The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1941-01-02
GROWING
PAINS
THE STATE LEGISLATURE
By MARIE O'DEA

THE STATE LEGISLATURE
Once again the members of the
Maryland General Assembly, accom-
panied by clerks, secretaries, politi-
clans, lobbyists, news-gatherers and
hangers-on have descended upon An
napolis. Boisterous greetings and Sc
ductive whispers swell through the
marble corridors of the State House.
Big political cigars cling miraculously
to busy mouths and the smell is not
yet stale.
Movement, excitement, anticipation
charge the atmosphere just as they
have at all the other sessions of the
Maryland General Assembly since
that first mysterious gathering more
than 300 years ago.
The Ark and the Dove landed the
Colonists in Maryland on March rs,
1884. Eleven months later they had
planted their civilization so thorough
ly in the new country that they were
ready to indulge in little politics. On
February 26, 1885, they met at Saint
Mary's City.
No one has ever been able to find out
what they did. Apparently It did not
suit the Lord Proprietary of the prov
ince. The whole convention was de-
clared Illegal and all records were
destroyed.
About two years later, on January
25, 1857, the second Assembly, the
first of legal standing, met at Saint
Mary's. Nearly every man in the Col
ony turned out for the occasion. In
deed, all freemen were expected to
participate personally or send their
proxies. About 25 showed up the first
day and others struggled in during the
following week complaining of the
difficulties of crossing the Bay and
the rivers.
The members of this Assembly dis
tinguished themselves by tossing out
all the laws sent them by Lord Balti-
more and starting from scratch with
their own ideas. When they adjourned
after two months work Cecelius CAL
vert retaliated by refusing his ap-
prevail of their acts.
The following February (1638) they
met again for the third session which
convened at Saint Mary's, then re-
moved Immediately to Saint Johns,
where the fourth and fifth session also
met (1640 and 164D. The sixth, sew
enth, eighth and ninth Assemblies
met at Saint Mary's.
Discomfort and dissession were be-
ginning to disturb the freemen and
during the eighth session, Septem-
Der, 1912, this rule was passed:
"None are to use any indecent,
haunting or reviling words to the
naming or personating of any
member, in the House or any
otherwise misbehave himself in
his speech upon pain of censure
by the House."
There was persistent but unsuccess-
full agitation to prevent people from
leaving the province although there
was one man whom everyone would
have been glad enough to miss.
William Claiborne, who had come
from Virginia before the arrival Of
the Maryland Colonists and settled
on Kent Island, was the center of a
feud that lasted for years. The Baron
of Baltimore won the first few rounds.
Then Claiborne was jointed by Rich
ard Ingle, who seemed to have been
a SOFT of Colonial Communist. The
two Worked upon the emotions of the
malcontents in the province and
reused them to a revolt. Governor
Leonard Calvert made the Virginia
border just in time. Ingle and Clai-
borne took over the administration of
the Colony and for nearly two years
harassed the freemen and destroyed
precious records. Their private reign
of terror came to close . :; the end
Of 1916, when the G. turned