The Cecil Whig. [volume] (Elkton, Md.) 1841-current, 1851-12-13
Chr Gountn Comm; ssioncrs.
nOr The Cecil U1ie.
Tor Tie Cecil Wig.
FELLOW CITIZENS OF THE SEC
O.N'D ELECTION DISTRICT
CECIL COUNTY,:

FELLOW CITIZENS OF7HE SEC
O.N.D ELECTION DISTRICT OF
CECIL COUNTY:
GenHemcn:-I Having been nominated
by portion OF you for the responsible
office of one of the Commissioners of
Cecil county, and honored by plurali-
ty of your votes, | deem it a duty IN
cumbent upon me to lay before you as
briefly as possible, and without comment,
plain statement of the facts as they
occurred, during my effort to have you
represented in that Body; in order that
you may be the judges ofmy course,
and be prepared for the future; and to
remove all cause for misunderstanding
as to the matter in point, with you or
persons in other sections of the county.
The Commissioners elect being called
together on Saturday the 22d Novem-
Der, repaired to Elkton, agreeably to
the notice, and learning from the Clerk
of the Court that no commissions had
been sent on for the Commissioners,
went to the Commissioners Office with
determination to contend for the rights
of my district. there found seven
gentlemen claiming to be the Commits
soners to the exclusion of myself At
ter some little debate the six claiming to
be undoubtedly elected, qualified and
proceeded to elect Mr.. James Mackey
of the Fourth district--a district al
ready represented by DR.. Carter-as the
seventh Commissioner. At this stage
ofthe proceedings | offered the following
PROTEST..
The undersigned claiming to be elect
ed one of the County Commissioner o!
Cecil County at the late election, by
the people ofsald county on Wednesday
the fifth day of November A. D. 1851,
under and by virtue Of the provisions Of
the present Constitution OF the State of
Maryland, entersthis, his protest against
James Mackey as one Of the said Com
missioners Of said County, and against
the qualifying of the said James Mac
key as such, for the reasons following,
viz
Under the Constitution and laws in
force at the time Of the adoption of the
present Constitution, Cecil County was,
and still continues to be, divided into
Seven Election districts, and each of
said districts was entitled to have one
of the County Commissioners resident
within its own limits, and to elect said
resident Commissioner by the legal vo-
tiers exclusively residing within that dis
trct; that the present Constitution, al
though it takes away from each district
the right to elect by its own legal vo-
tiers, exclusively, any one Commissioner,
and conlers that right on the voters of
the whole County generally, does no.
where, directly or by implication, abro-
gate the right which before expressly
existed in each District TO have one
Commissioner to reside therein, or from
among its own citizens, but by every
principle and rule of sound construction
that point remains as it did before the
adoption of the present Constitution, and
therefore each election district in the
County is entitled to one member of the
County Commissioners.
On determining who shall constitute
that body, the comparison Is not to be
made between the seven persons who
have received the highest number OF
votes throughout the County, and those
others who have received fewer votes
without respect to their local residence,
but between the Candidates of each par
ticular election district, respectively;
making the majority as between them
decisive of the question ofelection. Any
other construction might be subversive
of one of the great objects of popular
elections--a fair representation of the
wishes and interests of the people gem
erally-and the effect might be, under
the influence of local divisions and ieal-
ousies, the exclusion entirely of certain
portions of the County from any partic-
patton in matters Of local polty, affect