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 the bill in question, the canal was to terminate as at present, in Georgetown, and the privilege was virtually denied them of tapping it so as to connect it by a canal with Baltimore, if they so desired; besides, the State was asked to cede to the company all its rights to the waters of the river [Potomac], thus virtually preventing the future connection of the canal with the City of Baltimore. To produce concert of action in the next session of the Maryland and Virginia legislatures, the friends of the measure began to hold meetings in various parts of the country [These meetings] resulted in the assembling of a convention in the city of Washington, on Thursday, the 6th day of November, 1823, with delegates from Maryland, Virginia, Pennsylvania, and District of Columbia."

The business of the convention, of which Congressman Joseph Kent was chosen chairman, was to advocate the enlargement of the plan of the Potomac Canal Company so that it would include Baltimore as its eastern terminus, by means of a lateral canal or an extension of the main canal