—that when the State held stock, he had no ob-
jection that the commissioners should cast the
vote of the State for bank directors.
Mr. BROWN also rose to explain.
Mr. DAVIS. Now, as to the conflict between
the gentleman from Carroll, (Mr. Brown.) and
the gentleman from Washington, (Mr. Harbine,)
with the gentleman from Baltimore county, (Mr.
Howard,)—
Mr. HOWARD called the gentleman to order. It
certainly was not in order for a gentleman to at-
tack a proposition that was not strictly before
the Convention.
Mr. DAVIS. Well, I did not think to draw a
hornet's nest around my head quite so soon.
[Laughter.]
Mr. CHAMBERS in his seat. Fair play, gentle-
men—a fair fight.
Mr. DAVIS. I was about to show, and I think
I was not out of order—
The PRESIDENT. The gentleman's proposition
was not before the Convention.
Mr. DAVIS said:
All that he was going to say, was, that if the
gentleman from Washington and the gentleman
from Carroll, gave the election of all the officers,
bank directors included to the people, as they
had argued—they were in conflict with the gen-
tleman from Baltimore county, [Mr. Howard,]
who proposed commissioners or a board, precisely
similar in character and effect to the electoral
college proposed by his friend from Anne Arun-
del, [Mr. Dorsey,] which had been voted down
by a large majority.
He hoped gentlemen would be able to recon-
cile the consistency of their course in supporting
this proposition, which they would give with
their vote against the proposition of his friend
from Anne Arundel, sometime ago, and their ar-
gument this morning, in favor of electing every
thing, bank directors included, directly by the
people.
In reference to one particular, before he pro-
ceeded further, he deemed it proper to put him-
self right. He had several times since he had
been here, been spoken to as a director in the
Chesapeake and Ohio canal company, when in
fact, such was not the case. He was not a di-
rector in any company—but a State agent, au-
thorised by the legislature, in conjunction with
tour other gentlemen, (two of whom are upon
this floor,) to vote the stock of the State in all
joint stock companies, canals, rail roads, &c., in
which the State has an interest.
This appointment was conferred upon him
some ten years ago, by the legislature, without
any solicitation or effort on his part whatever.
He accepted it not with a view to emoluments,
for the compensation was very small, but that he
might have an opportunity to lend his feeble ef-
forts to advance the interests of the State, in
which he felt a deep interest. And in saying
this, he was sure he spoke the sentiments of his
honorable colleagues. He would say, speaking
of them alone, that he never saw gentlemen more
patriotically and faithfully devote their time to
the public interest, and for so small a compensa-
tion. |
When the proposition to create a board of pub-
lic works, came up on Saturday, he asked what
seemed to him to be a pertinent question: ''What
powers it was proposed to invest in this board,
and what authority they intended to give this
board to execute the powers conferred?
The gentlemen from Charles, (Mr. Jenifer,)
who reported the bill, and not now in his seat,
felt the force of this question and finding it diffi-
cult to answer it himself, had read from themes-
sage of one of the late Governor's, arecommenda-
tion of a board of public works, and for a reason for
the creation of this board after a long recital of
the interests the State had in the various works of
internal improvement, had gravely stated that
the present board of State agents were inade-
quately compensated, and consequently could not
be expected fully to attend to the State's interest
in those works. No neglect of duty, or loss to
the State is assigned, but simply insufficiency of
pay; and full attention to duty under such cir-
cumstances could not he expected.
Now, if this really be the only reason, and as
yet, he had heard no other, the remedy is too sim-
ple and easy to need an argument, or to engage
the lime of this Convention. The legislature
could easily provide additional compensation.—
This would be but just to those to whom a ver-
dict of attention to business and fidelity to trust,
had been so generally accorded.
The gentleman from Frederick, (Mr Thomas,)
not now in his seat. and it was a matter of re-
gret to him to be compelled to refer to a. gentle-
man not present, but as the gentleman was pre-
sent by his chosen proxy, [Mr. Brown,] he sup-
posed he might attempt to do so. The gentleman
undertook to answer the question he, [Mr.
D.,] propounded. And how did he answer it ?
Why, by telling us, and telling us truly, that Ma-
ryland, in connection with her public works, was
unlike New York, was unlike Ohio and was un-
like Pennsylvania—that the board of commission-
ers had no authority to control the Susquehanna
rail road company, no authority to control the
Baltimore and Ohio rail road company, and only
authority to vote the stock of the State in the
Chesapeake and Ohio canal company at stock-
holders' meetings of that company. So that, if
this new board was to control that company; if
it was imperative that the board should exert its
control, we must ascertain; before we elect any
President or Directors, whether they would be
the supple tools of this board, to carry out their
bidding. We must know that the gentlemen we
were going to elect would do every thing for us
—would be willing to obey our behests—do our
bidding, or we would not have the desired con-
trol. The gentleman from Frederick, [Mr. Tho-
mas,] had shown nothing but a power to vote the
stock of the State in the election of President
and Directors in the Chesapeake and Ohio ca-
nal company, and a negative on the subject of
tolls. Now, it appeared to him, [Mr. D.,] a
very important office to make a great deal of noise
about! This simply voting by proxy the stock
of the State, and we were to excite the people of
the whole State in order to elect a board for this
very important duty. We were to elect one on |
