this is not to provide a law, but to provide
for the execution of a system of public
schools. Does not every board of school
commissioners in the State provide systems of
education for their respective counties with-
out the action of the legislature ?
The PRESIDENT. The committee in this re-
port recognize the authority of the legisla-
ture. But they go further and say that if the
legislature does not choose to adopt the sug-
gestions of this general superintendent, then
his system shall become the law. Does the
gentleman from Baltimore city (Mr. Cushing)
pretend to say that any judicial department
would ever decide that to be law ?
Mr. CUSHING. If the people agree to it by
their sovereign will, the judiciary cannot help
it.
Mr, STOCKBRIDGE. The question will bere-
duced to just this: whether the law will be
constitutional, or the constitution illegal. If
the constitution is held to be illegal, then of
course there is an end of the matter,
The PRESIDENT. The difficulty is that this
constitution dues not prescribe the system. All
it says is that the superintendent shall recom-
mend a system, amid if the legislature does not
adopt the recommendation of the superinten-
dent, then it becomes the law of the land.—
The law of the land will then be, not the
constitution, but the recommendation of the
superintendent.
Mr. STOCKBRIDGE. If there be the power in
this convention, whereby by a vote of the peo-
ple to create a superintendent of public in-
struction, there is the power in this conven-
tion to prescribe the duties of that officer.
The PRESIDENT. No doubt about that.
Mr. STOCKBRIDGE. And having prescribed
that he shall prepare a certain plan, there is
the power to say what force and effect that
plan shall have; to say that it shall be a re-
commendation to the legislature, or to say
at once that the plan devised by him shall be
the public school system of this State. That
is a power which this convention has the
right to exercise. And when this convention
shall recommend a thing, and the people shall
agree to it, I do not care what the legislature
may see fit to say afterwards about the le-
gality or illegality of that act; it is constitu-
tion; it is not law. And if the legislature
chooses to go in the teeth of the constitution,
then the act of the legislature will go by
the board, and not our act.
Now, although I was not partial to the de-
tails of either the second or the fourth sec-
tion, yet I submit that if we see fit to adopt
them and the people ratify them, they are
law. And if we see fit to vest in the State
superintendent the power to prepare a sys-
tem and to say that the plan or system
so digested by him shall be the public
common school system of the State, with-
out ever being referred to the legislature,
it is competent for us to do so. And if we |
do say so, and the people approve it, the sys-
tem which he so proposes, and so sets in op-
eration under the guarantee of the constitu-
tion, is the law of the State, and the highest
law.
The PRESIDENT, It requires but few words
to set this matter right. According to this
report this superintendent is to report—to
whom? He is required tinder the constitu-
tion to make a report. The gentleman from
Baltimore city (Mr. Stockbridge) says that
even before his report is made the people rati-
fy it. How can they ratify the report of the
superintendent before it is made?
Mr. STOCKBRIDGE, I did not say that they
would ratify the report, I said this: that if
we submit any recommendation to the people,
and the people ratify it, then that recommen-
dation becomes the law of the State. I said
nothing, not one word) about their ratifying
an act of the superintendent subsequently per-
formed. I did not refer to it, or speak of it.
1 spoke of the ratification of the constitution.
1 said that if we in the constitution confer
certain powers, and the people ratify that
grant of powers, then the exercise of those
powers) even without any reference to the
general assembly, becomes the law of the
State.
The PRESIDENT. Then there is no distinc-
tion between what I said, and what the gen
tleman said. I say that the plan is recom-
mended by the superintendent of public edu-
cation, vested as he is with certain powers
under this constitution. That plan is to be
reported by him to the legislature, and it is
discretionary with the legislature to adopt it
or not. If they reject it, then you have no
plan.
Mr. CUSHING. It is discretionary with the
legislature if we say it shall be discretionary.
The PRESIDENT. You cannot make any law
of this State by any other authority than the
legislature. The legislature represents the
sovereignty of the people. And no indivi-
dual, or body of individuals, and no depart-
ment of the government other than the legla-
ture can make a law.
Mr. CUSHING. We can give anybody the
power.
The PRESIDENT. The gentlemen might as
well say they make law for all future genera-
tions.
Mr, STOCKBRIDGE. We do.
The PRESIDENT. We make an organic law
for future generations. But we do not pre-
scribe the details by which that organic law
is to be carried out.
Mr. CUSHING. We can, if we please.
The PRESIDENT. That is for the action of
the legislature to be submitted to the people
of the State for their adoption or rejection, at
every period at which the legislature is
chosen, and whenever it acts. One legisla-
ture can make one system, and another legis-
lature can repeal it. |
