The question was then taken on the first branch
of the amendment, and resulted as follows:
Affirmative—Messrs. Weems, Bell, Lloyd,
Dickinson, Sherwood of Talbot, John Dennis,
Hicks, Hodson, Constable, Chambers of Cecil,
McCullough, Miller, Bowling, Dirickson, Shriver, Gaither,
Biser, Annan, Stephenson, Magraw,
Nelson, Carter, Thaw ley, Stewart of Caroline,
Schley, Fiery, Neill, Weber, Fitzpatrick, Smith,
Ege, Cockey and Shower—33.
Negative—Messrs. Chapman, President, Mor-
gan, Blakistone, Chambers, of Kent, Donaldson,
Dorsey, Wells, Merrick, Ridgely, Williams,
Phelps, Sprigg, Spencer, George, Wright,
Hearn, Gwinn, Stewart, of Baltimore City,
Presstman, Harbine, Davis, Brewer, Parke and
Brown—24.
So the first branch of the substitute was
agreed to.
Mr. CHAMBERS, of Kent, asked a further divi-
sion on the second branch of the amendment, as
follows:
"And every law enacted by the Legislature,
shall embrace but one subject, and that shall be
described in the title."
Mr. STEWART, of Caroline, said it was due to
the gentleman from Prince George, (Mr. Sprigg,)
to state that he, (Mr. Stewart,) had taken this
branch pretty much verbatim for his amendment.

Mr. MERRICK enquired whether it could be
possible that this grave body was going to re-
quire the Legislature, when it came to revise any
of the previous legislation of the State, to re-en-
act a whole statute.
Mr. THOMAS said he was in favor of the amend-
ment of the gentleman from Caroline, as it was
originally offered, if it was the same now. He
did not concur with the gentleman from Charles,
[Mr. Merrick.] that the whole of a system of
laws must be re-enacted if we touch any single
branch of it. The testamentary system was one
law, but it had many chapters. Should it be
thought necessary to amend the chapter which
relates to guardians, you do not re-enact the
whole system, but merely that law which relates
to guardians. You take a single part and not be
whole system. If the law concerning guardians
were re-enacted, the advantage to the practition-
er of law would, in his opinion, be great. He
had only practised law for five years, but his
short experience had satisfied him that no man,
unacquainted with the subject, could believe what
amount of labor it required to go through the
whole of the testamentary system, with its sup-
plements and additional supplements, when ad-
vice was required as to any particular part of it.
It would be a great advantage to have the whole
of the laws, or any one subject, thrown into one
statute. He thought the cost of printing, which
had at first struck him as a strong objection,
could be materially diminished by a judicious ar-
rangement of the bills, as they might require
amendment or not. He noticed the complaint
that members of the legislature, not lawyers,
sometimes drafted laws which were so loose as
to give rise to conflicting constructions by law-

yers and judges, in consequence of which they
had to be submitted for decision to the Court of
Appeals. He expressed his belief that lawyers
were quite as ready as other persons to reform
the laws, where it was necessary, and he asked
if any one supposed that there could not be found
lawyers to undertake the codification. He had
found some difficulty in deciding on his course,
but when he looked at the evils which had result-
ed from the present practice of legislation, he
could no longer hesitate. In illustrating the evils
that might grow out of the practice of revising
statutes by reference to their titles only, He re-
ferred to the fact, that before the year 1798, the
salary of the Chancellor was $2200. In 1798,
in consequence of the great expense of living
here, it was raised to $3400, by an act that was
to expire in one year from its enactment. That
salary continued to be appropriated year after
year, by reviving, by reference to its title only,
this Act of Assembly. Members who voted to
revive had never read the law. This continued
for several years, when this act, increasing the
Chancellor's salary, was continued from year to
year by an act passed at the close of each session,
declaring that all laws that were to expire at the
end of the session, should be continued to the
end of the next session of the General Assembly.
Mr. MERRICK admitted that there was great
truth in much of what had fallen from the gen-
tleman from Frederick, (Mr. Thomas.) There
was much confusion in the laws, and it certainly
would require great care on the part even of the
most skilful lawyer, to say what is precisely the
law of the State on many subjects. He did not
differ, therefore, with that honorable gentleman
as to the existence of the evil of which he had
spoken, but he did differ from him as to the pro-
per mode of remedying that evil. The honorable
gentleman thinks the laws should be codified, and
to effect that object he advocates the pending
amendment which contemplates requiring the
Legislature whenever they shall amend, alter, or
repeal any of the existing laws, they shall re-
enact and publish at length all the existing laws
on that subject—in short codify to that extent.
And it is argued this will require greater care in
preparing bills and prevent incompetent persons
from attempting to prepare and present them.
Now I have two objections to this—the one is that
the Legislature are not—no large body can be—
competent to the codification of the laws. This
Convention has been in session very nearly four
months, endeavoring to make a Constitution. We
have yet traveled over only a few and a very
few pages. How long at the rate we have pro-
gressed would it take us to codify the laws of the
State ? Sir, we could never accomplish it. What
is true of us, will be found to be equally true of the
Legislature—we cannot, they cannot—from their
very nature; both bodies are utterly incompetent
to any such task. If left to the Legislature then,
there will never be a codification of the laws, and
the evils of which the gentleman has complained
will, by the mode proposed, be increased rather
than diminished, and the necessity the Legisla-
ture will be under, if the amendment prevails, of
attempting that for which their nature as a body