cancy in the office of the judge of the circuit
court of Anne Arundel county had occurred,
and that Governor Bradford passes much of
his time in the city of Baltimore, where he
transacts much of his official business, &c.,
the petitioner prays that the governor may be
ruled by some early day to show cause, if any
be has, why a writ of mandamus ought not to
be issued, commanding him in ascertaining
the number of votes cast at the said late elec-
tion held as aforesaid "for or in favor of"
the said new constitution, and the number of
votes cast at the said late election against the
said new constitution, to count such votes as
shall appear by the returns made to him as
aforesaid to have been cast or given by per-
sons duly qualified to vote at elections accord-
ing to the form and effect of the first article of
the existing constitution relating to the elec-
tive franchise, and at the election districts,
precincts and places respectively where the
said persons so casting or giving their votes
as aforesaid are, or were authorized, severally
and respectively, as aforesaid, to cast or give
their said votes and also all other votes or
ballots as shall appear by evidence satisfactory
to his judgment., to have been tendered at the
said election by persons duly qualified under
the existing constitution, and at the several
and respective precincts or districts or places
where such persons were qualified to vote as
aforesaid, and which ballots shall appear to
him to have been rejected or excluded from
the returns made him as aforesaid by reason
or because of the refusal of the persons so
tendering said ballots respectively to take the
oath required to be taken by article 1st, sec-
tion 4, of the said "new constitution," and
to exclude from his said count any and every
vote which from the returns made him as
aforesaid, shall appear to have been cast at
any place, other than the election district,
precinct or place at which the person so cast-
ing said vote was qualified to vote, according
to the form and effect of the aforesaid article
one of the existing constitution, and to ex-
clude all voles cast at any place outside of the
State of Maryland. And if the said A. W.
Bradford, Governor of Maryland, as afore-
said, shall shew for cause that the said ballots
so as aforesaid supposed to have been rejected
by reason or because of the refusal of the per-
sons tendering the same to take the oath re-
quired by the 4th section of article 1st of the
new constitution, were rightfully rejected as
aforesaid; and that the votes cast by persons
in the military service of the United States
were not unlawfully cast because or by reason
of the holding of the polls at which said votes
were cast, at plaices different from and out of
the election district, precinct or place, at
which the persons so voting as aforesaid sev-
erally and respectively were qualified to vote
by the existing constitution, and the laws
passed in pursuance thereto, then and insuch
event that the said A. W. Bradford, Gover- |
nor of Maryland, and as aforesaid, do further
show cause as aforesaid, wherefore he should
not be commanded to exclude from his said
count as aforesaid, any and every ballot
which shall appear to have been cast by a
person in the military service of the United
States, unless it shall appear affirmatively
from the returns made of said vote that the
person casting said ballot did before casting
said vote take the oath prescribed too be taken
by the said 4th section of the 1st article of the
new constitution, and unless the said returns
shall also show affirmatively a compliance
with all the other requirements relaying to
taking and returning the votes of persons in
the military service of the United States)
which are contained in the said new constitu-
tion.
This petition was dismissed by the court
in the following order :
" In the superior court of Baltimore city,
this 24th day of October, 1864, on considera-
tion of the aforegoing petition, the court be-
ing of opinion that no sufficient ground is
stated therein for the interposition of this
court, in the matter thereof, it is ordered that
the said petition be and the same is hereby
dismissed."
From this order an appeal was at once
taken to the court of appeals. Prior to its
being taken up in that court, the same peti-
tion precisely, was presented in the circuit
court of Anne Arundel county (Judge Wm.
H. Tuck,) and by that court in like manner
dismissed. From that order dismissing the
petition, an appeal was also taken,
Pending these proceedings a petition was
presented to the circuit court of Baltimore
county (Judge John H. Price,) on behalf of
.B. F. Chambers and others, for an injunction
to restrain the governor from counting the
votes cast on the question of the adoption of
the constitution outside of .the State of Mary-
land, and from issuing his proclamation de-
claring the adoption of the constitution'.
This petition was dismissed by the court, and
an appeal at once taken to the court of appeals.
The same petition in behalf of the
same complainants was then presented to the
circuit court of Anne Arundel county) and
dismissed in like manner by Judge Tuck.
From his decision and order dismissing the
petition, there was also an appeal.
These four appeals standing tor hearing in
the court of appeals, the application for an
injunction was taken up by that court on the
27th of October. After argument had com-
menced Judges Bowie and Goldsborough an-
nounced that being themselves slaveholders,
they bad the same interest in the decision of
the cause before them which the parties com-
plainant in the cause had, and were there-
fore, under the fifth section of the fourth ar-
ticle of the existing constitution, disqualified
from sitting in the case; and the court or-
dered its clerk to certify the fact to the gov- |
