and which would exclude all useless offices.
The question now arose, is the office of Attorney
General a useless one ? And this was the point
with which he took issue with the gentleman
who had preceded him, (Mr. McLane.) That
gentleman's whole argument showed, the history
of the State showed, that the State of Maryland
required the assistance of legal advice. The
whole history of the State showed that there
had not been a period when she had not required
it. The only difference between the gentleman
and himself was this : How is the State to have
this assistance ?
Should the Governor have the privilege to select
special counsel in all times and all cases, or
should the State have a responsible law adviser
upon whom it could rely? This was the ques-
tion. The reason why his learned friend was
opposed to this, was not because the State did
not require counsel, but his argument was that
the office had been abused. If the office had
been abused, why did not his learned friend sug-
gest a mode by which the abuses could be corrected,
rather than the abolition of the office it-
self? Any other office in the State might be
abused, and did it follow that because the office
was abused, therefore it should beabolished? No;
wisdom would seem to suggest that to avoid
abuse, they should provide acheck to prevent it.
What had been the abuse complained of in
reference to the office of Attorney General? It
was not that that officer had not performed his
duty, nor that the State had not derived essen-
tial service from his learning and ability. The
fault complained of was that the Legislature had
not defined the mode of paying him for services
rendered; that in leaving the rate of payment
open and uncertain, abuses had crept in, and
large sums bad been appropriated for the pay-
ment of services which were unreasonable and
uncalled for. Now he would go with his friend
for the correction of these abuses, and how could
they be corrected?
All admitted that the State might require le-
gal services and law advice. Let them have a
responsible officer to take care of the interests of
the Slate, and give him a fixed salary, beyond
which they could not go. By this means they
would prevent abuses, and secure to the State
the services which it had at all times required. At
this very moment, many cases arise in prospective,
and there was now a great and important
case pending in the State of Maryland, by and
through one of her citizens, and the State of New
York, growing out of the case of Mr. Lee, of
Frederick. He had arrested one of his slaves.
This slave, under a process, had been taken out
of Mr. Lee's hands by Judge Edwards, of New
York, as he was in the act of bringing him home
and under a decision of the Judge, delivered out
of custody.
The Attorney General or some other lawyer,
would have to go to New York and take the case
to the highest court of that State, even to the Su-
preme court of the United States, if necessary.
The case was now actually pending, and was to
have been argued at the last February term of |
the Supreme court of New York. The Attorney
General had now been notified to attend that
court in May next for the purpose of arguing the
case. So it would be at all times, and such
cases would always arise, more especially since
the passage by the Congress of the United States
of the act protecting the right of the master to
slave property. It should be made the duty of
the law officer of the State to try all cases in
which the State has an interest, and, in such
cases, as might be necessary, to employ assistant
counsel. In this way they could correct abuses.
His friend had said that there would be no ne-
cessity for an Attorney General, because the de-
puty attorneys throughout the counties, no doubt,
would be selected for their learning, wisdom and
position. The gentleman should recollect that
the emoluments of these offices in the counties,
are very small, and the question was yet to be de-
termined whether they will command the con-
sideration of men of the character of which lie
has spoken, particularly when, in addition to the
limited pay, the offices are to be of short tenure.
The gentleman had also said, in reference to
the Attorney General of the State of Maryland,
that when that officer resided on the Eastern
Shore, he took no part in the office of Attorney
General. The gentleman would allow him to
say that he was mistaken. The Attorney Gene-
ral did not prosecute in any county regularly, but
whenever the public interest was at stake, and
whenever the Governor had occasion to require
a legal opinion or his counsel, he was always at
hand. It was true that when he appeared in the
court of appeals, and tried any peculiar case,
as shown by the record, extra compensation was
allowed him. But this resulted from defect in the
mode of payment, not from the system ilself.
The gentleman from Cecil had said, that about
$1700 per year, had been paid by the State for
some years past to counsel, in addition to what
had been paid to the Attorney General by regu-
lar fees. He had no doubt that this estimate was
correct. He, (Mr. S.,) believed that if the peo-
ple of the Slate were allowed to have an Attor-
ney General, with a salary of $2000 per annum,
and each county and the city of Baltimore, to
elect their local attorneys, it would be much
more economical than the system now pursued,
or the one recommended by the amendment to
the bill. He did not believe that there would be
any difficulty in obtaining able men for $2000
per year. He thought that distinguished men
could be obtained for $1500 per annum.
He was of the opinion that the Attorney Gen-
eral should have nothing to do with the prose-
cution of ordinary cases in the courts, but should
merely give advice to the Governor, and try
cases brought up to the court of appeals, by the
deputies of the counties.
Fifteen hundred dollars per annum, he repeated,
would secure the most distinguished men.
They had the most eminent men as judges at
$2500 a year, whose duty it was to try all cases,
and who were obliged to be from home at least
six months in the course of a year.
Mr. CHAMBERS, of Kent. Nine months. |
