cient reason for requiring the new counties to
have so large a population as fifteen thousand.
He doped that the gentleman from Washington,
would withdraw his amendment, and that the
matter in regard to the new counties, having a
population of ten thousand, and which should also
have a certain extent of territory, would be re-
considered. By a proper arrangement, all the
good counties of the Eastern Shore, which he be-
lieved were second in point of territory to the
county of Allegany, would have an opportunity
of making provision for the erection of new coun-
ties upon a proper and correct basis. He thought
the geographical interests of the State would be to
form new counties wherever they could protect
them; elves against the inroads of the city of Bal-
timore.
The question recurring on the reconsideration
of the vote, filling the first blank with fifteen thou-
sand, it was found that no quorum was voting.
Ayes 23, noes 23—
No quorum voting.
The question was then taken on the motion of
Mr. JOHN NEWCOMER, to reconsider the vote of
the Convention on the amendment offered by him
to the section, filling the blank with "fifteen thou-
sand."
Mr. KILGOUR demanded the yeas and nays ;
Which were ordered and taken,
And resulted as follows:
Affirmative—Messrs Chapman, Pres't, Blakis-
tone Hopewell, Ricaud, Chambers, of Kent,
Randall, Buchanan, John Dennis, James U. Den-
nis, Dashiell, Williams, Hicks, Hodson, McCul-
lough, Bowie, Sprigg, Dirickson, McMaster, Hearn,
Stephenson, Nelson, Thawley, Stewart, of Caro-
line, Gwinn, Brent, of Baltimore city, Sherwood
of Baltimore city, Ware, John Newcomer, Mich-
ael Newcomer, Davis, Kilgour and Waters—31
Negative—Messrs. Donaldson, Dorsey, Sell-
man. Howard, Welch, Dickinson, Sherwood of
Talbot, Colston, George, Biser, Annan, McHen-
ry, Schley, Fiery, Anderson, Weber, Hollyday,
Slicer, Fitzpatrick, Smith, Shower, Cockey and
Brown—23.
So the Convention reconsidered their vote.
Mr. JOHN NEWCOMER then moved to amend
the twenty-third section, by filling the first blank
therein with "twenty thousand."
Mr. BISER had been somewhat amused at the
motion of the gentleman from Washington coun-
ty, (Mr John Newcomer,) in presenting as the
basis of a new county a population of twenty
thousand. If that gentleman would look to the
population of Howard county, which was now
entitled to all the rights and privileges that any
other county in the State enjoyed, according to
its population, he would find that the population
there was a little upwards often thousand. And.
if the gentleman looked to Calvert county he
would find a population of about nine thousand.
Mr. JOHN NEWCOMER, (interposing,) said he
did not desire a new county with much less than
twenty thousand inhabitants. |
Mr. BISER remarked that if the gentleman from
Washington inserted in the Constitution that a
county should not have less than twenty thou-
sand inhabitants, it was in effect, to deny to that
county the rights and privileges which were grant-
ed to Howard, Calvert and other counties in the
State. He, [Mr. R.,] was not standing there to
advocate or oppose the creation of new counties,
but he desired to see a uniform system adopted
throughout the State, whether the basis was fixed
at ten or twenty thousand. He wished his own
section of the State to stand on a perfect equality
with all the other parts of it. Whenever his
people should express at the ballot-box their de-
sire to have a new county—when it was certain
there was an undoubted majority in favor of a
new county, then he would ask the same privil-
ege for his constituents as was asked by other
gentlemen in behalf of theirs. He could not
unite with his friend from Allegany, [Mr. .Smith,]
in his contemplated amendment to annex territo-
ry to population. He, [Mr. B.,] was opposed to
the representation of territory, although upon
the compromise in voting for a basis of represen-
tation, and being under the necessity of passing
something as plausible as they could make it,
territory was taken into consideration.
Mr. SMITH explained that he was opposed to
territoritorial representation as well as the gen-
tleman, but what he meant to say was, that coun-
ties should not be formed unless they had the re-
quisite population and a certain extent of terri-
tory also.
Mr. BISER was obliged to the gentleman for
his statement, but for the life of him he could
not see why a dense population of fifteen thou-
sand in any section of the State, when their opin-
ion was clearly ascertained and expressed at the
ballot-box, should not be entitled to the same
privileges and advantages as a like number of
people living in another section of the State. If
it was the good fortune of any sections of the
State to be more densely populated than others,
they should not be deprived of equal rights and
privileges merely on account of the smallness of
their territory. Those were simply the reasons
which would govern his votes, and he would not
commit himself for or against any new county
now in contemplation. His desire was to have a
Constitution, so far as his vote was concerned,
fair and uniform in its provisions in reference lo
every portion and county of the State. He had
ever been. and should ever be, an advocate of
the majority of the people. Whenever his con-
stituents, were in favor of a project—their desire
being clear and undoubted—certainly he was
then with that majority. Whenever they should
expresss their opinion for an additional county,
formed out of the counties of Washington and
Frederick, for instance, and a majority of the
voters living within the contemplated bounds of
it being in favor of the project, he desired to
place them in the same condition and on the
same platform as other people of the State were.
The question recurring on Mr. JOHN NEW-
COMER'S amendment, to fill the first blank, in the
23d section, with "twenty thousand;" |
