their services, their claims to adequate salary,
are not interior to those of your Governors, yet
the clamor of your self-sacrificing, patriotic
electioneering politicians, has been that the ex-
pense of your judiciary is inexordinately high
and ought to be reduced for the sake of the "dear
people."
The Legislature are the peculiar guardians of
the public purse. They come here biennially
from the people, and return to them again, for
the most part for re-election. They bring with
them the views and wishes of the people, and re-
turn to them responsible for their conduct. We,
on the other hand, never expect to come here to
another Convention; therefore we stand, in a
measure, independent of and not responsible to
the people. He would rather leave it to the
Legislature to fix the amount of salaries. The
salary of the Governor was raised by the
Legislature to $4200 But afterwards, when the
attention of the people was called to the subject,
it was reduced to the sum of $2000. For aught
that he knew, it might be the wish of the people
that it should so remain, and to them only be-
longs the right to change it. He was disposed,
therefore, to leave the salary to be fixed by the
Legislature, who were far more economical and
mindful of the wishes and interests of the people,
than this Convention, of which he had the honor
to be a member,
In reply to the disparaging remarks made of
the New England States Mr. D. spoke in terms
of the highest eulogy of the condition of the New
England States, and described the impressions
made upon him, by anobservance of their wealth,
their superior intellectual acquirements, their refinement
and habits mingled with a system of
economy, their morality, their commercial enterprize
their system of common schools and the
immense number of their churches, in 1807, when
he traveled through that country on horseback,
for the benefit of his health; and during his slow
and entire journey, from Marblehead to Balti-
more, he never saw a drunken man, and gave his
opinion that the people there were in advance of
us in intelligence, in morality, and in all the conveniences
and comforts of life at least—being a
century ahead of the people of the South, and
even of those of old Maryland.
Mr. SOLLERS asked if this happy condition of
New England, resulted from the abolition of sla-
very?
Mr. DORSEY said he believed not.
Mr. SOLLERS. The northern people say so.
Mr. DORSEY supposed that the gentleman from
Calvert, did not intend to endorse all northern
opinions. He then proceeded to remark on the
attacks which had been made on the judiciary,
on account of their extravagance. He had heard
that a distinguished politician on the Eastern
Shore, had declared that five hundred dollars
was salary enough for any man. He had heard
that a gentleman, a member of this body, not very
far from him, had asserted that the judges are
now paid too much. We shall make a bad be-
ginning of our reforms, if we raise the salary of
the Governor. It may be, however, that he is |
entitled to it, if it be true, as is said of him here,
that he represents the people of Maryland, more
fully than the General Assembly. He was
against trusting to much power in the hands of a
single individual, or idolatrously worshiping or
eulogising him because he was Governor, or for
the purpose of obtaining an office. He would
much rather trust to the General Assembly, the
fixing of the salaries of all public officers. He
thought that under his amendment, the Governor
may live more economically, and that we may
obtain better men, who will consent to take the
office when they are not bound to live during the
whole term in this city. As the sessions of the
Legislature are not to extend beyond sixty days,
the Governor will not be compelled to be in An-
napolis but a short time, and therefore his salary
may be reduced below what it is in the report,
without injury to him.
Mr. BROWN said, that he had never heard the
salaries of the judges complained of. He had
been attacked for voting to raise the salary of the
Governor, and a person had come to him, and
offered to do it for $1600 a year. The people of
his county did not wish to interfere with the
salaries of the judges. Their desires ran in an-
other direction. They only asked that the judges
may be elected by the people. 'They were op-
posed, as he was, to all life offices.
Mr. DORSEY said if the people of Carroll were
not sensitive, at the time the gentleman referred
to, on the subject of the salaries of the judges,
they have become so since, if the information he
had on the subject was correct.
Mr GRASON would state the reasons which in-
duced the committee to fix the salary of the Gov-
ernor at four thousand dollars He had yester-
day spoken of the necessity for the residence of
the Governor at Annapolis. The gentleman
from Anne Arundel has replied, and he, (Mr.
G.,) would say a few words in answer to what
had been said by that gentleman Formerly, in
consequence of the continued absence of the Gov-
ernor, a steward was employed, at a salary of two
hundred dollars, to take charge of the Governor's
house and furniture. But notwithstanding this,
it was found that many things were lost in con-
sequence of the negligence of the steward or the
depredations of other persons. On this account,
as much would be lost by the absence of the
Governor as would be saved by a reduction of
his salary. It was admitted by all, that the sala-
ry ought to be sufficient for the dignity of the
station. The committee wished to allow a liber-
al compensation, not for the purpose of encour-
aging extravagance, as many supposed, but to
enable the Governor to pass through his term of
office without impairing his private resources.
The salaries in Wisconsin and Indiana had been
referred to as the proper standard, but what
might be sufficient in those remote States, where
living was cheap, would be inadequate in Mary-
land, where it had always been the custom to ex-
tend the hospitality of the Government House to
visitors from every part of the State as well as
from foreign counties. This custom has existed
too long to be disregarded; and if the gentleman
from Washington, who wishes to reduce the |
