about the provisions and effect of this report.
I certainly did not intend to urge anything
in regard to the matter which I did not con-
sider a fair argument, and I trust I have pre-
sented this as I have other arguments, fairly
and candidly to the consideration of the con-
vention.
The remarks I made in regard to the effect
it would have upon the adoption of this con-
stitution were in reply to some suggestions
that I have beard from gentlemen over the
way in reference to the effect some other pro-
visions might have in that direction—the
change, for instance, to the appointing power;
taking away the election of officers of our
State from the people and giving it to the
governor of the State; and the suggestion
was made that the constitution would not
receive the vote of Washington county if the
change was made. If these apprehensions
exist, I think the provision asked to be in-
serted into this constitution, this heavy levy
of taxation would weigh upon their constit-
uents much more. I do not say that I con-
cur in the opinion that it would defeat the
adoption of the constitution. I expressed
my opinion on that subject the other day. I
do not think it would; because I think the
provision with regard to the abolition of
slavery, and the great popular excitement
upon that subject among the dominant party
will carry this constitution through, no mat-
ter what else may be put into it,
But I ask gentlemen candidly to consider
whether, in adopting this system, they are
doing justice to the counties of the State in
thus increasing taxation. By these two sec-
tions of the report, there must be annually
raised $589,000 a year, tor the purpose of
supporting this common school system. The
section now under consideration imposes a
tax of 10 cents on the $100, raising $289,000
a year. That is a perpetual tax. there is
no provision in the bill that that shall cease
when the school fund amounts to six millions
of dollars. It is a perpetual tax. I under-
stand that it is proposed to amend the bill in
that respect. At any rate the argument I
made yesterday evening upon that point
must have been a fair argument upon the bill
as it stood, inasmuch as the committee them-
selves now conceive that it should be amended
in this particular.
It seems to me that if we are going to es-
tablish a system of common school education
in the State, we ought to enter into that
system rather more gradually than the report
provides, I think a longer time ought to be
allowed within which to raise the six millions
of dollars, and that a less sum should be im-
posed at first upon the people of the State to
support this system. I am satisfied that the
amount of taxation imposed by this report,
and which will necessarily by the adoption
of the constitution be brought upon the peo-
ple, will increase our State tax beyond what |
we have ever had in the State. We shall
have a judiciary system, I hope, which will
largely increase the annual expenditure of
that system. There will be an increase of
that system of some 70 or $80,000 per an-
num over the present system, if adopted.
The amendment which I have offered is to
prevent the going on for a definite period of
the existing school tax in the several counties
levied by the county commissioners. That is
the first object I wish to attain. As the sec-
tion now stands there is nothing to prevent
the county commissioners from going on; it
is obligatory upon them to do it—levying
year by year for the school system of the
State what they have been in the habit of
levying. My amendment reaches that fea-
ture of the bill in the first place. I hope it
will be adopted. And then I shall move to
strike out the word "ten" and insert a tax of
"five" cents on the $100.
Mr. CUSHING. I must say that the gentle-
man has not convinced me of the fairness of
his argument in relation to the tax, one parti-
cle by what he has said this morning. Not
that I mean to say he has intentionally made
it unfair, but his mind does not seem to have
comprehended the nature of the case. I will
take the figures which he has given the con-
vention, and I think I will prove from them
that under any probable contingency of cir-
cumstances the tax is decreased. According to
the schedule, as exhibited to the convention
from the different counties, their county
school tax alone was over ten cents on the $190
paid in 1863; and together with the tax on
the five millions of bonds of the State destroy-
ed in April last amounted to an average of
21 7-9 cents on the $100, By the second sec-
tion we merely put into operation again and
continue this last mentioned tax. The old
sinking fund if devoted to another purpose
does not increase the taxation of this year
above the State taxation of last year. The
10 cents on the $100 provided by the first sec-
tion is less than almost any county of the
State now pays for education. It will make
this tax in Baltimore county two cents less,
in Allegany five cents less, in Caroline ten
cents less, in Cecil ten cents less, in Harford
two cents less, and in Somerset two cents less
on the $100; so that actually all the counties
of the State will be paying less per cent. on
their taxable property under the system pro-
posed in this report than they paid last year
for the State and county school taxes.
The very different sums levied in the differ-
ent counties proves that the legislature has
passed the laws providing for their assess-
ments at the instigation of the representatives
of the different counties. It is not a supposa-
ble case that if those counties desired to dis-
continue that tax and so represented to the
legislature, but that the matter would be re-
ferred, as it has always been referred, to the
representatives of the counties, and their re- |
