quest, and directed the judges of election not
to administer the oath required.
With sincere respect, I am, yours, &c.,
A. W, BRADFORD.
DUTIES OF JUDGES OF ELECTION.
Further to guard against any informalities
in the returns of the election, the governor
deemed it his duty to address the following
circular to the judges of election, and it was
published and circulated throughout the State
on the tenth and eleventh days of October:
EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT,
ANNAPOLIS, October 8, 1864.
To the judges of the election throughout the State
on the question of the adoption or rejection
of the constitution.
You have been apprised by my letter, re-
cently published, of the necessity of accom-
panying your returns of the election about
to be held on the question of adopting the new
constitution with a certificate that the oath
prescribed in the said constitution has been
administered to all voters at the election;
and I deem it also proper to call your atten-
tion to another certificate required in connec-
tion with said returns, which not being a cus-
tomary one, may be otherwise overlooked.
The act of 1864, authorizing the convention,
contains the following provision, which, by
another clause of the act is made applicable
as well to said election now about to be held,
as to the last one at which members of said
convention were elected;
" The said judges in said return shall certify
that no organized military or other armed
force had appeared at the place where the
polls had been held and interfered with said
election, unless such military force shall be
called for by the said judges of election, or by
other civil authority charged with the preser-
vation of the peace,"
Your returns, therefore, to the executive
should distinctly state that the oath, required
by the convention to be taken by all voting
on the question of adopting or rejecting the
constitution, had been administered by you,
and you should also therein further certify that
no military or other armed force had appeared
at the place of voting and interfered with said
election, unless under the call of the civil au-
thorities as therein provided, and should
such force appear without raid call, you
should certify that fact underoath.
A. W. BRADFORD,
Governor of Maryland.
JUDICIAL PROCEEDINGS.
The election was held as provided for in
the twelfth article of the constitution, on the
twelfth and thirteenth days of October, eigh-
teen hundred and sixty-four. On the twen-
ty-fourth of October an application was mad |
to the superior court of Baltimore city,
Hon. Robert N. Martin, judge, on behalf of
Samuel G. Miles, for a mandamus to be
directed to A. W. Bradford, governor of the
State, commanding him to exclude all votes
cast at any place outside of the State of Mary-
land from the count upon the question of the
adoption of the constitution. The petition
for the mandamus recited the fact of the con-
vention, that it bad adopted what is termed
the "New Constitution," section eight of ar-
ticle twelve thereof providing that an election
should be held in the city of Baltimore on the
twelfth day of October, and on the twelfth
and thirteenth of the month in the several
counties of the State, &c: that all persons
duly qualified to vote for delegates to the
general assembly should vote at said election,
excepting nevertheless that in sections eight
and nine of the same article it is provided that
no person should be permitted to vote unless
he should first take the oath prescribed by
article first, section four, of said constitution,
and that the taking of said oath should not
be conclusive evidence of his right to vote as
aforesaid, whereby in addition to the qualifi-
. cations prescribed by article first of the pres-
ent constitution, (which the petitioner is ad-
vised, is under the constitution of the United
States, the supreme law of the State of Mary-
land,) and as the condition on the perform-
ance of which, only the citizens of the State
of Maryland should be entitled to vote, he is
required to take the following oath, which
will be found in the constitution.
The petitioner further shows that he is a
free white person, upwards of twenty-one
years of age, and that on the said twelfth day
of the present month of October, was a citi-
zen of the State of Maryland and of the United
States, and on said day and month aforesaid,
and for many years next preceding said
day continuously, had been a resident of the
city of Baltimore, and of the fourteenth ward
of said city, and of the first precinct of said
ward, in which he tendered his ballot, and
had not been at any time convicted of bribery,
false swearing, larceny or other infamous
crime, or otherwise, according to the form
and effect of the existing constitution, or any
law made pursuant thereto, rendered incapa-
ble of exercising his elective franchise as
aforesaid; and being so qualified to vote at
all elections to bo held in the said precinct and
ward and city aforesaid, he did, on the said
twelfth day of the present month of October,
attend at the place appointed for the holding
the aforesaid election in said precinct, at the
hour of 12.30 or thereabouts in the after-
noon of the day aforesaid, and did then and
there tender to the duly qualified judges of
i the said election, then and there acting as
such judges, a ballot, whereon was written
- "Against the Constitution," and did there
and then require the said judges to receive
said ballot, and to deposit the same in the |
