One of the objects of the Convention was
reform, and one of the great principles of re-
form, which lay at the bottom of every thing,
was the reform of corruption in elections. It
had been contended that if they deprived the
Governor of the State of his patronage, this
would go further towards preventing corruptions
of elections than any thing else. He be-
lieved it was the number of persons dependent
Upon the Governor for political power and influ-
ence, which ceased before the election, com-
binations to be made of money to be expended
to aid in elevating a particular candidate, in order
that, by and through him, they or their friends
might be gratified. It was this which produced
these great corruptions in Maryland) and which
produced all the evils which had been so much
complained of. He held and believed that if
the appointments of all these officers should be
taken from the Governor, he would no longer
be the candidate he had hitherto been in the
State, When it was found that there was no
favor to depend upon his election, when it was
found that no aspirants were to be gratified,
then cupidity would not come into the canvass,
and then corrupting means would not be resorted
to, to elect him. He would then become the
Governor of the State, and nothing else. He
intended, in every vote he should give, to sepa-
rate the Governor in every way he could, from
political influences and combinations, if he
could, and if he was certain that the popular
vote would be drawn out, he would prefer, (and
he did not hesitate to say it,) that he should be
elected clear and free of any kind of public
excitement. He, therefore, apprehended and
felt that if they threw their Governor into the
field of national politics, the only man that
could be elected as a candidate, would be the
man who had the greatest power of speech, the
greatest force of forensic elocution. The man
that could pass through the country, and who
could must charm the populace by the powers
of oratory, would be the man who would be the
candidate selected and elected. He wished to
see candidates for Governor selected from men
of every profession and every situation in life.
He wished to see men selected who were not
to come alone from one profession, and he
did not say this from any political feeling, he
did not wish to see the candidates for Governor
confined to one exclusive profession; that of
law. He wished to see a man selected as can-
didate for Governor without making it necessary
for him lo traverse the State, If connected
with national politics, he would be selected to
give strength to the electoral ticket by his
powers of oratory.
Again: If gentlemen could succeed in their
propositions, to have the State elections take
place on the same day as the election of Presi-
dent of the United States, every man would
know and must know, that the greater the num-
ber of influences, the greater the combinations.
Wherever the combinations were greatest, there
was the most corruption. Throw into national
politics, State politics, and the election of all
the State officers of every description, and they |
would combine all these powers, and thereby
confine all these different means by which the
elections of the State were to be corrupted.
The gentleman from Kent had said that his
great object in submitting this proposition, was
that the majority could and ought to rule; that
this was an abstract principle that could not be
controverted, and that it lay at the foundation
of the Government, and every man, being of
that majority, was bound to vote. He (Mr. S.)
subscribed to this; but he would ask the gentle-
man if he had ever known the majority of the
people of the State to fail to express themselves
at a State election? Had the gentleman ever
known, in any election for Governor, or mem-
bers of the Legislature, an occasion where the
people of the State of Maryland had been back-
ward in expressing their rights, and in exer-
cising that right which belonged to the majority?
He had never known such a thing. He had
always found, in every instance, that the people
were ready to turn out, and had always turned
out,
But in reference to the question of cost of the
frequency of elections, he had shown that these
elections must take place biennially. What
was the matter of cost to the counties holding
these elections, as contrasted with the evils they
wished to avoid, with the excitement and cor-
ruption of which they wished to get clear ? Mr.
S, then enumerated the expenses of holding an
election in the county which he represented,
which he stated was composed of five districts,
the total amount of expense he said would be
about one hundred and fifty dollars, and he
thought that this was nothing to a people de-
siring to preserve the purity of the elective
franchise.
Mr. TUCK said that he purposed to discuss both
of the propositions which Were pending before the
Convention. The first argument of the gentleman
from Queen Anne's was predicated upon the idea
that they had already adopted a certain amend-
ment fixing the election for members to the Legis-
lature. He called the gentleman's attention to
the fact that that section was still open for con-
sideration, and if it had not been laid over, it
would he a very easy matter to receive it.
It seemed to him that a good deal of the rest of
the argument of the gentleman from Queen
Anne's, (Mr, Spencer,) might be very successfully
turned against him. He had said that one of the
great objects of the Convention was reform, and
among other things a casting out of the corruption
which attended elections. Well, suppose this
was so; he might say to his friends that coming
there with that purpose in view, he had certainly
lent a very heavy hand towards preventing the
accomplishment of the object. He (Mr, T.) be-
lieved the gentleman had uniformly voted against
every restriction upon the elective franchise,—
against all provisions sought to be engrafted to
protect the elective franchise, and to prevent this
corruption and fraud,
He knew that the gentleman differed with the
friends of those measures as to their efficacy.
But he offered nothing better. He was willing
to let the old state of things continue, although |
