THIRD DAY.
TUESDAY, May 3,1864.
In the absence of the President, the Conven-
tion was called to order by the Secretary.
On motion of Mr. PUGH,
Mr. STOCKBRIDGE was appointed President
pro tem.
Certificates of the qualification of Messrs.
Blackiston, Billingsley, Thomas, and John-
son, were presented, and these members ap-
peared and took their seats.
On motion of Mr. DANIEL,
Ordered, That a vote of thanks be tendered
to Mr. PUGH, of Cecil County, for the efficient
manner in which he has discharged the duties
of temporary Secretary of this Convention.
On motion of Mr. DANIEL,
Ordered, That a copy of all documents
printed for the use of the members of the Con-
vention be furnished to each of the official
reporters, and that the same be furnished to
each of the reporters of the press having seats
upon this floor.
On motion of Mr. BILLINGSLEY,
Ordered, That it be entered upon the Jour-
nal that JOHN F. DENT, a member elect from
St. Mary's County to this Convention, is ab-
sent from his seat in consequence of the indis-
position of his family.
FURTHER STANDING COMMITTEES.
Mr. CLARKE submitted the following order:
Ordered, That a Standing Committee to
consist of seven members, be appointed by the
President of the Convention, to consider and
report respecting the appointment, tenure of
office, duties, and compensation, of all civil
officers not embraced in the duties of other
Standing Committees.
Mr. STIRLING. It strikes me that the Con-
vention supposed the other day that they had
divided the work among the several commit-
tees sufficiently to embrace at least what seemed
to them at that time necessary. I should
much prefer that those committees should
have some time, after they are appointed, to
see whether they have the subject matter of
the Constitution sufficiently referred to them,
before we appoint further committees. I think
the order is hardly necessary, and certainly
do not feel prepared to vote for it at this stage
of the Convention,
Mr. CLARKE. There are certainly various
officers provided for in our present Constitu-
tution, which would not properly come before
any of these committees. There is a survey
provided for in our Constitution, and a Wreck-
master, for instance; and I do not know
whether constables would properly belong to
any of those committees. By looking through
the Constitution we shall find several other
officers provided fur, and not included here,
On referring to the proceedings of the last
Convention, I find that a committee was con-
stituted to consider and report upon such
offices, and any new offices that any member |
might think it proper to suggest to be incor-
porated in the Constitution. It was simply to
follow that precedent, and to provide for
those offices which would not appropriately
come before any of the committees yet consti-
tuted, that I offered the order that this com-
mittee might be appointed with the others,
and that there might be no delay.
Mr. STIRLING. I should like to have fur-
ther time; and I move to postpone the further
consideration of this order until after the ap-
pointment of the Standing Committees already
ordered.
The motion was agreed to.
Mr. PURNELL. I should like to make a few
remarks on this question before it is decided.
Mr. DANIEL moved to reconsider the ques-
tion of postponement.
Mr. PURNELL, if it is now in order I wish
to make a few remarks favoring the motion
of the gentleman from Prince George's (Mr.
Clarke.) I think it eminently proper that we
should have such a committee as he suggests.
If we are to he governed by precedent, cer-
tainly there was such a committee appointed
by the last Convention. Looking over the
catalogue of the committees proposed to be
raised by the order submitted to and adopted
by the Convention, a few days ago, there
does not seem to me to be any committee
whose dirty it will be to examine the subject
contemplated in the order submitted by the
gentleman from Prince George's. I see no ne-
cessity for waiting for the announcement of the
committees before acting upon this matter.
If it is necessary to appoint such a committee
at all, I see no reason why it should be post-
poned. I am prepared to vote for the order ;
and I think it desirable that the appointment
of this committee should be cotemporaneous
with that of the others ordered a few days
since,
The motion to reconsider was not agreed to
—ayes 33; noes 38.
Mr. HOPKINS submitted the following order :
Ordered, That a Standing Committee of
— members be appointed by the Presi-
dent to consider and report upon the subject
of Emancipation of Slaves in this State.
Mr. STIRLING. I think that is already cov-
ered by the committees already ordered. It
certainly was so understood.
MR. BELT. What committee, under the
present arrangement, will have the considera-
tion of the Emancipation question, if such a
question should be raised?
Mr. STIRLING. I should suppose, without
speaking for the gentleman who made the
motion, that that subject properly belongs to
the Committee upon the Bill of Rights. I be-
lieve that every State which has heretofore
taken action upon this question in its Consti-
tution, has done so in its Bill of Rights. I
see no occasion for a special committee, espe-
cially as the different committees will have
the power to confer with each other to see by |
