disqualification, the parties thereto may, by
consent, appoint a person to try the same;
and the parties to any cause may submit the
game to the court for determination without
the aid of ajury."
Mr. STIRLING. That is correct. I recol-
lect that it was decided that when we should
have determined whether to have three
judges or one, we would take it up again.
That question has not yet been decided
Mr. NEGLEY. I move that it be informally
passed over until we determine the number
The motion was agreed to.
COURT OF APPEALS.
The twelfth section which had been passed
over informally, was taken up and read, as
amended, as follows:
" Sec. 12. The court of appeals shall con-
list of a chief justice and four associate jus-
tices, and for their selection the State shall
be divided into five judicial districts as fol-
lows, viz; Worcester, Somerset, Dorchester,
Talbot, 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
Montgomery counties, shall compose the fifth
district; and one of the judges of the court
of appeals shall be elected from each of said
districts, by the qualified voters of the whole
State."
Mr. THOMAS. The pending question is upon
my amendment to the section, contained on
page 487 of the journal.
The amendment submitted by Mr. THOMAS
was read 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,
Frederick, Carroll, Baltimore and
Harford counties, shall compose the first,
Montgomery, Howard, Anne Arundel, Cal
vert, St. 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
ft general ticket.
" And one person from among those learned
in the law, having been admitted to practice
law in this State and who shall have been a
citizen of this State at least five years, and
above the age of thirty years at the time of |
his election, and a resident of the judicial
district, or if chief justice a resident of the
State as herein provided, shall be 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 bold
his office for the term of fifteen years from the
time of his election or until he shall have
attained the age of seventy a ears, whichever
may first happen, and be re-eligible thereto
until beshall have attained the age of seventy
years, and not after, subject to removal for
incompetency, wilful neglect of duty or mis-
behavior in office, on conviction in a court of
law, or by the governor upon the address of
the general assembly, two-thirds of the mem-
bers of each house concurring in such ad-
dress, and the salary of each of the judges of
the court of appeals, shall be four thousand
dollars ($4,000) annually, and shall not be
increased or diminished during their coutinuance
in office, and no fees or perquisites of
any kind shall be allowed by law to any of
the said judges."
The PRESIDENT. There is this difficulty,
that the gentleman has embraced in his pro-
position what the convention has already
passed upon in a different section. The latter
branch of the proposition prescribes the ten-
ure of office and the age of the judge. The
convention has already passed upon that
proposition in the third and fourth sections.
Mr. THOMAS, The latter part of it is em-
braced in the third section; but not the
former part, I will omit the latter part, and
modify my motion to strike out aril after the
word "the," in the first line and insert the
following;
"Court of appeals shall consist of a chief
justice and four associate justices and for their
selection the Staple shall be divided into four
judicial districts. Allegany, Washington,
Frederick, Carroll, Baltimore and Harford
counties, shall compose the first; Montgomery,
Howard, Anne Arundel, Calvert, St. 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."
That makes five judges of the court of ap-
peals, the chief justice to beelected by general
ticket, and the other lour in their several dis-
tricts.
Mr. BERRY, of Prince George's. I do not
understand that the amendment state's how
the four judges shall be elected. it says that
the chief justice shall be elected by the quali-
fied voters of the counties and the city of
Baltimore on a general ticket; but does not
say how the associate judges shall be elected.
The PRESIDENT. The gentleman baa stated
that the associate judges will be elected from |
