the legal voters residing within the limits
about lo form said county,"
Mr. STIRLING. It only provides that they
never shall do it without the consent of a
majority of the legal voters residing in the
portion cut off.
Mr. KINO. They can do it, because they
can vote for the separation, and the legisla-
ture is bound to give it to them. If these
gentlemen living in a part of one county can
have just what they want, and separate from
us without our consent, it is a very unnatural
state of things; because any four or five dis-
tricts in the county may set up their plea,
and if they can get a majority of voters, they
may go away entirely without our consent.
1 cannot vote for it.
Mr. HEBB. I will state that the proposition
was made to the committee, that this propo-
sition should also require a majority of the
voters residing in each county. As drawn
up, the section read in this way :
"Section 1. The general assembly shall
provide for organizing new counties, locating
and removing county seats) and changing
county lines; and all such laws shall before
taking effect, be submitted to the voters of
the several counties to be affected thereby,
and be adopted by a majority of all the legal
voters voting on the question in each of said
counties; but no new county shall be or
ganized without the consent of a majority of
the legal voters residing within the limits
about lo form said county."
The majority of the committee were not
willing that these words should be expressed,
and they were stricken out. I am myself in
favor of requiring the consent not only of the
portion of the county to be cut off, but also
of the majority of the legal voters in the rest
of the county. I should prefer to insert
those words instead of the amendment of the
gentleman from Montgomery (Mr. Duvall.)
Mr. DUVALL demanded the yeas and nays,
and they were ordered.
The question being taken, the result was—
yeas 20, nays 33—as follows :
Yeas—Messrs. Goldsborough, President ;
Barron, Bond, Brooks, Brown, Clarke, Davis,
of Washington, Dellinger, Duvall, Edelen,
Hollyday, King, Lee, Mitchell, Morgan, Ny-
man, Parker, Parran, Thomas, Wickard—20,
Says—Messrs. Abbott, Annan Audoun
Cunningham, Gushing, Daniel, Earle. Ecker,
Farrow, Galloway, Greene, Hatch, Hebb,
Hopkins, Hopper, Markey, Mayhugh, McCo-
mas, Murray, Purnell, Robinette, Russell
Sands, Schley, Scott, Smith, of Worcester
Sneary, Stirling, Stockbridge, Swope, Sykes
Todd, Valliant, Wooden—33.
As their names were called,
Mr, ABBOTT said: It appears to me that the
gentleman from Howard (Mr. Sands) has ex
plained the matter properly, and I shall vote
"no."
Mr. HEBB. I shall vote against this amend |
ment, because it does not meet the object
which the gentleman wishes to accomplish.—
1 will afterwards offer my proposition, and
the sense of the convention can be taken upon
that. I vote "no."
Mr. SCHLEY. For the purpose of voting for
the amendment offered by the gentleman from
Allegany (Mr. Hebb,) I vole "no."
The amendment of Mr. DUVALL was accord-
ingly rejected.
Mr, STOCKBRIDGE. I desire to call the atten-
tion of the convention to an expression in this
section which strikes me as unfortunate.
"No new county shall be organized with-
out the consent of a majority of the legal vo-
ters residing within the limits aboat to form
said county."
I suppose the design was to prevent the for-
mation of a new county without the consent
of a majority of those voting at the election.
It is notorious throughout the counties, that
from fifteen to thirty-five percent, of the vo-
ters, at every election, do not vote. Provision
has been made for the registration of voters,
and hence we may know the entire number
entitled to vote. 'The result will be that al-
though a proposition ford vision may receive
two or three hundred majority, it may yet
not receive a majority of the legal voters re-
siding in the place to be affected, If that was
the purpose of the committee the phraseology
should be changed, so as to receive a majority
of all the votes cast at the election.
Mr. HEBB submitted the following amend-
ment;
" Line three, after the word 'lines, ' insert
'and all such laws shall before talking effect,
be submilted to the voters of the several coun-
ties to be affected thereby, and be adopted by
a majority of all the legal voters voting on
the question in each of said counties,' "
Mr. STIRLING, I cannot vote tor the propo-
sition of the gentleman from Allegany (Mr.
Hebb.) Nor do I think the suggestion of my
colleague (Mr. Stockbridge) is exactly the
proper policy tor us to adopt. It seems to me
that a part of a county ought not to be set off
unless a majority of the legal voters in the
county should cast their votes for it. If it is
a matter of so much indifference to the people
that they do not take the trouble lo vote upon
it, or if there is a bare majority, it ought not
to be done. I therefore think the report bet-
ter as it is, so far as that is concerned.
It seems to me that the proposition of the
gentleman from Allegany amounts to more
than he desires to accomplish. I understand
his object to be that when a portion of one
county is set off and annexed to another, it
shall not only require the consent of the peo-
ple thus transferred, but of the people of each
of the old counties. But the section as he
proposes to amend it, provides for a great
deal more than organizing new counties. It
provides for changing county lines: and in
that case also requires that the question shall |
