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672 HISTORY OF MARYLAND.
professed to guarantee to every man all the rights of citizenship, the monstrous anomaly of a political oligarchy, by means of laws of its own making,
disfranchising utterly sixty thousand citizens of Maryland, and rendering
fifteen thousand powerless to remedy the wrongs they beheld.
The first pretence of an election under the new registration law was gone
through with in Baltimore on November 7th, 1865, for a member of Congress,
State senator, two -members of the House of Delegates, sheriff, clerk of the
Circuit Court, and City Surveyor. In the counties elections were also held
for county officers and judges of the Circuit Courts.
The true voting population of Baltimore at this time was about forty
thousand, but the total vote cast on the 7th of November reached but little
over five thousand. The candidates for Congress were John L. Thomas,
republican, and William Kimmel, independent. In the seven lower wards
of the city the vote was as follows :1
Wards. Thomas, U. Kimmel, I.
1 223 10
2 284 3
3 320 9
4 236 15
5 314 8
6 365 4
7 '. 298 9
2,040 58
58
Thomas' majority 1,982
The mass of the people were now fully conscious of the humiliation of
their position, and the necessity of making every exertion to regain their
rights. They knew that a minority of about one-fifth of the inhabitants of
the State governed the rest, and that a large proportion of the tax-payers
were denied all representation in its government. They felt that no shadow
of pretext existed for the continuance of this odious and oppressive law, and
they determined to exert themselves to procure its early repeal.
In the contest for the enfranchisement of the citizens of Maryland, several
of the newspapers of Baltimore took a leading and active part. The Sun,
Gazette, German Correspondent and Sunday Telegram, fought the fight of
public liberty, and vigorously upheld what they believed to be right, and
some of their editors and proprietors should be remembered with gratitude and
honor for enduring outrages and brutality rather than abate one jot or title
their hatred and defiance of the wrong. The Sun and Gazette in the fight
which ensued after the war for the re-enfranchisement of the citizens of the
State, the struggle against the new constitutional amendments, the impeachment of President Johnson, the civil rights question, etc., were always bold
and fearless makers and leaders of opinion. The Sun, under the editorial
1 The second congressional district was com- eleventh and twelfth election districts of Balti-
posed of the fifth, sixth, seventh, ninth, tenth, more County, and all of Harford County.
| 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 | 00000707 |
| Type | Books/Pamphlets |
| Transcript | 672 HISTORY OF MARYLAND. professed to guarantee to every man all the rights of citizenship, the monstrous anomaly of a political oligarchy, by means of laws of its own making, disfranchising utterly sixty thousand citizens of Maryland, and rendering fifteen thousand powerless to remedy the wrongs they beheld. The first pretence of an election under the new registration law was gone through with in Baltimore on November 7th, 1865, for a member of Congress, State senator, two -members of the House of Delegates, sheriff, clerk of the Circuit Court, and City Surveyor. In the counties elections were also held for county officers and judges of the Circuit Courts. The true voting population of Baltimore at this time was about forty thousand, but the total vote cast on the 7th of November reached but little over five thousand. The candidates for Congress were John L. Thomas, republican, and William Kimmel, independent. In the seven lower wards of the city the vote was as follows :1 Wards. Thomas, U. Kimmel, I. 1 223 10 2 284 3 3 320 9 4 236 15 5 314 8 6 365 4 7 '. 298 9 2,040 58 58 Thomas' majority 1,982 The mass of the people were now fully conscious of the humiliation of their position, and the necessity of making every exertion to regain their rights. They knew that a minority of about one-fifth of the inhabitants of the State governed the rest, and that a large proportion of the tax-payers were denied all representation in its government. They felt that no shadow of pretext existed for the continuance of this odious and oppressive law, and they determined to exert themselves to procure its early repeal. In the contest for the enfranchisement of the citizens of Maryland, several of the newspapers of Baltimore took a leading and active part. The Sun, Gazette, German Correspondent and Sunday Telegram, fought the fight of public liberty, and vigorously upheld what they believed to be right, and some of their editors and proprietors should be remembered with gratitude and honor for enduring outrages and brutality rather than abate one jot or title their hatred and defiance of the wrong. The Sun and Gazette in the fight which ensued after the war for the re-enfranchisement of the citizens of the State, the struggle against the new constitutional amendments, the impeachment of President Johnson, the civil rights question, etc., were always bold and fearless makers and leaders of opinion. The Sun, under the editorial 1 The second congressional district was com- eleventh and twelfth election districts of Balti- posed of the fifth, sixth, seventh, ninth, tenth, more County, and all of Harford County. |
