efforts for reform and stated that it
would be better if "the legislative func-
tions of the government should cease
for a session," then five years, than to
have continued "that oppressive domin-
ion of a small minority over the major-
ity, which has been so long reluctantly
endured by the people of Maryland."46
The Whigs refused the demanded re-
form and the Democratic electors, true
to their pledge, boycotted the electoral
college and thus prevented the selection
of a Senate. This extra-constitutional
situation threw the State into political
turmoil. How the State would have re-
acted to a five-year hiatus in legislative
action we can only speculate, for in the
November elections to the House of
Delegates five counties that had elected
Democratic senatorial electors chose
Whigs for delegates. The senatorial elec-
tors from these counties took the Novem-
ber election to be a popular repudiation
of their stand and subsequently met with
the Whig electors, giving a quorum and
permitting the election of a Senate.
The Democrats, although they lost
their attempt to prevent election of a
Whig Senate, had so dramatized the
situation and their potential power, if
unappeased, to sabotage governmental
action that electoral reform in 1837 was
both inescapable and far-reaching. In
this reform the indirect election of
senators was abolished, being replaced
by direct popular election of one senator
from each county and Baltimore City.47
The 1837 amendments also provided
a temporary reapportionment of the
House of Delegates pending a perma-
nent reapportionment to follow the next
census. For the interim period Balti-
more City, Baltimore County, and Fred-
erick County were each to have five
46 Id. at 343.
47 Md. Laws of 1836, ch. 197, § 3.
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delegates; Anne Arundel, Carroll, Dor-
chester, Harford, Montgomery, Prince
George's, Somerset, -Washington, and
Worcester counties four delegates; Alle-
gany, Calvert, Caroline, Cecil, Charles,
Kent, Queen Anne's, Saint Mary's, and
Talbot counties three delegates; and
Annapolis city one delegate.48
The permanent reapportionment to
follow the 1840 census was explicitly
based on population. According to the
permanent formula each county was to
have representation based on its federal
numbers as follows:
Under 15,000 .................. 3 delegates
15,000 but less
than 25,000 .............. 4 delegates
25,000 but less
than 35,000 .............. 5 delegates
Over 35,000 .................... 6 delegates
Baltimore City was to have as many
delegates as the county with the largest
representation on the above basis.49 A
saving clause kept any county's repre-
sentation from being reduced below that
provided by the "temporary" apportion-
ment.
In 1840 Frederick was the largest
county with 36,405 inhabitants, and a
federal number just under 35,000, while
Baltimore City had 102,313. Both of
these consequently had five delegates,
less than double the three delegates as-
signed to Caroline County with 7,806
inhabitants.
The sum total of the 1837 amend-
ments was a distinct step forward how-
ever. Prior to then the counties had
been represented equally in the House
and in the Senate electoral college. The
1837 amendment shifted equal repre-
sentation of the counties from the
House to the Senate and introduced a
48Md. Laws of 1836, ch. 197, § 9.
49 Md. Laws of 1836, ch. 197, § 9.
139
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