CHAMBERS,) to facts—to results. Here was a
section setting forth that if any county or city
should be divided into Congressional districts,
&c. Now, there was no county divided into
Congressional districts. But Baltimore city was
divided. Now, supposing a roan to go to the
polls, and an election for members of Congress
and members of the House of Delegates, came
off at the same time. The man offered to give
his vote for delegates, and the question arose
whether he came within the terms of the Act of
the General Assembly, and he was asked several
questions, and among them these: Are you a
citizen of the United States? Yes. Are you a
free white male person, twenty-one years of age?
Have you been one year a resident of this State?
Have you been six months a resident of this dis-
trict—of the city of Baltimore, he, (Mr.H.)
meant? He answered yes to all those questions,
and added, "I am entitled to vote, therefore, under
this act for Delegates from the city of Balti-
more. There is my signature " That being
given, it must be received. Now, he, (Mr.
Howard,) would ask the gentleman, from Kent,
whether he would dispute that point. Well, the
next vote tendered by this man was, for members
of Congress. "Oh! we can't take your vote,"
say the officers. "Why?" asks the voter. "Be-
cause you must have lived six months either in
this Congressional district, or six months in the
adjacent one, in the city of Baltimore." Then
came the objection—conclusive and triumphant,
of the gentleman from Cecil, (Mr. McLane,) that
if you took one side of the Constitution, you
must take the other. Now, what he. (Mr. H.)
wanted the gentleman from Kent to answer was,
whether, under those circumstances, the man's
vote would be taken?
Mr. CHAMBERS observed:
That the answer to the gentleman's question
was perfectly obvious. To the first, the man's
vote would be taken. As to the rest, the whole
was regulated in virtue of the authority given by
the Constitution of the United Slates, which in
express terms, enables us to fix the place of vot-
ing as well as the time and manner. This was
to designate the place where the vote was to be
taken. Dill not the gentleman perceive that it
was as clear as daylight, we had a right to fix the
place of voting? if not, how could we say to a
voter residing in one county, you shall not vote
in any other—or even in another election dis-
trict of the same county?
The gentleman assumed there would be no
county so divided as to form parts of different
districts. Why not? It had been so. Howard
district had been, and was now, in one Congres-
sional district, and the rest of Anne Arundel
county in another. It would rather be strange,
if such division should not become necessary, in
the alterations that must occur under the census
laws of the United States, and the change in the
ratio of representation that must follow. When
the case occurred, the argument of the gentleman
would all be in favor of his (Mr. C's.) views, A
man residing now in Howard district has not
the privilege of greeting which member of Con- |
gress he will vote for. He must vote for the
candidate in his own district, and has not the
privilege to vote for the candidate in the other
part of Anne Arundel county. So, said Mr. C.,
is the case of a man residing in a county divided
from another by an imaginary line only. He
cannot cross that geographical line and vote in
the adjoining county until he has resided there
six months. Why should a citizen of Baltimore
have the exclusive privilege of casting his vote for
either of two candidate? for Congress in different
districts as his party interests or feelings might
dictate? This is not equality.
Mr. McLANE replied that it seemed to him
the honorable chairman of the committee, [Mr.
Chambers,] had overlooked the second point, on
which he (Mr. McL.) had placed this objection.
He put it mainly on what he considered it to be
a qualification to vote, because it was in the
Constitution prescribing the qualification of a
voter, and treating it as a qualification, he had
admitted that this Convention had a right to pre-
scribe it indirectly, the right to qualify a man
to vote for members of Congress—having first
qualified him to vole for members of the Home
of Delegates. The argument of the gentleman
from Baltimore county, (Mr. Howard,) was so
conclusive that it could not be controverted. He
(Mr. McL.) would say that the language of the
Constitution of the United States, that "the
times, places and manner of holding elections
for senators and representatives, shall be prescribed
in each State by the Legislature there-
of"—was imperative. What authority, be asked
had we—the State of Maryland—to prescribe
"the times, places, and manner of holding elections,"
except what we derived from the Constitution
of the United States? None at all. We
could prescribe a qualification indirectly. We
could prescribe the manner of holding elections,
but the Legislature only could prescribe "the
times, places, and manner of holding elections."
And this discrimination the Constitution of the
United States had in it, was to subserve one
great object—the object of preserving the Union,
and keeping it out of local influences and excitements.
We were desecrating a delegated pow-
er—a power not originally with us—a power
conferred upon the general government, and then
granted to us, and we could only use it in pursuance
of that grant. When the Constitution
declared that the Legislature should prescribe
"the times, places, and manner of holding elections,"
it never meant that any other body the
the Legislature could do it. It conferred no au-
thority upon this Convention. It limited it spe-
cifically to the Legislature.
Mr. CHRMBERS said:
He was altogether misunderstood if it w
supposed he had denied this to be a qualificati
The Government of the United States was
work of the people of the United States. Th
who made it had the undoubted right to de
mine the qualifications and character of all
would in any way participate In its admin
tion, either as officers, voters or in any |
