tion of the same kind was then made, and the
gentleman accepted it promptly. My suggestion,
however, was received in a very different tone.
The reply to it was a question whether we are to
have this question eternally mooted, and I am
taunted with a de-ire to press and urge, in sea-
son and out of season, the pretensions of my part
of the State. Now, sir, gentlemen may think it
quite a matter of course to assail the Eastern
Shore, and fritter away, by piecemeal, the rem-
nant of our political privileges; the taking away
some six or seven delegates, for instance, but I
do not deem these to be triffling matters. They
are far from being so, and if they were, they
ought not to be abandoned. The man who did
not defend his political rights, when a direct effort
was made to deprive him of them, did not de-
serve to have any. It was in this way by a con-
tinued series of small aggressions, that destruc-
tion ultimately was brought about,
Mr, C said, although lie did not profess to give
information upon this subject, yet there was one
point on which he had a very fixed and settled
purpose, which he did not think any argument
here could change, and that was to vote against
any measure which, professing to make the entire
Eastern Shore one district, should name Harford
county as part of it. As to the measure of mak-
ing four districts, instead of three, he was in-
clined to go against it. When the change was
proposed by the gentleman from Frederick, to
make four gubernatorial districts in place of
three, he had voted against it, because it was re-
ducing the claims of the Eastern shore from a
third to a fourth. It was true there were three
members from that shore, two from Talbot and
one from Cecil, who had gone for this diminu-
tion, but the Convention had testified their opinion
of its impropriety by a very decided vote of
46 to 20. He did not so far perceive, from any
thing urged in support of it that this proposition
was entitled to more than three Eastern Shore
votes.
Mr. THOMAS was sure the gentleman from
Kent, [Mr. Chambers,] had not heard all that
had passed between the gentleman from Prince
George's and himself, in private, which had pre-
pared him for what had passed before the Con-
vention In this case, it must be recollected, that
his (Mr. T's.,) proposition was drawn up before
the alteration had been made in the gubernatorial
districts, as stated by the gentleman from Kent.
These districts were laid off two or three months
ago. Of course he could not foresee that this
criticism about Harford county being connected
with the Eastern Shore was to be indulged in.
On a former occasion he had said that he regard-
ed it as a very unimportant subject. But let us
treat of this Eastern Shore claim as men of the
present age. Were they to have such a question
coming before us when about to reform the judi-
ciary? How was it now—the Eastern Shore of
Maryland, with a population or less than 100,000
white inhabitants, and so far as the organization
of the judiciary department was concerned,
white population was chiefly to be looked to, as
slaves were seldom before our courts of justice. |
To the whole Eastern Shore together, and add
the counties of Anne Arundel and Montgomery,
and the bay counties of the Western Shore, and
we have about 200,000 of white population who
have twelve judges to hold their county courts,
while Baltimore city and the other counties of
the Slate, with nearly 350,000 white inhabitants,
have only six judges for the same purpose. We
of Western Maryland have had to submit to that
relation of things for years. That organization
of the judiciary took place when the relations of
the two sections of the State were entirely differ-
ent from those that now exist. But were we,
when looking at the present state of our popula-
tion and about to provide ajudiciary system for
the population of Maryland, not to have the
moral courage to insist that the Eastern Shore
ought not to have the same weight in the councils
of the State as it had fifty or seventy years ago?
He had said before, that the Eastern Shore was
one of the most pleasant portions of the whole
country, that any man could visit. He was most
grateful for unbounded courtesy with which he
was treated when on that shore, canvassing for
all office he had once held in Maryland, and
hoped he would not be considered unmindful of
those, acts of generous kindness, in resisting what
he must consider unfounded claims. Why not,
he would enquire, in laying off the congressional
districts, say that no part of the Western ought to
be connected with the Eastern Shore? No such
remonstrance had ever been offered when Har-
ford and the Eastern Shore counties had been
formed in a congressional district. Now when
he came to the judiciary, he would ask if it was
to he contended that six judges in the Eastern
shore were to be continued, because they had
them so assigned seventy years ago ? He could
not but look at this appeal as being one made to
a mere prejudice. He would much rather hear
from the gentleman from Kent, an argument ad-
dressed to our understandings, to show that there
was any thing peculiar to the Eastern Shore that
entitled its people to an undue proportion of poli-
tical power. We, of the West., only want to set
up four ourselves, and if gentlemen would show
that he wanted to subtract one iota of just power,
from the Eastern shore or from any other sec-
tion of the State, he would yield to his argument
with the utmost pleasure. But he hoped that his
appeals to a mere prejudice would be fruitless.
Suppose Maryland had endowed a College, and
had reserved a right to appoint the trustees of
that college. It might add very much to the conve-
nience of the trustees and of the faculty, that they
should reside in counties contiguous to the insti-
tution which they had in charge, would they not
think it very strange to hear a gentleman of high
position, claim that the Eastern Shore should
have at least two trustees taken from her popula-
tion. He, (Mr. T.,) would repeat that if the
gentleman from Kent, would show him that by
reason of population or territory, the Eastern
Shore was entitled to the honor of having more
than one member of this board of commissioners,
he would acquiesce in the proposed amend-
ment. |
