number of days each member or officer has been
absent, except from actual indisposition or
other unavoidable cause, may be ascertained
and entered upon the Journal of Proceedings.
resolved That every member shall be con-
sidered and noted as absent unless his name
be entered on the Journal at the opening of
each day's session, and also entered among
the yeas and nays, that shall be taken on
every proposition to adjourn, unless his ab-
sence be occasioned by actual indisposition or
other unavoidable circumstance.
The resolutions having bad their second
reading,
Mr. MULLIKIN moved the following amend-
ment, to strike nut all after the word "re-
solved," ill the first resolution, and insert :
Resolved; That any member of this Con-
vention who shall absent himself from the
said Convention, without the consent of a
majority of the members present, shall not re-
ceive his per diem for the time he is absent,
Mr. DANIEL, I think the amendment would
produce a great deal of confusion. I prefer
the original resolutions if we adopt any.
This requires each member, every time be
wants to go away, to bring the matter pub-
licly before lire Convention, and the question
is to be considered here whether he shall be
excused or not, which I think is improper. I
think, if we are to pass such resolutions, we
should leave it in the hands of the President,
and lei him judge of it under the regulations
prescribed in these several resolutions. I
think the adoption of the amendment will
cause us much delay and trouble. It will be
much easier to allow each member, if he
chooses to take the responsibility of absent-
ing himself, to do so, relying upon his ability
to render a proper excuse to the President.
Mr. BARRON, When the members of this
Convention were elected, I thought they were
elected as peers. I did not know that we
were to come here, and a portion of us were
to be schoolboys. If you are absent you
must bring in your excuse; and if you want
to make i our $3 a day you must lie for it. I
really think we have run the thing into the
mud, so far as preambles and resolutions and
orders are concerned. I think it is time we
went to work for the interests of the State.
So far as I am concerned, I am free to say to
you to-day that I do not care what member
of this Convention gets his per diem. Neither
do I care what be does with it afterwards.
He can spend it in any way he pleases. He
can play faro, bluff, euchre, old sledge, and
lose it, and I am perfectly satisfied. I am
the last man in the world that is going to
complain of him. But if circumstances force
me in my business—some of us are so very
patriotic as to neglect our business to attend
here—if circumstances force me to be absent
one day, I should like to have the privilege.
As I have said before, there are very few
members here but can make $5 a day at |
home. I think it is beat to drop this whole
affair. It is a small affair. This money is
appropriated, and the Legislature has passed
an act that we "shall" receive—it does not
say we "may"—$5 per day. Now I want
my money, and I want to do just what 1
please with it afterwards. I won't interfere
with any other member; and if we would all
observe the eleventh commandment, to mind
our own business, I am sure we should get
along a good deal better. I move to lay the
preamble and the resolutions upon the table.
Mr. PURNELL demanded the yeas and nays,
and they were ordered,
The question being taken, the result was—
yeas 42, nays 32—as follows :
Yeas—Messrs. Audoun, Barron, Belt, Berry
of Prince George's, Billingsley, Blackiston,
Bond, Briscoe, Brooks, Chambers, Clarke,
Crawford, Davis of Washington, Dennis,
Edelen, Harwood, Hatch, Hollyday, Hopper,
Horsey, Jones of Somerset, Keefer, King,
Larsh, Lee, Marbury, Markey, Mitchell, Mil-
ler, Negley, Noble, Parran, Peter, Pugh,
Robinette, Schley, Smith of Carroll, Smith
of Dorchester, Swope, Valliant, Wickard,
Wilmer—42.
Nays— Messrs. Goldsborough, President;
Abbott, Annan, Baker, Brown, Carter, Cun-
ningham, Cushing, Daniel, Dellinger, Earle,
Ecker, Galloway, Greene, Hebb, Hoffman,
Hopkins, McComas, .Mullikin, Murray, Ny-
man, Parker, Purnell, Russell, Sands, Schlos-
ser, Smith of Worcester, Sneary, Stock-
bridge, Sykes, Todd, Wooden—32.
So the preamble and resolutions were laid
on the table.
RULES OF ORDER
The Convention proceeded to the consid-
eration of the Rules of Order reported by the
Committee on Rules, as amended, and they
were read the third time and adopted for the
government of the Convention.
DECLARATION OF RIGHTS.
On motion of Mr. CUSHING,
The convention proceeded to the considera-
tion of the order of the day, being the second
reading of the Declaration of Rights, report-
ed by the majority of the committee on that
subject.
The preamble and Article I were read as
follows:
We, the people of the State of Maryland,
grateful to Almighty God for our civil and
religious liberty, and taking into our serious
consideration the best means of establishing
a good Constitution in this State for the sure
foundation and more permanent security
thereof, declare:
Article 1. That all government of right
originates from the people, is founded in
compact only, and instituted solely for the
good of the whole; and they have at all
times the unalienable right to alter, reform or
abolish their form of government in such
manner as they may deem expedient. |
