three different days of the session, previous
to its adoption, unless two-thirds of the mem-
bers present otherwise determine; the first of
which readings shall be by the title only, un-
less a majority of the convention shall other-
wise order,"
Mr. CUSHING. I would suggest to the house
that that rule does not apply to this case.—
The revising committee report neither new
sections nor new articles, but simply some
slight changes in the phraseology.
Mr. STIRLING. This rule says that reports
of committees proposing articles to be incor-
porated into the constitution shall be read on
three several days, etc. That is a rule appli-
cable to the manufacture of the constitution,
while in progress of framing. But those com-
mittees have now reported; the articles have
now been adopted, and have become parts of
the constitution, and the rule has ceased to
have any further application to them.
Another rule provides for a committee on
revision, whose duty it is to take the articles
that have been adopted by the convention,
that have been made parts of the constitution,
that have been read three times, and finally
passed by yeas and nays, and examine them
carefully and revise them. What does that
mean? It means that the committee shall
take the articles which you have adopted, ac-
cording to your rules, examine them and
bring them back here with such alterations,
amendments, and modifications as may be
necessary to carry out the intentions of the
convention in passing them. The conven-
tion votes either to concur in the alterations
proposed by the committee on revision, or not
to concur. If they concur, then those altera-
tions are incorporated in the constitution; if
they do not concur, then the alterations are
left out.
The committee do not here propose any new
section or article. What is the meaning of a
rule which says the committee shall revise, if
they can make no changes? It is not an or-
dinary committee of this body, whose reports
must be read three times on three several days
and then passed by yeas and nays. That rule
relates solely to the committees whose duty it
is to frame the several articles to be incorpo-
rated into the constitution. This committee
is engaged in the mere matter of recasting
the phraseology. And even if they do report
a matter of substantial change, it is a matter
within the power of the revisory committee.
No member can propose amendments now,
after these articles have been passed. It is the
business of the committee on revision to re-
port such changes and alterations as they may
deem necessary to be made. They have re-
ported these changes, and it is now for the
house to determine whether they will concur
in the report of the committee.
I want the yeas and nays called upon con-
curring in this report, for I want it distinctly
to go upon the journal that this change was |
made. Are we to stand here and have all our
work paralyzed by the misapplication of a
rule requiring these reports to be read on three
several days, and passed by the yeas and nays ?
1 stand here ready to defend the work which
we have been doing, and do not intend it
shall be interrupted by any such sophistical
objections,
The CHAIRMAN (Mr. Daniel.) The chair
decides, that the fifteenth rule has no appli-
cation to the report of the committee on re-
vision.
Mr. CHAMBERS. I protest against this pro-
cess of doing business.
Mr. BROWN. Is there no matter incorpora-
ted in this report by the committee of revision,
which was before the convention and reject-
ed?
Mr. EARLE. In answer to the gentleman
from Queen Anne, I reply that the conven-
tion adopted the last clause of the first section
of the article on elective franchise in the fol-
lowing form:
" But 'a person who shall NOT have acquir-
ed a residence in such county or city enti-
tling him to vote at any such election, shall be
entitled to vote in the election district from
which he removed, until he shall have ac-
quired a residence in the part of the county
or city to which he has removed."
A proposition to strike the word "not"
from this clause was rejected in convention.
The whole subject was then referred to the
committee of revision, and the members of
that committee having arrived at the plain,
but, as they thought, logical conclusion, that
a person who had not acquired a residence
in a county or city, should not be entitled to
vote in any part of that county or city, re-
spectfully recommended that the word " not "
in the aforesaid section be stricken out; this,
1 presume, is the matter alluded to by the
gentleman from Queen Anne.
Mr. STIRLING, As to the word " not, " that
certainly is a matter for the committee of re-
vision to examine and report upon.
Mr. MILLER. As I understand the report
of the committee of revision, they have
added an entirely new section to the article
on elective franchise.
Mr. EARLE. The gentleman from Anne
Arundel is mistaken. No entirely new sec-
tion has been added by the committee of re-
vision to the article on the elective franchise.
Several of the sections have been remodeled.
Parts of two or more sections, in some in-
stances, have been consolidated into one sec-
tion. Some sections have been divided,
others transposed, but no entirely new sec-
tion has been introduced.
Mr. STOCKBRIDGE, For symmetry's sake
the section has been divided into two sec-
tions. There is no new matter recommended
by the committee on revision.
The PRESIDENT having resumed the chair
announced that the question was upon con- |
