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the door was left open to the accumulation of any amount
as there was never any difficulty in any denomination
getting the consent of the Legislature to receive any
amount of property. If the principle contained in the
article was a good one, it should be made absolute as a
part of the constitution, and beyond the control of the
Legislature. The exceptions in the article were broad
enough.
Mr. Carter hoped the amendment would not be adopted.
This reservation to the Legislature had been in the Dec-
laration of Rights from 1776 down to the present time,
and there certainly was no more danger now of an undue
accumulation of church property than at the time men-
tioned. Christianity was divided into too many sects for
such accumulation of property by any one charge to be
dangerous.
Mr. Kilbourn said the tendency of all denominations
was to accumulate property and they never relaxed their
grasp on anything they got hold of. He thought the
principle of the article contained sound and wholesome
doctrine, and if it was sound, it should not be emascu-
lated.
The amendment was rejected by a vote of 42 to 21.
Articles 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44 and 45 were read and
passed over without amendment.
Mr. Stoddert moved the following as an additional ar-
ticle, to be article 46: "That patronage and the expenses
of government have increased, are increasing, ought to be
diminished, and strict economy enforced in all branches
of the public service and departments of government. "
The motion to insert as the 46th article was rejected.
Mr. Stoddert submitted the following, to be inserted as
an additional section:
"Art. 47. That the manner of calling a convention and
electing the delegates thereto, to alter, change and abolish
the constitution, shall be by an act of the General Assem-
bly, appointing the day on which the question of 'Con-
vention or No Convention' may be submitted to the vote
of the people by ballot; and the election of delegates to
the Convention, to serve only in the event that a majority
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