THURSDAY, March 20, 1851.
The Convention met at ten o'clock.
Prayer was made by the Rev. Mr. Griffith.
The roll of members was called, and a
quorum being present, the journal of yesterday
was read and approved.
Mr. BISER enquired of the chair, whether it
was in order to present a petition.
The President, pro tem., answered in the affir-
mative.
A NEW COUNTY.
Mr. BISER presented a petition of thirty-six
citizens of Frederick county, praying for the
creation of a new county, to be composed of the
whole of Middletown Valley, from the Pennsyl-
vania line to the Potomac, including such por-
tions of Washington county as are contiguous to
the districts named.
Which was read, and
Referred to the committee on new counties.
Reports of committees, resolutions and no-
tices, were respectively called for.
THE PREVIOUS QUESTION.
Mr. DORSEY moved that the Convention take
up the motioni of which he had heretofore give
notice to amend the 17th rule. There was now,
he said, a full attendance, and probably it was
important that the rule should be settled before
the Convention proceeded further with its bu-
siness.
The President, pro tem. Does the gentleman
make the motion?
Mr. DORSEY. I do.
The motion was then read as follows:
Amend the 17th rule, by adding at the end
thereof the following:
"But no member who has discussed any sub-
ject before the Convention, shall be permitted
to move the previous question thereon, until at
least two or more members have had an oppor-
tunity of replying to the mover of the previous
question."
Mr. DORSEY said, he thought a good deal of |
time would be saved by the adoption of this
amendment. If he recollected right, it was no
unusual thing for gentlemen to rise and discuss
a proposition, and then immediately demand the
previous question, before any body had had an
opportunity to reply either to his statements or
facts, or to his arguments. And then appeals
were made to the Convention, to permit replies
to be made, and in this way more time was spent
than would, or ought to be consumed under the
amendment he had offered. Thus not only time
would be saved, but manifest injustice would be
prevented. It had been a matter of remark not
only in the Convention, but among the commu-
nity, that the previous question was sometimes
moved under circumstances when such a mo-
tion ought not to be made. To make an argu-
ment, to state facts, and then to refuse to any
other member anopportunity to deny or disprove
those facts, or to controvert that argument, was
not, in his judgment, fair or right.
He thought that the adoption of the amend-
ment would be found expedient, and would tend
to facilitate the transaction of the public business.
Mr. BOWIE said, he hoped that the amendment
would not be adopted, it amounted, in fact, to
a total abrogation of the previous question. If
he understood the language of the amendment, it
was that any two or more members, might go on
and discuss a question, and answer a gentleman
who had moved the previous question. Two or
more—this would open the discussion to the
whole Convention, it was a virtual repeal of
the whole previous question. He maintained
that the rule establishing the previous question
was a useful and necessary rule, and he was satis-
fied, that unless the Convention frequently ap-
plied it, they would find themselves unable to
terminate their labors within the short time that
yet remained to them to transact the business be-
fore them. If they did not apply it, they would
be here until next Christmas. He thought the
Convention might be driven to the necessity of
engrafting a provision on the Constitution which
they might form, postponing the taking of the
sense of the people until the month of July, thus |
