The PRESIDENT, pro tem., interposed and said,
that the report had been finally acted upon, and
it was not in order, therefore, to offer an addi-
tional section.
Mr. RICAUD said he would then give notice
that he would hereafter move a reconsideration
of the vote by which the report had been adopted,
with a view to enable him to offer an additional
section. And, by way of argument, he would
read the section.
The section was read, as follows :
Sec. 8 The several State's Attorneys, before
discharging the duties of their office, shall, at the
term of the county or city court next succeeding
their election, or in case of appointments by the
court, then at the term of the court of their ap-
pointment, shall execute a bond to the State of
Maryland, with security to be approved by said
county or city court, in the penally of
thousand dollars, conditioned for the faithful pay-
ment into the treasury of the State of ill sums of
public money that shall be received by them re-
spectively,"
Some explanation followed on the part of
Messrs. BOWIE, RICAUD, CHAMBERS, of Kent,
and DORSEY, when
The PRESIDENT, pro tem., said, there was no
question before the Convention.
The notice of Mr. RICAUD was ordered to be
entered on the journal.
There being no morning business before the
Convention, the PRESIDENT, pro tem., announced
the unfinished business of yesterday.
BASIS OF REPRESENTATION.
The Convention thereupon resumed the consid-
eration of the special older of the day, being the
several reports of the committee on representa-
tion.
The state of the question was this:
Mr. SCHLEY had yesterday moved to amend
the report of Mr. MERRICK by inserting in place
of the second section stricken out, the following:
"Shall consist of sixty-seven members, to be
apportioned among the several counties, according
to the following ratio: Every county shall
elect one delegate for every seven thousand souls,
it may contain, and for any fraction above half
of said number, there shall be allowed to every
county having such excess, one additional dele-
gate. The city of Baltimore shall be entitled to
the same number of delegates as the county
which shall be entitled to the largest representa-
tion, and no county shall have less than two dele-
gates."
And Mr. DORSEY had offered as a substitute
for said amendment, the following:
Article 2. The House of Delegates shall, until
altered by the Legislature as hereinafter provid-
ed for, consist of eighty-three members; to be ap-
portioned amongst the counties and city of Balti-
more, as follows: one delegate to each county and
the city of Baltimore as the representative of the
territory thereof; and one delegate for every
eight thousand of its inhabitants, and one for
every fraction thereof exceeding four thousand
until the entire population of the county or city |
to the number of forty thousand shall be represented;
and for every thirty thousand inhabitants
of any county or the city of Baltimore, above the
said forty thousand one additional delegate shall
he elected in such county or city. And after
every decennial census, the General Assembly of
Maryland shall adjust the representation in the
House of Delegates according to the principles
contained in this article of the Constitution. And
in order that each and every portion of the city
of Baltimore may be fairly represented, and its
various interests protected in the Legislature; for
the purpose of electing delegates therein, the city
of Baltimore shall be divided into ten districts,
as follows: The first and second wards as now
laid off, shall constitute District No. 1; the third
and fourth wards, District No. 2; the fifth and
sixth wards, District No. 3; the seventh and
eighth wards, District No. 4; the ninth and tenth
wards, Districts No. 5; the eleventh and twelfth
wards. District No. 6; the thirteenth and four-
teenth wards. District No. 7; the fifteenth and
sixteenth wards, District No. 8 : the seventeenth
and eighteenth wards, District No 9; and the
nineteenth and twentieth wards, District No 10.
The qualified voters in each of said districts shall
at the time and in the manner, in which dele-
gates are chosen, elect one delegate, who has
been fur one year next before his election a re-
sident of the ward from which he shall be elec-
ted; and has in all other respects the requisite
qualifications of a delegate.
Art. 3. Of the eighty-three members constitu-
ting the House of Delegates, Allegany county
elect four, Anne Arundel county four, Baltimore
city ten, Baltimore county six, Carroll county
four, Caroline county two, Calvert county two,
Cecil county three, Charles county three, Dor-
chester county three, Frederick county six, Har-
ford county three, Howard county three, Kent
county two, Montgomery county three, Prince
George's county four, Queen Anne's county
three. St Mary's county three, Somerset county
four, Talbot county three, Washington county
five, and Worcester county three.
Mr. BLAKISTONE was entitled to the floor.
Mr. BLAKISTONE said :
Mr. President:—Before proceeding to discuss
the question now before the Convention, I feel
it alike due to myself and the Convention; that
I should return my thanks for the courtesy ex-
tended to me ill adjourning last evening, for the
purpose of enabling me to present to the consideration
of the Convention, the views I entertain
upon the subject matter under consideration.—
And, sir, I feel it also necessary that I should
assign the reasons which induced me to ask their
indulgence, from the fact that I had been almost
a circumnavigator of the State of Maryland. I
had travelled some five hundred miles in steam-
boats, since leaving this city, and was not in
very good condition to proceed to a discussion of
the question. Before, however, I proceed to a
discussion, I would say to the members of the
Convention, as a Marylander, that they ought
to divest themselves, as much as possible, of
their local partialities and prejudices, as well as |
