none of our business, if the people choose; to
pay more. They have not done so, so far as
I am aware. I hope the house will reconsider
its action on that amendment if the gentleman
construes it as I do, to cover all municipal
officers.
Mr. ABBOTT. The reason why I voted in
favor of the amendment was that I was not
aware in doing so that it would affect the corporation
officers. If it does, I hope the gen-
tleman will change the language of it.
Mr. STIRLING. It maybe so construed, for
the officers of Baltimore city are officers under
the laws of this State.
Mr. STOCKBRIDGE If it is in order to offer
an explanation, I will tell exactly what I
meant. There have been certain officers, I
may instance certain clerks, sheriffs, criers,
officers about the courts in the State of Mary-
land, who have received fees to an amount
larger than three thousand dollars, year after
year, and have said that they were not officers
of the State; that they were officers of the
court. Those, in my apprehension, are just
the sort of persons designed to be reached by
this. When persons have a fixed salary, it
is known; but there are none that have fixed
salary by the State that are obnoxious to this,
either in the former constitution or as modi-
fied by the amendment, it was designed to
meet just such cases and no others, where the
fees and contingent emoluments of the office
amount to more than three thousand, dollars.
The design is that in all such cases the excess
should go to the State.
I do not think that the article as it has been
amended, is obnoxious to the objection that
is made to it. "livery person holding any
office created by or existing under the consti-
tution or laws of this State." la one sense
everything that exists in the State is under
the constitution and laws of the State. They
have a certain power and control over it.
We establish a corporation, inasmuch as
we give a legal existence to that corporation,
in that sense the officers of the corporation
are under the laws of the State, no matter
what tire corporation is— the Baltimore aid
Ohio Railroad Company, the Gas Company,
or any other manufacturing company. But
then they receive no fees or emolument from
the people contingent upon their holding a
public office. So we establish a municipal
corporation, the corporation of Baltimore or
any other city. It is true we give it a legal
existence. So far as it depends on the laws
of the State, it is under the constitution and
laws of the State, But we neither fix the
salaries, fees, or anything else under the laws
of the State. Though they derive them from
the people, it is under certain ordinances
which the corporation create. It seems to me
that these are not under the laws of the State
in any proper sense of the term, I think that
no city officers will be reached by that. I
am not aware that any officer is paid by fees. |
Mr. STIRLING. There is nothing about fees.
It is " pay or compensation."
Mr. STOCKBRIDGE. Fees are compensation.
Salary is compensation. There is no fixed
salary of any State official in the State of
Maryland which amounts to three thousand
dollars.
Mr. STIRLING. The mayor's salary is three
thousand dollars.
Mr. STOCKBRIDGE. That is under the laws
of the city. The city solicitor gets three thou-
sand dollars.
Mr. ABBOTT I understand my colleague
to say that this does not contemplate any of-
ficer of any incorporated company.
Mr. STOCKBRIDGE. I do not understand it
to do so, municipal or any other.
Mr. MILLER. It is unfortunate; but the
gentleman's say-so is not a part of the con-
stitution.
Mr. STOCKBRIDGE. I have offered air amend-
ment which I considered a proper one, and
it has been adopted. If anybody wishes to
modify it, he can make the motion.
Mr. STIRLING. Officers of the courts will
still say that they are officers of the courts,
and do not hold office under the constitution
or laws
Mr. THOMAS. I move to amend by striking
out the words in the ninth and tenth lines,
" treasurer of the State, for his inspection and
that of the general assembly of the State,"
and inserting the words " county commissioners
of the several counties, and to the
register of the mayor and city council of
Baltimore,"
My object is this; that where there is an
excess of fees paid by a county or city official,
that excess of fees shall go back to the county
or city taxed with the payment of the excess,
and not to the State. I think the State is not
entitled to any excess of fees that may accumulate
in Baltimore county or Allegany
county. If there is any excess of fees in the
performance of official duties, it should go
back to the tax payers that are taxed to pay
those fees. If this amendment is carried, 1
shall move, in order to make it conform to
this amendment, to amend so as to read
"shall yearly pay over to the treasurers of
the several counties, the amount of such excess
by them received, subject to such disposition
thereof as the county commissioners may di-
rect."
Mr. STIRLING. I had not designed to vote
for any amendment or to offer any to this
section. I did not know there was any ob-.
jection to it. But since it has been amended
1 wish to say a word with regard to this propo-
sition of my colleague. I did not design to
make the motion; but if I had wished to make
a motion it would have been to strike out this
section from the constitution; for the legisla-
ture his power to provide for it. in point of
fact this clause of the constitution now covers
scarcely any officer in the State; for almost |
