Baltimore  Convention  (1860).  On  June  18
the  adjourned  convention  of  Democratic  dele-
gates who  had  assembled  in  the  Front  Street
Theatre  at  Charleston  met  at  Baltimore,  with
Mr.  Gushing  in  the  chair.  (See  CharlesUm  Con-
vention.) The  seceders  from  the  Charleston  Con-
vention, who  had  been  in  session  at  Richmond
(see  Seceders'  Convention  at  Richmond),  had  ad-
journed to  Baltimore,  and  claimed  the  right  to
sit  in  the  convention  from  which  they  had  with-
drawn. Mr.  Gushing  declined  to  decide  the  del-
icate question  which  arose,  and  referred  the


whole  matter  to  'the  convention.  It  was  de-
bated for  some  time,  when  it  was  proposed  that
no  delegate  should  be  admitted  unless  he  would
pledge  himself  to  abide  by  the  action  of  a  ma-
jority of  the  convention  and  support  its  nomi-
nees. The  debates  were  hot  and  acrimonious,
and  at  evening  there  were  two  mass-meetiiigs
of  the  Democracy  iu  Baltimore,  attended  by  tens
of  thousands  of  citizens  aud  strangers.  On  the
morning  of  June  19  the  subject  of  contesting
delegates  was  referred  to  the  committee  on  cre-
dentials, and  on  the  21st,  the  committee  not
agreeing,  two  reports  were  submitted.  Then  a
very  warm  debate  was -had,  in  which  free  rein
was  given  to  the  expression  of  opinion,  and  the
reopening  of  the  slave-trade  was  advocated.
