and to fix their compensation, and the Treas-
urer of the State of Maryland shall, upon the
order of the President of said Convention,
pay to each member thereof their per diem
and mileage as hereinbefore provided, and
shall also paly to the officers of said Conven-
tion, upon the order of the President, such
compensation as the Convention shall allow ;
provided it shall be the duty of the Speaker
of the House of Delegates, and of the Presi-
dent of the Senate, to provide a reporter of
the Debates and Proceedings of said Conven-
tion, who shall act until the said Convention
shall provide its own officers,"
I think that under this law, the Comp-
troller of the Treasury and the Treasurer him-
self, are bound to pay and to pay only what
this law authorizes to bepaid. The last appro-
priation bill, passed in pursuance of the pro-
visions of this law, carrying out its purpose,
appropriated $150,000 for the expenses of this
Convention; and they are only such expenses
as the Convention bill itself provided for. I
do not think the Comptroller of the Treasury
nor the Treasurer himself would be author-
ized under the law to pay such expenses as
this order contemplates. I should like very
much to have the information these papers
would communicate to us; but I do not see
how we can get it.
Mr. HEBB. I am astonished to hear the
opposition to this order, inasmuch as it was
almost unanimously decided, myself in the
minority, to pass an order requiring the
Librarian to purchase a certain number of
copies of the "American Constitutions." I
cannot see the necessity of having a paper
from each county to pile in the Library. The
members of my county want information of
the wishes of the people there, and not the
information sought by members from other
counties. We should not read their papers,
neither would they read ours. We all wish
to obtain the information from our own people.
The PRESIDENT, The payment would come
out of the contingent fund specially appropri-
ated to the increase of the Library.
Mr. HEBB. That did not augment the
Library, inasmuch as the order was that we
were to take the books home.
The PRESIDENT, Only temporarily; but
certainly the books must go into the Library
before they can be taken out.
Mr. BELT. I would merely suggest that we
have no right to take legislative action for the
augmentation of the Library.
On motion of Mr. HEBB,
The order and amendment were laid on the
table.
MISCELLANEOUS.
On motion of Mr. DELLINGER,
Ordered, That the Committee on the Exec-
utive Department be instructed to inquire into
the expediency of creating the office of Lieu-
tenant-Governor, and to provide for his elec-
tion. |
On motion of Mr. GALLOWAY,
Ordered, That the Committee on the Judi-
ciary Department be requested to inquire
into the expediency of changing the Sixth
Judicial Circuit, composed of Baltimore
Harford and Cecil counties, into two separate
and distinct Circuits.
On motion of Mr. HEBB,
Ordered, That the Committee on Accounts
be requested to fix the per diem and mileage
of the officers of the Convention, and report
the same to the Convention for its action at
as early a day as possible.
Mr. CLARKE submilted the following order;
Ordered, That the Committee on the Ju-
diciary inquire how far this Convention is
limited in its powers by the existing Consti-
tution of the State, and the net of Assembly
providing for the cull of the Convention and
report to this Convention at as early a day as
practicable.
Mr. CLARKE. I offer this simply that the
question may be met at once, and that we may
deline our powers, and act intelligently when
questions for the appropriation of money or
similar questions arise. I perfectly agree
with the gentleman from Baltimore city
(Mr. Daniel) that so far as the action of the
Legislature calling this Convention into being
prescribes a limitation, that action having
been sanctioned by the people, the limitation
may control this power of the Convention.
Thus the oath prescribed, and the place of
the assemblage of the Convention and the
question of submitting the Constitution to
the people, may all be considered binding
limitations, because they are limitations im
posed by the sovereignty when they voted
under the act to call this Convention into
being. But even these propositions I submit
as queries. Beyond that, I regard this body-
in its action, as having full power to pass
upon all matters which may come before it
subject of course to the provisions of the Con-
stitution of the United States.
On motion of Mr. HEBB,
The Convention adjourned.
TENTH DAY.
WEDNESDAY, May 11th, 1864.
The Convention met.
Prayer by the Rev, Mr. Owen.
The proceedings of yesterday were read.
The PRESIDENT laid before the Convention
a communication from the Executive en-
closing the returns of a special election held
in Charles county, for a delegate to the Con-
vention ;
Which was read and referred to the Com-
mittee on Elections.
The qualification of E. P. Duvall, member
elect from Montgomery county, was pre-
sented, and the gentleman named appeared
and took his seat.
On motion of Mr. DANIEL |
