lature shall at the same session, also provide that
each county being entitled to six delegates shall
be divided into three districts of compact and
contiguous territory, of as nearly equal population
as convenient, each of which districts shall elect
two members to the House of Delegates; that
each county being entitled to five delegates shall
be divided into two districts, of compact and contiguous
territory, one of which districts shall elect
three members, and the others shall elect two
members to the House of Delegates; that each
county being entitled to four delegates shall be
divided into two districts of compact and contigu-
ous territory, and of as nearly equal population
as convenient, each of which shall elect two
members to the House of Delegates, and that
counties entitled to three delegates and less shall
elect as single districts without division; the re-
sidence in a district requisite to give a right of
Suffrage shall be six months next preceding the
election, but in case any voter otherwise quali-
fied shall have less than six months residence in
the district of his then residence, he shall not
thereby lose his right to vote in the district in
which he may have resided for the six months next
preceding his removal."
Mr. BLAKISTONE said that they were about to
form a Constitution for the people of Maryland—
a Constitution which would be acceptable to the
people. There might be a majority in the Con-
vention who desired that the State should not be
districted; a large portion of them desired that
the State should be districted, and he really hoped
that gentlemen from some of the more populous
portions of the State, if not from the city of Bal-
timore, which was to exercise such a prepon-
derating influence in the Legislature, would give
up their local prejudices, and meet them upon
some common ground, where they would have
some possible hope of standing, and enable them
to unite with them in carrying out the Constitu-
tion they were about to adopt. If they refused
the smaller counties everything they asked, and
if they should arbitrarily fix upon them a system
to which they were utterly opposed, they could
not expect that they would go with them in car-
rying the Constitution about to be adopted.
The question being on agreeing to the substi-
tute,
Mr. SPENCER moved the previous question;
Which was seconded.
Mr. JOHNSON asked the yeas and nays on the
adoption of his substitute;
Which were ordered, and being taken,
Resulted as follows:
Affirmative—Messrs. Chapman, Pres't., Mor-
gan, Blakistone, Dent, Hopewell, Ricaud, Lee,
Chambers, of Kent, Donaldson, Dorsey, Well,
Randall, Kent, Weems, Dalrymple, Brent, of
Charles, Merrick, Jenifer, Williams, Hicks,
Goldsborough, Eccleston, Phelps, Tuck, Sprigg,
McCubbin, Bowling, Dirickson, McMaster,
Hearn, Fooks, Jacobs, Thomas, Johnson, Gai-
ther, Annan, Schley, Fiery, Neill, John New-
comer, Kilgour, Waters and Smith—43.
Negative—Messrs. Sellman, Howard, Buchanan,
Bell, Welch, Ridgely, Lloyd, Sherwood, |
of Talbot, Colston, John Dennis, Constable, Miller,
McLane, Bowie, Spencer, Grason, George,
Wright, Shriver, Biser, Sappington, Stephenson,
McHenry, Magraw, Nelson, Carter, Thawley,
Stewart, of Caroline, Hardcastle, Gwinn, Stew-
art, of Baltimore city, Brent, of Baltimore city,
Sherwood, of Baltimore city, Presstman, War(,
Harbine, Michael Newcomer, Brewer, Anderson,
Weber, Hollyday, Fitzpatrick, Parke, Shower,
Cockey and Brown—46.
So the Convention refused to accept the substitute.
The question then recurred on the adoption of
the amendment offered by Mr. BOWIE.
Mr. BOWIE moved that the question be taken
by yeas and nays ;
Which being ordered,
Appeared as follows:
Affirmative—Messrs. Chapman, Pres't., Blakistone,
Dent, Hopewell, Ricaud, Lee, Chambers,
of Kent, Donaldson, Wells, Randall, Kent,
Weems, Dalrymple, Brent, of Charles, Merrick,
John Dennis, Williams, Hicks, Goldsborough,
Eccleston, Phelps, Bowie, Tuck, Sprigg, McCubbin,
Bowling, Dirickson, McMaster, Hearn,
Fooks, Jacobs, Schley, Neill, John Newcomer,
Kilgour, Waters and Smith—37.
Negative—Messrs. Sellman, Jenifer, Howard,
Buchanan, Bell, Welch, Ridgely, Lloyd, Slier-
wood, of Talbot, Colston, Constable, Chambers,
of Cecil, Miller, McLane, Spencer, Grason,
George, Wright, Thomas, Shriver, Johnson, Gaither,
Biser, Annan, Sappington, Stephenson, Mc-
Henry, Magraw, Nelson, Carter, Thawley, Stew-
art, of Caroline, Hardcastle, Gwinn, Stewart, of
Baltimore city, Brent, of Baltimore city, Sherwood,
of Baltimore city, Presstman, Ware, Har-
bine, Michael Newcomer, Brewer, Anderson,
Weber, Hollyday, Slicer, Fitzpatrick, Smith,
Parke, Shower, Cockey and Brown—50.
So the amendment was rejected,
Mr. BLAKISTONE gave notice that on to-morrow
he should move to reconsider the vote of the
Convention on the amendment last offered by Mr.
JOHNSON, and rejected by the Convention.
The Convention then adjourned until to-morrow
morning 9 o'clock.
SATURDAY, May 10th, 1851.,
The Convention met,
Prayer by the Rev. Mr. GRAUFF.
On motion of Mr. CONSTABLE,
The leading of the Journal of Proceedings
was dispensed with,
Mr. CONSTABLE submitted the following arti-
cles to the Constitution.
1st. All rights vested and all liabilities incur-
red shall remain the same as if this Constitution
bad not been adopted,
2nd. The Governor and all officers, Civil and
Military, now holding commissions under the
authority of this State, shall continue to hold
and exercise their respective offices according to
their present tenure, until they shall be superced- |
