constitution that ought not to be in there, or
leave something out that ought to be put in.
I am as anxious to get our business done, so
that it is done properly, and go home, as any
member can be. But I see no necessity for
this crowding matters through insuch a way
that we common folks cannot understand
what is being done. As we have already
spent so much time here over this business, I
think we better slay here two or three days
longer, and do it carefully so that we can all
understand it. I see no reason for crowding
this thing through, so as to adjourn to-mor-
row night. Let us do things decently and in
order, if we cannot find anything to do now,
let us adjourn over until Monday, and give
the committee on revision time to do their
work. And then on Monday, or Tuesday,
when they bring in their work, let us take it
up and go-through with it carefully, decently
and in good order.
Mr. DANIEL. We have plenty to do yet.
Mr. ECKER. I see no necessity at all for
crowding matters in this way. I am aston-
ished that members who have stayed away
from the convention and retarded its business,
should now be so very fierce to crowd every-
thing through at once. If they had remained
here and attended to the work of the conven-
tion, we could have got through by the fourth
of July. I do not refer to the minority of
the convention, because we do not expect any-
thing of them.
Mr. CHAMBERS. I have no responsibility
for the work done here; God forbid that I
should have. But I was here at the close of
the last convention, and I have no desire to
see such another exhibition; of a piece of pa-
per purporting to be, but not in fact, the
constitution, and signed by the president and
the secretary, and then be obliged to appoint
a committee to examine after we went away
and see what the constitution really was,
There was altogether such a scene of confu-
sion that, to say the least of it, was certainly
not at all respectable.
I have as much desire to get away from
here, and go home, as any member can have.
I think I have been here about as regularly as
any member has. I thought the doings of
this convention required watching about as
much as anything could. I have tried, by
slaying here, to avert as much mischief as I
could. I have suffered as much pecuniary loss
in this matter as anybody has. But I do not
desire to hurry matters through unreasona-
bly. Let the articles which have been acted
upon here be carefully revised; let your
clerks arrange them and put them in proper
order. And then when they have done that,
let us know what the constitution is. I have
already mentioned in this convention one
item which was left out of the last constitu-
tion. And just as sure as we leave here, in
the hurry the last convention left in, there
may be half a dozen important matters left |
out of this one. Not that I would object to
leaving out a great deal of it, if I had the
power. But although I am one of the mi-
nority, differing very greatly with the ma-
jority in regard to political sentiments, I cer-
tainly desire as much as anybody else to see
everything that is done, done properly, done
decently and in good order, as the gentleman
from Carroll (Mr. Ecker) says.
Mr. STOCKBRIDGE. Before the vote is taken
on the motion of the gentleman from Wash-
ington county (Mr. Dellinger,) I wish the
convention would revert to the position in
which the work of this convention now stands.
We have passed through their second and third
readings all the reports made to the conven-
tion but two. There is the very short report
of the committee on usury, and the very long
report—no; that is not a report at all, but
the long judiciary article; the report of the
committee on the judiciary was abolished long
ago. It is important that those two matters
should be acted upon, before we adjourn, in
accordance with the proposition of the gentle-
man from Washington, Otherwise, when we
come here on Monday, we would have to take
up those reports, act upon them, go through
their third reading, and pass them over to
the committee on revision, who would have
to take at least a day to dispose of them. I
trust there will be no adjournment over until
we have gone through the third reading of
those reports. Then if it is necessary to ad-
journ over, in order to enable the committee
on revision and the clerks to bring up their
work, I will not object.
Mr. DELLINGER. I will withdraw the mo-
tion to adjourn until Monday, and renew the
motion to take a recess.
The question being taken, the motion was
agreed to;
And the convention accordingly took a re-
cess until half past three o'clock, P. M.
AFTERNOON SESSION.
The convention met at half-past 3 o'clock,
P.M.
The roll was called, and the following
members answered to their names :
Messrs. Goldsborough, President; Abbott,
Audoun, Baker, Belt, Brooks, Brown, Car-
ter, Crawford, Cunningham, Cushing, Dan-
iel, Davis, of Charles, Davis, of Washington,
Dellinger, Dent, Duvall, Earle, Ecker, Far-
row, Galloway, Greene, Hatch, Hebb, Hoff-
man, Hollyday, Hopper, Horsey, Jones, of
Cecil, Keefer, Kennard, King, Larsh, Lee,
Marbury, Markey, McComas, Mitchell, Miller,
Morgan, Mullikin, Murray, Negley, Nyman,
Parker, Parran, Pugh, Purnell, Ridgely,
Russell, Schley, Schlosser, Scott, Smith, of
Dorchester, Stirling, Stockbridge, Swope,
Sykes, Todd, Wickard, Wilmer, Wooden—62.
NEGRO APPRENTICESHIP.
The convention resumed the consideration |
