6 JOURNAL OF PROCEEDINGS [Jan. 5

Nearly every wedding and christening in Baltimore brings
a flock of relatives from some one or other of the counties,
and when some people or anyone tells me, or tries to tell,
that there is a difference between the counties and the city,
I simply laugh at them, because out of my flock of ten, six
were born in Baltimore county and we live there for health
five months out of the twelve in every year.

The temptation to spring the new and novel is almost irre-
sistible. It is the rock on which many inexperienced legisla-
tors founder. The strong man in any general assembly is
the representative who clearly and distinctly expresses con-
victions which his constituents have already formed. Some
say it produces the law of the survival of the fittest; from my
observations of almost a generation the man who comes back
is the man who best represents the concrete, sound common
sense of his community and is wise enough to follow it. Some
of us are going to chafe under the criticism and cartoons of
the press. This is not new or novel. The first amendment
of the Constitution of the United States provides "that Con-
gress shall make no law abridging the freedom of speech or
of the press. " The Constitution of the several States have
likewise enacted similar provisions. The State of Maryland,
in addition to the Constitution (Article 40, Declaration of
Rights); has a comprehensive declaratory statute. These pro-
visions are wise and salutary, and new members, jealous of
honor and dignity, may fret for a while under seemingly un-
deserved writing or criticisms, but if they think for one mo-
ment of the bridles now muzzling the press over half the
civilized world, they will soon realize that it is the greatest
blessing of the many given to mankind to secure individual
liberty. Freedom of speech in debate is guaranteed by the
Constitution of the State of Maryland in no uncertain terms;
Section 18 of Article 3 reads: "No Senator or Delegate shall
be liable in any civil action or criminal prosecution whatever
for words spoken in debate, " but no Senator or Delegate in a
southern State, the home of chivalry, is going to violate the
first principle of a republican form of government—"That
liberty is not license and both are subject to law. " Free speech
is necessary to the operation of government, and our Con-
stitution has thrown around it every protection. Even be-
fore our Constitution "Charles by the Grace of God of En-
gland, Scotland, France and Ireland, King, Defender of the
Faith, etc., greeting to our well-beloved and trusty subject
Caecelius Calvert, Baron of Baltimore, son and heir of George
Calvert, " gave him all and singular a large territory de-