429]           The Maryland Constitution of 1864.              83

ties, the rate agreed on or contracted for being recover-
able in all cases of private contract.¹⁸⁵

The rate of interest prescribed in the old Constitution
was six per centum,¹⁸⁶ and the effort of Mr. Belt and the
more progressive members of the Convention who sup-
ported him without regard to party, was to have money
treated like any other commodity—subject to the market
price. A practical turn was given to the argument by the
statement that the New York rate of seven per centum
was drawing from Maryland its available capital, and that
the provision reported would of course tend to remedy
this. Mr. Belt was ably seconded by Mr. Cushing, Mr.
Negley and others, party lines being again disregarded,
but Judge Chambers, who was usually ultra-conservative,
Mr. Sands of Howard, and numerous others opposed the
provision with the old arguments of "protection of the
laboring man," the necessity of "restraining the appetite
of the money-lender," and further reasons of the like kind.
Mr. Belt delayed final action for some time in the hope
that he might obtain from the people, especially from the
business men of Baltimore, petitions strong enough to in-
fluence sufficient votes in the Convention to carry his
measure through,¹⁸⁷ but it was all to no purpose. He was
rewarded by only one petition, that from the Baltimore
Corn and Flour Exchange,¹⁸⁸ and the old restriction was
reenacted. Although by a further effort he succeeded in
having this action reconsidered two days before the Con-
vention adjourned, the conservative sentiment was again
too strong for him, and the result was exactly the same as
before.¹⁸⁹

Another progressive, change of an entirely different
character which was advocated, and which suffered a like

¹⁸⁵ Proc., 520-1.                          ¹⁸⁶ Cons. 1850-1, Art. iii, sec. 49.

¹⁸⁷ Authority of Mr. Joseph M. Cushing. ¹⁸⁸ Deb., iii, 1685.
¹⁸⁹ Proc., 693-700. See also Deb., iii, 1476-81, 1482-1509, 1811-26;
Frederick "Examiner," Aug. 31, 1864.