3034                                    JOINT RESOLUTIONS

unwarranted secrecy, thus withholding from our people and
their representatives in Congress information vital to
the security of the United States and its legitimate
economic development.

The United States House of Representatives, on
February 2, 1960, adopted House Concurrent Resolution
459, 86th Congress, reaffirming the sovereignty of the
United States over the Zone territory by the overwhelming
vote of 382 to 12, thus demonstrating the firm
determination of our people that the United States
maintain its indispensable sovereignty and jurisdiction
over the Canal and the Zone.

Under Article IV, Section 3, Clause 2 of the United
States Constitution, the power to dispose of territory or
other property of the United States is specifically
vested in the Congress, which includes the House of
Representatives.

The Panama Canal is essential to the defense and
national security of the United States. It is of vital
importance to the economy and interoceanic commerce of
the United States with the remainder of the free world.

Valuable exports from the State of Maryland and
valuable imports to this State go through the Panama
Canal to and from distant reaches of the globe.

Under the sovereign control of the United States,
the Panama Canal has provided uninterrupted peacetime
transit to all nations[[.]] ;now, therefore be it

[[The traditionally unstable nature of Panamanian
politics and government poses an implicit threat to the
security of the interests of the United States which for
many years have been served by the Panama Canal.

The Republic of Panama possesses neither the
technical nor the managerial expertise effectively to
operate and maintain the Panama Canal; and the Republic
of Panama does not have the capabilities to meet the
growing demands placed upon the Canal; now, therefore, be
it]]

RESOLVED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF MARYLAND, That:

(1) The government of the United States should
maintain and protect its sovereign rights and
jurisdiction over the Panama Canal and Zone, and should
in no way cede, dilute, forfeit, negotiate, or transfer
any of these sovereign rights, power, authority,
jurisdiction, territory, or property that are
indispensably necessary for the protection and security
of the United States and the entire Western Hemisphere;