ture shall provide by law, all necessary forfeit-
tires and penalties against usury."
Mr. PHELPS suggested that this would be more
properly a matter of legislation. In some States
the rate of ten per cent was allowed; and if the
surrounding States should change to ten, the cap-
ital of Maryland would be driven out of the
State, and a Convention would have to be called
to change the Constitution in order to put a stop
to it.
Mr. BOWIE said:
That it was necessary, if the Bystem of free
banking was to be established, to have a Consti-
tutional provision in order to prevent usury. Six
per cent. was the law in most of the States.
Mr. JACOBS offered as a substitute for the
amendment the following:
"No legislation shall hereafter take place in
this State, regulating the rate of interest on
money."
On the question being taken upon accepting
the substitute; it was
Determined in the negative.
The question then recurred on the adoption of
the amendment offered by Mr. BOWIE, as an ad-
ditional section.
Mr. GRASON said:
That a few years ago the law had been that in
usury, the party should forfeit three times the
amount of the bond. The consequences had
been that, instead of preventing usury, the lenders
of money were compelled to charge a little
more usury than before to cover the risk. Such
would be the necessary consequence of such a
provision. He was opposed to the provision on
the other ground that it ought to be left to the
legislature. If all these matters were to be dis-
posed of, it would employ them until next Sep-
tember.
Mr. BOWIE said:
That Baltimore would always be in favor of
free interest. The commercial power of the
State had the control of the legislature; but the
producing classes now had the control, and they
could impose a restriction. The whole mass of
the people could now say that in granting free
banking they would not grant the right to make
two and a half per cent per month. They should
receive no more than six per cent. This pro-
vision would effectuate that design.
Mr. BOWIE demanded that the question be ta-
ken by yeas and nays,
Which were ordered,
And being taken,
Resulted—yeas 39; nays 29—as follows;
Affirmative—Messrs. Blakistone, Pres't., pro
tem., Dent, Hopewell, Lee, Wells, Kent, Sell-
man, Weems, Brent of Charles, Lloyd, Sher-
wood of Talbot, Dashiell, McCullough, Miller,
McLane, Bowie, Sprigg, McCubbin, McMaster,
Hearn, Fooks, Thomas, Biser, Annan, Stephen-
son, Magraw, Nelson, Thawley, Hardcastle,
Gwinn, Ware, Fiery, Brewer, Waters, Hollyday,
Fitzpatrick, Ege, Cockey and Brown—39.
Negative—Messrs. Ricaud, Chambers of Kent,
Donaldson, Dorsey, Howard, Buchanan, Bell,
Welch, Ridgely, Williams, Hodson, Goldsbo-
97 |
rough, Eccleston, Phelps, Spencer, Grason,.
George, Wright, Jacobs, Shriver, McHenry,
Stewart of Caroline, Schley, Neill, John New-
comer, Harbine, Weber, Smith and Parke—39.
So the amendment was adopted.
Mr. RANDALL from the committee on revision
reported to the Convention certain proposed
amendments to the report of the committee on
the legislative department.
Which were read and disposed of.
On motion of Mr. GRASON,
The thirty-first section of said report was
amended by inserting after the word "dollars" in
second line, the words—
"And the presiding officers of each House shall
be allowed a per diem of five dollars."
Mr. BOWIE gave notice that he should move
to reconsider the vote of the Convention on the
thirty-seventh section of said report.
Mr. RANDALL from the committee on revision
when the thirty-seventh section was under con-
sideration, proposed so to amend it that every
person, instead of every citizen, should be inca-
pable of holding any office of trust or profit in
the State. If it was a malum prohibitum instead
of a malum in se, if it were not in every commu-
nity regarded as a criminal offence, if it were
not a violation of natural as well as of civil law,
it would not be proper to make the provision ap-
ply to a duel fought by persons not citizens at the
time. The object was to stamp upon the act the
disapprobation of the whole community, and to
co-operate with other States of this Union, and
with the whole civilized world, in suffering it.
There being objection,
The amendment was not adopted.
Mr. BOWIE also gave notice that he should
move to reconsider the third section of the re-
port of the committee on the bill of rights.
At twenty minutes of four o'clock, p. m.,
Mr. WRIGHT moved the Convention adjourn.
Mr. STEPHENSON moved that the question be
taken by yeas and nays;
Which motion was not sustained.
The question then recurred on the adjourn-
ment; and
Determined in the affirmative.
And the Convention accordingly adjourned un-
til to-morrow morning 5 o'clock.
DEFERRED DEBATE.
ORPHANS' COURTS.
Remarls of Mr. CHAMBERS, Saturday, April
26th, 1851.
Mr. CHAMBERS said:
He had with some surprise heard it said, there
were no complaints with regard to the manner of
doing business in the Orphans' Courts.
I have had, said he, a large experience in this
matter and say, without fear of being in error,
that mismanagement and irregularity prevail, to
an alarming degree, in the transaction of business
in these courts. Indeed I had supposed,
there was nothing in the existing condition of |
