man, Weems, Bond, Jenifer, Buchanan, Welch,
Chandler, Ridgely, Lloyd, Colston, James U.
Dennis, Crisfield, Phelps, Chambers of Cecil,
Miller, McLane, Grason, Wright, McMaster,
Hearn, Fooks, Jacobs, Thomas, Shriver, Gaith-
er, Biser, McHenry, Gwinn, Brent of Baltimore
city, Sherwood of Baltimore city, Presstman,
Ware, Kilgour, Brewer, Waters, Weber, Holly-
day, Fitzpatrick, Shower, and Brown—51.
So the Convention refused to strike out the sec-
tion.
Mr. STEPHENSON moved to amend the said sec-
tion by adding, at the end thereof, the words "at
the expense of the State."
Mr. CHAMBERS, of Kent, had no objection to
the amendment, he said, but suggested that the
object proposed to be effected, and which he
desired to see effected, would be accomplished by
the language as it now stood in the section.
Mr. STEPHENSON submitting, he said, to the
better judgment of the gentleman from Kent,
(Mr. Chambers,) withdrew his amendment.
Mr. PRESSTMAN moved to amend the said sec-
tion by inserting after the word "law," where
it occurs in the; second line, the following :
"And that each county of the State and the
city of Baltimore, shall defray the per diem and
mileage of the members of the General Assembly
elected, by said county or city, in a manner to
be provided by law.
The amendment was rejected.
Some conversation followed, on a suggestion
made by Mr. CHAMBERS, of Kent, as to the con-
struction of the section as it read with the words
"the general," stricken out under the motion of
Mr. DORSEY.
Mr, PHELPS moved a re-consideration of the
vote adopting the amendment, and
The question being on agreeing thereto;
Mr. THOMAS suggested to the gentleman from
Anne Arundel, [Mr. Dorsey,] to insert, in lieu of
the word "general," in the fourth line, the words
"for Senators and Delegates."
Mr. DORSEY accepted the suggestion.
No question had been taken on the amendment,
when
Mr. GRASON moved to amend the said 31st sec-
tion by striking out the first four lines in said sec-
tion to the word "thereof" inclusive, and insert-
ing in lieu thereof the following:
"The Senators and Delegates shall receive a
per diem of four dollars, and such mileage as
may be allowed by law."
Mr. GRASON expressed his conviction that
great advantage would result, it the per diem of
the members of the Legislature should be fixed
by constitutional provision. It was a perpetual
theme of debate in the Legislature, and much
valuable time was consumed by it. For his own
part, he had always found that those gentlemen
who were the most loud and earnest in favor of
' the reduction of the pay, were as glad to receive
it as any others. [Laughter.] Four dollars a
day was but a small compensation; and if it was
reduced to three, members would either have to
leave Annapolis without paying their bills, or
draw on their private resources. |
The PRESIDENT stated that the amendment of
the gentleman from Queen Anne's (Mr. Grason,)
was not now in order, the amendment of the gen-
tleman from Anne Arundel, (Mr. Dorsey,) being
before the Convention.
Mr. DORSEY waived his amendment for the
present, to allow the gentleman from Queen
Anne's to offer his.
So the question was on the amendment of Mr.
GRASON.
On a suggestion made by Mr. JOHN NEWCOMER,
in relation to mileage,
Mr. GRASON modified his amendment so as to
make it read " and the mileage now allowed by
law."
Mr. BROWN suggested that it would be better
to leave the subject to the discretion of the Legislature,
to act as the facilities and changes in
the mode of travel might render proper.
Mr. GRASON again modified his amendment
in accordance with this suggestion.
The question was then taken,
And the amendment was agreed to.
Mr. GRASON moved further to amend the said
31st section, by inserting in the fifth line, after
the words " shall be," the words " purchased
or.''
The amendment was agreed to.
The question then recurred on the adoption of
the section as amended.
Mr. HARBINE moved to reconsider the vote of
the Convention on the amendment offered by Mr.
GRASON, and just adopted, for the purpose of of-
fering the following amendment:
Strike out the words " such mileage as may
be allowed by law," and insert in lieu thereof
" the sum of one dollar for every ten miles they
shall travel in going to, and once returning
from, their place of meeting, on the most usual
route."
Mr. Hi in explanation, said, that this was the
language adopted in the Constitution of the State
of New York, and of a number of the Western
States, that had recently formed new Constitu-
tions. The same reason which applied to fixing
the per diem, applied also to the mileage.
Mr. BLAKISTONE said he should vote against
the proposition. The gentleman from Washing-
ton, (Mr. Harbine,) who hid introduced it, was
one of the favored few. That gentleman had a
rail road to travel on. Other gentlemen had
steamboat communication. But in his, (Mr.
B.'s,) section there was neither rail road nor
steamboat, and they had to avail themselves of
any means they could, to get here—omnibusses
—wagons—go-carts, or any thing else. And the
amendment would operate very unjustly upon
them.
Mr. JOHN DENNIS had voted, he said, against
this, because he thought that the language of the
section, as it stood, was most appropriate. He
alluded to the fluctuations which might take
place in the value of money, so that the sum of
four dollars a day, which might be enough at one
time, might not be so at another; and he thought
that the whole subject ought to be left to the
representatives of the people. As to the suffic- |
