WEDNESDAY, April 9,1851.
The Convention met at ten o'clock.
Prayer was made by the Rev. Mr. GRAUFF.
The roll was called, and
A quorum being present,
The Journal of yesterday was read.
EVENING SESSIONS.
Mr. STEPHENSON offered the following or-
der :
Ordered, That on and after to-morrow, this
Convention will hold two sessions each day, the
morning session to commence at 9 o'clock. A.
M.. and continue until 2 o'clock, P. M.. when it
will adjourn to 4 o'clock, P. M., at which hour
it will meet again for the transaction of busi-
ness.
The order having been read,
Mr. PHELPS suggested that the order should
be amended by adding the words—
"And will sit until half-past six o'clock."
And he made that motion.
Mr. PHELPS said;
It was competent for the Convention to enact
laws for its own government. They might say
that they would meet at a particular hour or ad-
journ at a particular hour, and the President
would adjourn the Convention at the hour desig-
nated, without any motion being made.
Mr. BISER moved to amend the amendment by
inserting 10 o'clock p. m
The PRESIDENT. The question will be on the
longest hour.
Mr. STEPHENSON desired to be informed by
the Chair, whether it was competent for a gen-
tleman to offer an amendment which could have
no other object than to defeat the proposition?
Mr. BISER. Certainly, that is a singular ques-
tion. The gentleman is disposed to show to his
constituents and to the world, that he is industri-
ous. I am disposed to shew that I am as indus-
trious as he is—perhaps a little more so. (Laugh-
ter.) I am sincere.
Mr. BROWN suggested to the mover of the re-
solution to change the phraseology by saying,
"take a recess,"
He, (Mr B.) held that a motion to adjourn
would always be in order, and it ought always to
be so. The Convention might dispose of a sub-
ject before the hour of adjournment arrived, and
might not be ready to take up any other ques-
tion. in such a case, a motion might be made
to adjourn, and such a motion should be in order
atall times.
Mr. PHELPS said:
He had a few words to say, and he should
then withdraw the amendment he had offered.
The object of the amendment he had offered,
that the Convention would adjourn at half-past
six, was this: He had witnessed many evening
sessions, and had often seen them produce great
disorder. And gentlemen might protract the
sitting three or four hours longer than was ne-
cessary to answer any useful purpose. He thought
if the Convention met at ten, took a recess at
42 |
two, and came hack at four, with the express
understanding that an adjournment should take
place at half-past six o'clock, gentlemen would
come here and transact business, if the Con-
vention was to meet in the afternoon without any
certainty as to the hour of adjournment, some
gentlemen would not come at all. Others might
come for the purpose of delaying the transaction
of business, though he did not charge such an in-
tention upon any member of the Convention At
all events, the probability was, that much confu-
sion would ensue.
It seemed to him that if the Convention was
to hold afternoon sessions, the hour at which the
adjournment should take place, ought to be fixed.
"till it would be in the power of the Convention
to adjourn earlier, if it should think proper to
do so; and the motion to adjourn would be at all
times in order. I shall now, (concluded Mr, P.,)
withdraw my amendment.
Mr. BISER. Of course then, my amendment
falls with it,
Mr. KILGOUR. I move that the whole subject
be laid upon the table.
Mr. STEPHENSON. I ask the yeas and nays on
that motion.
The yeas and nays were ordered.
The question "shall the whole subject be laid
upon the table," was then taken, and
Derided in the negative as follows:
Affirmative—Messrs. Chapman, President, Morgan,
Hopewell, Ricaud, Chambers, of Kent,
Mitchell, Donaldson, Wells, Randall, John
Dennis, James U. Dennis, Dashiell, Williams,
Hicks, Hodson, Phelps, Bowie, Hearn, Brent of
Baltimore city, Ware, Davis, Kilgour, Waters,
and Anderson—24.
Negative—Messrs. Blakistone, Sellman, How-
ard, Buchanan, Welch, Dickinson, Sherwood of
Talbot, Colston, McCullough. George, McMaster,
Biser, Annan, Stephenson, Magraw, Nel-
son, Carter, Thawley, Stewart, of Caroline,
Gwinn, Schley Fiery, John Newcomer, Mich-
ael Newcomer, Weber, Hollyday, Fitzpatrick,
Smith Shower, Cockey and Brown—31.
So the Convention decided that the whole sub-
ject should not be laid on the table.
The question then recurred on the adoption of
the order.
Mr. WARE moved to strike out the hour of
"nine" and insert "ten."
The amendment was agreed to.
The question recurring on the adoption of the
order,
Mr. GWINN demanded the previous ques-
tion.
But there was not a second.
The question again recurring on the adoption
of the order—
Mr. BOWIE moved to strike out two and insert
"three."
Mr. SMITH hoped, he said, that the amend-
ment would not he agreed to. The session would
be entirely too long, if an evening session was to
follow it. He was in favor of two sessions a day
but of moderate duration. Especially as to the
afternoon session, he would prefer that it should |
