10

Commissioners, appointed by me, by the Judge of the Crimi-
nal Court, prepared by the Secretary of State, and herewith
submitted, render it unnecessary to go into further explana-
tion upon this subject. The power attempted to be exercised
by the Judge of'the Criminal Court is believed to be without
precedent, ignoring alike the Great Seal of the State, and the
limitations governing his judicial functions.

I refer to the proceedings to show how far I have been sus-
tained in the discharge of my official duty. Representing, as
I did, the sovereignty of the State, as well as the power speci-
fically delegated to me, in the recess of the Legislature, I held
myself responsible only to your Honorable Body for the course
which I deemed it my duty to pursue in the removal of these
delinquent officers.

The events of the past few weeks impose upon the General
Assembly duties which cannot well be overlooked in protecting
hereafter the interests of the City of Baltimore. How far it
may be competent, un,der existing laws, to order a new elec-
tion for Mayor and Members of the City Council will be for
your Honorable Body, after due examination, to determine.
Of your power I have no doubt. But of one thing I am strong-
ly convinced, that a continuance in authority of men profiting
by their own wrong, forced upon the people, in opposition to
the will of more than three-fourths of the qualified registered
voters of the city, and by armed combinations of irresponsible
officials holding their commissions from the Board of Police,
would be a libel upon free government, and a gross and fla-
grant injustice to an outraged people. The time will be op-
portune also, to revise the whole system of laws relating to
the City of Baltimore, to prevent the recurrence of similar
proceedings in the future.

The existing police organization, will, I am satisfied, be
found defective in many of its essential features. No candi-
date for the popular vote should be a member of that Board.
ID addition to this much, needed reform, the management and
control of the leading' public institutions with which the city
is connected, should be carefully examined into and placed
beyond the reach, of party dictation, or the liability of being
used to strengthen the central power in times of high party
excitement. Nor will it be less incumbent on you, in this
work of reform, to throw some additional safeguards around
the City Treasury, to check the srastful expenditure which is
already beginning to startle the tax payer by the enormous
burthen which he will soon be called upon to bear. The fre-
quency of the applications to the Legislature for power to sub-
scribe to objects of improvement, some of them, it may be of
no practical utility, will afford an opportunity to render a real
service to the people of ihat city, by holding a salutary check

over wastefulness and extravagence, and keeping the authori-