The Cecil Whig. [volume] (Elkton, Md.) 1841-current, 1858-05-01
Chr Q:astcru Shore Claim
Address of the E,stou Convention to
The Pc0pE. of Maryland.


sage OF the act for convention to frame a
pew constitution, has produced deep scnsa
jtion throughout our entire shore. Large
meetings have been held N several Of the conn
| ties at which the people have expressed their
! Indignation at the wrcng which has been lone
! them The press has CONDEMNED the injustice
with unusual severity: and for the first Time in
the history Of the State mass convention
composed Of citizens from all parts Of the
Shore has assembled TO deliberate upon the
condition OF our affairs, an1 the course to be
| pursued III this mpurt1nt e3isis--
We have approached the investigation CT
this subject with deep sense Of its Import
ancc. and with conviction Of the duty i'm
posed on us, good citizens, to act with de-
| liberation and gravity commensurate with
the seriousness of the occasion.
Oar applications to the legislature have re-
suited in The painful conviction that con-
siderable Number of our fellow citizens on the
Western Shore are opposed to the payment
of oar appropriation, Ga the other hand
there are many vino admit the injustice under
which we IRE suffering, but who. with few
exceptions, We r Srct to say, will make no
| proper effort to redress it. The questions
which now present themselves for considcra-
ton arc How long shall We quietly submit
to the delay in its settlement and are we not
justly entitled To the use Of ercrg means af-
ord,d by the laws and the constitution by
which its settlement can he EIcilitattd?
We postpone IL reply to the former question,
until We see whether there Sa disposition
| further to intcrposc any unnecessary delay !:
and proceed to explain the ground on which
We claim an immediate settlement through
an extra session Of the Legislature. For
this purpose we desire first to call attcn
ton TO the amount Of appropriations that
have been made to the Western Shore and
the l,ngth Of time during which she las en-
| joycd them.
Commencing as carly as lS2G. they had
amounted in lSs5.3 to more than four millions
Of dollars; being upwards Of a half million
Of dollars per auuum. In lH2t. three millions
more were appropriated F.: and in 1880, seven
millions more applied for Here wasa total of
more than fourteen millions Of dollars to he
given to one Shore. without enc cent being
| given 20 the other : and this too when il had
| become so evident that dircct tar would
| have TO be resortud to. that it was necessary
to make provision for it in the last oc these
bills to enable the State to dispose Of her
| bonds
1t was nnlcr these circumstances that the
| representatives from the Eastern Shore lim-
pressed with the necessity Of public works in
a section Of country which during several
months Of every year is comulirly cat Oh
from access to market and the people almost
entirely separated from tlvr repre- Srntatiyes }
required as the only condition on which thew
would assent to the las. cnulIucnS apprnpra-
ton that the SIAN Of one million dollars
should be given TO The Eastern Shore Railroad,
and if that failed to no into opc1ation. il
should be secured to The Eastern Shore.
These are the words of the act
And hc it further provided, That if the
said stock Of the Eastern Shore Railroad
Shall not be sutsclhul to an amount sutli.
rient to commence the road by individuals or
corporations, as proIaIm tor GJMtS ari-uhnt
is to say, an amount which. including the
subscription hereby authorised ON the part
of the State to the stock Of said company at
the Iar yalue thereof, will he oirgguje 10 The
construction of sad yQil10M y thai then and
in that case the million Of dollars sci Gpart
for and intended 70 he appropriatc,l TO said
work, skaii he hrH surrtd and lie Eilh of The
| STATE is hcrebu pletlocd that lie said million
of dollars shall he GppIrd 10 the crcigsire mr.
poses of uorls Of Internal improvements on The
| Eastern Shore aid for no other nuruose what
ever ana SHAH he rNhi'ft to UISD0SlfIOu on
anu future LccrIarurc for H,s purposcn
The next and last nnpronrioiion was made
in 1899. amounting to ST 325 600. MAKING
for the Western Shore \ Grand total of more
than fifteen millions Of dollars. and onlv our
SOLITARY million TO the Eastern Shore
Let US now see how far fine two shores have
received the benefits which these aprronria-
lions wrr, intended ia confer Ortl',s, mod.
for the Western Shore all have hrcn mid
he greater norton of This ho, been hnnrless.
IL sunk in the Chcs,pcakc and Ohio Canal .
! 81 5DO COO hay. .}s, Il, co c;v,r mn ,otho Pal.
,imore and Susnuc,,auna Railroad isincc ,l.c
ndontinn If tLc mrscnt constitution y md ,in
r,,riion which has naid ANY, d,vil,lcuIs has
been comparatively small.
Tho Western Shore has tbercc,ro had III.
use of dis immcns, sum for period Of more
,l,an twenty years. during which i;n,e The
arreorar,s Of interest have Amounted ,o men r
" moi omtc as much as tLe ,,r;ncin,,
making the sum of which the Western Shore
has had III, actual benefit about $40 0Un o0n
1t should also he borne in mind hat yar,ous
notifications in the terms of these loans have
been made from time to time for ADVANTAGE
NJ ,hc comnanips -, thc Wnstor, Shn,e7
Whereby all their works have brcn Gnshnd
and the fun benefit Of tl,rm eniovr1 whilst
we have hcep ;niurod h,. thc i,Hpy IF uosto.n
nro,Inr,. ,t tho .ooSo ,lan w., o,,',.'oIl -
70 foce ,ur Grain nnan ,l'a ,n,ri,.t .nd hn
the increase of Representation Of tho Western