Brown,) to strike out the word "leave" and
insert the word " sanction.' '
Mr. BROWN. I have no objection to that.
The question was then taken upon the
amendment of Mr. Brown, to insert the
words ' 'subsequently obtained," after the
word "Legislature;" and it was not agreed
to.
Mr. CUSHING moved to amend the article by
inserting before the word "leave" the words
"prior or subsequent;" so that the clause
will read "without the prior or subsequent
leave of the Legislature," &c.
Mr. STIRLING. The Legislature has adopted
the practice of passing laws assenting to
bequests of this kind. But the Court of
Appeals of this State has decided that as the
estate passed to the heirs and became at once
vested, the leave of the Legislature subsequently
obtained would not make such a de-
vise valid. I think the Legislature ought to
have the right to grant this subsequent leave,
and I shall therefore vote for any amendment
that frees the question from this difficulty,
and I hope this amendment will be adopted.
The last General Assembly passed a law sub-
sequently to this decision of the Court of
Appeals, by which they formally gave their
assent to a bequest of land. The Legislature
and the people have not been generally in-
formed in regard to this decision, and, there-
fore, I think it is a great deal better to give
the Legislature this power to assent to those
bequests.
The amendment of Mr. CUSHING was then
agreed to.
No further amendment was offered to the
37th Article.
MANNER OF ADMINISTERING OATHS, AC.
Article 38 was then read as follows :
"That the manner of administering an
oath or affirmation to any person, ought to
be such as those of the religions persuasion,
profession or denomination, of which he is a
member, generally esteem the most effectual
confirmation by the attestation of the Divine
Being.
Mr. STOCKBRIDGE. This article is mani-
festly defective in one or two particulars.
The purpose of administering an oath at all
is, by a solemn invocation, to bind the per-
son more firmly to the truth, or to fidelity in
the discharge of some duty. That which ac-
complishes that object most effectually, while
respecting sufficiently conscientious scruples
in the matter, is certainly that which we re-
quire. This article, as it now stands, does
not, in the first place, refer the matter to a
man's own conscience at all, but refers it to
the practice and opinions of the religious
persuasion, profession or denomination of
which he is a member. Now a man may
concur in most things held by a particular
denomination, and yet not concur in all. It
is a fact of every day's occurrence, that mem-
bers of some of the denominations refuse to |
take the oath, as it is administered in courts
of justice, in the same form that most others
of the same denominations do take it.
Again, the second objection to this article
as it stands, is that it requires the attestation
of the Divine Being. But an affirmation is
received instead of an oath, for the purpose
of avoiding the attestation of the Divine
Being. It is a simple affirmation, or promise
to speak the truth under the pains and pen-
alties of perjury.
I think this article is improperly drawn.
I therefore move to amend it by striking out
all after the words—"ought to be such as,"
and inserting—"is most in accordance with
and most binding upon the conscience of the
person lo whom such oath or affirmation
may be administered." The article will then
read—
"That the manner of administering an
oath or affirmation to any person, ought to
be such as is most in accordance with and
most binding upon the conscience of the per-
son to whom such oath or affirmation may-
be administered."
Mr. CLARKE. How is that fact to be ascer-
tained ?
Mr. STOCKBRIDGE. Precisely as you do
now—when you ask a man—'' Do you swear
or affirm?" You do not say—"Are you a
Duncan?"—or "Are you a Quaker?"—or
"Do you swear with the uplifted hand?"
But the book is handed to the man, and he
says, if he objects to it—"I affirm," or "I
swear with the uplifted hand."
Mr. HENKLE. I am opposed to this amend-
ment, because it allows every individual to
set up his own standard of taking an oath.
And any man might indicate a new way of
taking an oath, which, according to his own
notions, might leave him tree from the pains
and penalties of perjury. It is pretty gen-
erally known how Presbyterians swear, and
how other denominations swear. And if a
man comes in who is known to belong to any
of these denominations, and says—" I swear
with the uplifted hand," or " I affirm,"
everybody knows at once what it means. I
do not see why this article should be altered
at all. The several denominations generally
indicate the manner of taking an oath; or
they do not indicate it at all, and these per-
sons are sworn on the Bible, by putting their
hands on it. And if a man is not a member
of a church, that is the way he should
swear.
The question being taken upon the amend-
ment submitted by Mr. STOCKBRIDGE, it was
not agreed to.
No further amendment was offered to this
article.
FREEDOM 0? THE PRESS, &C.
Article 39 was then read as follows:
" That the liberty of the press ought to be
inviolably preserved."
Mr. JONES, of Somerset, moved to amend |
