amount of labor to be performed by counsel.—
Such a course would be unjust, both to the State
and the individual who rendered the service. He
desired the responsibility to rest upon the head
of one individual; he did not wish it to rest upon
the entire body composing the Legislature of
Maryland, Look at the past history of the leg-
islation of the State, and it would be found that
it never had fixed the compensation of attorneys.
That responsibility had always been thrown
upon the Governor. The Legislature when re-
cognising the existence of something being due,
left it to the judgment of the Governor to make
such compensation as he thought proper, The
treasury was safer in the hands of the Governor
than in the bands of the Legislature. If there
was a necessity for the Legislature to reduce the
contingent fund. let them do it, and then the
Governor would be compelled to pay less com-
pensation for the services of competent persons.
By the vote just taken, refusing informally to
pass over the first section, the Convention bad
determined that they would not have an Attor-
ney General.
Mr. JENIFER, Mr. McMASTER and Mr. DON-
ALDSON, severally disclaimed that in voting
against the motion to pass over informally the
first section, they voted against the creation of
the office of Attorney General. They did not
consider it a test question.
Mr. DORSEY said, he was in favor of the pro-
position of the gentleman from Worcester, (Mr.
Dirickson.) He could not suppose that there
would be any difficulty in getting counsel.
As to the objection that some time would elapse
before they could get paid, he did not suppose
that would make much difference. There would
be no kind of difficulty in getting the best coun-
sel in the State. He disagreed, with the gentleman
from Frederick, (Mr. Shriver.) The Le-
gislature had heretofore fixed the value for pro-
fessional services of their counsel, and they are
perfectly competent to do so again. It is pecu-
liarly proper that they should perform this duty.
They hold the purse strings of the State; and
avoiding extravagance, they will appropriate for
this purpose what liberality and justice demand.
Mr. D. in reply to the gentleman from Baltimore,
(Mr. Gwinn,) then slated some facts in relation
to the contract for the construction of the An-
napolis and Elkrige railroad, and the difficulties
to which it gave rise, which resulted in a refer-
ence of the case to Judge Legrand, by whose
award it was decided, it being stated that the
power of compensating for legal services ought
not to be confided to the Legislature in conse-
quence of its conduct in that case.
Mr. MAGRAW rose to a question of order, on
the ground that this matter of Mr. McCullough was
not relevant, and that as Mr. McCullough has a
brother in the Convention, it was not proper to be
commenting on the case here.
Mr. GWINN said, that he had first referred to
this case. He regretted that it had been brought
here again.
Mr. DORSEY was proceeding to reply, when |
Mr. MAGRAW again raised the point of order.
Mr. DORSEY resumed. The Legislature would
have been recreant to their duty, if they had allowed
one dollar of this claim which amounted to
about forty-eight thousand dollars. At their last
session the Legislature voted down the claim by a
vote of almost two to one. The Convention ought
to suffer this matter to rest with the Legislature.
He should think the Governor would be well
satisfied that the control of this subject should be
out of his hands. The Legislature is the appro-
priate tribunal to fix the amount of compensa-
tion to be paid to the legal officers. There was
no ground for the apprehension expressed that
under such circumstances, no distinguished law-
yer would consent to be employed in the service
of the State. It was an unmerited reproach to
the profession to say so. He believed no lawyer
would refuse to act in any case for the State, be-
cause he might not be paid until his services were
rendered and could thus be estimated.
He would be willing to trust to the liberality of
his client, as is ordinarily done, unless their pe-
nuriousness be such that a previous contract as
to compensation be deemed a necessary precau-
tion. Such conduct in the State is not to be predi-
cated. He was very sure no lawyer would have
any hesitation in trusting such a client as the
State of Maryland. If the power be left in the
hands if the Governor it may be abused; extrav-
agant fees may be given to incompetent favor-
ites. [charges of such partiality the Governor
should seek to avoid.
The appointing power as to counsel should gen-
erally rest, with the Governor when the necessi-
ty fur its exercise arises, the Legislature being
rarely in session. But as a general rule; as the
payment of counsel must come from the pockets
of the people, it is but reasonable that they should,
through the Legislature, fix the amount of com-
pensation, and if they deem it expedient, select the
persons to be retained as counsel.
Mr. CHAMBERS did not mean to discuss the
subject properly before the House, nor did he
mean to say one word in defence of, or in oppo-
sition to, the claim of Mr. MCCULLOUGH, He
did not perceive how the justice or injustice of
that claim could influence the proposition for the
action of the Convention. He rose to say a word
in vindication of those gentlemen who acted as
arbitrators by the authority of the State. They
were all his friends, and with one of them, par-
ticularly, he claimed relations of kind, social in-
tercourse, which, in the absence of the two gen-
tlemen from Queen Anne's, who were more inti-
mately connected with him, made it proper to
say a word in reply to what had fallen from his
friend from Anne Arundel.
He was utterly at a loss to conceive, on what
just grounds the claim of those arbitrators to re-
muneration could be resisted. The Legislature,
by a deliberate resolution, without a word of
previous consultation or arrangement with them,
had appointed those gentlemen to act as referees
upon a claim then pending before that body. In
pursuance to this appointment, amounting to a
request, these gentlemen had been occupied for
many weeks in taking testimony and hearing ar- |
