a population of a little over 100,000 in the East-
ern Shore district, whilst Baltimore city and the
counties on the bay shore and the Potomac, com-
posing another district, had a population of
278,000.
This inequality in the population of the several
districts, was in itself a serious objection to the
present arrangement of our Gubernatorial dis-
trict, but it was not the chief objection that
could be urged, if the State was to be divided,
the several districts ought to have in them, as
far as possible, a homogeneous population. They
should not connect a commercial with an agri-
cultural community; and they ought not to con-
nect Baltimore city with the counties below. It
was obvious that this ought not to be the ar-
rangement. Any gentleman who aspired to the
office of Governor, ought to aspire to the office
because he was true to the district for which he
was to be chosen, and faithful in his wish to pro-
mote its interests. And, when they made such a
combination of Baltimore city and the counties
on the bay shore, they necessarily placed temp-
tations in the path of men who were aspirants
for the office of chief magistrate, and might make
them subservient to the interests that predomi-
nated in the several districts. And if not disposed
to yield to this temptation, they would fall
victims to their fidelity to that minority interest,
which, from a sense of duty, they felt called upon
to sustain. He would propose, therefore, a sep-
aration of the district composed of Baltimore
and the lower counties, both on account of its
large amount of population and of the conflicting
commercial and agricultural pursuits of the in-
habitants within its confines.
To illustrate the effects of that combination,
we have but to advert to the effect of the agi-
tating questions of the present day, and the strug-
gle for political power that was now going on.
Now, was it fair to place gentlemen in the coun-
ties connected with Baltimore, in a position less
independent than that of gentlemen in other
counties who may aspire to the office of Gover-
nor of Maryland? Would this Convention place
them in a predicament to make themselves so
odious, by opposing the demands of that city on
this subject of representation, that they could
never hope for a nomination to that office?
And take the converse of that proposition,
would you make a man dependent for political
preferment in this district, on the counties to
which he might make his name odious because
he was faithful to the interests of the large empo-
rium? If we are to consult sectional interests
he maintained that the connection was an unde-
sirable and unnatural one. Gentlemen may say
that the time would be too long before the East-
ern Shore district would bo gratified by having
the candidate for Governor, since we have made
the Gubernatorial term four years. That objec-
tion could be obviated by holding the election for
Governor once in two years. The office would
hereafter, if we distribute its present patronage
besought by those who desire to have the high
compliment of receiving a majority of the votes
of the people of Maryland as an evidence of their
respect and regard, it could not be looked to |
as a position from which one class of men could
be expelled and another class promoted to office.
He had no desire to discuss a question of this
kind morn at large, and therefore he would leave
it to the Convention to dispose of as they thought
proper.
Mr. DORSEY said that at a very early period of
the session, he made some calculations of the
Gubernatorial districts of the State, and had
submitted his views thereon to the gentleman
from Charles, (Mr. Jenifer,) and he preferred
those views, as far as they differed from it, to the
plan proposed by the gentleman from Charles.
He thought the Eastern Shore had suffered
enough already by chancres in our Constitution,
and as they are a peculiar people, "zealous of
good works," they ought not in Gubernatorially
districting the State, to be mixed up with the
counties of the Western Shore. He was opposed
to adding to the Eastern Shore, and he was for
laying off the districts on the Western Shore in
a more compact way, and with a just regard to
members. He would, in laying off the Western.
Shore Gubernatorial districts, give Baltimore and
the several counties their just weight, in proper-
portion to their population, and in districting
the State, this principle should not be violated,
that there should be some regard to locality,
contiguity, unity of interests and sympathy ex-
isting between the component parts of the same
district. He conceived that we ought not to
separate the parent from the child—Baltimore
county from Baltimore city. They seemed in-
separable, judging by the proceedings of this
Convention.
Under the last census, the gubernatorial dis-
tricts on this share must be re-cast. Baltimore
city and county ought not to be separated. The
population of the two Western Shore districts
should approach equality as near as it could be
conveniently effected. Those districts ought to
be as compact as may be, taking care that the
interests of the several parts should harmonize
as far as practicable.
He thought his proposition better than the
one under consideration, which sought to sepa-
rate Harford from Baltimore city and county.
To equalize the districts in respect to their
population as nearly as it could be done, he
proposed that Baltimore city and Baltimore and
Harford counties together, with a population of
229,966, should constitute the third district, and
the rest of the Western Shore counties, with a
population of about 225,000 should constitute
the second district. He was opposed to divi-
ding the State into four districts, it might in-
terfere with, or rather defeat the selection of
the best candidate for Governor, and create too
great delay in the choice of the executive from
the several districts.
Mr. THOMAS rose to explain, and remarked
that his desire had been to set apart the city of
Baltimore to itself, because it has a commercial
community, and had peculiar interests. If this
be done, we cannot make, of the residue of the
Western Shore of Maryland, one district, with-
out doing injustice, as it would contain a popu-
lation much greater than Baltimore or the |
