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56 HISTORY OF MARYLAND.
lose in popular favor. All these difficulties and trials seemed to bind the
inhabitants of Maryland together, to subdue murmurs, to animate exertions,
and to substitute energetic action for idle recrimination. The October elections in the State terminated in a considerable democratic gain in the Assembly. Talbot County, which had sent four federalists to the last Assembly
now returned four democrats, and Caroline, which had also sent at the last
session four federalists, now sent only one.1
In the Maryland election laws in force at this time, among other provisions, it was enacted, that the judges of election and their clerks should, be
qualified by an oath administered by a justice of the peace ; or, the presiding
judge, so qualified, might qualify his associate judges, and the clerks—or a
clerk so qualified, might qualify the presiding judge, etc.
In Alleghany County, by a vote of 596 for the democrats, to 593 for the
federalists, three democrats and one federalist were chosen by the people, but
by a small technical interpretation of the law, the people of "one district of
the county were deprived of their suffrages, and the four federal candidates
declared elected. The presiding judge of the fourth district was a justice of
the peace; he qualified the two other judges and the clerks, and was then
himself qualified by a judge instead of a clerk. After the election, when one
of the three judges from each of the six districts of the county assembled to
make the returns, it was contended that the election in the fourth district
was illegal, as the presiding judge had not been properly qualified. Four of
the assembled judges, after rejecting all the votes cast in said district (which
was democratic), selected the four federal candidates having the highest
number of votes on the list, and gave them a certificate of election, with a
note, stating an "irregularity " in one of the districts. The other two judges
also made a return, giving credit to the whole number of votes received, in the
county, showing that three of the democratic and one of the federal candidates were elected. All the judges were federalists.
As the possession by either party of these three contested delegates would
determine the election of the governor, who was then chosen by joint ballot,
great interest was manifested in the result of the contest. The Legislature
was convened on the 6th of December, and when the clerk of the House
called the names of the four federal delegates from Alleghany County, who
had certificates of election from the judges of election, several objections were
made by the democrats to their admission. The federalists, who were in the
majority, contended that the returns of a majority of the judges of election
was at least prima facie evidence that the persons named were duly and
legally elected, and they had no right therefore to decide that they should not
be qualified as members. There was nothing, they said, in the Constitution,
or in the history of parliamentary proceedings, which would justify such an
act. It was only after the House had been organized that they had the power
1 As the two political parties were nearly tent, judiciously applied by both during the
evenly divided in the State at this period, money campaign,
and misrepresentation were, to a very great ex-
| Title | History of Maryland - 3 |
| Creator | Scharf, J. Thomas (John Thomas) |
| Publisher | J. B. Piet |
| Place of Publication | Baltimore |
| Date | 1879 |
| Language | eng |
| Type | Books/Pamphlets |
| Title | 00000081 |
| Type | Books/Pamphlets |
| Transcript | 56 HISTORY OF MARYLAND. lose in popular favor. All these difficulties and trials seemed to bind the inhabitants of Maryland together, to subdue murmurs, to animate exertions, and to substitute energetic action for idle recrimination. The October elections in the State terminated in a considerable democratic gain in the Assembly. Talbot County, which had sent four federalists to the last Assembly now returned four democrats, and Caroline, which had also sent at the last session four federalists, now sent only one.1 In the Maryland election laws in force at this time, among other provisions, it was enacted, that the judges of election and their clerks should, be qualified by an oath administered by a justice of the peace ; or, the presiding judge, so qualified, might qualify his associate judges, and the clerks—or a clerk so qualified, might qualify the presiding judge, etc. In Alleghany County, by a vote of 596 for the democrats, to 593 for the federalists, three democrats and one federalist were chosen by the people, but by a small technical interpretation of the law, the people of "one district of the county were deprived of their suffrages, and the four federal candidates declared elected. The presiding judge of the fourth district was a justice of the peace; he qualified the two other judges and the clerks, and was then himself qualified by a judge instead of a clerk. After the election, when one of the three judges from each of the six districts of the county assembled to make the returns, it was contended that the election in the fourth district was illegal, as the presiding judge had not been properly qualified. Four of the assembled judges, after rejecting all the votes cast in said district (which was democratic), selected the four federal candidates having the highest number of votes on the list, and gave them a certificate of election, with a note, stating an "irregularity " in one of the districts. The other two judges also made a return, giving credit to the whole number of votes received, in the county, showing that three of the democratic and one of the federal candidates were elected. All the judges were federalists. As the possession by either party of these three contested delegates would determine the election of the governor, who was then chosen by joint ballot, great interest was manifested in the result of the contest. The Legislature was convened on the 6th of December, and when the clerk of the House called the names of the four federal delegates from Alleghany County, who had certificates of election from the judges of election, several objections were made by the democrats to their admission. The federalists, who were in the majority, contended that the returns of a majority of the judges of election was at least prima facie evidence that the persons named were duly and legally elected, and they had no right therefore to decide that they should not be qualified as members. There was nothing, they said, in the Constitution, or in the history of parliamentary proceedings, which would justify such an act. It was only after the House had been organized that they had the power 1 As the two political parties were nearly tent, judiciously applied by both during the evenly divided in the State at this period, money campaign, and misrepresentation were, to a very great ex- |
