Delaware gazette and state journal., 1895-12-26
Best Represented Portion of
the United States.
USE OF THE EASTERN SHORE LAW
Possibilities of the Delaware
Peninsula.
The Eastern Shore Law Designed to Protect
tho Western shore IN the Possession of
Ono senator-senators, oomptrollers and
Governors.
correspondence Baltimore Sun.

sula lying between the chesapeake bay
on the one side and the Delaware bay
and Atlantic ocean on the other,
and composed of the State of Della
ware, nine Maryland and two Virginia
counties, was 800, $50, distributed as
follows: Delaware. 16S, 493; Maryland,
1874, O97; Virginia, 81, 800. The same
year the population of Rhode Island,
the smallest State in area, was 345, 506,
and of New York, the most populous
State, 5,997, S53.
A scheme of consolidating this Penin-
sula into one State has been broached
half dozen times within so years and
urged with more or less feryor by it's
advocates. The Roman Catholic do
cese Of Wilmington is coterminous with
the Peninsula. When the Philadel-
phia Conference, Methodist Episcopal
Church, formed the Wilmington Con-
ference it took all the Peninsula terri
tory and no other. When the first
Cesarian operation was performed on
the diocese of Maryland by the creation
OF the diocese of Easton, many church,
men wanted the Eastern Shore of
Maryland, which was the part to be
taken from the diocese of Maryland,
annexed to the diocese of Delaware and
then bring them into it the two Virginia
counties, so as to have a homogeneous
Peninsula diocese, but this scheme did
not meet with enough favor to carry
it through. AT that time the project
of making one State of tho Peninsula
was again discussed, and specious rea-
sons, geographical and political, were
given for it.
But the weight of the argument is
the other way. Tho Peninsula, as now
constituted, has more political power,
nationally, than any political division
of the Union. For 106 years it has had
a representation of three in the United
States Senate. 1t has had four, and
will have again il Virginia takes one
of her Senators from her own Eastern
Shore, as she has done, and il she
takes them both from that section, as
may. happen, the Peninsula would have
five United States Senators, and if the
Maryland Eastern Shore law' be re-
pealed, and both Maryland Senators
were taken from the Eastern Shore, as
might happen, there is possibility
of the Peninsula being represented in
the Senate of the United States by six
Senators at one time-a possibility that
does not appertain to any other part
of the United States, let it be carried
as it may, with population of 800, $50.
In the House of Representatives the
Peninsula, under the present appor
tionment, must always have two mem
bers. 1t may have four-it has had
four-one from Delaware, one from the
First Maryland district, one from Cecil
county, which is a part of the Second
Maryland district, and one from the
Virginia district. The summary is
The Peninsula must have three Sena-
tors and two Representatives five in
both houses; it may have six Senators
and four Representatives, ten in both
houses New York aud Texas are not
IN it, either in actualities or possibili-
ties.
The recent article in the Sun on the
Eastern Shore Senators developed three
interesting facts:
OF the Senators who served during
the rs years from Henry to Pearce three
Of them have sons living. They are
Robert II. Goldsborough, John Leeds
Kerr and James Alfred Pearce Al
though Talbot had the greatest number
of Senators, Kent had the largest
period of service. Caroline is the only
one of the old Eastern Shore counties
that has never given the State United
States Senator. Nor has Governor
ever been taken from Caroline. And
it is believed, though the record is not
at hand, that that county has furnished
the State with but one representative
in Congress. John Culbreth, who was
a member so years ago.
What has the Eastern Shore done as to
furnishing the State with Governors?
Under the State government from 1777
to 1887 there were 81 Governors, count
ing re-elections not consecutive. OF
these u were from the Eastern Shore.
During this period Governors were
not elected by the people, but by the
Legislature. In 1887 amendments to
the Constitution gave to the voters the
election of Governor, and William
Grason of Queen Anne's county, elected
in 1888 for three years, was the first
Governor of Maryland elected by the
people.
The next Eastern Shore Governor
was Philip Francis Thomas of Talbot
county elected in 1S47. The "re-
forms'' instituted in 1887 by the Legis-
lature, and which grew out of de-
mand backed up by a strong, yociferous
and somewhat turbulent public senti-
ment, which threatened revolution and
subyersion, recognized the Eastern
Shore as the equivalent of one-third oi
the State. That reform" divided the
State into three guhernatorial districts,
from each OF which the Governor was
required to be taken in turn. The
Eastern Shore counties composed the
First district; Frederick, Carroll, Har.
ford, Baltimore, Washington and ALLIE
gheny the Second district, and the re-
manning .counties, with the city ot
Baltimore, the Third district. The
first 'tgoing round" was William Ora
son, as above said, Francis Thomas anC
Thomas G. Pratt.
When the Eastern Shores turn came
again, after Philip Francis Thomas,
Thomas Holiday Hicks of Dorchester,
was taken. Since then the Eastern
Shore Governors have been Jamei
Black Groome, Henry Lloyd and Eliht
| II. jackson. Since 1887, therefore,
| the Eastern Shore has furnished thu
State with six Governors out of tota
of 10, so that this section of the Stat,
has not been badly left in this regard
A look into the comptroller's office
to see how the Eastern Shore has faret
there, may not be uninteresting. Thi
department of the State government
was organized in 1851. Robert p
Graham of Wicomico county, elected
last November, will be the 18th comp
troller and the 18th Eastern Shoremal
to fill that office. OF these l2, fou
were from Talbot, one from Worcester
one from Cecil, one from Caroline, twl
Counting Graham) from Wicomico
one from Somerset, one from Queel
Anne's and one from Kent.
! All this goes to show that the Easter
i Shore is amply able to take care o
| herself politicnii,, oS wall NC otbar,u;e eo