Evening capital and Maryland gazette. (Annapolis, Md.) 1910-1922, 1911-08-10
COUNCIL OF SAFETY"
An Agent OF The PeOple-COm-
mittees OF Correspondence
And Observation.
MANY EPOCH-MAKING EVENTS.
Fine Old Colonial Buildings Associated
With Historic Annapolis.
lMr. Randalls Address Series IX.l

And so it continued Convention
after convention met here, as the tim,
of open war approached; to make
provision for and to organize the
Council of Safety" and the Com.
mittees of Observation" and Com.
mittees of Correspondence" and tC
take other steps to prepare for the
evidently approaching struggle.
This Council of Safety" as the
agent of the people and it's conven.
tion, practically governed from that
building the Province and conducted
the war, so far as Maryland was con-
cerned, until, in March, 1777, the new
State Government was inaugurated d
under our first State Constitution. In
that building, in 1776, the first Con-
stltutional Convention of our State
met and framed and adopted that
Constitution, which was a model for
many of the states, and contributed
in no small degree to the form and
language of the Constitution of the
United States.
In that building it was that the
State Convention, on the 28th Of
June, 1776, instructed it's deputies in
the Colonial Congress to concur with
the other United Colonies, or a major
ity of them, in declaring the United
Colonies free and Independent States
which instructions, within a week,
We're carried out by the adoption at
Philadelphia of the Declaration of In
dependence.
In that building, on the 2ist of
March, 1777, Thomas Johnson was in
augurated as the first Constitutional
Governor of Maryland, and the first
General Assembly of the State was
convened; and there during the sue
ceeding years, our long line of dis
tinguished Governors took their oaths
of office and the legislation of the
State has been enacted.
There, during the period of the Rev
olution, the Continental Congress fire.
quently met. There it ratified the
Treaty with France, which assured
our ultimate triumph in that struggle,
and there, in December, 1888, the
treaty with Great Britain was laid be.
fore Congress and ratified, thus estab-
fishing among the nations these Uni
ted States.
In those hallowed walls was enacted
on December 23rd, 1888, that most
touching and solemn act in the life of
the Father of His Country, when
Washington surrendered into the
hands of Congress his commission as
General-in-Chief of its Armies, and in
noble address resigned the trust
which he had so faithfully and success
fully fulfilled.
There also met, in September, 1856,
the Convention of the States, which
considered and denounced the defects
in the old Articles of Confederation
and called the great Convention, which
subsequently met in Philadelphia and
framed the Constitution of the Uni
ted States.
These and many other epoch-mak-
ing events and incidents will always
be associated with that fine old Col
onial Building and will warm the
hearts and stir the imaginations of
patriotic visitors.
The State House is two hundred
feet in height. It's external gallery,
or balcony, has an elevation of 1876
feet above the base and, as that is
elevated 100 feet or more above tide,
the view from the balcony is very ex-
tensive and beautiful. In fact, nc
more varied and attractive view over
land and water is afforded by any
building in this country.
(Continued.)