they will only give one more member for
every additional twenty thousand. At the
rate of one to every five thousand you come
up to the population of twenty-five thousand.
Then giving Baltimore county one more for
twenty thousand, that brines it up to forty-
five thousand, and the population of Balti-
more county is forty-six thousand. I will
read from the report :
" For every five thousand persons, or a
fractional part thereof above one-half, one
delegate shall be chosen until the number of
delegates in each county and district of the
city of Baltimore shall reach five."
That will bring up the population to twen-
ty-five thousand. Then it says :
" Above that number one delegate shall be
chosen for every twenty thousand persons,
or a fractional portion over one-half thereof,
until the whole number of delegates from
each county, and district of the city of Balti-
more, shall reach ten."
You then give Baltimore county another
delegate for twenty thousand, bringing up
the population of Baltimore county to forty-
five thousand. Now Baltimore county comes
forward and claims for sixteen hundred addi-
tional people. When your rule adopted gives
one additional member for twenty thousand
people, they come here and ask for sixteen
hundred people an additional member.
Where is the position of justice before this
convention in the appeal of Baltimore coun-
ty compared with that of Kent county?
Kent county comes with the assertion of facts,
and I believe those facts can be substantiated
by evidence, by which she is entitled to another
member. Baltimore county has forty-five
thousand citizens represented here by six
members, and then she has sixteen hundred
more people, and your rule says that she
must have twenty thousand more to claim
another delegate. What justice, what right
is there in the claim? If Baltimore county
is to have an additional member, when
the rule requires twenty thousand people,
and they have but sixteen hundred upon
which to base that claim, I may ask, great
God ! what shall be done with the people of
these smaller counties cut down, some to one,
and others to two, where the inequality is
greater ?
The truth of the matter is, that it would
be said that this was an arbitrary rule, and
that yon might just as well say at the outset
that yon would have one for every three
thousand up to five members. While that
would have given my county her three mem-
bers, it would have given Calvert her two
members. Again, should we preserve the
present basis, there would have been just as
much reason for adopting one for every three
thousand up to five, as one to every five
thousand, and then going on to twenty thou-
sand. That shows the arbitrariness of the
rule; that the rule was adopted and carried |
out as an arbitrary rule. If it works against
certain portions of the State it is wrong. 1
regard it as wrong because it was no princi-
ple. But the convention have determined to
adopt it, and I say let it go on and work out
its legitimate results.
1 will maintain it in its legitimate results.
And least of all will I be placed in an incon-
sistent position for giving Kent county two
because it is entitled to two, and then not
giving Baltimore county two when she is
not entitled to it, having an additional num-
ber of only sixteen hundred out of twenty
thousand to entitle her to it. And because
we do not under these circumstances vote for
another representative for Baltimore county,
gentlemen talk about "promises," and mak-
ing " fish of one and flesh of the other." 1
must profess, that on one side or the other, 1
have made no promises. I have no pledges to
redeem one way or the other. I have acted
throughout upon what I regarded as justice
to all portions of the State. If our views
had been carried out, every white man in the
State would, when this constitution went
forth before the people, have stood equal un-
der the laws and the constitution which is to
govern us. If they do not stand equal here,
it is not because of the position taken here
by the opposition of this house. If this con-
stitution should be adopted under the provi-
sions tinder which it is to be voted for, 1
thank God there will be one provision here
for an organization to rest upon to cry unto
the people to rise in their majesty and amend
it, and to give equality to every white man
under the law, and the right of representa-
tion according to population. That is just
and right; and even the last convention
came up to it except solely in the case of Bal-
timore city, which they restricted for certain
reasons below a representation corresponding
to that of the counties. The State of Mary-
land has been travelling up to it, and in the
present constitution had adopted the princi-
ple of representation according to popula-
tion, with that single exception. But this
question has taken the back track upon the
question of representation.
Gentlemen have told us upon this question
of representation, that they were elected to
carry out the views of the people. I ask
what was the doctrine which the "Ameri-
can," the organ of this body, preached and
Beraided through the State, if it was not rep-
resentation according to population. Article
after article of that paper went before the
people calling that the only true theory or
principle. If gentlemen say that in calling
this convention or adopting it, the people
voted for emancipation, they just as much
voted for representation according to popu-
lation. And these gentlemen, I contend,
have violated the instructions of the people.
I have said these things in vindication
of the course I bare token, and which |
