he would not connect it with the common law
chancery jurisdiction. We proposed that the
Legislature should revise the whole system of
pleading. One of the most important objects
would be to simplify and make the proceedings
in chancery and at common law as nearly alike
as possible, so as to have the same course of
proceeding in one court as in another. Those
were the views that he had maintained through-
out the whole of the votings on this subject. He
would withdraw his motion, as it had been made
only to get an opportunity to make these re-
marks, it being the decision of the Chair that
they could not be made under any other motion.
Mr. BOWIE renewed the motion to indefinitely
postpone. The gentleman from Frederick (Mr.
Thomas) had said that no matter what the mo-
tives of gentlemen were—although he did not
mean to impugn them—that—
Mr. TROMAS explained that he had said he
thought the scheme of the gentleman from
Prince George's would create unnecessary of-
fices,
Mr. BOWIE would ask if the gentleman from
Frederick had not advocated the creation of of-
fices unknown to the law, and which by many
were deemed to be unnecessary? The gentle-
man had advocated the creation of a Board of
Public Works. He appealed to the facts. The
record would prove it. The gentleman was also
in favor of retaining three judges of the Or-
phans' Court, and all this was under the sanction
of the theory that reduction in the number of
offices and retrenchment of salaries, were the
true elements of reform. Now, these were just
as important changes as the creation of new of-
fices. And might he not say that a Board of
Public Works was unnecessary, and' that one
judge of the orphans' court could do all the
business now done by three? He did not mean
to impute motives to gentlemen which would be
unworthy of their action here; he would leave
that to others more disposed than himself to be
censorious. But in his opinion the orphans'
Court was an important court, and required re-
modeling to a very great degree. Its jurisdic-
tion was important and extensive. It had to
administer the personal estate of all deceased
persons, and had also the right to decree sales
of real estate in certain cases, and to the extent
of its powers in this respect had exactly the
same power as a court of chancery. It had also
the right, under certain circumstances, to decree
a conveyance of real estate, and in all these re-
spects its powers were like those of the court of
chancery. All these questions arose, in that
court, and he would say they were intereats
which might properly be confided to a judicial
mind. He maintained that three judges in that
court, which the gentleman advocated, were un-
necessary. One person of sound legal know-
ledge was enough, He had understood that
gentlemen of the bar, in some of the counties,
had acquired great control over the judges of
the orphans' courts as they are now organized.
He did not know whether his friend from Fred-
erick (Mr. Thomas) had any knowledge of such
influences in his county. |
Mr. THOMAS. No, indeed; very far from It.
Mr. BOWIE thought it might be so there, as he
was informed it existed in some other counties.
But no matter where it exists, (said Mr. B.,) It
might furnish sufficient motives for those who
had acquired it to desire a continuance of ilia
present system, feeble, rickety, and wishy-washy
as it was For himself, he desired substantial re-
form in this branch of the judicial department, as,
in his judgment, none needed it mole. When
there were millions and millions passing every
year through that court; when the rights of the
widows and orphans were so deeply involved, he
thought it the duty of the convention to establish
a system that would effectually guard and protect
their interests. But now the true, genuine, judi-
cial reformers on this floor were told by gentle-
men that they were satisfied with the present or-
phans' court system, and that no change was ne-
cessary.
He did not choose to be sitting here as a mem-
ber of this Convention, desirous as he was to re-
form all those abuses, desirous to bring blessings
upon the people, without making some effort to
rid them of so great and intolerable an evil. He
said he would not be found in any such category
of judicial reformers. He would say with his
friend from Queen Anne's, (Mr Spencer,) that
such reform was worse than nothing. He knew
that in the counties of this State, the orphans'
court judges received a per diem, and in some of
the smallest counties their compensation amount-
ed to between two and three hundred dollars per
annum. From an estimate made by the clerk of
the Judiciary Committee, based upon actual re-
turns, $19,800 was the whole cost of the orphans'
courts throughout the State, He supposed that
in his own county the per diem to orphans' court
judges would amount annually to between $800
and $900; and he proposed by his scheme that
the same services should be rendered lo the
counties for $600 a year. In Baltimore county,
he had no doubt, it cost a great deal more. It
would be a great saving to some counties and no
very great expense in any. In forming a judi-
ciary system, however, he did no think the costs
of it should be so much regarded as its efficiency.
Of all the curses on earth, he thought a cheap
judiciary was the worst. He did not believe that
the gentleman from Queen Anne's (Mr, Spencer)
had favored the plan proposed by the committee.
The original proposition was, to unite all the ju-
risdictions together in one judge for each county,
which he thought would have been the better
plan. Having failed in that, he wished to come
as near to it as possible. Mr, B. withdrew his
motion to indefinitely postpone.
Mr. THOMAS thought the gentleman had done
him very great injustice in supposing that he
was the author of this plan. The gentleman
(Mr. Bowie) would do him the justice to re-
member that before he (Mr. B.) made a report
from the Judiciary Committee, he (Mr. T.)
had expressed a hope that he would not report
in favor of one judge to each county. The gen-
tleman need not regret that this question was in
his hands, for a more persevering leader than he
|
