crowned with the most gratifying success. No
one desired more than he, to see it enjoying that
standard of eminence to which its usefulness en-
titled it, and would ultimately place it, if impro-
vident or partial legislation did not interpose its
sectional feeling, to disturb the harmony that
should characterize the entire system. The pro-
posed amendment, he thought, would not meet
the objects claimed for it by its immediate friends;
it was of very questionable utility; and he, there-
fore. preferred to have the merits of the whole
subject discussed and disposed of, when the re-
port of the committee on education, (now on the
desks,) should come up for consideration. That,
he conceived, with great deference to the opinions
of others, to be the appropriate time to secure to
educational purposes, the necessary constitu-
tional safeguards, as well as to obtain a more
equitable distribution of the present and prospec-
tive munificence of the State. He would ob-
serve, that under existing laws, Baltimore city
did not enjoy her fair proportion of the school
fund, and it was to protect her in the future, that
he objected to the amendment of the gentleman
from Montgomery, which, to his mind, looked
rather to a perpetuation, than to a reform of ex-
isting abuses,
Mr, 8. referred to the progress of public schools
in Baltimore city, from their origin to the pre-
sent period, compared the annual expenditures
incurred for tuition in the several cities. and al-
luded, in terms of commendation, to the last an-
nual report of the school commissioners of Bal-
timore, in which he found interesting data to en-
courage the friends of popular education here and
elsewhere. He earnestly declared that he never
could be found refusing his aid, whenever legiti-
mately demanded, to a system that had proved
itself, under all disadvantages, so admirably adap-
ted to the cultivation of the mind, and so essential
to the preservation of the moral, social and
political happiness of the whole State. He would
add, for himself, and in behalf of his colleagues,
that if gentlemen inferred from the vote they
should give on this proposition, that they were
opposed to general education, they will have
drawn an erroneous conclusion. So far from
opposing, their opinions ran in a contrary direc-
tion. They were firm as any could be in their
determination to extend the benefits of educa-
tion, and to secure an equality of rights to all.
The question was then stated to be on the
adoption of the amendment of Mr. DAVIS.
Mr. DAVIS asked the yeas and nay, which were
ordered.
The roll was called.
Before the decision wag announced,
Mr. SOLLERS rose and asked if it was in order
for him now to assign his reasons for the vote he
had given?
The PRESIDENT said it was not in order.
Mr. SOLLERS then said, 'he must ask the unanimous
consent of the Convention to say a few
words.
The PRESIDENT put the question, and the Con-
vention gave its unanimous consent, that Mr.
SOLLERS should assign his reasons for his vote. |
Mr. SOLLERS desired permission to explain the
vote he was about to give, for without such ex-
planation it might possibly be misconstrued. No
man desired more sincerely than he did, to see
every child in the State educated, for it never
could be too often repeated, that upon the virtue
and intelligence of the people depends the per-
petuity of our institutions. But at the very mo-
ment when we are restricting the Legislature in
every possible way to prevent the contracting of
debt for works of' internal improvements, at the
very moment when we are interposing constitu-
tional barriers to protect the people from mad
and ruinous schemes, a proposition is intro-
duced which grants to the Legislature the unre-
strained, unlimited, indefinite right to contract
any amount of debt for purposes of education,
and to establish any system no matter how gigan-
tic, embracing the establishing and endowing of
colleges and academies in every county in the
State. Said Mr. S. I am opposed to all this, he
wanted something tangible to act on; he did not
want to act in the dark. Whenever the revenues
delived from the works of internal improvement,
about which we hear so much shall be sufficient
to the establishment of public schools, he desired
their application to that purpose; but until the
public debt was entirely discharged and until
we had a fixed and certain revenue, he was oppo-
sed to all schemes, which might in any possible
way again involve the State in debt.
The result of the vote was then announced as
follows:
Affirmative.—Messrs. Chapman, Pres't., Bla-
kistone, Dent, Hopewell, Ricaud, Lee, Chambers
of Kent, Mitchell, Donaldson, Dorsey, Wells,
Randall, Kent, Weems, Merrick, James U. Den-
nis, Crisfield, Dashiell, Hicks, Hodson, Golds-
borough, Eccleston, Bowie, Sprigg, McCubbin.
Bowling, McMaster, Fooks, Biser, Davis, and
Kilgour—31.
Negative.—Messrs. Sellman, Sollers, Bell,
Welch, Chandler. Ridgely, Lloyd. Colston,
Chambers, of Cecil, McCullough, Miller, Spen-
cer, Grason, George, Thomas, Shriver, Gaither,
Annan, Sappington, Stephenson, McHenry, Ma-
graw, Thawley, Stewart of Caroline, Hardcas-
tle. Gwinn, Stewart of Baltimore city, Brent of
Baltimore city, Sherwood of Baltimore city,
Presstman, Ware, Schley, Fiery, Neill, John
Newcomer, Michael Newcomer, Weber, Holly-
day, Slicer, Parke, Ege, Cockey, and Brown—
43.
So the amendment was rejected,
Mr. SPENCER moved to amend said amendment
by striking out all from the word "dollars,"
in the ninth line to the word ''but," in the thir-
teenth line, and inserting in lieu thereof the fol-
lowing :
"But the Legislature shall not contract any
debt for the use of individuals, associations, or
corporations, except for public schools, and then
only to the extent and in the manner that may
be provided for in this Constitution."
Some explanations as to the construction of
the amendment passed on the part of Messrs.
SPENCER and SOLLERS. |
