by Mr. Grason, as chairman of the
committee on the Executive Department.
The pending question was on the substitute
heretofore offered by Mr. Grason for the second
section of the report, and which substitute was
as follows:
Sec 2. The first election for Governor, under
this constitution, shall be held on the first Wed-
nesday in November, in the year on thousany
eight hundred and ____, and on the same dad
and month in every fourth year thereafter, at
the places of voting for delegates to the Gen-
eral Assembly; and every person qualified to
vote for delegates shall be qualified and entitled
to vote for Governor, the election to be held in
the same manner as the election of delegates,
and the returns thereof, under seal, to be ad-
dressed to the Speaker of the House of Dele-
gates, and enclosed and transmitted to the
Secretary of STate, and delivered to the said
Speaker at the commencement of the session of
the Legislature next ensuing said election.
Mr. GRASON now moved to amend the substi-
tute offered by him on the 8th of March, for the
second section of the report, and to be found
on page 417 of the Journal, by striking out
"first Wednesday of November," and inserting
in lieu thereof "first Wednesday of October, in
the year 1853."
Mr. G. said he had proposed the first Wed-
nesday of November for the election of Gov-
ernor. because he had been informed that during
his absence the Convention had fixed that day for
the election of delegates. He preferred Octo-
ber, because, in the month of November, the
polls would not be closed till an hour after sun-
set. There was now barely time for voters in
large and populous districts to give their votes
before dark. He should now move to strike
out "November" and insert "October." He
should also move to fill the blank with 1853,
for reasons which he would now explain to the
Convention. There was a disposition to fix the
year 1852 for the first election of Governor,
in order that the election of that officer and the
President of the United States might always
hereafter be held at the same time. The object
was to mingle the national and State elections,
and there was a wide difference of opinion as to
the wisdom of such a policy. Those who wished
to see our State elections influenced by national
politics would of course oppose his amendment,
but he nevertheless hoped that a majority of the
Convention would be in favor of separating, as
far as it could be done, the election of the Gov-
ernor of the State from the questions that are
continually agitating the Union. In the 5th
section, the same question arises in a different
form: that is, as to the time the present Gov- |
