JOHN FRANCIS MERCER, ESQUIRE, GOVERNOR. NOVEMBER.

l8o2.

II. BE IT ENACTED, by the General Assembly of Maryland, That in all criminal causes to be brought
to trial in the several courts of this state, in which a jury shall be necessary according to the con-
stitution and the laws, (except in prosecutions for capital felonies or treasons, wherein the right of
peremptory challenges is already allowed,) twenty persons from the pannei of petit jurors shall be
drawn, by ballot, by the clerks, under the direction of the respective courts, and the names of the
twenty persons shall be written upon two lists, and one of the said lists shall be forthwith delivered
to the party indicted, or his or her counsel, and the other to the attorney prosecuting in behalf of
the state; and it shall and may be lawful for the party indicted, or his or her counsel, and for the
attorney prosecuting in behalf of the state, to strike out four persons from each respeclive list, and
the remaining twelve persons shall thereupon be immediately impannelled and sworn as the petit jurv
in such prosecution; and if the party indicted, or his or her counsel, or the attorney prosecuting in
behalf of the state, shall decline or refuse to strike out from such respeclive lists the number of
persons hereby allowed, it shall and may be lawful for the several courts aforesaid to direct their
clerks to strike out from the list of the party, or the attorney so declining or refusing, the number
of persons herein before mentioned, and the remaining twelve persons shall be impannelled and
worn as aforesaid; provided nevertheless, that nothing herein contained shall be deemed or con-
strued to take away the right of any person or persons to challenge the array or polls of any pannel
returned, or any particular juror, for just cause, in the manner always allowed by the law of this
«tate; and provided also, that by mutual consent the drawing of a pannei of twenty jurors may be
dispensed with in any prosecution, and the trial thereof may be had by a petit jury drawn as hereto-
fore; and if by reason of lawful challenges, or the absence of jurors, the number of twenty persons
shall not remain to be drawn, the several courts aforesaid shall direct so many of the by-standers to
be summoned by the respective sheriffs as shall be necessary to complete the lists herein before
directed to be written and delivered as aforesaid.

CHAP. LXX.

C H A i».
LXIX.

In criminal
causes, twenty
persons to be
drawn, &c.

j;

An ACT to provide for the elections of representatives of this state
in the congress of the United States, and of electors on the part
of this state for choosing a president and vice-president of the
United States.

Passed 8th of
January, i8«3*

BE IT ENACTED, by the General Assembly of Maryland, That for the purpose of electing nine re-
presentatives of this state in the congress of the United States, this state shall be and the same
is hereby divided into eight districts, which shall be numbered from one to eight, to wit : Saint-
Mary's, Charles and Calvert counties, shall be the first; Prince-George's and Anne-Arundel coun-
ties, including the city of Annapolis, the second; Montgomery county, and that part of Frederick
county adjacent, as far as Monocacy, from the mouth thereof to the Pennsylvania line third ;
the remainder of Frederick county, Washington and Allegany counties, the fourth Baltimore-town
and Baltimore county shall be the fifth; Harford, Caecil and Kent counties, the sixth; Queen-Anne's,
Caroline and Talbot, the seventh; and Dorchester, Somerset and Worcester counties, shall be the
eighth district; and that each of the said districts shall be entitled to one representative to congress,
except the fifth district, which district shall be entitled to two representatives, one of which shall
be a resident of Baltimore county, and the other a resident of Baltimore city.

State divid«d
into eight dis*
trias, &«.

II. AND BE IT ENACTED, That for the purpose of choosing eleven electors of the president and
Vice-president of the United States, this state shall be and the same is hereby divided into nine dis-
trlcts, which shall be numbered from one to nine in manner following, to wit : Saint-Mary's county,
Charles county, and the fifth election district of Prince-George's county, or the Piscataway district,
shall compose the first district; the residue of Prince-George's county, Calvert county, and the
second and fifth election districts in Montgomery county, called the Montgomery Court-house Electi-
on District, and Thomas's Election District, shall compose the second district; the remainder of
Montgomery county, Anne-Arundel county, and the city of Annapolis and city of Baltimore, shall
compose the third district; Frederick county, Washington county and Allegany county, shall com-
pose the fourth district; Baltimore county shall compose the fifth district; Harford county and Caecil
county shall compose the sixth district; Kent county and Queen-Anne's county shall compose the
seventh district; Talbot county, Caroline county, and the first eleclion district of Dorchester coun-
ty, shall compose the eighth district; and the remainder of Dorchester county, Somerset county and
Worcester county, shall compose the ninth district; and each of the said districts shall elect and ap-
point one person being a resident of the said district, except the third and fourth districts, which
shall

And into nihf|
&c.

1