Carroll, Smith, of Worcester, Stirling, Stock-
bridge, Swope, Sykes, Todd, Turner—64.
On motion of Mr. ECKER,
It was ordered to be entered upon the jour-
nal, that Mr. Wooden is detained from his
seat, having been unexpectedly called away
on important business.
Mr. DAVIS, of Washington, asked and ob-
tained leave to absent himself from the ses-
sions of the convention for a few days.
ELECTION OF COURT OF APPEALS.
The convention resumed the consideration
of the report of the committee on the judiciary
department; the twelfth section being upon
its second reading as amended as follows ;
Sec, 12. The court of appeals shall consist
of a chief justice and four associate justices,
and for their selection the State shall be di-
vided into five judicial districts as follows,
viz: Worcester, Somerset, Dorchester, Tal-
bot, Caroline, Queen Anne, Kent and Cecil
counties, shall compose the first district;
Harford and Baltimore counties, and the first
seven wards of Baltimore city, shall compose
the second district; Baltimore city, except
the first seven wards, shall compose the third
district; Allegany, Washington, Frederick,
Howard and Carroll counties, shall compose
the fourth district; St. Mary's, Charles, Anne
Arundel, Calvert, Prince George's and Mont-
gomery counties, shall compose the fifth dis-
trict; and one of the judges of the court of
appeals shall be elected from each of said dis-
tricts.
The pending question was upon the adop-
tion of the amendment of Mr. DENT, as amend-
ed, as follows: to add at the end of the sec-
tion, "by the qualified voters of the whole
State."
Mr. BERRY, of Prince George's, I move to
postpone the section informally, as the house
is not. full, and we may have a full house tomorrow.
The motion was not agreed to.
The question recurred upon the adoption
of the amendment as amended.
Mr. BERRY, of Prince George's, demanded
the yeas and nays, and they were ordered.
The question being taken, the result was—
yeas 34, nays 27—as follows :
Yeas—Messrs. Annan, Carter, Cunning-
ham, Cushing, Daniel, Davis, of Washington,
.Ecker, Galloway, Hebb, Hopkins, Hopper,
Keefer, Kennard, King, Markey, Mayhugh,
McComas, Mullikin, Murray, Negley, Nyman,
Pugh, Purnell, Robinette, Russell, Sands,
Schley, Schlosser, Smith, of Worcester, Stir-
ling, Stockbridge, Swope, Sykes, Todd—34,
Nays—Messrs. Goldsborough, President ;
Abbott, Audoun, Berry, of Prince George's,
Billingsley, Blackiston, Brown, Chambers,
Clarke, Crawford, Dent, Duvall, Earle, Ede-
len, Gale, Hodson, Horsey, Jones, of Somerset,
Lansdale, Lee, Marbury, Mitchell, Miller, Mor-
gan, Parran, Smith, of Carroll, Turner—27. |
The amendment was accordingly agreed to'
The question recurred upon the adoption
of the substitute moved by Mr. THOMAS as
follows:
Strike out all after the word " the," in the
first line and insert the following :
"The court of appeals shall consist of a
chief justice and four associate justices and for
their selection the State shall be divided into
four judicial districts. Allegany, Washington,
ton, Frederick, Carroll, Baltimore and Harford
counties, shall compose the first; Montgomery,
Howard, Anne Arundel, Calvert, Si. Mary's,
Charles and Prince George's, the second;
Baltimore city, the third; and Cecil, Kent,
Queen Anne's, ' Talbot, Caroline, Dorchester,
Somerset and Worcester, shall compose the
fourth district; and the chief justice shall be
elected by the qualified voters of the counties
and the city of Baltimore on a general ticket.
"And one person from among those learned
in the law, haying been admitted to practice
law in this State and who shall have been a
citizen of this State at least live years, and
above the age of thirty years at the time of
his election, and a resident of the judicial dis-
trict, or if chief justice a resident of the State
as herein provided, shall lie elected from each
of said districts and the State, by the legal
and qualified voters therein as a judge of said
court of appeals, who shall hold his office for
the term of fifteen years from the time of his
election or until he shall have attained the age
of seventy years, whichever may first happen,
and be re-eligible thereto until he shall have
attained the age of seventy years, and not af-
ter, subject to removal for incompetency, wil-
ful neglect of duty or misbehavior in office,
on conviction in a court of law, or by the
governor upon the address of the general as-
sembly two thirds of the members of each
house concurring in such address, and the
salary of each of the judges of the court of ap-
peals, shall be four thousand dollars ($4,000)
annually, and shall not ' to be increased
or diminished during their continuance in
office, and no fee's or perquisites of any kind
shall be allowed by law to any of the said
judges."
Mr. STOCKBRIDGE. My colleague is not here
to-night in his place. I should like to know
whether his amendment has any indorser
here.
Mr. CLARKE. I have been absent; and I
understand that the convention have already
adopted a number of general qualifications
and rules with reference to the judges of the
court of appeals as well as the other courts.
Now if in the sections relating to the court of
appeals and the circuit judges we are to go
again into the questions of qualification, age,
removal from office, &c., we shall have first a
series of general provisions, and then a series
<of particular provisions for each court which
will take the place of the general provisions.
Mr. SMITH, of Carroll. It strikes me that |
