ment there will be no difficulty about recon-
sidering the previous section.
The PRESIDENT overruled the point of or-
der.
Mr. CHAMBERS. I should think the best
way would be tor the House to pass on infor-
mally to the fifth section, which is one that
regulates several others. The first thing I
should presume, to enable us to act with any
sort of effect, would be to decide the main
question. Are we to have biennial or an-
nual sessions?
Mr. BELT. I will adopt that suggestion
and withdraw my amendment.
Mr. MILLER. I move to reconsider the vote
by which the second section was adopted,
Mr. STIRLING. As I understand the motion
to reconsider to be as good a way to test the
sense of the Convention as any other, and as
I am opposed to reconsideration, I call for the
yeas and nays,
The yeas and nays were ordered.
The question being taken, the result was—
yeas 20, nays 34—as follows :
Yens—Messrs. Abbott, Belt, Bond, Briscoe,
Brown, Chambers, Clarke, Dent, Edelen,
Hollyday, Hopper, Lansdale, Larsh, Miller,
Morgan, Peter, Ridgely, Swope, Thomas,
Wickard—20.
Nays—Messrs. Goldsborough, President;
Annan, Baker, Carter, Cunningham, Cush-
ing, Daniel, Davis, of Washington, Earle,
Ecker, Galloway, Hatch. Hebb, Hopkins,
Jones, of Cecil, Keefer, McComas, Mullikin,
Murray, Noble, Parker, Pugh, Purnell, Rus-
sell, Sands, Schley Scott, Smith, of Carroll,
Sneary, Stirling, Stockbridge, Sykes, Todd,
Wooden—34.
As their names were called, ,
Mr. BRISCOE said: In order to get the sense
of the House, and not as a test question, I
vote 'aye,"
Mr. CLARKE. I vote " aye." I do not re-
gard it as at test question at all,
Mr. MILLER I vote "aye," because I am
in favor of annual elections and annual ses-
sions of the Legislature. I look upon it as a
test vote. The Hill of Rights requires the
election of the Legislature to be free and fre-
quent as one of the great safeguards of liberty.
Mr. SANDS I am in favor of annual ses-
sions and biennial elections. This section
reads:
" Section 2. The members of the House of
Delegates shall be elected by the qualified
voters of the counties and city of Baltimore
respectively, to serve for two years from the
day of their election."
This does not at all involve the question of
annual sessions, and I shall therefore vote
"no."
So the Convention refused to reconsider.
The fourth section" as read as follows :
"Section 4. Immediately after the Senate
shall have convened, after the first election
under this Constitution, the senators shall |
be divided by lot into two classes, as nearly
equal in number as may he—the senators of
the first class shall go out of office at the ex-
piration of two years, and senators shall be
elected on the first Wednesday of November,
eighteen hundred and sixty-six, for the term
of four, years to supply their places; so that,
after the first election, one-half of the sena-
tors may be chosen every second year. In
Case the number of senators be hereafter in-
creased, such classification of the additional
senators shall be made as to preserve, as
nearly as may be, an equal number in each
class."
Mr. STOCKBRIDGE. I move that this section
be passed over informally; and I will state
the reason for that motion. The report of
the committee on the apportionment of the
representation has not yet been acted upon.
That provides for more than one senator for
at least one of the places named, if that
should be adopted, it might be necessary far
modify this article immediately.
The motion was agreed to
The filth section was read as follows :
"Section 5. The General Assembly shall
meet on the first Wednesday of January,
eighteen hundred and sixty-five, and on the
same day in every second year thereafter, and
at no other time, unless convened by the pro-
clamation of the Governor."
Mr. THOMAS moved to strike out the words
" in every second year" and insert " annu-
ally."
Mr. MILLER demanded the yeas and nays on
the amendment, and they were ordered.
Mr. BELT. I understand the effect of this
amendment to be this: Those who vote to
sustain the amendment vote for annual ses-
sions. That will not deprive us of the op-
portunity of voting for annual elections af-
terwards.
Mr. PETER. It seems to me that we have
already virtually decided the question of an-
nual elections, in refusing to reconsider the
second article. If we are to have biennial
elections I ,am opposed to annual sessions.
Why should the same Legislature meet here
for two years, and put the State to an addi-
tional expense? If we can have annual elec-
tions, I am in favor of annual sessions of the
Legislature; but without an election, for the
same persons to come here again, and put the
State to an additional expense I am opposed
to. I believe that the people of the State
should be represented as often as practicable,
say every year, that we may get at the true
feeling and sentiment of the people. I think
their interests would be advanced by annual
sessions, provided we could have annual
elections; but I am not willing that the State
should incur the additional expense of their
assembling every year when they are elected
every two years.
Mr. CHAMBERS. It appears to me aperfect
contradiction of the theory of republican |
