serious attention. If this constitution was to go
into operation prior to a session of the Legisla-
ture, there would be a necessity for preparation
to meet that contingency. There were many
details in relation to clerks, registers, and vari-
ous other officers, which must be arranged. He
must frankly say, it appeared to him moat pro-
per to have all these details in the form of le-
gislative acts, and it was difficult to comprehend
how all these details could be prepared here.
Yet if gentlemen thought it best to anticipate
the time at which the constitution should go
into effect, and to assume upon ourselves legis-
lative duties, it is proper we should understand
the necessity for detail. Ho supposed the pre-
paration of a schedule would in such case be
the most proper mode.
If a session of the Legislature should inter-
vene before the new constitution commenced,
it would be quite sufficient to deal in general
provisions and instructions, leaving to the Le-
gislature to carry out in detail the general pro-
visions, by means of such machinery as the oc-
casion might require. On the contrary, if the
constitution is to operate before the next ses-
sion of the Legislature, the Convention must in
that respect represent the Legislature, and pro-
vide all the necessary machinery. His object
was to call the notice of the House to this subject,
that they might act accordingly.
Mr. Bowie. The 26th section of the report
provides for all those matters,
The question was then taken on the resolu-
tion, and it was adopted.
The question then recurred on the second
branch of the amendment as offered by Mr.
Crisfield.
Mr. HARBINE moved to amend said second
branch of the amendment, by striking out after
the words "term of," the word "ten," and in-
serting in lieu thereof "eight."
Mr. HARBINE observed that he had very little
to say in support of the proposition he had sub-
mitted. He believed the doctrine of short terms
as applicable to the judiciary as any other depart-
ment of the government. If you had agood man
and a short term, you could re-elect him; and he
(Mr. H.) believed he would bere-elected. That
was his confidence in the people of this State and
country. It they had a man who had performed
faithfully his duty, let him be in what department
of government he might, he would be a very dan-
gerous opponent lo run against any other person.
On the contrary, if you had a man who was not
well qualified, then the term would be too long.
Ten years would be too long if it was proved that
he was not qualified, not capable, or that his
moral principles were had. Therefore, he (Mr.
H.) thought it would be better to restrict him at
once, and say that he shall serve eight years.
There was nothing, it appeared lo him, (Mr. H.,)
could prove a stronger incentive for a man to do
right, than to hold out to him the idea that in the
course of a few years his conduct would be sub-
jected to a rigid scrutiny. The sooner that came
the better it would be, so that the acts of persons
in office might be made known fur the informa-
70 |
tion and benefit of the public If his conduct was
bad, it would be condemned by the public, not
only of his own State, but every other in the
Union. In proposing to elect our judges there
was nothing novel or extraordinary, for we had
the authority of a great many State? of the
Union, who had successfully tried the experiment
and engrafted the principle upon their constitutions.
He had looked over the different constitu-
tions and found that the term of office For the judges
was shorter than the one he proposed. He had
not named seven years, because he did not wish to
put the people to the inconvenience and expense
of holding an extra election. It was proposed by
him that the election of judges should take place
at the general election, which was biennially.
This he had done, because it was, in his opinion,
better to keep up that principle in the constitu-
tion than to hold a special election for the pur-
pope in question. He had proposed eight years,
and preferred a shorter period, but such did nut
seem to be the pleasure of the convention, as on
yesterday the term of six years was voted down.
We had precedents enough on the subject when
we looked at what had been done by the various
constitutional conventions winch had been held of
late years. For instance: We found that Michi-
gan elected her circuit judges every four years,
and in Wisconsin, he believed that the term of
office was five years. The State of New York,
that met with the general approbation of the peo-
ple, elected their judiciary by the people; the su-
preme court judges for a term of eight years, and
the county court judges for four. Indiana,
whose constitutional convention had adjourned
within the last few months, having passed a new
constitution, in which it was provided that the
supreme court judges, and the judges of the court
of common pleas should be elected for five years.
And, under the newly adopted constitution of
Kentucky, as we all know, the supreme court
judges were elected for eight years, and the cir-
cuit and county court judges also for the gains
term. The State of Mississippi, likewise, elected-
her judiciary. She had had an elective judiciary
ever since 1836. The judges of the high court of
errors and appeals are elected for six years and
judges of the circuit, court for four years. In
Georgia, too, there was an elective judiciary and
the superior court judges held their offices for
three years; and the inferior court judges For one
year only. Thus, in very single one of the
States in which there was an elective judiciary,
we found them below the mark we had named
as the proper term. Now, if we could base any
action upon what other States had thought proper
to do, even eight years was too long. But he
desired to act according to the principle of bien-
nial elections, and his own sense of propriety not
giving up his opinion on account, of what other
States had done. They might have gone too far;
yet he would say that the combined wisdom of the
great men who had discussed the question in Ohio
Kentucky, New York, and Mississippi and other
States, was worthy of grave consideration, and went
far to settle the principle. He hoped the convention
would adopt the term of eight years. |
