new. Had not the gentleman from Somerset,
[Mr. Crisfield,] proposed to restrain him from
receiving extra compensation, and to define his
duties? Had he not in his amendment made it
obligatory upon him, to attend to all cases in
which the State might be interested, and that he
should not receive one dollar of the public money
beyond that prescribed by law as his salary?—
How then can the argument of the gentleman
from Cecil avail him, that although they should
appoint an Attorney General, he would hereafter
receive extra compensation? This had been
done under past laws, and would continue to be
done under the system advocated by that gentle-
man. It was the very evil which he, (Mr. M.)
desired should be remedied in the Constitution
we were now framing, by fixing the salary and
cutting of all extras.
But, says the gentleman, lie does not contemplate
that the Legislature should pay these coun-
sel for their services, as they have heretofore
been paid. He says that the Legislature shall
prescribe some rule or schedule of allowances
by which these services shall beregulated. Now,
can the Legislature ever know what are the
services that are to be performed? Its members,
perhaps, throwing aside the humanity of which
they are common partakers, with their fellow-
men, and investing themselves with the presence
of Divine wisdom, or catching a ray of that fu-
ture knowledge of things denied by obdurate
man to an all knowing divinity, might have
knowledge and information sufficient to prescribe
a law to meet every case that might arise, but
until such celestial knowledge is vouchsafed unto
them, he looked upon all such expectations as
entirely out of the question. A case for instance
occurs in the State of New York, or any other
State: to fix a fee for attention to such a case the
Legislature should know before the case arises,
how many days or weeks it would take to try,
what trouble and investigation it would require
before trial, whether it would be disposed of
speedily upon the law, or whether by the evi-
dence its continuation would be long, and its ex-
pense and labor is proportion to its length This
knowledge would necessarily be required, if the
sum paid the attorney was in proportion to the
services rendered—and this was the only crite-
rion by which they could render any compensa-
tion at all. The Legislature, therefore, could
not in the nature of things, know what amount
to pay. In this point of view he looked upon
the proposition of the gentleman from Cecil, as
utterly out of the question.
Gentlemen had asked what were the duties of
this officer? Had they listened to the able ar-
gument of his friend from Prince George's, (Mr.
Bowie,) who had shown what were his duties
both under the statute and the common law ?
He would not again repeat that argument. Un-
der the statute law many and responsible duties
were thrown upon him in reference to the reve-
nue of the State, where, if competent and proper
attention was not given, the State might serious-
ly suffer. Charter privileges, corporations, your |
internal improvement companies and insurance
laws, more or less, throw additional duty and
responsibility upon him. He has also been a
common law officer in England from the days of
Charles down to the present time; has been re-
cognised as such, not only there, but in nearly
all the States of this Union, both in their old
and new Constitutions. In England he has ex-
hibited all informations and prosecutions for the
Crown in matters criminal, and in all cases
touching the King's inheritance or revenue, his
advice and professional aid is required. In this
country he is the great conservator of the public
peace, so that those who may outrage the laws
of the society under which they live, may be
brought to such punishment as the public morals
and the dignity of the State may demand. In
all questions affecting the property of the State,
under its laws it is his duty to watch and protect
her interest—to give his advice whenever requi-
red by the Executive of the State, at all times
and upon all laws. These were some of the du-
ties incident to the office of Attorney General,
and he should hesitate a long time before he
could be induced to part with an officer whose
services the experience of every enlightened go-
vernment had taught to be necessary.
He should vote against the amendment which
abolished this office. Because it left the employ-
ment and pay of numberless attorneys at the dis-
cretion of the Executive or Legislature, instead
of fixing it by law and giving the people some
idea of what the expenditures of the State are.
He looked upon it as sound public policy that
the expenses of government should be ascertain-
ed and limited as far as the same can be by law,
and not left to either the discretion or caprice of
any public officer or agent. He should vote to
retain the office because he believed the public
interest required it, not only on the score of
economy, but because the welfare and protection
of society would be guarantied to its members
by having an officer whose duty it was to main-
tain and vindicate the laws that sustain it.
Mr. HOWARD. The question now before the
Convention may be confined within a very nar-
row compass. It is on an amendment offered by
the gentleman from Cecil, (Mr McLane,) as to
certain powers to be granted to the Legislature
under the first section of this report. We have
heard gentlemen after gentlemen, this morning,
rising in rapid succession and presenting amendments
and substitutes which were all out of or-
der. And what is all this miscellaneous debate
to end in ? We can come to no conclusions as to
the disposition of the mutter before us. All this
debate, instead of bringing us nearer to the point,
only draws us away from the question. There
appears to be an antagonistical principle at work
which defeats all action on the part of this Con-
vention. Is there to be an Attorney General ?
Gentlemen differ on that question. What are
the duties of the office? Gentlemen differ as to
that. Those of us—I rank myself with those
who go fur the amendment of the gentleman from
Cecil—who are in favor of abolishing the office
of Attorney General, may yet be inclined to vote |
