article did not say so. After the elections were
held, the qualifications would take place.
Mr. CHAMBERS replied that the difficulty
would still occur.
Mr. BOWIE referred the gentleman to the
fourth section.
Mr. CHAMBERS. When does the election take
place?
Mr. BOWIE. When the terms expire.
Mr. CHAMBERS. Then we would have to do
what we ought not to do. We would elect Sen-
ators instead of the people—there is the diffi-
culty.
If they should take any session, he cared not
which, there would be some members of the
Senate who would, with that session, have to
serve out their time. The lots were to take
place; the names were to be placed in a hat, and
the first name drawn out, would entitle the per-
son to serve four years, although it might be a
member whose term would expire in one year.
That would not be right, they would not in such
case be elected by the people, and for the time
they were to serve. But there was a perfectly
easy remedy. The classification should be for
two or four years, and they should be qualified
by a provision that no Senator should serve for a
longer time than that for which he was elected.
A Senator should not be put into the class which
could not extend the time for which he was elect-
ed. They would thus give the Senator the term
for which he contracted to serve.
Mr. THOMAS made some further remarks.
Mr. DONALDSON said:
That no formal arrangement had been entered
into by opposite parties in the House, in regard
to this matter. What had been alluded to was
an understanding between the gentleman from
Queen Anne's, (Mr. Grason,) himself, and one
or two others. The remarks of the gentleman
from Frederick, (Mr. Thomas,) had brought out
a point which was not new to him, [Mr. D.]
The gentleman was perfectly correct in saving
that such a difficulty existed as he had point out;
he, Mr. D.,] saw it when then the subject first
came up, and therefore readily assented to a post-
ponement, that some scheme might be devised
for carrying out his wishes. He had afterward,
in fact, drawn up in detail, a section, making
what seemed to him a proper arrangement; but
had laid it aside after the conference with the
gentleman from Queen Anne's, preferring that
that gentleman should introduce a proposition,
in order that the settlement of the terms of the
Senators now in office should not seem to wear
a patty aspect. Mr. D. said, that he, as well as
the gentleman from Frederick, deprecated any
plan which continued any Senators beyond the
terms for which they were elected; but he dis-
agreed entirely with that gentleman in his idea
that there was no practical arrangement which
would not have that effect. He though the could
propose a very simple plan, which would at once
be admitted to be free from the objections urged.
It was true, as the gentleman from Frederick
had said, that, as the term of one-third of the
present Senators expired in the fall of 1852, if |
the present Senate were all continued in office
for the next two years, the term of this one-third
would be lengthened. But he, Mr. D., had pre-
pared an amendment to be appended to the third
section, which would obviate the difficulty. He
proposed that one-third of the old Senators, be-
ing those elected in 1846, should go out at once,
and new ones be elected in their place next fall;
and then if the Convention adopted the amend-
ment to the fourth section proposed by his friend
from Kent, [Mr. Chambers,] the arrangement
would be complete, and yet the term of no Sen-
ator would be prolonged beyond the time for
which he was originally elected.
Mr. D. then moved to amend the third section
by adding at the end thereof:—"but an election
for Senators shall be held in the year 1851, in
Howard county, and in all those counties in
which Senators were elected in the year 1846.
Mr. BOWIE moved to amend said amendment
by striking out all all after "Howard county," to
the end of said section.
Mr. BOWIE was of the opinion that as the Con-
stitution now stood, every person elected a Sena-
tor for six years would serve till the expiration
of that term. If he were a judge, he would con-
strue this Constitution as relating only to all fu-
ture elections to be held for four years, after
the Senators sitting under the old Constitution
should have served out their terms. The classi-
fication began only after those had served out
terms. He wished to carry out the provisions of
the old Constitution by permitting Senators to
serve their terms out, but that all new elections
hereafter should be for four years.
Mr. SPENCER moved the previous question,
which was seconded, and the main question or-
dered, viz. on the adoption of the amendment of
Mr. BOWIE.
Mr. BOWIE moved that the question be taken
by yeas and nays, which being ordered, appeared
as follows:
Affirmative—Messrs. Welch, Bowie, McCub-
bin, Fooks, Kilgour and Brewer—6.
Negative—Messrs. Chapman. Pres't., Blakis-
tone, Dent, Lee, Chambers of Kent, Donaldson,
Wells, Randall, Kent, Howard, Bell, Chandler,
Lloyd, Sherwood of Talbot, Colston, John Den-
nis. Williams, Hicks, Hodson, Goldsborough,
Eccleston, Phelps, Constable, Miller, McLane
Tuck, Sprigg, Spencer, Grason, George, Wright,
Dirickson, McMaster, Hearn, Thomas, Shriver
Johnson, Gaither, Biser, Annan, Sappington
Stephenson, McHenry, Magraw, Carter, Thaw-
ley, Hardcastle, Gwinn, Stewart of Baltimore
city. Ware, Schley, Fiery, Neill, John Newcom-
er, Harbine, Michael Newcomer, Waters, An-
derson, Weber, Hollyday, Fitzpatrick, Smith,
Parke, Cockey and Brown—64.
So the amendment was rejected.
The question then recurred on the adoption of
the amendment offered by Mr. DONALDSON; and,
being taken, it was
Determined in the affirmative.
The third section was then adopted as amend-
ed.
Mr. CHAMBERS, of Kent, moved to amend the |
