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AN UNDUE SHARE OF POWER. ■ 189
strong effort was made to change the system, by electing one senator from
each county by the people; and in the bill which passed the House for that
purpose, an attempt was made to engraft a provision regulating the number
of delegates for each county in proportion to its population. The bill, however, was defeated in the Senate, and a similar one met with a like fate in the
ensuing year. Year after year, repeated and earnest petitions were presented
to the Legislature, asking, praying for redress of these gross grievances of
which the majority of the people had long complained. These petitions
and memorials were again and again rejected. The smaller counties who had
ruled for nearly half a century the majority of the people, declined to
surrender the undue share of power they possessed. At length the discordant
elements, in the most populous counties and the City of Baltimore, of
both political parties, united and proposed that a convention of reformers,
without distinction of party, should be held in Baltimore, to agree upon such
measures as would ensure success. On the 6th of June, 1836, the Reform
Convention, composed of delegates from Cecil, Harford, Baltimore, Frederick,
Montgomery and Washington Counties, and Baltimore City, assembled and
adopted the following resolutions:
" Resolved, That it be recommended by this convention to the people of the counties
and cities friendly^to a reform of the Constitution of the State, to elect, at the next
October election, delegates faithfully pledged to the people to introduce and support a
bill to provide for taking the sense of the people on the question of reforming the Constitution of the State, on the first Monday in May, 1837; and in the event of a majority of
the people declaring themselves in favor of such, reform, providing in the same bill for
the calling of a convention for that object.
" Resolved, That in the bill providing for the call of a convention, the members of the
convention ought to be distributed equally among the several congressional districts of
this State, with the exception of the fourth, which, being a double congressional district,
ought to have twice the number of representatives of any other district—that the members of the convention should be elected on the first Monday in June, 1837, to assemble
in the City of Annapolis on the 4th day of July, thereafter to prepare and present a Constitution for the ratification of the people of Maryland at the following October election.
" Resolved, That if within forty days after the commencement of its session, the Legislature shall refuse or neglect to provide for ascertaining the sense of the people of the
State upon this' important question, and for calling a convention as prescribed in the
previous resolutions, the president of the convention is hereby required forthwith to
convene this convention for the adoption of such ulterior measures as may then be
deemed expedient, just and proper, as may be best calculated, without the aid of the
Legislature, to ensure the accomplishment of the desired results.
" Resolved, That this convention respectfully recommend the appointment of delegates
to the convention from such portions of the State as may not heretofore have made such
appointments."
The people seemed disposed to sustain fully the recommendations of the
convention, for the Assembly of 1835 had passed laws which tended to enlarge
the representation of the more populous districts, and which only needed the
confirmation of the succeeding Legislature to become a law7. By this Act two
additional delegates were given to Baltimore City; and Carroll County was
| 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 | 00000220 |
| Type | Books/Pamphlets |
| Transcript | AN UNDUE SHARE OF POWER. ■ 189 strong effort was made to change the system, by electing one senator from each county by the people; and in the bill which passed the House for that purpose, an attempt was made to engraft a provision regulating the number of delegates for each county in proportion to its population. The bill, however, was defeated in the Senate, and a similar one met with a like fate in the ensuing year. Year after year, repeated and earnest petitions were presented to the Legislature, asking, praying for redress of these gross grievances of which the majority of the people had long complained. These petitions and memorials were again and again rejected. The smaller counties who had ruled for nearly half a century the majority of the people, declined to surrender the undue share of power they possessed. At length the discordant elements, in the most populous counties and the City of Baltimore, of both political parties, united and proposed that a convention of reformers, without distinction of party, should be held in Baltimore, to agree upon such measures as would ensure success. On the 6th of June, 1836, the Reform Convention, composed of delegates from Cecil, Harford, Baltimore, Frederick, Montgomery and Washington Counties, and Baltimore City, assembled and adopted the following resolutions: " Resolved, That it be recommended by this convention to the people of the counties and cities friendly^to a reform of the Constitution of the State, to elect, at the next October election, delegates faithfully pledged to the people to introduce and support a bill to provide for taking the sense of the people on the question of reforming the Constitution of the State, on the first Monday in May, 1837; and in the event of a majority of the people declaring themselves in favor of such, reform, providing in the same bill for the calling of a convention for that object. " Resolved, That in the bill providing for the call of a convention, the members of the convention ought to be distributed equally among the several congressional districts of this State, with the exception of the fourth, which, being a double congressional district, ought to have twice the number of representatives of any other district—that the members of the convention should be elected on the first Monday in June, 1837, to assemble in the City of Annapolis on the 4th day of July, thereafter to prepare and present a Constitution for the ratification of the people of Maryland at the following October election. " Resolved, That if within forty days after the commencement of its session, the Legislature shall refuse or neglect to provide for ascertaining the sense of the people of the State upon this' important question, and for calling a convention as prescribed in the previous resolutions, the president of the convention is hereby required forthwith to convene this convention for the adoption of such ulterior measures as may then be deemed expedient, just and proper, as may be best calculated, without the aid of the Legislature, to ensure the accomplishment of the desired results. " Resolved, That this convention respectfully recommend the appointment of delegates to the convention from such portions of the State as may not heretofore have made such appointments." The people seemed disposed to sustain fully the recommendations of the convention, for the Assembly of 1835 had passed laws which tended to enlarge the representation of the more populous districts, and which only needed the confirmation of the succeeding Legislature to become a law7. By this Act two additional delegates were given to Baltimore City; and Carroll County was |
