dissatisfied with their representatives—it would
work evil rather than good, and they could
make it assume no shape in which it could ob-
tain his vote.
Mr. DAVIS said, that he had alluded to the
proceedings of a meeting held in Baltimore city,
when this subject was under consideration in the
Legislature. It seemed that the meeting was
called by Jesse Hunt, Mayor of Baltimore, and
from the names appended to the proceedings of
the meeting, he had no doubt it was highly re-
spectable and large. The preamble offered by
Mr. McMahon, to the resolutions adopted by the
meeting, was in these words :
"Whereas, The House of Delegates in the
General Assembly of Maryland; have passed a
bill providing for the prompt completion of the
Chesapeake and Ohio Canal to Cumberland, and
the completion of the Baltimore and Susquehan-
na railroad to York in Pennsylvania, upon terms
highly beneficial to the companies incorporated
to construct those works, and is every way advantageous
to the people of Maryland, and whereas
this meeting regard the early completion of
these improvements as truly necessary to the
prosperity of this city and State, and also because
the said hill wisely provides an ample fund, with-
out taxation, for the support of public schools
throughout this State, and the universal educa-
tion of those who will control our destinies, and
upon whose intelligence the welfare and safety
of the State must ever depend—therefore," &c.
The law had then pasted the House of Dele-
gates, and was pending before the Senate and
the people seemed to apprehend that it would not
pass that body.
Mr. BRENT, of Baltimore city. What does the
gentleman cite this for?
Mr DAVIS. To show that the city of Balti-
more made an expression of opinion upon the
subject,
Mr. BRENT. I suppose they wanted a share of
the eight millions
Mr. DAVIS. This occurred long before the
eight millions bill was agitated .
Mr HOWARD desired to say a word in expla-
nation of the vote he intended to give against the
proposition, as it placed him in an awkward po-
sition. in the first place he would vote against
it, because he thought it was entirely unneces-
sary to put any thing in the Constitution on this
subject; and, in the next place, he would vote
against it, because it would do more than any
thing else to endanger the popular vote ill favor
of the Constitution. If they should go on as they
were now doing, they might as well provide for
a session of the Legislature to be held ten years
hence, because they were now doing all the work
which property devolved upon the Legislature
thus taking business out of their hands. They
were disputing now about the school fund
Where could they find a source of greater dissension
to spread among the people of the State
than this ? The people would not understand the
matter as they did; they would not understand
what had been said by the gentleman from Prince
George's, which he believed was perfectly accu- |
rate, that this was a compromise. If this was
so. he was willing to stand by it; he did not wish
lo disturb it. They had compromises enough to
malic without disturbing this one, adopted by
heir predecessors,
Let the subject go before the Legislature, and
let it be settled there. He concurred with the
gentleman from Carroll, that the small counties
would have abundant power to protect them-
selves there. Coming from a large county, he,
[Mr. H.,] did not think it proper to interfere
with a compromise,
There had been no complaint in relation to
the distribution of the fund, and upon these
grounds—that it would be the most fruitful
source of evil they could plant, and that it would
do more to endanger the adoption of the Consti-
tution—he would go against the adoption of the
proposition in any manner whatever.
Mr. CHAMBERS said he must protest, utterly
protest against the assumption made by gentle-
men here, that there was no right in the counties
to an equal distribution of at least a portion of
this fund. Gentlemen were so much impressed
with the towering importance of their constitu-
ency, the wealth, the population and political
importance of the new counties, and the impo-
sing allusion to their 160,000 in one place and
40,000 in another of those " whom they had the
honor to represent," that they had forgotten the
block from which they were hewn—the slump
from which they had grown. One could suppose
it a fact, yielded, admitted, not to be denied by
any man, that this fund should go according to
population, or that every moral and political
principle must be violated. Now, sir, I dare to
say, there can be no greater error than this. It
is true, sir. that Baltimore city has her 160 000
and Frederick and Baltimore counties their 40,-
000, and Carroll and Washington their growing
and rapidly growing approach to this number,
but yet there are some things that occurred in
the State of Maryland quite a considerable time
before this was the case. Amongst other things
which existed before those parts of the State had
assumed any considerable importance for numbers
or influence, was a certain fund belonging
to the State. Since the commencement of this
debate I have sent to the library for some of the
earliest journals of the Legislature, from which
to furnish evidence of its origin and amount, but
we are fast losing all recollection or knowledge
of old things, as I fear we have actually lost
most of our respect for whatever has any age.
Mr. RANDALL. I have here, at your service,
the Treasurer's report of the state of the funds
in 1812.
Mr. CHAMBERS. I will make it answer my
purpose. He then read to the Convention an ac-
count of sundry items of stock to a large amount
which were the proceeds of English bank stock.
Now, sir, said Mr C., this English bank stock
as the property of the good people of the State,
Obtained and owned by them without the contribution
of one dollar from Carroll county, for that
county was then amongst the nonentities. |
