Mr. CRISFIELD renewed the motion of the
gentleman (Mr. Buchanan) to reconsider.
Mr, BUCHANAN said he had had no opportunity
to examine the statistics on the subject. There
were two months in the year—April and No-
vembers—when the Baltimore county court was
never able, within a month, to get through the
business, before it, nor half of it; and the civil
business, within his knowledge, was never all
transacted. Now, that was not attributable to
any want of industry and good management on
the part of the judges. A better and more as-
siduous and untiring set of men could not be
found; they were always at their posts, and dil-
igently at work. But certain it was there was
an immense mass of business undisposed of
when the courts adjourned. He would under-
take to say there would not be one-half the ne-
cessary business done under the proposed new
arrangements of the districts. Mr. B renewed
his motion to reconsider.
Mr. SPENCER rose, and requested Mr, Buchanan
to yield him the floor for a few minutes,
by withdrawing his motion.
Mr. BUCHANAN assented; when
Mr. SPENCER said, he had given notice this
morning that he would move to reconsider, and
inasmuch as the motion was up to reconsider,
he hoped he might be allowed to give his rea-
sons therefor. He would ask the gentleman
from Baltimore county (Mr. Buchanan) to yield
the floor to allow him to assign his reasons.
Mr. BUCHANAN. Certainly, sir.
Mr. SPENCER then proceeded: When he had
voted for the amendment of the gentleman from
Somerset (Mr. Crisfield) yesterday, he had in
view this motion to reconsider. He looked
upon the arrangement of the districts, so far as
his county was concerned, as oppressive. We
had four counties thrown into our district, and
of those four, two of them—Queen Anne's and
Talbot—had as much business, and more, than
any two counties in the district of Worcester,
Somerset and Dorchester, to occupy the time
and attention of the court. His great objection
to it was, that it would embarrass the plan of
incorporating the orphans' court business and
that of the chancery court together. He be-
lieved that an arrangement of that sort could
be effected.
He bad had a conversation with the chair-
man of the Judiciary Committee since that
lime, and from what had passed between them,
he (Mr. S.) was led to suppose that such an ar-
rangement of the districts could be made as to
bring about a consolidation of the orphans' and
chancery courts, so that one judge could preside
over both. If there be any two courts that
should be connected, or were natural allies,
looking to the character of their business, it was
the orphans' and the chancery courts. By virtue
of sundry acts of Assembly, when a man dies, if
he has charged his real estate with the payment
of his debts, and directed it to be sold by his ex-
ecutor, he has to account in the orphans' court.
Consequently, a large portion of the business of
the State, of that description, is settled in that
court. He would repeat that, in his opinion, the |
orphans' court and chancery court were natural
allies of each other, and therefore they ought
to be connected. He thought a project could
be presented to this convention by which a con-
solidation of the two could be carried out. The
result of it would be to make only one addi-
tional district, making eight districts in all. If
on the other hand, the proposition of the gen-
tleman from Somerset (Mr. Crisfield) should be
carried, the Slate would be put to additional
expense. He made this motion, therefore, in
order that the whole matter might be perfected.
Mr. S. concluded by renewing Mr. Buchanan's
motion to reconsider.
Mr. BROWN rose to a question of order. He
denied the right of the gentleman from Queen
Anne's, (Mr. Spencer,) to make three speeches
on one motion. Now, the rule was, as he un-
derstood it, that a member should speak ten
minutes only, and he could make but one speech
when he made his motion to amend. He ob-
jected to this course of proceeding. He was
tired out and wanted to get home; and he gave
gentlemen notice that whenever this rule was
violated he would call gentlemen to order.
Mr. HOWARD said he really wished—if the
Convention did nut wish to be misled—to be al-
lowed to make a single remark.
The PRESIDENT then asked if there was any
objection to permitting the gentleman from Bal-
timore county to proceed.
No objection being made—
Mr. HOWARD remarked that his object was
merely to say this: that the statistics read by
the gentlemen from Somerset (Mr. Crisfield)
would mislead the Convention, because he had
not brought the fact to its knowledge that the
law limits the session of the Baltimore County
Court to one month, and then the judges must
go to the city and do business there. He stated
the law, and he would say it was no wonder
there were many trials.
Mr. CRISFIELD hoped the Convention would
indulge him with a single remark in reply, made
necessary by what the gentleman from Haiti more
county (Mr. Howard) had just said. [Cries of
"Leave," "Leave."]
Mr. C. then remarked that he had no design to
mislead the Convention.
Mr. HOWARD. No, not at all; I am sure it is
only an error into which he has fallen.
Mr. CRISFIELD. If it was an error, it was not
an error of his own. The statistics to which he
had referred, had been called for by the conven-
tion, and furnished by the proper officers. Did
gentlemen mean to say there were in Baltimore
county annually more than an average of two
hundred suits within the last five years Can the
gentleman say there is more business in that county
than had been reported? Dues the gentleman
deny the correctness of the facts stated? If the
statement was wrong, it was the error of the
clerk. They were not facts of his (Mr. Crisfield's)
making; they were returned to us here by au-
thority. There was no complaint that he knew
of, that the time allowed the court to be in ses-
sion was not long enough to complete all the business.
Here, then, were the statistics showing |
