gallon to the State for the confidence which had
placed him in the various high and important
trusts to which be had been called. No one
knew so well as himself, how far it exceeded his
claims, and none knew better that it was the re-
sult of kind and generous feelings by many per-
sonal friends whose partiality concealed his in-
firmities. For these repeated instances of con-
fidence and respect, he could never cease to
cherish the warmest return of gratitude and
thankfulness.
But there is nothing in the value of a judge-
ship to make an intelligent man a fool, or an hon-
est man a knave. This was no place for party.
What is party—political party ? The creature of
a day. One man uppermost to-day, at the bot-
tom to-morrow. Who could tell how long par-
ties, as now arranged, were to continue? They
were now in a crysalis state, and as the gentle-
man from Cecil said the other day, promising an
early re-organization. He thought there could
be no greater misconception of duty than to sup-
pose we are here to promote any political party.
As to the influence of office, he was not quite
sure, whether after a full and fair estimate, it
would be found to operate more strongly on some
half dozen who held the offices, and wished to
retain them, or on five times that number who
desired to put out the incumbents to put them-
selves in.
Mr. BRENT, of Baltimore city, stated that he
was surprised at the gentleman from Kent (Mr.
Chambers) speaking of some cause outside of this
House if not in it, for his (Mr. B's.) course.
Here Mr. CHAMBERS interposed, and disclaimed
any such meaning, as his relations with Mr.
BRENT had always been friendly—to which he
(Mr. B.) assented.
Mr. B, said, he admited that the gentleman
from Kent had fully and honestly earned his
salary since he had been upon the bench, but
could this be said of all judges? He did not ques-
tion their honesty, but had all judges in this
State, been able to earn their salaries? He
should think not. But the gentleman from Kent
says he has neglected no duty by coming here,
and the Courts were in progress now, the same
as if this Convention were not sitting. Now, I
have it on respectable authority, that the Court
of Appeals sitting over our heads, has been
sometimes compelled to adjourn for want of a
quorum, while we have been sitting here.
When he spoke of caucus, he had referred to
one for party organization of the House. But
the gentleman from Kent had come here on a
party organization, and had voted in this Con-
vention, side by side, with the party column to
which he was attached. He might not suppose
he was as much touched with parly here as other
men, but he was never found voting with the
political party to which he (Mr. B.) belonged.
What right has a judge, to know party in any
shape, while he holds his commission? And
what has a judge to do with party operations ?
If the gentleman from Kent went into a party
caucus, he knows something of party, and is ex-
posed party taint. That gentleman had spoken
of party tendencies here, and had lectured us for

those tendencies, and yet his course showed that
he was not perhaps more free from those party
influences than others. Mr. B. concurred, that
party lines were out of place here, and he deplo-
red this unhappy condition of affairs. When he
spoke of judges being influenced by sordid mo-
tives, he meant no personal application to any
gentleman, but he spoke rather of human nature
as found in the aggregate, and which according
to all experience is generally prone to selfish and
personal considerations, and against which tend-
encies it should be the policy of the laws to
guard,
Mr. B, admitted, that invited by the honest
Democrats of Kent, he had gone over last sum-
mer and addressed the people of one election dis-
trict near Cook's Old Fields, where Sir Peter
Parker was killed. He (Mr. B.) had there ha-
rangued against the election of the gentle-
man from Kent, (Mr. Chambers,) who now
says, that the people of Kent county had turned
a deaf ear to my appeals. But I will ask that
gentleman if he was not greatly disappointed
when the returns from that election district came
in, showing the loss of some fifty or sixty votes
which the gentleman calculated on—a result
which he (Mr. B.) did not claim as caused by
his appeal or that of another gentleman who
apoke, but rather by the good sense of the people.
It did not, however, look much like turning a
deaf ear, when the gentleman (Mr. Chambers)
with his commanding talents and high personal
character, was only elected by some seven votes
in a county which generally gives from one hun-
dred and fifty to two hundred Whig majority.
The gentleman from Kent has said that he is
here and holds his seat by authority of the people
and the Legislature. [Mr. Chambers explained
and said "by authority of the Legislature if it
had any authority."] And yet, said Mr. B., the
gentleman early in the session emphatically de-
nied that the Legislature had any authority to
call a Convention, or that the people could ever
give any validity to the new Constitution by
adopting it at the ballot box in June next. Ac-
cording to the gentleman's notions the new Con-
stitution would be a nullity until the existing
State authorities should choose to acquiesce in
the new Constitution.
If the new Constitution should disqualify judges
sitting in future Conventions, it would certain-
ly bind the Legislature not to pass any act to
qualify them.
In pursuing the course he had done he was
not actuated by hostility towards the judges,
and he claimed no other judgment for his acts
but that he had acted from a conscientious sense
of duty—even against all the motives of human
interest which would have restrained him in his
course.
Mr. SPENCER here made a suggestion as to the
propriety of passing this article by informally. It
would more properly come up, when the judicial
report was under consideration; and he had been
given to understand that that report was ready.
Mr. BRENT thought the subject was in its pro-
per place.