that the language be, "we, the people of Mary-
land, &c." It is certainly becoming a people
who have had bestowed on them by the ruler of
the world, for three-fourths of a century the
blessings we and our fathers have enjoyed in re-
organising their government peacefully and
prosperously, to set forth in appropriate words
their gratitude to the sovereign of heaven and
earth, the river of every good and perfect gift.
This is done in language such as is found in
many of the constitutions of the States of this
Union.
The residue of the preamble corresponds with
that of our recent Constitution. We therefore
recommend the following:
"We the people of the State of Maryland,
grateful to Almighty God, for our civil and re-
ligious liberty, and taking into our serious con-
consideration the best means of establishing a
good Constitution in this State, for the sure
foundation and more permanent security thereof,
declare."
The amendment was agreed to.
Mr. CHAMBERS, of Kent. moved to reconsider
the thirty-third article, (which is in the following
words: "nor shall any person be deemed incom-
petent as a witness or juror, or disqualified to
hold any office under the laws or Constitution of
this State, except as hereinafter provided by the
Constitution of this State, who believes in the
existence of a God, and that under his dispensa-
tion such person will be held morally account-
able for his acts, and be rewarded or punished
therefor, either in this world or in the world to
come,") for the purpose of moving the following
amendment to the same, by striking out from the
word "or," in the second line, to the word
"State" inclusive, and by inserting as an additional
article, the following:
"That no other test or qualification ought to
be required on admission to any office of trust or
profit, than such oath of office as may be prescribed
by this Constitution or by the laws of the
State, and a declaration of belief in the Christian
religion; and if the party shall profess to be a
Jew, the declaration shall be of a belief in a fu-
ture state of rewards and punishments."
Mr, CHAMBERS made some remarks which will
he published hereafter.
Mr. DORSEY said:
That the five minutes rule, prescribed by his
despotic rulers, put it out of his power to do the
semblance of justice to himself, or the subject
before the Convention. But lest his silent, vote
might be regarded as evidence of a partial change
in his opinion, or acquiescence in some degree to
the views of his friend from Kent, (Mr. Cham-
bers, ) who so zealously advocates a religious test
as a qualification to office; he must offer a few
words in reply to him. It did appear to him,
(Mr. D.) that his friend from Kent, had strange-
ly altered his views upon the subject of the
amendment, inserted on the motion of him, (Mr.
D.) in the "Bill of Rights," declaring that "no
person shall be deemed incompetent as a wit-
ness or juror, or disqualified to hold any office
under the laws or Constitution of this State,"
99 |
"who believes in the existence of a God, and
that under his dispensation, such person will be
held morally accountable for his acts, and be re-
warded or punished therefor, either in this world,
or in the world to come." When this amend-
ment was inserted in the Bill of Rights, he op-
posed every part of it with equal violence, but
strange to say, to-day, he proposes to leave the
persons referred to. competent to be witnesses
and jurors, but only disqualifying them from hold-
ing offices. That is, we should permit them to hang
us, or deprive us of our liberty or property; but
not to be eligible to office. For such a discrimina-
tion, he was unable to account. His friend too,
in his amendment proposes to re-enact the Jew-
ish exemption, to which he had always hereto-
fore been bitterly opposed. The inducement to
these apparently inconsistent proceedings, his
friend from Kent could, doubtlessly satisfactori-
ly explain; but to him, (Mr. D.) it was at pre-
sent somewhat mysterious. For himself, he
was for a broad, horizontal rule, applicable to
all religious denominations as embraced by his
amendment. If there was any principle in the
religious test proposed, its operation should be
universal; it should admit of no exceptions. He
belonged to the same church with his friend
from Kent, and was, he trusted, as sincerely
anxious for the universal propagation of the Chris-
tian religion as he was. They only differed, he
thought, in the means of accomplishing it. He
regarded religion as an inward, a spiritual work,
reserved by the Deity to himself, and to his own
agents specially selected for that purpose; of which
profane legislation or legislators formed no part.
(He used the word profane in no offensive sense,
but as contra-distinguished from clerical or eccle-
siastical.) He had always thought civil or pro-
fane legislation was to control our temporal concerns,
to make good citizens, not to make good
Christians, By legislative restrictions, persecu-
tions, pains, penalties and forfeitures you may
make formalities and hypocrites; but not christians.
Profane legislation is an outward work,
a conformity to which is enforced by outward
means, by force. Christianity is a spiritual and
inward work, incapable of creation or extension
by outward force or violence, emanating from
mere will.
This declaration of a belief in the Christian re-
ligion has not, as far as my knowledge and ob-
servation extend, ever excluded a man from
office, who was unworthy of it: hypocrisy and
falsehaod enable him easily to surmount the barrier
—whilst the upright, conscienscious man
who deserves the office, would be excluded. It
is unjust and impolitic on another ground; you
alienate from your government the affections of
all those who are not Christians; you hold out to
them the strongest temptations to disloyalty
His friend from Kent had said, in his former
discussion of this subject, that the Holy Scrip-
tures were a part of the law of the land; and that
blasphemy was punishable by acts of Assembly.
To the first branch of this assertion, I must beg
leave to enter my dissent. Such never was, in
my humble opinion, and I trust never will be, the
law of Maryland. As to the second it is true; |
