depreciated they can upon that ground claim
heavier salaries,
My understanding of this section is that
during the continuance of the contract which
the officer makes, he shall not ask of the Leg-
islature an increase of Ins salary, and for that
reason I shall be in favor of this section just
as it stands. The officer makes a contract to
serve the State for a certain amount of mo-
ney. After he has made that contract let him
fulfil it for the term of his office.
Mr. SCHLEY. This clause came under dis-
cussion in the committee. The motives that
impelled the committee to retain the section
as it stands in the present Constitution were
briefly these, particularly in respect to this
paragraph: We thought that the words—
"Nor shall the salary be increased or dimin-
ished"—would tend very much to shield the
Legislature from corrupting influences and
from the representations of designing persons
who are constantly seeking to obtain an in-
crease of their salaries, or to obtain extra
compensation. It was to exclude such in-
fluences from the Legislature entirely. I do
not think that the contingency now upon us
ought to be regarded in framing this Consti-
tution, for it is not permanent at all. It was
believed by the committee that under a gen-
eral law the salaries of classes of public offi-
cers can be increased or diminished; but not
of any individual public officer during his
term of office.
I am in favor of retaining the clause as it
stands, and shall oppose the amendment. I
would much rather, than have this amend-
ment, that the whole paragraph from the
word " Nor" should be stricken out. Still, I
think it is a great security to the Legisla-
ture against corrupting influences.
Mr. MILLER. The provision of the Consti-
tution of the United States bears out the con-
struction that I should place upon this pro-
vision of our Constitution should my amend-
ment be adopted. The clause of the Consti-
tution of the United States, in reference to
the salary of the President, provides that he
shall receive a stated sum for his services,
which shall not be increased or diminished
during ' the term for which he shall beelected,
That fixes his salary at so much. But when
you come to the portion of the Constitution
relating to the judiciary, you find the pro-
vision to be that the judges shall receive fur
their services a compensation which shall
not be diminished during their continuance
in office. But Congress has increased the
salaries of the judges of the Supreme Court of
the United States and of district judges un-
der that clause, there being nothing in it
prohibiting Congress from increasing their
salaries or making such additional compen-
sation as they may from time to time choose
to give to those high officers. My amend-
ment would allow the Legislature, from time
to time, to meet the exigencies of the currency, |
to increase the salaries of those officers in
order to keep them up to what ought to be
the standard of such salaries.
Mr. PUSH. Admitting that the salaries of
the judges have been increased, is it compati-
ble with the purity of the judiciary to make
the judges interested inhaving their salaries
increased ?
Mr. MILLER. The efficiency, integrity and
purity of the judges of the Supreme Court of
the United States have never been affected
that I am aware of, because Congress has the
power to increase their salaries. We have
never heard that charge against them,
Mr. SCHLEY. Perhaps the gentleman from
Anne Arundel (Mr. Miller) can better reach
the object he desires by an addition to the
section to this effect—"(except the judges of
the courts, whose salaries shall not be dimin-
ished during their tenure of office," or—" ex-
cept such offices as are otherwise provided
for in this Constitution." Then he can in-
clude this subject in the article on the judi-
ciary. There is an evident propriety in add-
ing a saving clause for offices of a long ten-
ure; because apart from the troublous times
now and the fluctuations in the value of the
currency, the duties of judges are likely to
be fluctuating. It is a prudent precaution
at least, and I will vote for it if the gentle-
man will undertake to reach it in that way.
But I have no desire to leave the question of
other public officers open merely to meet an
exigency which may never occur.
Mr. MILLER. I have no design, in offering
this amendment, to have it apply to those
officers whose terms of office are for a short
period. And I have no idea that the Legis-
lature ever would increase the salaries of offi-
cers whose terms were short. But what I
designed was not to prohibit the Legislature,
if a judge was elected during good behavior,
from increasing his salary during his whole
term, which might be thirty, forty or fifty
years, hut leave it as it was fixed at the time
he was elected. I will withdraw my amend-
ment and prepare another to meet the sug-
gestion of the gentleman from Frederick (Mr.
Schley.)
The amendment of Mr. Miller was accord-
ingly withdrawn.
Mr. MILLER. I now move to amend section
twenty-one, by adding the following:
"Except judges of the courts, whose sala-
ries shall not be diminished during their term
of office."
Mr. SANDS. I would inquire of the gentle-
man from Anne Arundel (Mr. Miller,) how
will he meet this difficulty? Two years hence
paper may be even doubly depreciated what
it is at preseat. And in such currency it
would take $10,000 to pay competent judges
a salary of $2,000 in gold. Very well; the
Legislature increases the salary to $10,000.
Now, if this amendment is adopted the Legis-
lature thereafter would never have power to |
