sioners shall provide for any vacancies happen-
ing in their respective counties, between regular
periods of election as aforesaid."
Mr. BRENT, of Baltimore city, moved for a di-
vision of the question on the amendment, being
in these words: "one wreck-master for Worces-
ter county;"
And the question was accordingly taken on the
first branch of the amendment, and
It was agreed to.
The question was then taken on the second and
last branch of the amendment, and
It was also agreed to.
The fourth section of the report was then read,
as follows:
Sec. 4, The county authorities, now known as
levy courts, or county commissioners, shall here-
after be styled county commissioners, and shall
be elected by general ticket, and not by districts,
by the voters of the respective counties. Said com-
missioners shall exercise such powers and duties
only, as the Legislature may from time to time
prescribe; but such powers and duties, and the
tenure of office, shall be uniform throughout the
State; and the Legislature shall, at or before its
second regular session, after the adoption of this
Constitution, pass such laws as may be necessary
for ascertaining and defining the powers, duties,
and tenure of office of said commissioners; and
until the passage of such laws, the present county
authorities shall have and exercise all the powers
and duties now exercised by them under the laws
of this State.
On motion of Mr. CONSTABLE,
Said section was amended by inserting after
the word "counties" in the fourth line, these
words:
"On the first Wednesday of November, 1851,
and on the same day in every second year forever
thereafter."
The question then recurred on the adoption of
the section as amended.
Mr, MCHENRY moved to amend the section as
amended, by substituting the following, being the
first three sections of the report of Committee
No. 7.
Sec. 1. On the first Wednesday of November
eighteen hundred and fifty-one, and the same day
every second year thereafter, the qualified voters
of each county shall, by general ticket, elect
from amongst themselves, the same number of
persons, to constitute the board of commission-
ers for such county as it may then be entitled to
representatives in both Houses of the General
Assembly. The term of service of these commissioners
shall commence on the first Tuesday
in January next, succeeding their election, and
shall continue for two years thereafter or until
their successors shall have entered on the dis-
charge of their duties. Each such board of com-
missioners shall possess all the powers and per-
form all the duties heretofore possessed and per-
formed by the commissioners or levy court of
the county, until otherwise provided by law; and
it shall be the duty of the General Assembly, at
its first session after the adoption of this Consti-
tution to pass an act, prescribing and defining the
|
powers and duties of the boards of commissioners,
so as to render these uniform throughout the
State. The legislature shall confer on these
boards full power to regulate the municipal af-
fairs of the respective counties, including the
opening, altering and closing of county roads, the
building of county bridges and edifices and the
management and control of all county property, '
together with such additional local legislative
and administrative powers as may be deemed ex-
pedient.
Sec. 2. Every commissioner of a county shall
receive out of the county treasury three dollars
per diem, besides three cents for each mile trav-
elled over in going to and returning from the
county seal, for each day of his attendance at the
sittings of his board.
Sec. 3. The commissioners of each county, as
soon as may be, after their first election, under
this Constitution shall proceed to divide such
county into election districts compact in form
and nearly equal in size so that no such district
shall contain more than five hundred voters. A
distinct description of the metes and bounds of
the districts so established shall be recorded in
in the office of each board and published for the
information of the inhabitants of the county. And
whenever, after any election, it shall appear that
more than five hundred votes have been cast in
any election district, it shall be the duty of the
existing board of commissioners for the county
in which such district may be situated, to divide
the same into two others in the manner above
prescribed.
Mr. JOHN NEWCOMER said:
That in his county they had three commission-
ers now, and this would impose five upon them,
and he was opposed to it.
Mr. BROWN was opposed to it, for two rea-
sons. In Carroll county the number of commis-
sioners would be even, and they would find diffi-
culty in acting when equally divided. He was
also of opinion that the whole subject should be
left to the legislature.
Mr. JOHNSON asked for a division of the ques-
tion—to be taken section by section.
Mr. MCHENRY stated that he had dissented in
some respects from the report which he had now
moved as an amendment. It was a matter of
considerable difficulty to determine the number;
and they had hit upon the plan of giving each
county the same number as the number of dele-
gales in the General Assembly, as the plan most
likely to be acceptible to the Convention. It was
only adopted as a matter of compromise, and
they would be satisfied to have the numbers
changed. The matter could hardly beconsider-
ed as complete until some number should be
specified.
Mr. BUCHANAN agreed with the gentleman
from Washington, (Mr. Newcomer.) He was
utterly opposed to increasing the number of the
commissioners. He had had a little experience
upon this subject. He had had the honor, some
years ago, of introducing the first bill which ever
was introduced in relation to the election by the
people of these agents, in lieu of the levy court. |
