Mr. Daniel submitted the following order: Ordered, That a copy of the Rules of the House of Delegates be furnished by the Librarian to each member of this Convention; Which was rejected. The Convention adjourned. SATURDAY, May 7th, 1864. The Convention met. Prayer by the Rev. Mr. Owen. The proceedings of yesterday were read. Mr. Stirling submitted the following order: Ordered, That the Stenographer appointed by virtue of the third section of the Convention Bill, is hereby appointed the permanent Stenographer of the Convention. On motion of Mr. Berry, of Prince George's, The said order was referred to the Committee on Reporting and Printing. The Convention adjourned. The Convention met. MONDAY, May 9th, 1864. Prayer by the Rev. Mr. Patterson. The proceedings of Saturday were read. The resolutions submitted by Mr. Clarke, on Friday last, in reference to representation in the Senate and House of Delegates, Were taken up. By general consent, the resolutions were amended by Mr. Clarke, so as to add, at the end of the second resolution, as follows: 'Or in case the said Committee shall determine that it is expedient, in the organization of the House of Delegates, to adopt a principle more nearly approximating representation according to population, (Baltimore city inclusive,) then the said Committee shall inquire whether a provision ought to be inserted in the Constitution dividing the city of Baltimore into districts, each district to elect two members of the House of Delegates, and, as the purity of elections is the best safeguard of republican institutions, providing for the passage by the Legislature of a registry law for the whole State. Mr. Clarke also submitted the following: Apportionment of Representation in the House of Delegates, under the Resolutions offered by Mr. Clarke, of Prince George's county: The above apportionment is obtained by deducting from the whole population of the State, 687,049, the population of Baltimore city, 212,418, which leaves the population of the State, exclusive of Baltimore city, 474,631. Giving to Baltimore city twelve members, (four more than Baltimore county,) this leaves sixty-eight members to be apportioned among the counties according to population, allowing no county less than two members. Dividing the population of the counties, 474,631 by 68, gives the unit of representation, in round numbers, 7,000. Then dividing the population of each county by this unit of representation, and assigning to the counties having the largest fractions one additional member until the whole reaches eighty members, the above apportionment is obtained; Which, with the resolutions, On motion of Mr. Clarke, Was referred to the Committee on the Basis of Representation. The resolution submitted by Mr. Negley, on Tuesday, in reference to representation, Was taken up. On motion of Mr. Stockbridge, The said resolution was referred to the Committee on the Basis of Representation. Mr. Nyman submitted the following order: Ordered, That the Committee on the Legislative Department inquire into the propriety of abolishing the clause in our present Constitution disqualifying any Minister or Preacher of any denomination from being eligible as Senator or Delegate; Which was adopted. Mr. Stockbridge submitted the following order: Ordered, That the Committee on the Rights, Duties, Divisions and Sub-divisions of Counties, be instructed to inquire into the expediency of dividing the several counties of the State into Wards or Townships, in place of the present Election Districts; such Wards or Townships to be permanent political incorporations, and vested with all powers necessary for their local government; Which was adopted. Mr. Belt submitted the following resolution: Resolved, That if the principle contained in the resolution of the gentleman from Washington county, be correct, in asserting that, under a republican system, population is the true basis of representation, excluding all classes not endowed with the right of suffrage, then the authors of the Constitution of the United States were uninformed of the principles of republicanism, in that they admitted all free persons, and even a large proportion of slaves, as within the basis upon which the States are represented in the Federal Congress; Which was read. The Convention adjourned. TUESDAY, May 10th, 1864. The Convention met. Prayer by the Rev. Mr. McNamar. The proceedings of yesterday were read. The President laid before the Convention the following communication from the Comptroller, Which was read and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary Department, and ordered to be printed on the Journal. TREASURY DEPARTMENT, COMPTROLLER'S OFFICE, Annapolis, May 10th, 1864. To the President of the Convention: SIR,-In obedience to an order of the Convention, adopted on the 4th instant, requiring the Comptroller of the Treasury to report "a statement of the aggregate amount paid by the State to special counsel employed by the Executive, or other officers of the State, since the adoption of the present Constitution, and also the amount paid to special Judges," I have the honor to submit the following statements, A and B, embracing the information asked for by the Convention. Respectfully yours, HENRY H. GOLDSBOROUGH, |