Thursday, November 12.
Two other members, to wit: from Massachusetts, Jacob Crowninshield; and from Pennsylvania, Joseph Clay, appeared, produced their credentials, were qualified, and took their seats in the House.
The Speaker laid before the House sundry documents, transmitted to him by Duncan McFarland, of the State of North Carolina, relative to his claim to a seat in this House, as a Representative for said State, in the room of John Culpepper; which were referred to the Committee of Elections.
Maryland Contested Election.[55]
The House then resolved itself into a Committee of the Whole on the report of the Committee of Elections, to whom was referred the memorial of Joshua Barney, of the State of Maryland. The report of the Committee of Elections is as follows:
The Committee of Elections, to whom was committed the petition of Joshua Barney, of the city of Baltimore, praying to be admitted to a seat in the House, he having, in his opinion, the highest number of votes given to a candidate legally qualified to represent the city of Baltimore, having carefully examined the facts stated on both sides, and compared the laws of Maryland under which the said election was held, with the Constitution of the United States, report—
That, by an act of the Assembly of Maryland, passed in November, 1790, it is required that the member shall be an inhabitant of his district at the time of his election, and shall have resided therein twelve calendar months immediately before.
By another act of the Assembly of Maryland, passed in November, 1802, it is enacted that Baltimore town and county shall be the fifth district, which district shall be entitled to send two Representatives to Congress, one of which shall be a resident of Baltimore county, and the other a resident of Baltimore city.
That Joshua Barney is a citizen of Maryland, and has been a resident of Baltimore city for many years.