Which was read the first time.
Mr. BROWN gave notice that he would submit
a minority report.
Mr, SANDS, I notified Mr, Marbury, one of
the committee, last Wednesday, of the pre-
sentation of this report, and he promised to
have the minority report ready in a day or
two. I waited until this morning.
Mr. BROWN. The minority report is all
ready. We are only waiting inconsequence
of the absence of one of the members from
sickness.
Mr. SCOTT. I was absent when this re-
port was drawn up, and I signed it on nay-
return, saying, at the same time, that I did
not concur in all its provisions, and would
offer an amendment when the report should
come before the consideration of the conven-
tion. The motion will be to strike out the
first part of the first section, and to insert in
its place the following :
"All elections shall be by ballot, and
every while male citizen of the United States
of the age of twenty-one years or upwards,
who shall have resided in the State one year
next preceding the election, and six months
in the city of Baltimore or in any county,
shall be entitled to be registered as a legal
voter; and such registration together with
the muster rolls of all such soldiers as may
be entitled to registration in the State, shall
be held and taken as the only evidence of
qualification to vote at any election hereafter,
and the general assembly shall by law pro-
vide for the registration of voters, and tor
holding elections for receiving the votes of
soldiers in the army of the United States;
provided, that no person who has been in
armed rebellion against the United States, or
who has given aid and comfort to those thus
in rebellion against the lawful authority
thereof by enlisting men for the rebel army,
or by sending arms, munitions of war,
money, vessels, clothing, provisions or goods
of any kind; or letters or papers, or any
written or printed matter, into the rebel lines
for the use or benefit of those thus in armed
rebellion against the United States, shall
ever be registered among the legal voters of
the State, but shall be forever disqualified
from voting and from holding any office of
honor, trust or profit in the State."
Mr, SANDS. The legislative report disposes
of that, and that is the reason I did not em-
body it in the report of the committee.
BILL OF RIGHTS.
Mr. EARLE, from the committee on engross-
ment and revision, submitted the following
report:
The committee on engrossment and revi-
sion report that they have examined the en-
grossed copy of the declaration of rights.
The word "at" should be inserted after
the word " and " in the first line of the 30th
article. |
And the word " persons " in the thirteenth
line of the 36th article should be " person."
The committee recommend that the 46th
article be united with the 40th article.
The 40th article would then read, " that
the liberty of the press ought to be inviola-
bly preserved, and every citizen ought to be
allowed to speak, write and publish his senti-
ments, being responsible for the abuse of that
liberty.
GEORGE EARLE, Chairman.
Mr. STIRLING. With the exception of the
last, these are merely verbal mistakes. I
will inquire of the chairman whether the
committee have placed these corrections in
the engrossed copy, or merely propose to
have it done?
Mr. EARLE. We did not put them in.
We did not feel at liberty to make any change
whatever—not even a verbal change—in the
bill submitted to us. We merely examined
the engrossed copy to ascertain whether it
was correctly or incorrectly engrossed, and
we found it correct.
Mr. MILLER. I move that we concur in the
report, and that the corrections be made,
and the bill of rights printed.
The PRESIDENT. The proper way would
be to let the report lie over and beprinted on
the journal; and it will be printed in bill
form after the report of the committee on re-
vision is acted upon, as amended, and so
printed it becomes a part of the constitution.
Mr. MILLER. Then I withdraw my mo-
tion.
Mr. STIRLING. Are these reports not to be
printed in bill form after their second read-
ing, until after the report of the committee
on revision is concurred in ?
The PRESIDENT. They will be printed
after their second reading.
Mr. EARLE. The declaration of rights
was not printed after the second reading,
The PRESIDENT. Because it was passed un-
der a suspension of the rules, and that ob-
viated the necessity of printing at that
stage.
ELECTION OF MEMBERS.
The convention proceeded to the consider-
ation of the report of the committee on
elections, which was read the second time, as
follows:
Resolved, That all of the members holding
seals in this convention were returned duly
elected, and having taken and subscribed the
oath or affirmation before the governor of
this State, as prescribed by the act to pro-
vide for the taking of the sense of the people
upon the call of a convention to frame a new
constitution and form of government for this
State, to provide for the election of delegates
to said convention, and the assembling
thereof, are deemed qualified and eligible to
seats in this convention. |
