gent importance to Baltimore. My colleague's
wife has been waiting there these two days
on a matter of business of a domestic character
but quite important. Other gentlemen are
absent very unexpectedly on important busi-
ness; and who would be sorry to be denied
the privilege of being present, But we can
only make known our wish's, if they are
disregarded we cannot help it. I must say
that I shall regard it as an act of oppression
to refuse such a request as this.
Mr. SANDS. I cannot, bestill and hear my-
self. as one of the inembers of this house,
charged with oppression. I cannot sit still
patiently, and hear the house lectured for oppression;
when evidently the complaint upon
the other side is that their own members are
not in their seats. What do they ask of us ?
To wait until their members are in their
seats? Have we forced them out of their
seats? Whose act is it by which they are
not here to-day, but their own? Because
they are not here in their places to-day,
where their constituents who intrusted them
with their interests commanded them to be,
we are charged with oppression if we con-
tinue our work. The twenty-fifth rule of
this body, one of our standing rules, is in
this language:
''Rule 25. No member shall absent himself
from the service of the convention unless he
have leave, or be sick, or unable to attend."
That is the duty of gentlemen; and when they
absent themselves without leave, it is in violation
of a standing rule of the convention. They
are absent to-day. The majority are here in
force as full ;is ever, fifty to fifty-three mem-
bers voting with us. Yet we are to be told that
we are oppressors solely because these gentle-
men of the minority are out of their seats. I
cannot myself express the ?sentiments with
which I listen to scoldings of this sort. It is
time that they be ended. This house is here;
we are here; I am here to discharge the duty
my constituents sent me here to discharge. I
am not going to pause in that duty because
somebody else is absent, or sit still and be
scolded because other people are not here.
Mr CHAMBERS demanded the yeas and nays,
and they were ordered.
The question being taken, the result was—
yeas 42, nays 12—as follows:
Yeas—Messrs. Goldsborough, President;
Abbott, Annan, Audoun, Baker, Barron,
Brooks, Carter Cunningham, Cushing Dan-
iel, Davis, of" Washington. Dellinger, Ecker,
Farrow, Galloway, Greene, Hatch, Hebb,
Kennard. Markey, McComas, Mullikin, Neg-
ley, Parker, Purnell, Ridgely, Russell, Sands,
Schlosser, Scott, Smith, of Worcester, Sneary,
Stirling, Stockbridge, Swope, Sykes, Thomas,
Todd, Valliant, Wickard, Wooden—43.
Nays—Messrs. Brown, Chambers, Dent,
Duvall, Hollyday, Horsey, Lansdale, Lee,
Marbury, Miller, Morgan, 'Turner—12.
The convention accordingly proceeded to |
the second reading of the report on the sched-
ule, and the first section was read as follows :
Section 1. Every .officer of the State, the
entire amount of whose pay or compensation
received for the discharge of his official duties,
shall exceed the yearly-sum of three thousand
dollars, except wherein otherwise provided by
this constitution, shall keep a book 'in which
shall be entered every sum or sums of money
received by him, or on his account, as a pay-
ment, or compensation for his performance of
official duties, a copy of which entries in said
book, verified by the oath of the officer, by
whom it is directed to lie kept, shall be re-
turned yearly to the treasurer of the State,
fur his inspection and that of the general as-
sembly of the State, and each of said officers,
when the amount received by him for the
year shall exceed three thousand dollars, shall
yearly pay over to the treasurer of the St ate,
the amount of such excess by him received
subject to such disposition thereof as the gen-
eral assembly may direct. Any such officer
failing to comply with this requisition, shall be
deemed lo have vacated his office, and be sub-
ject to suit by the State, for the amount that
ought to be paid into the treasury.
Mr. STOCKBRIDGE submitted the following
amendment: strike out " officer," in line one,
and insert " person holding any office created
by or exiting under the constitution or
laws."
Mr. STOCKBRIDGE said; The term "every
officer" of the State seems to be definite; but
the history of the past is that there halve been
persons under that, holding office and receiv-
ing large salaries, who have not made any
return at all.
The amendment was adopted.
Mr. STOCKBRIDGE. I am aware that this
section is an exact copy of the old constitu-
tion; but still there is a mistake in it. 1
move to strike out tire word "treasurer" in
the ninth line, and to insert the word " comp-
troller."
Mr, RIDGELY. The committee intended to
make that amendment and forgot it.
The amendment was adopted.
Mr, RIDGELY. I wish to call the attention
of the gentleman from Baltimore city (Mr,
Stockbridge) to the amendment he first of-
fered. I am afraid it goes very much beyond
what my colleague intend i. The expression
"every person holding any office created by,
or existing under the constitution or laws of
the State," includes all the municipal officers
of the city of Baltimore, I think. If the city of
Baltimore choose to pay them more than three
thousand dollars it is no business of ours.
If the city of Baltimore pays a main four thou-
sand dollars, why should we take one thou-
sand dollars out of his pocket and put it into
the State treasury? it puts a restriction upon
the city of Baltimore, that it shall not pay
the city clerk or any other officer a higher
salary than three thousand dollars. That is |
