fore. The question now came up directly, (and
he wished gentlemen would understand it,) before
the Convention, between the friends of a system
of general education and those who were opposed
to it. It would be recollected that on the 25th
of February, the Convention adopted a provision
in which the present school fund was apportioned
among the counties. Its disposition was firmly
fixed—that article was now a part of the Constitution
itself. Bat the report now under consid-
eration was directly antagonistic to that article,
for the first proposition placed the present school
fund under the direction of the existing acts of
Assembly, and this proposition contemplated that
the existing fund, together with all accruing
funds, should be dedicated to a system of general
education, to be devised by the Legislature. So
that the question was now directly brought up
again before the Convention between a system of
gen rat education, and the present local system
of distributing the school fund. He should, there
fore, vote for the first section, friendly as he was
to a system of general education, and opposed as
he was to the present unequal mode of distribu-
tion of the school funds. He had felt it his duty
to admonish the friends of general education, be-
cause there was a disposition here to pass over
this subject carelessly for the purpose of considering
other matters. He was happy to know that
many gentleman of this Convention whose names
were found recorded in favor of the previous dis-
position of the school fund, were now friends of
a general system of education. He hoped they
would vote now for the establishment of a gener-
al system of education, and for applying the
school fund to that object, as a nucleus around
which they might gather the funds to be raised
by taxation for school purposes. He should vote
for the first section, and be hoped that all those
who were in favor of a general and equal distri-
bution of, the school fund would vote in the game
way.
Mr. BISER moved to amend the report by in-
serting, after the word schools, these words:
"according to the white population throughout
the State."
Mr. BOWIE said, that under the arrangement of
the school fund upon the basis proposed by the
gentleman from Frederick, there was no county
in the State but what would lose, and the only
part of the State that would be benefited by it
was Baltimore city. He desired to know if the
House was prepared to break up a system which
had been in existence so long a time, and under
which they had a, system of free schools, which
he thought in some of the counties was as perfect
as could be provided. In his own county, in ad-
dition to what they derived from the school fund,
they laid a direct tax of $12,000 upon the peo-
ple for the support of free schools. This ques-
tion was not like that of representation according
to population. The common free school fund
was a peculiar one, and was not raised by taxa-
tion upon the people, but by a tax upon bank bo-
nusses, &c., and then a portion of the fund they
received from the General Government was appropriated
for this purpose. |
Mr. EGE stated that the object he had in view
was to bring this matter directly before the peo-
ple of the State, so that they might see the gross
injustice of the application of this whole school
fund, and he bad no doubt that when they come to
ratify this Constitution, (which he had no doubt
they would do, because it was a most excellent
one,) this liberal and just provision would bring
to its aid thousands of friends.
The gentleman from Prince George's had spoken
of local schools, and he, (Mr. E.,) could
speak with some knowledge of these local schools.
It was but a small system, an academic system,
by which only a few were benefitted, (those who
lived in the localities of these schools,) while the
great mass of the people received not a particle
of benefit from it.
In regard to Carroll county fund. she received it
out of the fund of Baltimore and Frederick coun-
ties originally, and she now went on as acounty
of the State, receiving her proportionate part.
He would say that the population of Mary-
land—taking the counties, if they pleased—
he could show conclusively, as he did at an-
other period of the session, that Kent county, and
other counties in the State, received the belt
proportion of the school fund for their particular
interest, one county receiving annually more
than one-fourth of the whole tax paid by it into
the treasury of the State.
He desired to see this matter brought fairly
before this Convention and the people of Mary-
land, so that they might vote intelligently, and
act in this matter, not with regard to local in-
terests, but on the great principle of justice to
the whole people of the State. It was his desire
that this section should be amended, and although
it might be held up in the obnoxious light of a
poll tax, he would say fearlessly, and with all
fairness and manly feeling, "Give them a poll tax
for the purpose of educating the children of the
State." No man would be so unmanly and so
unworthy the name of an American citizen as to
refuse the small pittance the price of one day's
labor, which would be all that would be necessa-
ry to sustain the system with the present fund
equally distributed. He hoped the Convention
would see the necessity, justice, and right of the
amendment he had submitted, and that they
would adopt it, (for the object of it was a holy
and righteous object, based on just principles.)
He observed then much would be gained for the
Constitution, and he hoped that every friend of
the Constitution, as it was now framed, would
give it his earnest and willing support.
Mr. SPENCER made some remarks, which will
be published hereafter.
Mr. DAVIS remarked:
That it might be proper for him to state that
this report was drawn up before the action of
the Convention on the proposition of the gentle-
man from St. Mary's. He (Mr. D.) presumed
that he violated no rule of propriety in saying
bat it was drawn up as a compromise of the
committee. But with a view now of making the
report conform to what had been the sense of the
House since the report was drawn up, he would |
