Saint Mary's Beacon

LOCAL JOTTINGS.

The Two Conventions,

We give in another place of to-day's paper the proceedings of the two Conventions both of which met on the 4th instant, the one at Raine's Hall, Baltimore city, the other at Annapolis Junction, the first to nominate a candidate for Congress for the Democrats, the other for the Republicans. Our chief concern, of course, was for the Democratic nominee, and we are free to say, that the choice of the Convention was not our choice. We had hoped that the claims of our fellow-citizen, Mr. Harris, would have received recognition, or that failing, that the rotation rule in regard to consecutive service in Congress beyond a second term, which had obtained in the district from time immemorial, would have been observed. Beyond, however, the three votes which St. Mary's supplied, Mr. Harris received no other support, and Dr. Henkle has been nominated for a third term. Well, what are we going to do about it?

We are going to do our duty. The political life record of Dr. Henkle is that of a consistent Democrat and there is no question that he was the choice of the majority vote in the late Convention. Besides, the issue is not now between Henkle and Harris but between Henkle and Crane, not between Democrats contesting for the honors of a party nomination, but between a nominated Democrat and a nominated Republican contesting as to which shall represent the Fifth District in Congress. It is a straight-out party fight and the issue is, whether Democrats or Republicans shall control and shape legislation in the next Congress. After the 4th of March next, the Senate is assured to the Democrats. It is for the continued control of the Lower House that the Democratic party is now battling, and as it is known that our majority in the latter body is uncomfortably small, it is of national concern that this should not be diminished at the coming election. We have no apprehensions, of course, that the Fifth district will be found in default. We have a clear majority of 2,500 and for standard-bearer a man who never tires in a campaign. And, albeit that St. Mary's has been disappointed and though the Republican nominee be one of her own citizens, we have no fears about her response in November. These two circumstances will make it a point of honor with us, as they ought to, to show by our exertions before and our votes on election day that we do not allow county feeling to sway us where principle is concerned. We are, in fact, beginning to recognize already that Convention by-gones are by-gones and that the only thing left for us to do is to bring out and put up the full Democratic vote on Henkle.