lyday, Mitchell, Miller, Morgan, Ridgely
Schley, Smith, of Dorchester, Stirling, Stock-
bridge—20.
Nays—Messrs. Abbott, Annan, Barron
Cashing, Dail, Davis, of Charles, Davis, of
Washington, Dennis, Ecker, Galloway, Hatch
Hopkins, Hopper, Johnson, Jones, of Som-
erset, King, Larsh, Lee, Markey, McComas
Mullikin, Murray, Nyman, Parker, Pugh,
Russell, Sands, Scott, Wickard, Wooden—30
The amendment was accordingly rejected
Mr. DAVIS, of Charles, moved to amend by
adding to section twenty-one the following
" Provided all salaries and compensations
shall be paid in specie or its equivalent, at
the option of the officer."
The question being taken, the amendment
was rejected.
No further amendment was offered to sec-
tion twenty-one,
INELIGIBILITY TO OFFICE.
Section twenty-two was then read as fol-
lows :
" No senator or delegate, after qualifying
as such, notwithstanding he may thereafter
resign, shall, during the whole period of time
for which he was elected, be eligible to any
office which shall have been created, or the
salary or profits of which shall have been in-
creased during such term, or shall, during
said term, hold any office, or receive the
salary or profits of any office under the ap-
pointment of the Executive or General As-
sembly."
Mr. STOCKBRIDGE. I move to amend ibis
section by striking out the latter portion of
it, as follows;
"Or shall, during said term, hold any of-
fice, or receive the salary or profits of any of-
fice under the appointment of the Executive
or General Assembly."
I submit this amendment under the be-
lief that this section, as it will stand if so
amended, will be sufficiently broad to cover
the evil at which the restriction or prohibi-
tion upon the members of the General As-
sembly is aimed. It will prohibit any per-
son, being a member of either branch of the
General Assembly, from legislating to create
any office, or to increase the salaries or profits
of any office, in order that he may be bone-
fitted by it; while it will not restrain the
Executive from appointing a man to a posi-
tion for which he may happen to be particu-
larly qualified, and which may have pre-
viously existed, in which a vacancy may
have occurred. For example, a lawyer of
eminence is a member of either branch of the
Legislature. A vacancy, it may be unex-
pected at the time of his election, occurs in
the judiciary of the State, and the Governor
sees fit to appoint him to fill that vacancy.
Under the article, as it now stands, he can-
not be designated by the Executive to that
place. |
This prevision is very similar to the pro-
vision in our present Constitution. I do not
know how it was done; yet it has so hap-
pened that by disregard or forgetfulness of
the Constitution, persons have been appointed
to vacancies of that kind that have occurred.
Certainly it was not in accordance with this
provision of the Constitution. I do not think
there is any object to be secured by retaining
this clause, and I think it desirable to strike
it out.
The question being taken upon the amend-
ment of Mr. STOCKBRIDGE, it was rejected.
Mr. MILLER. As the Convention has just
refused to strike out this last clause, I would
like to inquire of my friend, the chairman of
the committee (Mr. Schley,) what construc-
tion the committee places upon this section
as it now stands. They have made a change
in the provision of the present Constitution
upon this subject, by substituting in the first
clause the words, "whole period of time,"
for the word " term," while in the last clause
the words "said term" are used. I would
like to inquire whether according to the con-
struction which the chairman of the commit-
tee puts upon the words "said term," they
mean "the whole period of time for which
he has been elected."
Mr. SCHLEY. That was clearly the inten-
tion of the committee. The words "said
term" evidently relate to what has been said
before; " the whole period of time for which
he was elected " is the " term " meant here.
Mr. MILLER. I agree that that would be
my construction of the language as it stands
here. But some change may be necessary,
in order to avoid a difficulty mentioned in a
debate which took place here last winter upon
the appointment to office of a person who
was a member of the General Assembly
Mr. SCHLEY. The words "such term," or
"said term," refer to the whole period of
time for which a member of the General As-
sembly may be elected.
Mr. CHAMBERS. What other term does the
gentleman from Anne Arundel (Mr. Miller)
suppose was referred to? There is but one
term mentioned in the section.
Mr. MILLER. I would call the attention of
the gentleman from Kent (Mr. Chambers) to
a similar provision in the present Constitu-
tion, as follows:
" No senator or delegate, after qualifying
as such, shall, during the term for which be
was elected, be eligible to any office which
shall have been created, or the salary or pro-
fits of which shall have been increased during
such term, or shall, during said term, hold
any office or receive the salary or profits of
any office, under the appointment of the Ex-
ecutive or Legislature."
Now, what wag the construction put upon
this provision of the Constitution by eminent
lawyers of this State? They went to the ex-
tent of saying that a senator in the Legisla- |
