had been concluded. He desired to call the at-
tention of the Convention to one thing, if it was
in order. He heard the chairman make some
remarks about the oath of office, but he did not
know what they were.
The PRESIDENT stated that the chairman of
the committee who reported this bill had in-
formed the Chair that the section to which the
gentleman referred had been waived, because
there had been an oath of office adopted which
he supposed covered the case. The ninth section
had been passed over informally,
Mr. MCHENRY moved the following as an ad-
ditional section to the bill
Sec. Every bill, resolution or act, which
shall have passd the General Assembly, shall
before it becomes a law, be presented to the
Governor; if he approve he shall sign it, but if
not, he shall return it with his objections, to
that House in which it shall have originated,
who shall enter the objections at large on their
Journal and proceed to reconsider it. If, after
such reconsideration, two-thirds of each house
shall agree to pass such bill, resolution or act,
it shall become a law. But in all such cases
the votes of both houses shall be taken by yeas
and nays, which shall be entered on their respective
journals. If any bill, resolution or
act, shall not be returned by the Governor with-
in five days after it shall have been presented to
him, the same shall become a law in like manner
as if he had signed it, unless the General
Assembly by its adjournment, prevent its re-
turn, in which case it shall not be a law.
On motion of Mr. BOWIE, the further consid-
eration of the report was postponed unit to-
morrow.
REPORTING FOR THE CONVENTION.
Mr. Bowie, from the committee on Printing,
submitted the following report:
The committee on printing to whom was re-
ferred the letter of Henry G. Wheeler, the Re-
porter to the Convention, beg leave to report,
that the fund heretofore appropriated to meet
the expense incurred in the reports of the de-
bates of the Convention will soon be exhausted.
When the contract was made with the Reporter,
a majority, if not all of the committee, were of
the opinion that the labors of the Convention
would have terminated by the fifteenth day of
March last, and this opinion it is believed was
generally if not universally acquiesced in by the
Convention itself. The only departure which
is brought to the notice of the committee from
the terms of the original contract, has occurred
in some reports of speeches by the members
themselves, which extended beyond the "sketches
of debates," as expressed in the terms of the
contract, whereby the extent and expense of
laid debates have been greatly increased, but
this departure has been acquiesced in by the
Convention to which the said contract was re-
ported. The committee impressed with the im-
portance of continuing the debales after having
progressed so far, would recommend the adop-
tion by the Convention of a resolution making
a further appropriation of the sum of two thou- |
sand dollars, which it is believed will fully meet
this expense.
The committee in making this report must do
the justice to the Reporter to add, that in the
event of the refusal of the Convention to make
the appropriation necessary to meet the ex-
penses, he is willing to continue his individual
labor in the service of the Convention without
further compensation, but at the same time they
cannot believe that the Convention would ac-
cept the said services without making ample re-
muneration.
All of which is submitted.
THOMAS F. BOWIE,
J. B. RICAUD,
A. RANDALL.
Resolved, That the President of this Conven-
tion pay to the order of Henry G. Wheeler, the
Reporter of this Convention, such sums from
time to time, as he shall obtain certificates from
the committee on accounts, for reporting the
debates of the Convention, provided the gross
amount of said orders shall not exceed the sum.
of two thousand dollars.
Mr. BOWIE said that he would merely state to
the Convention, that if they should pass this re-
solution, it would not be an absolute appropria-
tion of the whole $2,000. It was merely to
continue the reporting of the debates, at the
rates which were mentioned in the original pro-
position. The whole of the fund being now
exhausted, or being about to become so, unleal
this resolution should be passed, the reports
must cease. There being no further funds with
which to pay the Reporter, he would be obliged
to sit there from day today, without assistance, to
get on as best he could under the original con-
tract, or they must make further appropriations
to enable him to obtain a sufficient number of
assistants to carry on the reporting. If this
proposition should be adopted, it would continue
the reporting of the debates to the 20th day of
May.
Mr. MAGRAW said that he was entirely igno-
rant of the terms of the contract, and if it could.
be had, he would like to hear it read.
Mr. STEWART, of Baltimore city, regretted
to differ with his associates on the committee in
regard to the subject-matter of the report just
submilted. At present he would do no more
than to have his dissent noted on the Journal.
He had prepared a contra report, but he would
not present it.
The contract was then read, (as requested by
Mr. Magraw.)
Mr. MAGRAW said that many of the reported
speeches published exceeded the limits that had.
been agreed upon by the Convention and He-
porter; and he wished to inquire of the committee
whether they had sanctioned the reporting of
speeches by members themselves to the extent
to which they had been reported? There Were
many speeches which occupied about fifteen
minutes in their delivery, which had been re-
ported in the debates, and it would take at least
one hour to read them. He wished to know |
