ner, and shall meet within three months after
their election, for the purpose aforesaid.
Sec. 3. At the general election to be held
in the year one thousand eight hundred and
eighty-two, and in each twentieth year there-
after, the question " shall there be a Conven-
tion to revise, alter or amend the Constitu-
tion?" shall be submilted to the electors of
the State; and in case a majority of all the
electors voting at such election, shall decide in
favor of a Convention, the General Assembly,
at its next session, shall provide by law, for
the election of delegates, and the assembling of
such Convention, as is provided in the preced-
ing section; but no amendment of this Consti-
tution, agreed upon by any Convention, as-
sembled in pursuance of this article .shall take
effect, until the same shall have been submit-
ted to the electors of the State, and adopted
by a majority of those voting thereon.
respectfully submitted,
R. W Todd,
W. H. MACE.,
T.S.NOBLE
ANDREW ANNAN,
GEO. M, McCOMAS,
ALWARD JOHNSON,
JOHN LEE.
BASIS OF REPRESENTATION.
Mr. ABBOTT. I have a report to present
from the committee on the Basis of Repre-
sentation, which I am happy to say has been
prepared after long and careful consideration,
and has been agreed upon by a majority of
two-thirds of the Committee, which majority
I hope it will receive in this Convention and
from the people.
The report was then read the first time, and
ordered to be printed, as follows:
REPORT:
The Committee on the "Basis of Represen-
tation in the two Houses of the General As-
sembly, and a proper apportionment of repre-
sentation in the same," beg leave respectfully
to report the following sections, to be in-
serted in article three of the Constitution, en-
titled, "Legislative Department:"
Section 1. Immediately after the adoption
of this Constitution, and before there shall
have been held any general election under it,
the Mayor and City Council of the city of:
Baltimore shall proceed to lay off and divide
the said city into three several districts, of
equal population and contiguous territory, as
near as may be.
Sec. 2. Every county in the State, and each
district of the city of Baltimore, as hereinbe-
fore provided for, shall be entitled to one Sen-
ator, who shall the elected by the qualified vo-
ters of the counties and city of Baltimore re-
spectively, and who shall serve for —years
from the date of their election.
Sec. 3. The white population of the State
shall constitute the basis of representation in
the House of delegates, and the apportion-
ment of the Delegates among the several coun-
ties and districts of the city of Baltimore shall |
be as follows: For every five thousand per-
sons, or a fractional part thereof above one-
half, one delegate shall be chosen until the
number of delegates in each county and dis-
trict of the city of Baltimore shall leach five.
Above that number, one delegate shall be
chosen for every fifteen 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 Baltimore
shall reach ten. Above that number, each
county and district of the said city shall elect
one Delegate for every forty-five thousand per-
sons, or fractional portion thereof above one-
half. Upon this principle, and until the next
Federal census, or State enumeration of inha-
bitants, the House of Delegates shall consist
of eighty-two members, distributed as fol-
lows :
Allegany, five members; Anne Arundel,
two; each of the three districts in Baltimore
city, seven; Baltimore county, six; Calvert,
one; Caroline, two , Carroll, five; Cecil, four ;
Charles, one; Dorchester, two; Frederick, six ;
Harford, four; Howard, two •, Kent, one ;
Montgomery, two; Prince Georges, two ;
Queen Ann's, two; Saint Mary's, one; Som-
erset, three; Talbot, two; Washington, five ;
Worcester, three.
E. A. ABBOTT,
SAML. T. HATCH,
PETER .NEGLEY,
Jos. B. PUGH,
J. D. CARTER,
A. C. GREENE.
Mr. BERRY, of Prince George's, on behalf
of the minority of the same committee, sub-
mitted the following report, which was read a.
first time, and ordered to be printed:
MINORITY REFORT.
The undersigned, a minority of the Com-
mittee on the Basis of Representation in the
two Houses of the General Assembly, and a.
proper apportionment of representation in the
same, beg leave respectfully to report the fol-
lowing sections to be inserted in article 3, of
the Constitution, entitled. Legislative Department:
Section 1. Every county of the State and
the city of Baltimore, shall be entitled to elect
one Senator, who shall beelected by the quali-
fied voters of the counties and the city of
Baltimore respectively, and who shall serve
for four years from the day of their election.
Sec. 2.—The Legislature at its first session
after the returns of each National Census are
published under the authority of Congress,
shall apportion the members of the House of
Delegates among the several counties of the
State according to the population of each, and
shall always allow lo the city of Baltimore
four more delegates than are allowed to the
most populous county; but no county shall be
entitled to less than two members, nor shall
the whole number of delegates ever exceed
Sec. 3. The Mayor and City Council of |
